Stabiae

Stabiae was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii [1]. Like Pompeii, and being only 16 km from Mount Vesuvius, it was largely buried by tephra ash in the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in this case at a shallower depth of up to 5 m [1]. Stabiae is most famous for the Roman villas found near the ancient city which are regarded as some of the most stunning architectural and artistic remains from any Roman villas [1]. The villas were sited on a 50 m high headland overlooking the Gulf of Naples [1]. The settlement at Stabiae arose from as early as the 7th century BC due to the favourable climate and its strategic and commercial significance as evocatively documented by materials found in the vast necropolis discovered in 1957 on via Madonna delle Grazie [1]. Stabiae had a small port which by the 6th century BC had already been overshadowed by the much larger port at Pompeii [1]. The archaeological remains at Stabiae were originally discovered in 1749 by Cavaliere Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre [1].