Archaeological Park of Herculaneum

The mission of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum combines together research, preservation, and transmission to the present public and future generations of Herculaneum's cultural values. Its cultural heritage includes both the very rich tangible assets and the intangible assets represented by the historical-archaeological knowledge about the ancient Roman city and the identity that Herculaneum assumed after its discovery, starting in 1738, in the social and cultural context of the modern and contemporary age. The absolute exceptionality of the site has also been recognized worldwide by UNESCO, in whose lists it has been included since 1997. To support the optimal management of this marvelous heritage at Herculaneum, an exemplary case of public-private interaction has been active since 2001, thanks to the valuable presence of the Packard Foundation, an American philanthropic entity chaired by David Packard, which has not only financed important restoration work and extensive campaigns of in-depth studies, but has also established on the site the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a team of professionals, in the majority Italian by the express will of the patron, together with whom a path virtuoso aimed at the conservation and enhancement of the site. The tour routes tell the life and last hours of a luxurious town in the shadow of Vesuvius, consigned to history by the eruption of 79 AD. The streets, houses, public spaces, wellness and baths, workshops and artisan activities, and the sacred are just a few of the themes that are clearly perceived, in a visit that is connoted by the peculiarity of offering an intimate and collected dimension of an exceptional experience.