LIFE BEFORE THE CATASTROPHE

Pre-eruption Pompeii was a busy and affluent place to live, and where new building projects were transforming the local landscape

- NIGE TASSELL

Although founded around the sixth or fifth century BC - and despite its relative proximity to Rome - the town of Pompeii didn't actually come under Roman rule until 89 BC, when it was attacked by the general Sulla. Within a decade it had become an official colony, its assimilation into Roman ways undoubtedly accelerated by Sulla placing thousands of his war veterans, plus their families, in the town. Latin soon became the main language, while political institutions were remodelled along Roman lines.

A Pompeii became an important port, with goods landing there before travelling north by road to Rome. With its narrow streets, innumerable traders and crowded taverns (not to mention the ready availability of prostitutes), Pompeii was a bustling, vibrant place and an affluent one, too. Its location on the Bay of Naples attracted many rich residents, with villas of significant size dotting the landscape beyond the town limits. Many were the second homes of notable persons from Rome who chose to holiday in the agreeable surroundings of the Campania region. Those who sought to settle in, or frequently visit, Pompeii were also attracted by the town being a strong cultural centre, with its numerous other open-air theatres hosting drama and its amphitheatre offering more visceral, bloodthirsty fare.

ELITE CONNECTIONS