Still recovering from a violent earthquake 17 years earlier, Pompeii was destroyed by a pyroclastic blast when vesuvius erupted in 79AD.
Half an hour on the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento is Pompeii Scavia Villa Dei Mistere station.
From here it is a 200m walk to the entrance of Pompeii.
Passing stalls and a Caffe.
The merchant town was deluged with lapilli or pumice stone before it was buried under volcanic ash.
Most of the inhabitants were probably killed by poisonous gasses released from the pumice stones.
At the back of the Forum there are storage areas with plaster casts of the human remains and numerous pots and domestic items.
Pompeii lies on the banks of the River Sarno, some 8km from the slopes of Vesuvius.
All images © Ian Foster / fozimage