Vesuvio’s eruption in 79 A. D. has been a real luck for archaeologists: the horrible flow of ashes and lapilli which killed in a few hours all the inhabitans, submerged one of the most important and sumptuous cities of that age, at the higest point of its economic and artistic development. It has treasured decorated villa as well as the holiday houses where the richest Romans used to relax outside the capital, thermal baths, amphitheatres, shops, little tools and objects from everyday life for almost almost 1700 years, hiding jealously all of them under the soil, motionless and outside the history.

Since its discovery, Pompei has become a must-see for tourists. First, it was a necessary step of the Grand Tour: European aristocratic and cultured first tourists were fascinated by the beauty and the sublime decay of the ruins. In XX century, when the archaeological excavations started again, the city has become a destination for mass tourism, particularly in the last decades: every year more than two millions visitors walk in the streets of this amazing and unique city-museum. The huge number of tourists, together with the insufficient servicing and the bad management of that place, are for the city a serious threat: thefts and collapses happen very often and Pompei, which survived the eruption, has to face new dangers.