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Pompeii: Rebirth of Italy’s dead city that nearly died again

The Mt. Vesuvius volcano towers over the remains of the ancient town of Pompeii in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Visitors walk past the casts of some of the victims of the 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius eruption on display at the Pompeii archaeological museums in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement, and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Clouds gather over the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) The 'Leda and the swan' fresco is seen on a wall at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) The 'Leda and the swan' fresco is seen on a wall at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) The director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Pompeii archaeological site, in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Tourists walk past a thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A thermopolium, a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food, is seen inside the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Tourists walk inside the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A restorer performs deep consolidation of an unearthed wall at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A plastic bag contains tiles from a floor mosaic inside the 'House of the library' at the Pompeii archaeological site, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A black and white floor mosaic shows the image of a guard dog and a script in Latin, "Watch the dog", inside the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement, and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A damaged mosaic is seen inside the 'House of the library' at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A fresco depicting a poet is seen in the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A fresco is seen inside the kitchen of a house at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Excavations are carried out inside the 'House of the library' at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A statue of a Faunus is seen inside a house at the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Tourists walk inside the Pompeii archaeological site in southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In a few horrible hours, Pompeii went from being a vibrant city to a dead one, smothered by a furious volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Then in this century, Pompeii appeared alarmingly on the precipice of a second death, assailed by decades of neglect, mismanagement and scanty systematic maintenance of heavily visited ruins. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)