The vast majority of the buildings visible at Pompeii today are from the Roman period, but some earlier features remain. The nucleus of the city in the 6th century B.C.E. was situated on a plateau overlooking the Sarno River at the southwest corner of what became the final “version” of Pompeii, and was organized around sanctuaries dedicated to Apollo and Minerva (or possibly Hercules). This early city had walls and a roughly grid-shaped street plan.
As Pompeii grew in size and population, the city walls were expanded, with gates at the ends of major roads. Slowly, the largely agricultural land inside the walls was built over with homes, places of production, markets, and other urban amenities. The east-west streets (known today by their modern names via della Fortuna, via di Nola, via dell’Abbondanza) and north-south ones (via Stabiana, via di Mercurio) formed the basis for the creation of insulae (city blocks), most of which are generally rectangular and contained a mix of domestic, commercial, and industrial buildings.

THE FORUM AD THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO

The Forum is the beating heart of the city, economic ,cultural and religious centre, political Agora of the debates that inflamed the population.

During the second century a.D. the Forum was expanded: the traditional flooring made in tuff was replaced by travertine, widely used today, the square was enriched with numerous workshops and public buildings.

In the middle stands the temple of Apollo, one of the oldest religious buildings of Pompeii. This place is worshiped different gods such as Apollo and Mercury. The statuettes found are now at the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

HOUSE OF THE FAUN

It is located not far from the Forum, in Via della Fortuna. This ancient Roman villa occupies inside the archaeological site about 3000 square meters, and it is one of the oldest and majestic city buildings.

It owes its name to the Faun, Roman god of woods and nature: his small bronze statue is located in the atrium at the center of the impluvium.

Surrounded by huge gardens, the hotel is characterized by more entrances. The right door introduces to environments of personal use: bathrooms, stables, baths and kitchen. The door opened to the left instead of sector representation. The floors are covered with mosaics and decorations date back to the Pompeian style.

The center of the house was decorated with a mosaic depicting the victory of Alexander the Great against Darius, king of Persia, currently on display at the museum in Naples. Small curiosity: it is thought that the villa had belonged to the grandson of the tyrant Silla.

THE AMPHITHEATRE

It is the oldest stone building ever found, dating back to 80 BC, was the scene of bloody battles between gladiators and has a capacity of 20,000 spectators, you can easily reach it from the hole into Via dell’Abbondanza.

The arena was accessed through a tunnel, the crypt is connected to four inputs. Unlike other Roman amphitheatres the Pompeian one has not underground, at the top are visible the holes used to support the roof of the arena in order to protect the spectators from the sun when it was too hot and from the rain.

if you have the opportunity to stay until sunset, Via dell’Abbondanza is a very surreal scenery for a walk. It gives you the sensation of being suspended time between dream and reality.