Travels in Italy--Pompeii

Pompeii, located south of Naples on the Bay of Naples, was a thriving seaport 2000 years ago.  In 79 A.D., in the middle of an August night, nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii. Thousands of inhabitants died, many due to the extreme heat generated by the volcano's eruption.  Hot ash covered the entire town, burying it completely under nearly 20 feet of volcanic debris.  The town was lost until it was accidentally rediscovered at the end of the 16th century. 

Fast forward, Pompeii is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been completely excavated.  Today, you can walk the ancient streets and enter many of the buildings, some of which are still standing, complete with roofs and original frescoes.  Countless artifacts have been removed for study and museum display.  Most human remains deteriorated completely and the rest were removed for study. 

We recently toured Pompeii and found it absolutely fascinating, since it is so old yet relatively well preserved.  Below is a photographic tour of Pompeii.

Ruins along Pompeii's outer wall.  (The bronze sculpture is a recent addition.  Sculptures by Polish artist Igor Mitoraj are scattered throughout Pompeii as part of a temporary installation.  The sculptures depict ancient figures and animals.)

The gladiator training school with a large courtyard surrounded by quarters for the gladiators.

Pompeii's outdoor theater

Pompeii's outdoor theater.  The top rows were reserved for women and slaves.

One of the main roads in Pompeii

A Roman style public bath

Colorful ceiling decoration that survives in the public bath

In the case is a cast of a human who died during the eruption.  When excavating, archaeologists discovered voids in the volcanic ash.  They learned that the voids were once filled with a human's remains that long ago deteriorated.  So, upon discovering a void, the archaeologists filled it with plaster to make a replica of the human that was once there.   

The plaster cast represents a victim lying down and covering his face with his hands.

Pompeii had a large red light district that was frequented by the many sailors who visited Pompeii, an important seaport on the Bay of Naples.  In the photo above is street sign letting the sailors know they have found what they are looking for. 

One brothel is one of the best preserved buildings in Pompeii.  Unlike most buildings, its second floor survived the calamity.  In the photo above is one of the bedrooms on the first floor, with a stone bed.

Because of illiteracy and the varied languages spoken by workers and sailors, pictures on the wall served as a sort of menu.  "I'll have a number 3 and let's super-size that."

There were many large homes in Pompeii.  Above is a surviving mosaic on the floor of a vestibule.  The word "HAVE" likely means welcome.

A fountain in one of the homes.

A colorful fresco survives in one of the buildings.

A large market in the center of Pompeii that sold fish and meat. 

A decorated wall in the central market

The large forum in the heart of Pompeii, a large open area surrounded by public buildings and temples. 

Greg and Susan in Pompeii's large forum, with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

What did Pompeii's forum look like before it was destroyed?  It might have looked like the artist's rendering below.

A horse's ass in the forum.  The horse's ass is pictured in the top right of the photo, not the bottom right.

Mount Vesuvius, 6 miles from Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius remains an active volcano with many significant eruptions over the centuries.  The last large eruption was in 1944.  Today, about 3 million people live in nearby Naples and the surrounding area and would, if there were a very large eruption, be directly impacted.  Let's hope Vesuvius remains quiet for a very long time.   

Thanks for touring Pompeii with us. 

P.S.  Among Pompeii's ruins, we noticed some red poppies blooming in the Spring sun.