Walking Italy's Amalfi Coast - Day 3 - Mt. Vesuvius and Its Victim, Pompeii

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This morning, we climbed to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, and looked into the crater that was created in 79 AD, when the volcano blew its top and buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in hot ash and mud.

Afterwards, we had a short wine tasting of Lacrima Christi wine made with grapes grown in Vesuvius's volcanic soil. I got a delicious bottle of white wine to take home with me.

We stopped at Ristorante Kona on the way back down the volcano and had lunch on the patio with great views of the landscape. I had the ravioli with walnut sauce and it was excellent!

We then went to Pompeii and explored the remains of the 2000 year-old ruins. The city was discovered in 1750, and was very well preserved by the ash and mud that encased it for so many years.

Most of the best art and artifacts have been moved to the Museum in Naples, but it was interesting to see the layout of the town, the streets with ruts from chariot wheels, the houses, and the businesses. Among other things, we saw a bar, a bakery, and a brothel. We also saw the bath houses, with their dual-layered walls and floors that were designed to create a steam room.

The highlight, of course, for me was seeing the Cave Canem mosaic on the floor just inside the front door to one of the homes. These mosaics were used to warn visitors of a certain occupant (Beware of Dog). Of the three mosaics I saw (one at Pompeii, one at the museum, and one that was aquired by Axel Munthe from Pompeii and now sits in his home), all of the dogs are black. Interestingly, there are many stray dogs wandering around Pompeii (and Naples for that matter), but it seemed like most of the stray dogs were also black. I joked to the tour guide that they must breed black dogs and keep them at Pompeii as a tourist attraction.

On the way to Sorrento, we stopped at a cameo factory and got a demonstration of how they are made. The demo was very interesting, but I couldn't afford to buy the one I wanted. I don't even know how much it was, but it was framed on the wall, and didn't even have a price tag, so I'm thinking it was a little out of my budget.

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Photos

Pompeii - The Temple of Apollo
Place of worship dedicated to the god Apollo, Mt. Vesuvius looming behind.

The ladies that adopted me
Barbara and her daughters Carla and Nancy

Pompeii - Cave Canum
The Cave Canum (Beware of Dog) mosaic

Pompeii - Beware of the Dog
Looking similar to the Cave Canum dog in appearance if not in spirit... One of the many stray dogs, taking a nap in the shade inside the bath house

Plaster casts
During excavation, empty holes were discovered in the rock where the ash had covered organic material, and then the material eventually disintegrated. They poured plaster into these holes and were able to make casts of people that died from the toxic fumes while about their everyday chores.

Pompeii - The Forum
This was the center of the city, surrounded by civil and religious public buildings. It was used for ceremonies, speeches, and games.

Pompeii - The Forum
A side view of the forum

Pompeii - The Forum
The other side of the forum

Pompeii
Someone's living quarters