Pompeii was a fairly wealthy Roman city; the sort of place you might have a summer villa, until the eruption of the volcano on Mount Vesuvius on the 24th of August in 79 C.E. poured lava and ash on the city, burying the city, and the fleeing inhabitants, until it was rediscovered in 1738, and sort of excavated (really, exploited) in the nineteenth century. Recently, the government has been forced to close large sections of the ruins to tourists, and there is insufficient funding to maintain the current excavations, never mind engaging in more.

A fair number of artifacts and frescos, from Pompeii are currently in the Naples National Archaeological museum. The Pompeii exhibit includes plaster casts of those killed as they attempted to flee. Three villas in particular have been excavated, and documented: The House of the Faun, the House of the Vettii, and the Villa of the Mysteries, all of them primarily famous for their frescos.

Pompeii is, like Herculaneum, finally getting a little respect from the Italian government after years of dedicated, formal neglect. Google has included the ruins in their Google Street View; it's pretty nifty. You have a 360 degree view, and get to "walk around" virtually. Check it out here:

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