The city has ancient origins as Rome, in fact the first settlements date back as far as the 7th century BC. Since then Pompeii, despite the many wars and political vicissitudes experienced over the centuries, had a continuous and constant development, interrupted only by the terrible earthquake of 62 AD and subsequently from the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which with an immense rain of ashes and lapilli buried Pompeii under more than six meters of debris. The ruins were discovered accidentally by the architect D. Fontana, during work between 1554 and 1600 but excavations began only in 1748, during the reign of Charles of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies. Today Pompeii is one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world and the excavations begun in the 18th century continue.

It was founded in the 4th century by shipwrecked sailors from a previous Roman expedition to Constantinople. Legend has it that the city takes its name from Amalfi, a nymph loved by Hercules and buried on these beaches at the behest of the gods. From the ninth century, first (in chronological order) among the maritime republics, it competed with Pisa, Venice and Genoa to control the Mediterranean Sea. Do not miss the Cathedral of Amalfi (monumental complex erected in the 9th century), the Arsenals (where very modern merchant and war ships were built) and the Paper Museum (where techniques imported from Arab countries were perfected).