Naples and Pompei | Tours

(duration of this tour: 10 hours)

This tour will start with us picking you up at your hotel and than having a lovely drive down from the region of Lazio into Campania passing many beautiful areas of Italy. We will be able to see the alluring Apennine Mountain range, and the monastery of Cassino where the decisive battle of World War II took place. From here the spectacular volcano of Mount Vesuvius made famous by its tragic eruption of 79 A.D. will appear into view. Campania is a place that was loved by the ancients due to its mild climate and fertile soil. It has been inhabited since pre-history by people from all walks of life.

NAPLES

This is an intriguing city that has an amazing combination of different cultures that has created its weird and wonderful aura. Because of this it is considered to be the southern cradle of Italian history and art. During the 16th century many great noble families built palaces and numerous astonishing buildings. It is one of the few urban cities that can boast that is has four castles in its center. We will take you to visit some of these remarkable places like the Palace of Capodimonte from the early 18th century that houses a collection of mainly Renaissance and Baroque Italian painting. It also has inside a vast park, with avenues full of numerous century-old trees.

The long red southern facade of the Royal Palace has a fantastic view overlooking the Bay of Naples.

Also we will have a stopover at the Basilica of S. Francesco of Paola which is reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome, having a façade fronted by a columned portico and circular in shape with a dome to top it off. You can see the theater of San Carlo, a well loved opera house in Naples, which is the oldest still active in Europe. And directly across from the theater is the Umberto Gallery that was built to stimulate commerce and to be a symbol of a city reborn by wiping out a series of infamous alleyways.

The architecture has an aesthetic fusion of the industrial glass and metal of the upper part and the masonry below with a pavement of marble that has a circular decoration representing the signs of the zodiac and a compass. It still contains numerous cafes, businesses, book and record shops, and many fashionable stores. Naples also houses the National Archeological Museum that houses the most precious artifacts found in Pompeii and some of the other surrounding towns destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

A last stop will be the Posillipo, one of the hills that were incorporated during the expansion of the city after World War II. It has splendid views due to its yellow tufa walls that rise steep from the sea and then slopes down gradually to the city, so that it offers a fascinating combination of multiple panoramic vistas over the coast, which has always attracted famous nobility and people alike to build their villas or to be inspired by the landscape. Naples is a fascinating city with a combination of art and architecture as well as breath-taking views of the Bay Of Naples with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background.

POMPEI

Entering into the mystical city of Pompei is like taking a step back into time. This extraordinary place was frozen in time when the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius took place in 79 A.D. This city was the playground for wealthy Romans and rich merchants alike. Because of its disastrous end, you can feel a part of Roman life walking through its streets. Here is a place where you can experience firsthand how the people in ancient times lived and played. You will be able to walk through houses seeing mosaic floors and paintings on the wall still in their original state, as well as brothels with the most detailed fresco painting on the walls.

You can visit the bakery and look at the way the grain was ground down and baked to produce bread stopping by the forum to have a chat with some friends on your way to one of the bathhouses. After a good clean you might want to check out the theaters to see if there is a good show on. Along the way you might run into some of the local Pompeians who you can still grasp at in their plaster casts. This is one of the most amazing experiences you will have. There is no place in the world like it.