Erin and Angie Versus the Volcano!

LOCATION:

Herculaneum and Pompeii, Italy

 

My European travels twelve years ago did include time on the Amalfi coast, which I remember loving. I also remember seeing the tour busses for the nearby Pompeii ruins but didn't have time to visit, so I was excited to see it this time. For most of the trip thus far, I have had some background knowledge about the history of where I was visiting and filled in the larger gaps by asking lots of questions and making good use of the wisdom of the Internet. Pompeii though - even after visiting - is a big fat question mark. I sort of get the basics (thanks to brochures and educational signs!) - Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, covering most of what was below in deep layers of ash and rock. The quickness of the event essentially froze the area in time, and the layers of debris provided the perfect barrier to keep life - and death - almost perfectly preserved for nearly 1600 years. The first excavations began in 1631, and there is still a lot that is yet to be uncovered. The things we saw absolutely boggled my mind - and I am already excited watch documentaries and read books about the main event and the discovery of the ruins. My list of things to research when I get home is already pretty long, but Vesuvius (and volcanoes and archeology and science yay!) is now at the top.

We stayed the night in Pompeii, and our time in the area was spent hiking to the summit of the volcano to see the crater, visiting the smaller site of Herculaneum, and finally exploring the larger ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. I'm not sure how many times I said "wow" or "I just don't get it" or "what the heck!" but it is probably somewhere in the hundreds. Again, this blog post is more about questions than answers, but here goes!

Hard to capture the size of the crater.

Vesuvius lizards everywhere!

Climbing volcanos is tiring!

Herculaneum was the next stop, and we were both pretty awe struck. It was late in the day, which meant it wasn't very crowded. It is also much smaller than Pompeii, so it was a good introduction to the wrath of Vesuvius.

What the? How was this buried for so long?

A floor mosaic.

 

The next morning was an early one, meaning we were literally the third and fourth people into the Pompeii site. It was amazing to see it without crowds of tourists - a fact which I did not fully appreciate until later in the day when the busses arrived. We also encountered the world's friendliest security guard who led us around parts of the site, pointing out and explaining things (in a hard-to-decode but wonderful Italian-English mix) that we would have not noticed on our own. The highlight of the unexpected VIP tour was getting access to some of the areas locked to other visitors, including a fantastic Venus fresco, a bathing area, and a wall with stunning colorful mosaic tile work.

Really, is this real?

A reconstruction of the vineyard, with Vesuvius in the background.

Seriously, how cool! This was on the VIP tour.

The bathing pools.

See the shells?

Ancient plumbing.

Writing on the walls.

A fresco in the city's prostitution house - apparently ancient Romans were very sexual!

Or guide - we didn't know if he was just bored, or was leading us around because of our genuine excitement about everything he showed us.

 

The final jaw-dropping thing about Pompeii were the casts of people who died in the aftermath. Thousands were killed because of asphyxiation and toxic fumes when their homes were buried. Because of the overall preservation, it was possible to make plaster casts from the bodies that were found, showing what death looked like in the city.

 

Though what happened was tragic for sure, it has become the best source of information about the life of ancient Romans. There is still so much to be uncovered, so all of the signs say "PompeiiViva" - meaning Pompeii lives. I am excited to leave a place with more questions than answers, and Pompeii was definitely a surprise highlight of the trip.

 

This postcard might be my favorite souvenir ever.

 

 

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