Pompei, Italy

Dear Family and Friends,

After leaving Rome, we drove south for another three hours to the town of Pompei near the city of Naples. Located about three quarters of the way down the Italian boot, Naples is a very densely populated area with large multi-colored apartment blocks with clothes lines taking up just about every square inch of space. If it hadn't been for some skyscrapers in the middle of the city, we would have thought that we had crossed the Mediterranean into Tunisia or some other non-European country.

As we passed by Naples on the autoroute, we caught sight of Mount Vesuvius. The kids immediately recognized the shape of the volcano from some of the videos we had watched beforehand. With steam still rising from its crater, it wasn't too hard for us to imagine the erruption of August of 79 A.D.


Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the Background



As we entered the Pompeii site, we noticed several things. First, the ruins are massive. They cover 163 acres and include all types of Roman buildings, including a colosseum, theaters, baths, temples, forums, and villas. In other words, Pompeii is a very complete Roman city that offers a comprehensive view of Roman life.  While we had about four hours left of daylight to explore the ruins, we had to rush from place to place just to see the main attractions!



Painted Walls Typical of Roman Villas

Second, Pompeii has been very well preserved for almost two thousand years. This means that the erruption of Vesuivius both destroyed and preserved the city as a sort of time capsule. Frescos and painting that would have faded long ago are still bright and colorful today. In fact, the painted walls and ceilings of Pompeii villas which are open to the elements are in much better condition than those we have seen in many of the medieval castles we've seen elsewhere in Europe.

Collapsed House of the Gladiators

Due to its shear size and the massive number of escavations that have taken place over the past two hundred years, many of the treasures of Pompeii are not being well cared for. Some frescos or painting are completely exposed to the elements. Walls that were frozen in the earth for thousands of years are now starting to crumble after recent heavy rains. Mosaics that were perfect and complete when they were escavated are falling apart under the feet of all of the tourists that come each year. In fact, a month ago Pompeii made the news when one of its most important sites called the House of the Gladiators collapsed. This seems to have caused some ebaressment to the Italian Goverment and resulted in the firing of the site director.

Debris Pile

Despite two hundred years of work by archiologists, there is still much work needed to restore the buildings that have already been uncovered and to unearth the remaining parts of the city. As we walked through the maze of walls and buildings, we would occassionally come accross piles of debris containing ceiling tiles, pieces of mosaics, or other building materials. In any other circumstance, such items would have been tagged, cataloged, and stored in a museum.

Despite pressure from some scientists to continue digging, the Italians seem to recognize that something must been done to preserve the site for future generations. As a result, further digs are only permitted in exceptional circumstances.

Cross-Rocks

The kids enjoyed using the crossing stones, or cross-rocks as they named them, to get from one side of the street to the other. These stones used to allow the Romans to keep their feet dry when it rained while at the same time permitting the carts to get through.



Pumice from Vesuvius



In one area of the site, we discovered some of the volcanic pumice that covered the city. Just as we had read in preparation for the trip, it was extremely light. It was very interesting to consider that such a seemingly benign substance caused so much destruction and death.



Pompeii Victim in Prayer Position



Roman Slave



Group of Victims including children 



Of course, one of the things for which Pompeii is so famous are the molds made of the victims. Archiologists digging in the 19th century noticed cavities in the strata and realized that they were created by the bodies of the residents that were caught by the erruption. They then poured plaster into the holes, thereby encasing the skeleton and getting an acurate representation of the victim at the time they died. Many molds are so clear that it is possible to make out the outlines of their clothing, shoes, and pained facial expressions.

Cave Canem or "Beware of Dog"

There were many striking mosiacs in the ruins of some of the large Roman villas. The Cave Canem mosiac located in the entrance way of one of the large villas showed that the Romans had their own alarm systems to protect their treasures. Ironically, there were also several stray dogs that had been adopted by the caretakers that we had to avoid.

Warehouse near Forum

Near the forum, we found a kind of warehouse that included amphoras, statues, and other artifacts. There were even plaster molds of victims just lying around. These items must have been considered less important by the currators because the more valuable items were brought to the museum of Naples or sold.

Building near the Forum

Intersection with Groves from Carts

Larger of two Pompeii Theaters

Fresco of Snake eating Offering

We finally ended our tour at sunset. Along with several others, we spent the next thirty minutes trying to find our way out. Fortunately, our wanderings brought us past several other interesting statues and Roman memorials. The kids were so involved in exploring the ruins that not one of them complained that they were tired, cold, or hungry after four hours of walking.

Ciao!

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel