Still raining but I took my brolly and traveled to the other casualty of the mighty eruption of AD79, the little fishing port of Herculaneum. It wasn't rain that poured onto the town in 79, but millions of tons of boiling mud, which sealed the city in a flash, preserving buildings, furniture and even wall paintings, keeping them secret from the world until rediscovered in the 18th Century.

Before the mud hot, the people who hadn't evacuated after the first eruption were hit by a Pyroclastic flow from the Volcano, consisting of a wall of superheated gas, around 500 degrees Centigrade, providing instant cremation for the unlucky victims. The event was so quick that wood, brick and even bones were preserved having had all the moisture blown from them. The buildings are in a pretty good condition and it is easy to imagine the hustle and bustle of the inns and taverns along the main street. I would guess it looked pretty much as the centre of Naples does today. The only difference being the TV in the front room.

Around 3 million people still live on the slopes of the mountain. It must be like living in front of a loaded gun. The Volcano is not spent, it merely sleeps, and another eruption is long overdue.