\f1 \fs22 Although it remained faithful to Rome during the Second Punic War, Pompeii played an active part in the i
nsurrection of Italic peoples that led to the Second Italic War or War of the Allies (90-88 BC). In April of 89 the city was besieged and conquered by \b \cf2 \ATXht12 L. Cornelius Sulla\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . Pompeii lost its independence and became a Roman
colony with the official name of Colonia Cornelia Veneria (80 BC). In 62 AD Pompeii was struck and severely damaged by the earthquake that devastated a vast area of Campania. In 79 AD, while the buildings damaged in the disaster were still being repaired
, the city was totally destroyed by a terrible eruption of Vesuvius.\par