Published: May 27th 2005April 18th 2005
Temple Ruins
We saw a staggering amount of carved marble used in the homes and public buildings. The pillars, facades and exquisite detail of the buildings were fascinating.
We were in Naples for only one day. We chose to spend our time ashore seeing the ruins of Pompeii, the town between Naples and Vesuvius that was buried under ashes and volcanic dust in the eruption of 79 AD. Excavation started in the 1700s when Pompeii was discovered and is still going on at several sites including nearby Herculaneum.
The eruption of Vesuvius was described in great detail by Pliny the Younger, who at the time was a well educated Roman teenager visiting his uncle, Pliny the Elder, a government official near Naples. Uncle Pliny made the mistake of trying to go to the disaster area to help survivors, and was himself overcome by the volcanic residue and perished. Young Pliny had been left behind with his mother and survived. He later wrote a fascinating account of the entire experience. If you like, see Pliny's description at
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm
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Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI establis...more info
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Entrance to Pompeii
This is the sight that greeted us as we approached Pompeii on foot from the parking lot. The outside city wall had at least five levels above ground. We entered the lower level through a gate.
Ruins
Our guide told us Pompeii appeared to be a quite wealthy community, as there were many magnificent homes and public buildings and quarters for many slaves, shopkeepers and other support workers. What the city lacked was a middle class.
The Faun
This beautiful little statue was in the courtyard of a residence known as "The House of the Faun." We found the faun reproduced in the souvenir shops outside Pompeii, usually lacking the small curly tail that the statue has.
Street Scene
We strolled through Pompeii’s streets and walkways entering homes, businesses, arenas, public baths and many of the buildings as they existed in 79 AD.
Home of a Wealthy Resident
Peering into the interior of a large home at the entryway once lined with murals. At the end of the entry is a lovely pool, a cistern that supplied the household's water. Beyond is the large courtyard at the center of the home, originally lined with covered porticoes. Most furniture and artifacts from inside the homes have been taken to museums in Naples, where they are preserved from theft and further deterioration.
Ruins
All these buildings were once covered over with volcanic ash, painstakingly removed by the generations of archaeologists who have worked at the Pompeii site. Work is still going on and new discoveries are still being made.
Pompeii Street
In the distance is the faint outline of Vesuvius, almost hidden by the clouds that clung to it all during the day. It was a beautiful clear day otherwise.
Pompeii Street
The main streets in Pompeii were spacious, wide enough for two wagons or chariots to pass. All streets had stepping stones across them at intervals, as originally the stone streets were used as sewers.
Street Scene
These large columns provided a lot of work for the Pompeiin bricklayers who constructed them. Many streets were lined with small buildings that were originally shops. One was a bakery, with ovens that could have turned out many loaves of bread.
Victim
Many of Pompeii's residents were stifled by the volcanic gases and falling ash that engulfed the city before they could escape. Their bodies did not survive the years, but a perfect "mold" was often left where the ash had settled around the corpses and solidified. A creative anthropologist came up with the idea of using the molds to make plaster casts, which could be eerily detailed. This man's clothing and his belt are plainly visible, along with the anguished expression on his face and in his body language.
Naples
This is a view of Naples from our ship at the wharf. The pastel buildings against the blue sky and sea were quite a sight.
Statue
In the houses and public buildings were many niches that originally held statues and other art work, now in the Naples Museum. This husky larger-than-life image remains. Notice the crown molding above the statue's head. One woman in our group found similar molding in a ruined building that she said looked exactly like the molding in her own house.
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Joanna
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beautiful photos
thankyou for the beautiful images. I use them on my desktop and look at them and sigh
From Blog: Pompeii,Italy