The history of the legendary city, literally unearthed from the dust. After the volcano explosion, a stream of lava devastated the town and buried thousands of locals under the river of melted minerals. Centuries later, their last moment was recovered by filling the gaps in petrified lava. Thus, we see the previous inhabitants of Pompei in the final moments of their lives. This work collected the excavation materials, historical documents, and mentions to compile an objective picture of the ancient city's life and arts.

Amagnificent collection of stylised reproductions of Pompeii's pictorial treasures by a leading antiquities photographer. The catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 - freeze-framing a ripe moment in time - bestowed upon posterity an incalculable heritage of art and knowledge in the miraculously well-preserved remains of the city of Pompeii. This volume of lush colour images taken by renowned photographer Araldo De Luca, takes readers inside the houses and into the secrets of one of the most charming sites of classical antiquity. Accompanying the photos, which are presented in a distinguished stylized format, are accessible texts that elucidate the daily life, the mythic and heroic imagination, and the religious customs and beliefs of the ancient Romans. AUTHORS: Antonella Magagnini, curator in Rome's Capitoline Museums, is a former professor at the University of Rome. Araldo De Luca is an eminent photographer with an archive of 60,000 images considered among the most highly prized in the world. His work has appeared in White Star's Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and other books. ILLUSTRATIONS: 95 colour photographs

Bibliography : p. 83.

WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2008 'The world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy' Laura Silverman, Daily Mail The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; or the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one; or the massive death count, maybe less than ten per cent of the population. An extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain's favourite classicist.

Pompeii's tragedy is our windfall: an ancient city fully preserved, its urban design and domestic styles speaking across the ages. This richly illustrated book conducts us through the captured wonders of Pompeii, evoking at every turn the life of the city as it was 2,000 years ago. When Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. its lava preserved not only the Pompeii of that time but a palimpsest of the city's history, visible traces of the different societies of Pompeii's past. Paul Zanker, a noted authority on Roman art and architecture, disentangles these tantalizing traces to show us the urban images that marked Pompeii's development from country town to Roman imperial city. Exploring Pompeii's public buildings, its streets and gathering places, we witness the impact of religious changes, the renovation of theaters and expansion of athletic facilities, and the influence of elite families on the city's appearance. Through these stages, Zanker adeptly conjures a sense of the political and social meanings in urban planning and public architecture. The private houses of Pompeii prove equally eloquent, their layout, decor, and architectural detail speaking volumes about the life, taste, and desires of their owners. At home or in public, at work or at ease, these Pompeians and their world come alive in Zanker's masterly rendering. A provocative and original reading of material culture, his work is an incomparable introduction to urban life in antiquity.

An assessment of the Bay of Naples as a popular vacation spot in ancient Rome evaluates the picturesque area as a villa site for numerous emperors and a retreat of choice for the artistic community, in a lavishly illustrated volume that features reproductions of period artwork.