NATURE WALKS AT POMPEII

The buried city of Pompeii has opened up new nature walks around its ancient walls. The 8.500 sqm green belt that links the archaeological site to the modern city of Pompei has been laid out as a woodland park, using the same varieties of plants and trees that would have been present in the time of the eruption, such as oaks, elms, plane trees, almonds, tamarisks and ilexes as well as appropriate flowering shrubs and plants with the intention of recreating a natural habitat for local birds and wildlife.

The trail leads from the Amphitheatre Gate, around the perimeter walls of the necropolis of Fondo Pacifico, through the recreated ancient lucus (Sacred Wood) and the Avenue of Almond Trees, to the Sannio Gate and back into the archaeological site at the Via dell'Abbondanza.

The Nature Trail is part of a tree planting project involving 7,000 native trees and shrubs, which have been introduced into the archaeological site over the past year and has involved not only the direction of the archaeological site but also local schools and social cooperatives assisting young people with difficulties, under the direction of the Arbolia Benefit Corporation, dedicated to creating new green areas in Italy and combatting global warming. The Pompeii project is the latest in a succession of 34 urban woodlands planted in 27 Italian towns and communities for a total of 75 million forest trees.

Info: www.arbolia.it