Pompei & Napoli

On November 1st, which happens to be the holiday (Toussaint/All Saint's Day) which granted us the two-week vacation, we headed from Rome down to Pompeii. We were planning to spend some time in Naples first, but our train was delayed about two hours (?!) and so that unfortunately got cut from the itinerary.

The site of Pompeii is amazing - it's an entire city preserved exactly as it was on August 24, 79 AD when the volcano Vesuvius erupted and killed much of the population. It's a result of tragedy, but it's an amazing glimpse into the past. It was way cooler than any regular museum I've ever been to; it's like a living museum.

This interactive map of Pompeii (from Current Archaeology) shows most of what is in the pictures below.

the Suburban Baths 

on the way up to the Porta Marina

PompeiViva - Living Pompeii

typical street

Temple of Venus

Basilica

Forum with Vesuvius in the background

Temple of Jupiter

There are a few "bodies" that were created by using plaster casts and the hollows in the volcanic rock left from the bodies.

This man was about 25 years old - my same age.

This woman was pregnant.

You can see the mountains in the background - not Vesuvius though 

(that's the other direction).

decoration in the Forum Baths

I don't know what this was all about, but it was everywhere, and I happen to be a fan of the year 1987. :)

the Cave Canem mosaic in the doorway of the House of the Tragic Poet -

the original "Beware of Dog" sign

This is the entrance to the House of the Faun; "Have" is a Latin greeting which shows that the owner of the house wanted to affirm the Romanisation of the city (according to my fancy guidebook).

inside the House of the Faun, which was the biggest house in Pompeii -

It takes up a whole block!

still inside the House of the Faun

hence the whole "House of the Faun" thing

row o' pots

Here's a little exploratory adventure in this house with the pots.

fallen column

ruts from wagon wheels

swimming pool inside the Stabian Baths

courtyard inside Stabian Baths

art inside the Stabian Baths

I really like this little face, despite the fact that I don't know why it's there.

electoral slogans

Shrine of Trojan inside the House of the Lararium of Achilles

electoral graffiti

ongoing excavations - PompeiViva!

a bar (wine goes in bowls in the holes)

Pompeiian steet with Vesuvius in the background

Amphitheatre

It's so strange to think that these people looked at this mountain everyday, without having any idea it would destroy them.

inside the Amphitheatre

the Necropolis (which literally means city of the dead) of Porta Nocera -

a burial area/cemetery

Tomb of the Flavii - You can still see the busts of two of the men buried within.

more of the Necropolis

Porta Nocera

yet another Pompeii + Vesuvius view

sunset in the Forum

one more look at the Forum and Vesuvius

sunset while leaving through the Porta Marina

Pompeii was really amazing. It's so strange and interesting to walk through the streets of a city just as it was a couple thousand years ago. The Roman ruins were incredible, but they aren't as well-preserved and they're in the middle of the city, so it's a little different. Also, we were really lucky that there weren't that many people in Pompeii this particular day. It was remote, quiet, and fascinating to walk through at our own pace with our guidebook and explore life as it was in the first century AD.

After Pompeii, we headed back to Naples for dinner because, well, you can't go to Italy and not eat pizza in Naples! 

Naples is the home of pizza, and it definitely was the best pizza of the trip. Here's my quattro stagioni (four seasons) pizza... it.was.delicious.

Oh, and as a perfect conclusion to the evening, I watched Back to the Future in Italian (hilarious) while indulging myself in my fantastic Neapolitan pizza. Another amazing Italian day!