Written by 
A woman wearing an ornate golden bracelet holds a four-year-old child tenderly in her lap. The father and their son sit nearby. It’s the year 79, and the family is huddling under the staircase of their lavish three-story home in Pompeii, preparing for their last moments together. On the second day of the eruption […]
It is a tragic moment, frozen in time: a family of four shelters beneath a staircase as ash and pumice rains down on Pompeii. But scientists studying DNA of the victims say this famous scene is not what it seems: the “mother” of the group is actually a man. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, […]
A drawing on the walls of the tiny house unearthed in the Campania region of Italy, close to Naples. (photo credit -Archaeological Park of Pompeii) Archaeologists in Italy have discovered intricate artwork inside a small Pompeii house, buried in ash and debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago. The Pompeii Archaeological […]
When the Mediterranean makes its first appearance, it’s through chilly sheets of rain. I spot the not-very-blue waters between the buildings of Marseille as my train from Paris pulls in. By the time we reach Nice the skies are still grey and I’m starting to wonder how far south I’ll have to go before I […]
A tiny house featuring erotic frescoes is the latest discovery in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Experts say the exquisitely decorated abode, called the House of Phaedra after the mythological queen of Athens, sheds light on the changing architectural styles in the first century AD but is also further proof that […]