Pompeii, Italy

Vesuvius in the background. Standing in Pompeii amid the ruins I was fixated to realize with my own eyes how close Vesuvius was and zoomed my lens to get a closer view. The terrible eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae and all life in between.

Pompeii remained buried for 1600 years before the first ruins were uncovered and 150 years passed before the city could be said to have been rediscovered.

Pompeii was a thriving port city with a population of 20,000 people until that eventful day, August 24, 79 A.D.  Centuries later when archaeologists began excavating they discovered much about daily Roman life.
This pic denotes the area where they trained gladiators. They lived in tiny rooms behind the colonnaded courtyard.

This is called the Large Theater and there also is a smaller theater. Lesson for the future, take notes for your pictures daily while it is fresh on your mind. Of course, you are exhausted and here it is seven months later and I can't remember for sure. One interesting fact I learned from the book I purchased that the amphitheater ( that I do not have a picture of) was built in the year Pompeii became a Roman colony in 80 B.C. and is the oldest known amphitheater. It is different from other amphitheaters because it has no underground areas beneath the arena and the entrance ramps are all on the outside.

At the top you can see square stone poles that once supported a canvas roof.

Viewing the remains of the stage.

The sidewalks are elevated to hide the plumbing.

The higher stones were for walking across the street when the street was flooded with water. Everyday the Romans flooded the streets to clean them. Chariots would straddle the stones.

Ruts in the stone road made by chariots.

These three large stones were traffic barriers that kept the chariots out.

Entering the Forum with Vesuvius in the background.

It was an amazing experience realizing where I was and all the historical artifacts that were here.

The pedestals once held statues that are now in the museum in Naples.

Incredible detail.

Our guide in the center of the columns holding the typical tour guide symbol, the "umbrella" which is easy to see and follow as we listen to his audio presentation on our headsets.

I was overwhelmed with how large the city was. At the end of the tour I bought a book on Pompeii and realized how much we didn't see. When you travel it is difficult to have time or energy to study everything before hand. If you are planning a trip the more you research you do before hand the more you will remember and understand what you see.

I was impressed by the hand painted frescoes everywhere as we enter the Baths area.

There were separate baths for women and men. These baths were mainly intended for those who came to the Forum from outside the city.

Vivid colors were beautiful and I think at this point I was reprimanded for taking flash pictures. I guess our guide forgot to mention this before hand.
There were elaborate dressing rooms for men and women that led to the warm, cold or hot water baths. Each room was heated with hot air from a central furnace that circulated under the floor.

Ceiling frescoes were impressive.

 Lead pipes were part of the city's elaborate water system. They had three pipe systems for the baths, private homes and public water fountains. Aqueducts carried water from the hillsides to reservoirs  on the city wall. To solve the problem of water pressure they built arches with hidden water tanks that were filled with gravity.

Isn't it amazing to see the names of the streets in Latin?

I was struck with this pretty fountain in front of one of the houses or shops.

 Do you see the small white stones in between the larger basalt stones? They are small reflective bits of marble that helped people get around after dark.

The following pics are scattered relics after we had left the city wall.

 As you leave it is erie looking toward Vesuvius and realize it is Europe's only active volcano that erupted last in 1944. Our guide told us that it is utmost on many minds the vast area and largely populated area that would need to be evacuated when it erupts again. It was emphasized when not if it would erupt again.

I hope I portrayed Pompeii correctly. It is hard to be absolutely sure of accuracy. Please feel free to point out any errors not intentional on my part.

Other posts of Italy: Rome
                                       Assisi
                                       Venice and the Magic of Serenissima
                                  Isle of Capri
                                  Pompeii, Italy

Future posts:     Sorrento, Positano, Florence, Pisa

Linking to: Oh, the Places I have been.