Travel Guide Herculanum - Ercolano

Smaller and less visited than Pompeii, but no less interesting, Herculaneum, founded by the Italics in the 6th century B.C., passed successively under Greek, Samnite and finally Roman domination from 290 B.C. Buried under 20 meters of volcanic deposits following the eruption of Vesuvius, its memory was lost and the modern city of Resina (renamed Ercolano in 1969) settled on the surface, unaware of the archaeological treasure that hid beneath its feet. Following occasional discoveries, excavations are finally organized from 1738. Today, a part of the ancient city still remains buried under the modern dwellings that stand directly above the archaeological site.Herculaneum is the best preserved of the cities buried by the eruption. The exceptional quality of preservation of its thermal baths and various houses makes a visit to it a must. Some houses have kept their floor and even their roof, which allows to have a precise idea of the volumes and the building techniques of the time. Rarely, organic materials such as wood or papyrus have been preserved. It is besides in the vicinity that the Villa of the Papyri was brought to light, rich of a library of approximately 1 800 papyrus rolls. These have come down to us because they were buried for nearly 2,000 years. The modern city is of no particular interest.