Pompeii has many similarities to the modern world, including Australia, even though the small Italian city was destroyed thousands of years ago. Around 79 AD, before the volcanic explosion, Pompeii was a lively municipality and an important commercial center for goods arriving by sea to be transported to southern Italy and Rome. Pompeii can be considered an ancient version of a shopping center. Furthermore, its full-time residents were wealthy citizens and itinerant traders did not stay there for long periods of time. It's like the modern city of Monte Carlo, France, where only the rich live permanently and tourists simply stroll and look around. Pompeii was known for its fermented fish sauce, enjoyed throughout Italy and mass-produced. Likewise, today Italy is known for producing prestigious Ferraris which are exported all over the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay During the early years AD Pompeii was one of the main trading centers in Italy and also in the world. It can be considered a contemporary shopping center like Westfield Chatswood. Ancient trading centers like Pompeii were essential regional hubs where people traded the items they produced for other items they needed to survive and thrive. Instead of using money as we do in the modern era, they often used valuable items such as gems or other goods and services. They also used gold coins called Aureus which was the basic monetary unit of ancient Rome and the Roman world. In the modern world, with the price of gold above $1,000 an ounce, a coin would be worth more than $300. In our modern world gold and money have even been replaced by cryptocurrency or bitcoin. During the early Roman times, there were many cities that attracted travelers rather than predominantly local residents. Pompeii is an example of one such city with the only people living there were extremely wealthy and others simply passed by or traded with each other. It's like Monte Carlo, where the population is small and only very rich people live with ordinary people visiting. Some of modern Monte Carlo's most notable residents include world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic and legendary Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. In Pompeii there were approximately 12,000 permanent residents and included many high-ranking politicians and wealthy and well-known people. After the eruption of Vesuvius most of the residents died or the lucky 1000 who survived were forced to find alternative places to live. Most of the houses closest to the volcano were melted by the hot lava, however most people died from smoke inhalation and not from the magma. In ancient Italy, Pompeii was known for its prestigious fermented fish sauce, which was much loved throughout Italy at the time. In modern times Italy is very well known throughout the world for producing expensive and exotic cars. One of these cars is the Ferrari, a car produced in Maranello, Northern Italy. Like fermented fish sauce, it is loved and desired. The fermented fish sauce called Garum was made from rotted, fermented fish guts and was probably the Romans' favorite condiment. Like the Ferrari, it was extremely expensive: 1000 gold sesterces for 12 pints. The main producer of Garum in Pompeii was believed to be a very wealthy man named Aulus Umbricius Scarus whose excavated house was found with over 50 containers inside it. Thirty percent of the fish sauce found in Campania is believed to have come from one of its laboratories, which demonstrates the scale of its.