Documentary | Focus | France, 2025
Directed by: Benoît Renard

Scientific consultant: Claudio Scarpati

The documentary The Last Hours of Pompeii – What Has Not Been Said, broadcast in Italy on Focus on 7 March 2026, is now available for streaming. The film reconstructs one of the most famous catastrophes of antiquity: the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius, which in just a few hours destroyed several Roman cities, including Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Oplontis, burying them beneath millions of tons of pumice and ash.

Drawing on archaeological evidence and the most recent volcanological research, the documentary retraces the eruption hour by hour, showing how the sequence of events developed—from the intense fallout of pumice that accumulated in meters-thick deposits to the later arrival of ash and materials transported by pyroclastic density currents, which ultimately devastated the Vesuvian cities.

Claudio Scarpati, Professor of Volcanology at DISTAR, University of Naples Federico II, contributed to the documentary as scientific consultant and appears on site in several locations around Vesuvius. In the film, he explains the different phases of the eruption, their impact on the surrounding Roman cities, and the reconstructed timing of the processes that led to the destruction of Pompeii.

The documentary is now available on-demand on Mediaset Infinity:
https://mediasetinfinity.mediaset.it/movie/ultimeoredipompeiquellochenonestatodetto/ultime-ore-di-pompei-quello-che-non-e-stato-detto_F314231001000104

Enjoy watching!