Here in 450 plates--50 in full color--is the life and art of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, the ancient Roman towns buried by a catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius for more than sixteen centuries until their discovery and excavation. This volume brings together more than 300 murals, sculptures, and artifacts recovered from the ashes and ultimately housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and the Pompeii Antiquarium.