Photo of the Day 422

Ruins, Pompeii, Italy, 1984

Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta

The overgrown ruins of Pompeii stretch into the horizon, providing a glimpse into the flourishing urban life of its citizens before the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano has erupted 80 times since unleashing colossal destruction in A.D. 79 but has remained mercifully quiet since 1944.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Dead Do Tell Tales at Vesuvius," May 1984, National Geographic magazine)