Visit the Ercolano archaelogical site

The ancient Ercolano, just as Pompeii, experienced the fury of the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 aD, and ended up covered in mud and lava that froze it in time.

Nowadays, the Ercolano Archaeological site allows people to walk around the frozen ancient city.

According to legend, Ercolano was founded by Hercules, but it was probably founded, just as Pompeii, by the Oscans in the 12th century and eventually conquered first by the Greeks and then by the Samnites. Under the Roman dominion the city was redesigned adding more buildings, such as thermal baths and gyms, before ending up destroyed by the eruption.

The pyroclastic flows that covered Ercolano got to every corner of the city and, once the dust cooled down, the buildings and the materials were perfectly preserved.

Nowadays, the Ercolano archaeological site is in Corso Resina, Ercolano, and you can get there by car driving along the A3 highway and taking the exit signposted Ercolano, then following the directions to the site. You can park your car at the site car park (fee-paying) in via Pignalver.

To reach the site by train, you can take either the Napoli-Salerno (or vice versa) regional train that stops at Portici-Ercolano, or the Circumvesuviana train towards Sorrento (or Poggiomarino) that leaves from Piazza Garibaldi in Napoli and stops at Ercolano Scavi. From this train station walk towards the sea for about 1 km and you will reach the site.

Alternatively, you can take the EAV Napoli-Sorrento bus that leaves from piazza Garibaldi in Napoli and stops at Ercolano Scavi.

The area of the Ercolano archaeological site that people can visit is divided in different zones named insulae, where people can walk among the ancient villas and houses, such as the Villa dei papiri (Papyri Villa), where archaeologists found several marble and bronze statues and more than 1700 Greek and Latin papyri.

Exploring the zona pubblica (public area) you can visit the Basilica Noniana (Nonio Church), the square named after Marco Nonio Balbo, the suburban thermal baths and the Foro thermal baths, the Roman gym and the theatre. There are also several temples and shops.

Recently, on the antica spiaggia (ancient beach) side, archaeologists found some beach equipment and bodies, maybe citizens trying to leave the city during the eruption.

Among all the things preserved by the pyroclastic flows, the objects and the materials of the ancient Ercolano are particularly important. In fact, the site offers a great and unique collection of wooden furniture, such as wardrobes and beds finely renovated, jewels and coins, found on the victims’ bodies.