In the 5th century BC, Pompeii fell under Roman influence.
One of the most visible signs of this new conquest was the introduction of Roman city planning.
Indeed the Romans built their cities around a grid system, perfected through the creation of hundreds of military camps during military campaigns.
Roman cities were organised around two perpendicular streets - the Cardo and Decumanus maximus.
These would enable an easy flow of people across the city and major public buildings like temples, baths and fountains... would be built along them.
The via dell'Abbondanza was the Decumanus maximus, packed with shops, worshops, bakeries, restaurants...
It connected the Forum to the Amphitheatre.
Fun facts : the large stones across the streets were used as pedestrian crossings so that pedestrians' feet wouldn't get wet.
If you look close enough, you might also see tiny holes carved into stones outside of taverns - these were used to attach horses when Pompeiians went in for a drink!