00:00Pompeii was home to between 10,000 and 20,000 people.
00:08A beautiful location in the Gulf of Naples on the Mediterranean,
00:12and an ideal climate.
00:14The soil was fertile at the foot of the Vesuvius.
00:23But no one knew what was about to happen.
00:30And we are just arriving to one of the most moving places of Pompeii,
00:34known as the Garden of the Fugitives.
00:40In this garden, you can see casts of people who died,
00:43trying to escape the volcano's wrath.
00:49During excavations, archaeologists often find voids left by decomposed bodies.
00:54These voids are preserved in the solidified volcanic ash and pumice
00:58that buried the city.
01:06It all started with the ground shaking in the early morning.
01:10And, around noon, a huge column of gas, ash and molten rock
01:15shot up from the Vesuvius.
01:17Try to imagine this.
01:23Airplanes today reach an altitude of 10 kilometers,
01:27but the eruption of this volcano reach 30 kilometers high.
01:33Palm stones rained over Pompeii.
01:35Many residents fled the city.
01:39Others looked for shelter in their homes.
01:44The stones were small and light, but they left a huge mess behind.
01:50And things were getting worse.
01:51People couldn't open the doors.
01:53The roofs were collapsing, and the houses became a trap.
01:56The next day, the final blow came.
01:59Toxic clouds of gas and ash, known as pyroclastic flows,
02:03swept over the city.
02:05They reached temperatures estimated to be over 300 degrees Celsius,
02:09suffocating anyone still alive.
02:11Nearly a 20-hour nightmare.
02:17After that, all that was left was a desert of ashes, rocks and mud.
02:23Pompeii fell into oblivion.
02:26For 1,700 years, the city lay dormant under several layers of earth.
02:36Pompeii was rediscovered in the 18th century,
02:39and now attracts millions of visitors a year.
02:43Around 13,000 rooms have been excavated.
02:47But a third of the city has still not been uncovered.
02:51The streets alone tell a lot of stories.
02:58And look at this.
03:00Even the trolleys left some hints.
03:03The carts left a dent,
03:04but people walked on the stones to avoid the water and waste below.
03:10Most houses didn't have stops.
03:12People typically bought food outside.
03:16Here there were no tables or chairs,
03:18so this place was kind of an ancient takeaway.
03:22People brought their dishes and just ate on the sidewalk.
03:25Of course, the rich citizens didn't need to do that.
03:34They dined in their villas.
03:36One of the most magnificent is the house of the Vetti brothers.
03:39So we are at one of the largest houses in Pompeii.
03:46And there is a really particular story.
03:48Because the brothers here, the owners, they were rich.
03:51But before that, they were slaves.
03:53And one day they were set free,
03:55they started trading and became rich.
03:56The Vetti brothers decorated their villa with many works of art and murals.
04:03They wanted to show off their new status as free, wealthy citizens.
04:08Our last stop is the Pompeii Forum.
04:11It was the center of the city 2000 years ago.
04:20Temples and administrative buildings lined the square.
04:24And there was also a market.
04:26The Forum was and is the place to be.
04:31So that was all for today.
04:33Would you like to visit?
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