A Day In Pompeii Forum Mosaics Painting and More<< >>
A day in Pompeii is a step back in history. It gives us a wonderful view of what life would have been like for the citizens at the time of the eruption. Who hasn’t heard of the town and Mount Vesuvius, the great Volcano, which looms over it. The site is situated near Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. We visited whilst staying in Sorrento. This place is so famous that it is difficult to know what to write about that you don’t already know. Here are a few facts anyway. Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash when there was a huge eruption of the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius. This devastating event lasted for two days in 79 AD. Also caught in the eruption was the nearby town of Herculaneum. It is easy to stand in the Pompeii forum and imagine the events unfolding. As you walk around the ruins it is obvious that the townspeople were caught unawares by the catastrophic eruption. Of course they would have known what the volcano was capable of but didn’t think it would happen to them. As a little aside, it always amazes me that even today people live in towns and village near volacanos. Pompeii was buried under 4-6 metres of ash and was totally lost until it was discovered around 1592.
Besides the forum there are many other features of the town uncovered. There is a food market, a mill and a bar that served hot and cold drinks and also other small restaurants. Also there was an amphitheatre and a gymnasium and near to the town there was found to have been a hotel of large proportions. All sorts of artefacts have been unearthed, as you would expect including wine jars and many everyday utensils. The streets are especially fascinating as there are still the grooves worn by chariots or carts as they bore their passengers or goods around the town. There is even graffiti carved into some of the walls. As you wander through the remains of various buildings you will see the Pompeii paintings, pictures and mosaics giving you a clue as to who lived there or what the building was used for. One seems to have been the home of a young couple with their portraits on one wall. Another was obviously a brothel with suggestive and bawdy pictures. These well-preserved Pompeii frescoes show clearly what everyday life was like. It is estimated that there would have been around 20,000 inhabitants at the time of the eruption and it is interesting to note that this was an area where there were many holiday villas, nothing new under the sun. As you walk around the town you are reminded that although this is a unique experience, to walk along street and look into houses that were frozen in time, it is also a place where thousands were killed, humans and animals alike just on a normal day. During the excavations there were human and animal remains found and plaster casts taken. We all have our favoured ways to enjoy a visit but I would say that to get the best from your visit you should go round with a guide and then allow time to wander about and re-visit the buildings and locations. Generally after a visit here most people go on to visit Vesuvius, which we did. Unfortunately by the time we started up the volcano the mist came down and eventually the rain. We persisted to trek to the top but all we saw were photographs of what we would have seen if it hadn’t been for the mist and rain. Our daughter took the sensible decision and stayed in the café halfway up. << >>
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