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| Bridge entrance to Pompeii (it was once a water port), and the resident guard dog |
We did Pompeii in a day.
With high speed trains from Rome, plus the local train from Naples, it’s
now quite doable (see previous train post).
While we were too exhausted to see the Naples museum that contains all
the looted treasures of Pompeii, we still put a few miles in exploring the
ruins of Pompeii.
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| One of many main thoroughfares in Pompeii. |
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Close up of the paving.
The small white rocks were the Roman version of reflectors. |
Unexpected impression?
Pompeii was a big town. And while
there are signs, it’s easy to get lost.
As per usual, we hired a guide. Authorized guides round up to eight
people right at the entrance, and if you get all eight, the cost is
reasonable. Our guide’s tour was in
English, but he had the heaviest Italian accent of any guide we employed in
Italy. So, I may have missed some
important points during the tour. Our
guide avoided the brothels (lupanar), which still have pornographic frescoes on
the walls, and took us to some of the more luxurious villas in the town.
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Our guide at a neighborhood watering hole.
Each neighborhood had its own well. |
Another secret of this town – some of the
frescoes and mosaics are recreations. (Though the frescoes pictured below are original.) Pompeii
has been excavated since 1748, and much of the good stuff has been carted
away. And though I thought all
inhabitants of Pompeii had perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, our
guide told us most in town made it out in time.
(My official museum guide says otherwise.)
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| Frescoes in a gaming room. Roman poker anyone? |
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| Fresco in a Pompeii mansion |
For a gripping account of the eruption, read Robert Harris’ Pompeii. Marcus Attilius, an aqueduct engineer, is the
unlikely hero of this fictionalized, but thoroughly researched, thriller.
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| Diamond style wall, illustrating one of many architectural styles in Pompeii |
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| Beautiful mosaic sidwalk |
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| Bits and pieces on the edge of Pompeii, overlooking the Bay of Naples |
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