Amalfi Coast visitors, particularly those based in Sorrento, frequently make a detour to Pompeii, the city that stopped breathing when Mount Vesuvius suddenly buried it in 30 feet of ash one summer’s day in the year 79. But Pompeii was not the volcano’s only victim. The port of Herculaneum became an instant time capsule the same day. Both sites are open to the public and both are stops on the Circumvesuviana train line connecting Sorrento to Naples.

Once a city of 20,000, Pompeii is by far the more famous of these two archaeological wonders and much vaster. Its ruined streets seem to spread out forever from the grand forum, past noble villas, government offices, restaurants, shops, marketplaces and public baths to a neighborhood of brothels, congested these days with tour groups. Herculaneum (Ercolano), once a port of 4,000 residents, is a mere microcosm of Pompeii, but it is far better preserved, more easily accessible and remarkably less crowded. Sealed 60 feet deep in ash until excavations began in 1748, Herculaneum contains blocks of villas, boarding houses, taverns, columns, boat sheds and a bathhouse; but what sets this volcanic showpiece apart is its multitude of frescoes and paintings, providing a peek at Roman life 20 centuries past. Visitors to the ruins should note that many of Pompeii’s artifacts are displayed in the Archaeological Museum in Naples and that Vesuvius is Europe’s only active volcano, last erupting in 1944.