In 62 A.D. a violent earthquake struck the Vesuvius area. Seventeen years later, on August 24, 79 A.D., the sudden eruption of Vesuvius buried Pompeii with ashes and lapillus. The buried city was rediscovered in the 16th Century, but it was only in 1748 that the exploration phase began. Located under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, Naples is the most vibrant, steaming, bubbling reverberating city in Italy, in which each block is a small village and everything seems to be a backstage for an opera not yet composed. The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is not merely one of the most remarkable collections of ancient exhibits in the world; its galleries house historical collections which can justly claim to be a cornerstone of Italian cultural history. These include the wealth of gems and sculptures inherited by the Bourbons from the Farnese collections; the treasures from Herculaneum and Pompeii, a unique heritage of frescoes, sculptures, ornaments and everyday objects.