Pompeii is one of the most widely visited archaelogic sites in the world. It was buried by the eruption of the Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. that yet has kept intact one of the richest towns of the Roman Empire. Pompeii represents a vital witness of that time, as well as an example of the real everyday life of a town frozen in history, with its grandiosity and its misery as well.  Strolling around its streets (decumani) and alleys (cardi) that wind around the main square, the Foro, it is possible to see the numerous Temples (those of Apollo, of Jovis, of Vespasianus just to quote some), the buildings of public utility, such as the Basilica, the Macellum, the Thermae, private rich villas, such as the Casa del Fauno or the Villa dei Misteri: But you will also detect the less prestigious buildings of the town, such as the shops, the houses of poor people, the public houses where  to drink wine and the lupanari, or brothels, the places of everyday life.

Also the nearby Stabiae, the present Castellamare di Stabia, was destroyed by the same eruption and like Pompeii it was rediscovered thanks to the interest of the Borboni, the royal family ruling southern Italy till the Nineteenth Century. Stabiae had been built to supply the larger and more important towns of Pompeii and Ercolano, but with the passing of time it had become a famous resort for the rich Roman noblemen who built luxury villas, some of whose frescoes it is still possible to admire, and thermaae

(see for instance Villa Arianna and Villa San Marco).