PORTYL HERCULANEUM · AVAILABLE NOW
Herculaneum did not disappear. It was sealed.
Stand among two-story homes, shops and streets where wood, food, furniture and architecture survived in astonishing detail. PORTYL restores the living town around what remains.
NOT A SLIDESHOW. NOT A 360° VIDEO.
Here, preservation has height.
Herculaneum preserves something rare: a Roman town in three dimensions. PORTYL reconnects upper floors, decorated rooms, waterfront buildings and daily life with the exact places where they survived.
NOW / THEN
A Roman town preserved in three dimensions.
See beyond exposed walls to the complete spaces they once formed—inhabited, decorated and connected to a shoreline that lay much closer to the ancient town.
HERCULANEUM EXPERIENCES
Explore the town that time sealed.
Herculaneum is compact enough to feel personal. Each PORTYL experience reveals another layer of its waterfront, homes, public spaces and everyday commerce.
Ancient shoreline · PORTYL reconstructionThe Ancient Shoreline
Stand where the Bay of Naples once met the town and recover the waterfront buildings, boats and maritime life of ancient Herculaneum.
Sacred Area · PORTYL reconstructionThe Sacred Area
See the Sacred Area’s columns and covered spaces restored against the sea—a different perspective on Herculaneum’s waterfront.
Grande Taberna · PORTYL reconstructionGrande Taberna
Look beyond the surviving walls to a working food counter, vessels and people. PORTYL brings this corner of everyday Herculaneum back into view.
Pergola · PORTYL reconstructionPergola
Look through the doorway toward the sea. Restored walls, furnishings and figures reconnect the surviving space with its inhabited setting.
EXCEPTIONAL PRESERVATION · UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
Herculaneum is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Together with Pompeii and Torre Annunziata, Herculaneum preserves an unparalleled picture of Roman urban life at the moment of the eruption in 79 CE.
THEASTORIC STORYTELLING
History survived in the smallest things.
Carbonized wood, food, furniture and shop equipment preserve details rarely encountered elsewhere. PORTYL uses these traces to rebuild human-scale stories of families, workers, visitors and neighbors.
AT THE SITE
Three steps through time.
Download before you arrive
Install PORTYL and download the Herculaneum venue content over Wi-Fi before visiting.
Launch at the real location
Use a launch point or the available placement mode to align the reconstructed environment.
Move through ancient Herculaneum
Walk, look around, listen and explore without following a rigid tour route.
PLAN YOUR EXPERIENCE
Plan your PORTYL visit to Herculaneum.
What can I experience with PORTYL in Herculaneum?
Featured PORTYL experiences at Herculaneum include the Ancient Shoreline, Sacred Area, Grande Taberna and Pergola. Explore reconstructed waterfront spaces, architecture and everyday life at the historic site.
Do I need to be at the historic site?
PORTYL is designed primarily for use at the real location, where geospatial alignment places the reconstructed environment around you. Some content may also be explored through virtual viewing modes.
Do I need a headset?
No. A compatible iPhone, iPad or Android device is all you need.
How should I prepare before visiting?
Install PORTYL, purchase or select the appropriate experience, and download the venue content over Wi-Fi before arriving. At the site, allow the camera and location permissions needed for spatial alignment.
Are the reconstructions historically researched?
Histoury develops PORTYL environments using archaeological and historical research with consultation from historians and archaeologists. Informed interpretation is used where evidence is incomplete.
BENEATH THE MODERN TOWN, ANCIENT LIFE
Step into the Roman town that survived.
Download PORTYL before your visit and explore ancient Herculaneum where its streets, homes and waterfront actually stood.
Compatible device and downloaded venue content required. In-app purchases may apply.
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