He certainly did in 1827 when travelling in southern Italy with Countess Maria Razumovskaia and according to Rosalind Blakesley, he was so affected by the remains of the Via dei Sepolcri (Street of the Tombs) that he decided to set the painting there.
He certainly did in 1827 when travelling in southern Italy with Countess Maria Razumovskaia and it is known that he visited the Naples museum to study artefacts recovered from Pompeii. According to Rosalind Blakesley, he was so affected by the remains of the Via dei Sepolcri (Street of the Tombs) that he decided to set the painting there.