* According to legend, Herculaneum was founded by Hercules himself, and according to history, the first settlements on the territory of the city belonged to the Oscans, later fell under the rule of the Greeks. From about 89 BC, the life of Herculaneum was in full swing, where the people were free and received the Roman right to self-government. The townspeople were engaged in crafts and created art objects for other cities. In 79 A.D., during the powerful eruption of Mount Vesuvius, volcanic lava filled all the empty spaces evenly and geometrically, and this helped preserve buildings, furniture, papyrus scrolls, and even food. At the beginning of the 18th century, a local resident Ambrogio Nucerino was digging a well and came across the ruins of an ancient city. After learning about the discovery, the Duke of Lorraine bought the territory and organized excavations. The workers filled the tunnels for 9 months. During the work, statues were found that turned out to be part of the Herculaneum Theater, which is dominated by Greek architecture. Herculaneum ceased to exist, as did Pompeii and Stabia, but Herculaneum was buried under a layer of pyroclastic flows, unlike Pompeii. Nations changed, time passed, wars and conquests, eruptions and earthquakes, the rise and fall of entire empires. Already today, each of us can appreciate the most valuable finds, for example, marble and bronze statues, a papyrus villa or a scroll library, the house of Aristides, the house of Argus, a house with a "skeleton", a house with a mosaic atrium, thermal baths, a mosaic depicting Neptune and Amphitrite, and many other artifacts. All this with an interesting history and finds on a guided tour of the excavations of Herculaneum. Unlike Pompeii, of course, Herculaneum is not so huge, but 20 HECTARES of treasures and riddles contain very interesting secrets. April 1 — October 31 opening hours 08:30-19:30 (last entry time 18:00). November 1 — October 31 opening hours 08:30-17:00 (last entry time 15:30).