Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia

If you love archaeology, this tour is a must. You are going to visit the most famous archelogical sites of the Bay of Naples.We come to pick you up at the hotel / pier by private car or minivan with Chauffeur. You'll drive at the foot of the Vesuvian plain to Pompeii where you'll meet our licensed guide. Thousands of books have been written about Pompeii. The guided walking tour lasts about 2 hours and allows seeing in detail the western part of the ancient town where the most important public buildings homes and shops are located. It was a large town with a varied history of foreign influences - such as the practice of Egyptian religious rites and the use of Greek architecture. It held administrative control over the neighboring suburbs, and was a centre for trade in textiles, bread, wine, and olive oil. When Vesuvius erupted, much of Pompeii was still recovering from the great earthquake of 62 A.D., and evidence of massive reconstruction efforts were found during modern excavations. Herculaneum is less popular than Pompeii, but very interesting too. Just nine miles north of Pompeii lay the seaside resort of Herculaneum with nearly 5,000 residents. Some of Rome's wealthiest citizens had homes here, where they could relax in the public baths overlooking the ocean. A wonderful walk, lasting 2 hours, through the ancient city of Herculaneum, visiting the Temple of the Augustali, the beach where more then 300 skeletons were found, the thermal baths, the forum, the house of Neptune and Amphitrite, the Samnite house, the gymnasium, the house of the Dears and much more. South of Pompeii is located Stabia. This archaeological area comprises the remains of an ancient Roman resort town that was destroyed in A.D. 79. in the same eruption that devastated its more famous neighbors, Pompeii and Herculaneum. Little of the town itself has been excavated, but some of the elegant villae di otium (pleasure residences) were uncovered in the 18th century; much of the art that was found is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Further excavations in the 1950s uncovered more artifacts that were left in situ. A superb example of an ancient Roman patrician villa, the Villa di Arianna, Via Piana di Varano (from town, take Viale Europa and turn left onto SS 366 toward Gragnano, and then immediately left again onto Via Piana di Varano), takes its name from a painting found inside: a beautiful fresco depicting the mythological Ariadne as she is discovered sleeping by Dyonisius. After the visit of Stabia return back to the hotel/pier.