Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, & Herculaneum ruins

 

During our last day staying in Rome we decided to take a day trip down to Naples to see Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and Herculaneum. The train ride down there took us only about an hour. Since we were trying to see all three in one day we had to come up with a game plan for Pompeii. Pompeii is massive; it was a city in 79 A. D. before Mt. Vesuvius went off and "froze" the city in time. Most of the people in Pompeii were killed by the gases from the volcano, while the rest were killed by hot ash that landed on the city and preserved much of what we see today. The ash was so thick and heavy however, some of the buildings and roofs collapsed. We decided to hit only the major sites in the city and then to head to Mt. Vesuvius. The entrance of Pompeii is a long cobblestone street that leads up into the city. From the start you can already start imaging how busy of a city this once was.

 

Entrance to Pompeii:

 

Cobblestone street on Right leading into the city:

 

 

The first major attraction we went to was the Forum. This "city centre" was where people met, socialized, and discussed politics. Several columns lined the forum and were still mostly intact. 

 

 

The streets of Pompeii:

Within the forum there were several side rooms that held artifacts from the city. They were stored in locked rooms which we could still observe. There were several vases, tools, and even some body castings. There was also a casting of a pregnant woman and a dog from the time.

 

This body casting was especially eery, as the person is holding their hands up to their face either in fear or maybe praying for their life? Either way, it shows how afraid and desperate the people were immediately before their deaths.

After the forum, we viewed a few bath houses that were still completely intact including the roofs.

 

 

 

Outside decoration of the bath house:

Several of the larger structures in the city were very well preserved, the first being the Grand Theatre:

There was also a small brothel in the city that was well preserved. The brothel had roughly five stone beds, separated by stone walls. There were still original karma sutra drawings on the walls.

 

 

After the brothel, we wondered around the streets a bit before coming to the grand amphitheater. This theatre was where gladiator fights occurred and other large events in the city. Amazingly the structure was almost entirely intact from 79 A. D.

Seats, now covered in grass:

 

Me with Mt. Vesuvius in backdrop

After Pompeii we were off to go to the top of Mt. Vesuvius! We took the train a few stops back towards Naples and then took a shuttle van up to the top of the mountain. The van ride up was horrible!! I had to sit in the very back of the van and the guy driving was a madman! He was driving like 50-60 on narrow, winding roads up the whole mountain. I literally thought I was going to puke. Finally we made it up, and then had to hike about 20 minutes up to the summit. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if I didn't feel like death from that ride! Anyways, we finally made it to the top. The volcano had a huge crater, and you could only imagine the force with which an eruption would have to occur to cause such a crater and such devastation in the surrounding cities. From the top you could see all of Naples and out to the ocean, but unfortunately the views were obscured by smoke from the burning season. So I didn't get too many good pics!

Hanging over the crater!

Our final stop of the day was at Herculaneum. Herculaneum was a smaller town closer to the volcano than Pompeii. Rather than being "frozen" by ash and gas, Herculaneum was "frozen" by burning hot mud. This fact, actually preserved a lot of the buildings and decorations in Herculaneum better than in Pompeii.

Entrance:

Herculaneum today, is completely surrounded by the bustling city all around it. This picture shows the contrast of the new and ancient cities merging:

 

Herculaneum was a lot easier to navigate than Pompeii so we were able to just wander around and see all the sights. Herculaneum was a lot less crowded than Pompeii, and you were able to wander into most of the buildings and side streets, where as Pompeii had a lot of this blocked off. Within the town there were several community pots, baths, and fountains that were still intact. 

The buildings in the town were very well preserved. Some of them being 2-3 stories high still. The inside of some of the buildings still had the original paintings and decorations. Original marble floors could be seen as well.

 

The streets:

Original tile work in one of the homes:

Inside a typical home of the day:

 

Jeremy posing with the pretty, pink columns:

The colors and decorations of the houses and structures must have been beautiful back when they were in their full, unscathed form. The town of Herculaneum also had several underground tunnels that ran under the surrounding rocks. We were able to go into one of the massive caves and could view a few of the passageways.

After viewing Herculaneum, we got some of the best pizza I've ever had in Naples and then headed back to Rome to get some rest and catch an early train to the Cinque terre!

Selfie!