This tour includes English-speaking driver and Air-conditioned Mercedes at your disposal for 8 hours - Local English-speaking guide for 2 hours in Herculaneum - Entrance fees of Herculaneum and Mt Vesuvius
A great private tour at the discovery of two of the most famous sites in the world, Herculaneum and Mt Vesuvius.
An English-speaking driver with a Mercedes vehicle will meet You dockside by your cruise or by your accommodation. Then, you will be transferred to the ruins of Herculaneum where a professional English-speaking guide will wait for your arrival.
At Herculaneum - entrance fee is included - you'll enjoy a great 2-hour tour (private excursion only for you) that will bring to life the remains of this ancient town.
The eruption of August 24, 79 d. C. that buried Pompeii under a rain of ash and lapilli stones , seemed at first to save Herculaneum, small residential town of the coast with roughly 7000 inhabitants.
However, when the danger seemed gone, the huge mass of material erupted from Vesuvius, dragged by water, poured from the crater over the city. This huge amount of mud washed away men and things towards the marina; therefore this explains the lack of skeletons in the houses: in the eighties of the last century some them discovered on the ancient shoreline.
No ash and pumice stones as in Pompeii , but a blanket of mud later solidified , aged 12 to 20 meters high , covered Herculaneum and had to pass many centuries before it began by chance the rediscovery of the city .
The story of Herculaneum is emblematic even more than Pompeii’one, for various events and for the enthusiasm aroused , but also for the uncontrolled plundering the early explorers did. The diggers made long tunnels in the bowels of the city because they were attracted only by the Roman statues, the paintings, the most luxurious furnishings, but they did not care anything for the buildings. This practice was inaugurated in the early eighteenth century by the Prince of Elboeuf , he found, during the excavation of a well in park of his villa, the walls of the stage of the theatre of Herculaneum. Bourbon archaeologists continued to dig in this way by the will of Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, in order to enrich the collection of the Kingdom of Naples, now part of the Archaeological Museum of Naples . In the nineteenth century they continued to dig creating tunnels into the hardened mud, until 1927, when under fascism, Amedeo Maiuri began to bring to light the Roman buildings in a more scientific way. The solidified mud, under which Herculaneum has been preserved for 1,600 years or so, has made sure that perishable materials (such as wood , ropes and papyrus) were preserved in excellent condition while in Pompeii these finds are very rare.
After an in-depth tour of the ruins of the ancient Herculaneum, You'll drive up to the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. At present, it is inactive and it has been studied for long. It is approximately 1,100 metres in height, and it lies a few kilometres from Naples and easily accessible by motorway. For centuries covered in wood, with an abundant supply of wild game, it had a famous eruption in 79 A.C: which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. The great scholar Pliny the Elder who came by ship from Baia to visit the volcano strata, died on the beach, killed by harmful eruption fumes.
On the top of Mt Vesuvius the Vesuvian Observatory is located, built in 1841, and it operates still now.
Since the eruption in 79 A.D., Mt Vesuvius has erupted at least 30 more times. The most recent eruption was in 1944. What redeems this menacing presence is that you can enjoy a spectacular view from the crater: a landscape that embraces the urban expanse and the beautiful little islands all around in the distance.
After that, Your driver will take you back to the port or to your accommodation.
THIS TOUR WILL OPERATE RAIN OR SHINE, SO BE PREPARED FOR ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS.
