Siragusa Tours

Description

This tour will explore the majestic ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii and the surrounding area, which were buried under volcanic ash and pumice from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. This tragic event for those who lived and worked in Pompeii was recorded in the works of Pliny the Younger but was then lost. Rediscovered and continuously excavated since 1592, Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pompeii has provided a wealth of source material and evidence, giving unique and personal details of the lives of the Pompeiians and, more broadly, the Romans. Any publication on the Roman Empire will feature aspects of Pompeii, so it will often feel very familiar.

Pompeii is small in terms of urban area, but as there is a profusion of detail, this tour will take a thematic approach to the ruins, which will mean a great deal of walking. We will look at the political hearth of Pompeii, exploring the forum, religious structures, buildings of entertainment, baths, private dwellings of the well-to-do and the shops & workshops of the non-elite. We will also look at burial and reputations. Of course, no trip to Pompeii could be complete without a stop and visit to the so-called ‘Lupanare’, reputedly the only preserved purpose-built brothel from the Ancient World.

Pompeii is impressive in terms of surviving remains, but it is Herculaneum that is extraordinary in terms of the preservation of wood and other organic-based materials such as roofs, doors, beds and even food. We will spend a day examining this other unique site that has also been preserved due to the tragedy of AD79.

Pompeii and Herculaneum were urban sites, but they were intimately linked to the rural landscape. We will look at the Villa of the Mysteries, just outside the Herculaneum Gate of Pompeii. We will spend a morning looking at contrasting villae, the luxurious Villa Poppaea, Oplontis, a villa maritima, and the Villa Regina, a villa rustica, and its museum, leaving the afternoon free for you to explore the modern town of Pompei. As well as exploring the local shops you might consider the beautiful late-19th-century Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei with its vaulted ceilings covered with opulent artwork.

We will end the tour at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which houses artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The museum also contains many fine examples of Roman sculpture and Roman copies of Greek originals and the ‘Gabinetto Segreto’, Secret Cabinet, the Bourbon Monarchy’s collection of erotic art taken from the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Other Details

Accommodation

Centrally located Hotel Forum**** in Pompeii.
An elegant 4 star hotel just across the road from the entrance into the archaeological site of Pompeii and close to the town centre of Pompei with its attractive squares and cathedral.

Course Cost

£885, including tuition, airport transfers (only available for the Siragusa Tours nominated flight), visits to Herculaneum, villas Poppaea and Regina, and Naples, and a half-board tariff (4 dinners only, days 2, 3, 4 & 5) in a twin-share room with private facilities. Flights and entrance fees are excluded.

Single Room Supplement

£240

Flight

Once the tour is viable, we will contact you with details of the ‘nominated flight’ and entrance fees for the sites we shall be visiting. The tutor and/or LRAC assistant will be booked on this flight. You should then make your own flight arrangements.

Travel Insurance

Once the tour is viable and flights are booked, please make sure to book travel insurance as well.

Local Transport

Airport transfers (if booked on the nominated flight) and visits to Naples by minibus. Transfer to Herculaneum and the villas Poppaea and Regina by minibus.

Tutor

Dr Ardle Mac Mahon is a long-standing Associate Lecture in Classical Studies with the Open University. He has a primary degree and research master’s degree in Greek & Roman Civilization from University College Dublin. He gained a PhD in Roman Archaeology from the University of Durham. The topic of his thesis was on the retail establishments (tabernae) of Roman Britain. His research has broadened to include the examination of the shops and workshops of the rest of the Roman empire but with a particular focus on Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ostia. More broadly, Ardle’s interests are in the social history of the non-elite.

Ardle has taught every module offered by the Open University in Classical Studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels over the years and currently teaches A111: Discovering the Arts and Humanities, A229: Exploring the Classical World, and A340: The Roman Empire. He has also been a Teaching Associate in Roman Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Nottingham, and lectured in the Department of Classical at Royal Holloway, University of London.

 

Related OU Courses 

A229 – Exploring the Classical World; A340 – The Roman Empire; A350 – Greek and Roman Myth: stories and histories; A868 – MA Classical Studies: Part 1, A869 – MA Classical Studies: Part 2 &
General Interest

Group Size 

20

 

Itinerary / Study Programme

Day 1, Wednesday, 5 November 2025

Arrival in Naples and transfer to Hotel Forum **** in Pompei (dinner not included as we will be arriving late in the evening)

Day 2, Thursday, 6 November 2025

Pompeii
AM Amphitheatre/Theatre
PM Forum

Day 3, Friday, 7 November 2025

Pompeii
AM Temples and Religion
PM Houses of the elite, shops, workshops, ‘lupanare’ and life in Pompeii, tombs & Villa of the Mysteries

Day 4, Saturday, 8 November 2025

Herculaneum
AM & PM Herculaneum site

Day 5, Sunday, 9 November 2025

Boscoreale
AM villas Poppaea and Regina and its museum
PM Free time in modern Pompeii

Day 6, Monday, 10 November 2025

Naples
AM & PM Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli until it is time to drive to the airport.

 

This itinerary and study programmes are provisional and may be subject to change in response to local conditions.