Pompeii | fja travel journal

Pompeii… or Pompei on 2 October

While not enthralled at being dropped off at the food court of a convenient mall, we really did enjoy lunch at the Italian restaurant, Signorevino. Actually, it was not in the food court as it also doubled as a wine store. We then jumped back on the bus and rode over to Pompei and Pompeii.

Okay, for you purists, the old city, the one buried in 79AD, is referred to as Pompeii with two “i’s” while the city that grew up and around it is referred to as Pompei, one “i.” Attribute this statement to the Italians, not us!

At the entrance to the park, which looks like any other park entrance, architectural or amusement, with booths to buy tickets and turnstiles to count the number of visitors, our guide herded us through the entry process and began his tutorial within a few feet of entering the park. And I don’t think he stopped until we got off the bus back in Naples!

As you may recall, the ash, pumice and general dirt from the Mt Vesuvius “spew” in 79AD went up into the sky some 20 miles, most of which was blown over Pompeii. The city was covered with some 20 feet of the debris, buildings were crushed and people and livestock were trapped and killed. The city of between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants was mostly preserved by the covering. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site in part because it did preserve what an ancient city was like from architecture to engineering and city layout to art in the buildings. Please, check out that world famous, always accurate source, Wikipedia, for a synopsis of info on the city. It’s pretty cool.

We’ll leave the history and science to you and transition to what moved us. Even now, several days after being there, it is difficult to believe what those ancient Romans accomplished 2000+ years ago.

We entered Pompeii at the same level as the original city. At Herculaneum, we entered from above the original town due to the build-up of ash and pumice from the avalanche-like flow down from Vesuvius the day after the eruption.

The Temple of Apollo, *aka* The Sanctuary of Apollo, was built in 120 BC.

The Forum of Pompeii, located in the center of the city, served as a hub for civic meetings, markets and political gatherings

As a reminder, that little mountain in the background of both these pictures is what blew a continuous plume of ash, pumice, other stone and dirt high into the air for over 24 hours. That debris covered this entire area with a blanket of some 20 feet of material which both destroyed life yet preserved the city. That is a lot different than the archeological areas in Athens, Rome, Agrigento or Segesta.

From inside the Forum looking North to Mount Vesuvius.

One of the main roads in Pompeii. The city was well laid out and constructed.

For our PTC Cooking Club, this is one of the more advanced kitchens. Those are cooking pots used at a wealthy person’s home.

One of two large amphitheaters – this one reserved for use by the men.

The women’s theatre. Notice it is cleaner, with better upkeep!

Inside the House of Octavius Quartio. This huge house was located on one of the most expensive streets in Pompeii.

From another room in the Octavius Quartio house, also called the house of Loreio Tiburtino)

And even more from another room in the Octavius Quartio house

This wall in the House of the Vettii illustrates some of the destruction of the beautiful artwork

One of the many bodies preserved in the Vesuvius ash and later excavated and protected. 2000 years old!

So that’s it on our historical and archaeological journey for the moment. We still have lots of ancient archaeology to visit here in Sicily, some underground, some temples like out at Segesta. Tomorrow we will unload our activities of this past weekend and even today, Monday. Actually, we plan to visit our former Palermo hangout, Borgo Vecchio, and hopefully find Salvo, our vegetable and fruit merchant from 2014 and 2016. We are going to walk the route, about a half hour, along the waterfront and then maybe take an Ape (bee) cab home, or the bus. Lots of transportation modes in this city! Dormi bene!