Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius, Pompeii, Italy, 2nd century BC-79 AD — The civic center of Pompeii was dominated by the Temple of Jupiter at its north end, with the brooding cone of Vesuvius visible beyond — an irony invisible to the Romans who had no concept that this gentle mountain was a volcano. The forum's marble paving stones still bear the ruts of cart wheels.
© Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
