Herculaneum: visit one of Italy’s best-kept secrets

We all know about the ruins of Pompeii, the town in Italy which was buried under lava by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, but you’ve probably never heard of its sister, Herculaneum. This roman town in Naples, which is now subsumed by the modern Italian city of Ercolano, was destroyed by the volcano almost as much as Pompeii was, but preserves some wonderful and curious treasures that its more famous neighbour doesn’t.

The town of Herculaneum wasn’t destroyed until a couple of days after Pompeii, so its citizens had more time to flee their doomed home, although there are still bodies and skeletons in Herculaneum of people who didn’t manage to get away. The 60 feet of volcanic ash that covered Herculaneum helped to preserve some incredible Roman artefacts, including frescoes, mosaics and other priceless historical sites, for which some believe Herculaneum is actually better to visit than Pompeii.

Herculaneum was discovered in 1738 although archaeological research on the site still continues to this day. From 1752 to 1754, explorers unearthed what is possibly the greatest treasure in Herculaneum: the Villa dei Papyri. This villa was used as a library and housed hundreds of original roman papyrus scrolls which are now held in the National Library in Naples, Oxford’s Bodleian Library and various other places. Those visitors to Herculaneum who are familiar with the Getty Villa in L.A. will see the resemblance, as it was based on designs for the Villa dei Papyri. Other typical things to see in Herculaneum include the Roman baths and the dock or quay where people tried to escape by boat, called fornici in Italian.

Everything you need to know about visiting Herculaneum

It takes just a few hours to visit the ruins of Herculaneum, with most visitors spending 2 to 3 hours here. There are several local companies that offer tours of Herculaneum, which you can pre-book online or when you get there. Herculaneum is just 20 minutes away from Pompeii by car, and 40 minutes on public transport. To get to Herculaneum from Sorrento, you can drive along the SS145 then take the SS18 along the coast, or take the train towards Napoli Porta Nolana but get off at the stop Ercolano Scavi, which takes about 40 minutes.

Herculano tem muitos tesouros escondidos / ell brown/ Flickr

You can buy tickets online on the Herculaneum official site. Adult tickets cost 17 euro while the entrance fee for children seventeen-years-old or younger is 3 euro. If you go to Herculaneum with children, be sure to visit the MAV (Virtual Archaeological Museum) and experience its interactive exhibition that gives a virtual reality recreation of what the town was like before it was destroyed. Tickets to visit the museum must be bought separately from tickets for the archaeological site.

If you’re thinking of visiting the south of Italy and Pompeii, why not have a look at Herculaneum instead, a lesser-known tourist attraction and a really unusual place to visit in Italy!

• Website: www.visitpompeiivesuvius.com
• Entrance fee: adults, 17 euro; children, 3 euro
• Opening hours: everyday, 8:30-17:00 from November to March; 8:30-19:30 from April to October. Last admission is 90 minutes before closing time.