Pompeii: The Real Deal

Imagine.  It is the 24th of August, the year 79 C.E.  You are in bed, tired and a bit hung over from the festivities of the previous night. Last night was the Vulcanalia, the festival that honours Vulcan the God of the forge and fire.  Bonfires had been made throughout the city and sacrifices of grain and animals were thrown into the fires, the feasting and partying had gone on into the wee hours of the night.  Then around 8 am this morning, explosions and rumbling awaken you from your sleep and the shaking of the Earth begins.  Hooray!  Vulcan is pleased!!  You press the snooze button on the rooster and roll over.  The next thing you know, you are covered in 25 meters (82 feet) of ash and tuff rock that had rained down on you for the past 6 hours from the nearby Mount Vesuvius.  In a space of 24 hours, you and your city have been erased from history. 

This scenario of Pompeii has played out in my head for decades.

Model of  Pompeii In Naples Museum

There was no rain in the forecast today so it was time to venture to the famed ruins of Pompeii.  We took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to "Pompeii Scavi" station which is about halfway to Naples; Scavi means excavations in Italian.  If you are taking the National train line, it does not go to the ruins; you must get off in Pompeii the city and walk a while to get to the excavations site.  TIP #1: WEAR COMFY WALKING SHOES, BRING A REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLE AND DRESS IN LAYERS IN THE OFF SEASON.  You will be walking A LOT.  Pompeii is a big site and much of the walking surface is uneven stone.  

Our entrance tickets to Pompeii were €11 (Liam was free again of course) and we again opted out of the tours and the audioguides because we wanted the freedom to explore on our own.  We did have our free Rick Steves audio tour we downloaded at home onto our phones and that worked really well, along with the self-guided tour in the RS Naples & Amalfi Coast guidebook.  Had we not been with a restless teen, we would have booked some sort of tour and there are so many to chose from; all with different price points. It's good to grab a free map from the ticket office because you will end up getting lost at some point.  Pompeii was a city of 11,000 people so it was very big, and only two-thirds of the city has been excavated so far. 

Pompeii's Forum

In Pompeii, you are free to roam around to your heart's content.  You feel like Indiana Jones, map in hand and ready for adventure.  But whoa, wait.  Dr. Jones was an archaeology PROFESSOR; he knew what he was looking at.   My only research of Pompeii so far was watching an oiled up Kit Harington in the 2014 Hollywood blockbuster movie "POMPEII"!
It really helps to know a little bit what you are looking at in a site like Pompeii; especially since you have spent so much money and time to get there.  The Naples Archaeology Museum contains much of the original artwork and artifacts found in Pompeii and it's a great place to visit before heading to Pompeii to start to put it all into context.  Watching free BBC documentaries on YouTube is invaluable and visit the Pompeii website gives you all sorts of information.

Women's Bath House 

There is definitely enough to see for a full-day visit, but most tourists only spend two to three hours in Pompeii.  This is even more of a reason to hit the ground running by knowing a bit about what you are looking at to fully appreciate your visit.  The Forum and Basilica are evocative, but it is hard to imagine everyday life here because it is the most ruined part of Pompeii.  A more intimate look at life in Pompeii is the Bath House complex.  This complex is a beautifully preserved system of spas from changing rooms, gym, pools, sauna, hot tubs and massage room.  Romans were obsessed with hygiene and the baths were all FREE to its citizens.  Pompeii was an advanced civilization.  You can still see the original 2000-year-old lead pipes that carried water to the baths, private homes and the public water fountains.  

Ceiling Detail

Cubbies In The Change Room

There were also sewer systems and fresh water that constantly flushed the streets to keep them clear of waste.  This is why you have the elevated stepping stones crossing the streets.  From examing coprolite (fossilized poop) in the sewers, archaeologists have found that the people in Pompeii had food from far off places such as peppercorns from India and dates from the Middle East.  They enjoyed advanced cooking as much as we did!

Speaking of food, there is a big cafeteria complex right near the bath complex of the Forum.  The prices are high, but this is Pompeii you should expect it as a captured audience.  We enjoyed some pizza and BEER here which was the best value in the place.  TIP #2:  PACK SNACKS.  Keep the "hanger" at bay people!  I packed oranges and granola bars in my purse and refilled our water bottles from the cafe water fountain.  The picture to the right is an ancient snack bar.  Fast food was kept in the big terracotta jugs built in the countertop.  There were many of these joints since many citizens lived in small apartments above shops that had no kitchen.  Liam was convinced they were ancient toilets 😉

Beware of Dog Mosaic

Another cool aspect of Pompei is that one gets a glimpse into home life.  You can wander through many grand homes such as Casa del Fauno or The House of the Fawn and see how the wealthy of Pompeii lived.  I especially love the mosaic entryways of some homes that have a "Beware of Dog" motif or "HAVE" which means "hail to you".  These are ancient doormats folks; not much different from our homes today.

Fertility and Wealth Symbol

Dining Room Fresco

What was really exciting for March 2017 was that Casa dei Vetti or The House of Vetti was open to the public.  This is the best preserved of the houses in Pompeii.  The Vettis were two brothers that had a bachelor pad here in Pompeii and did brisk business as merchants.  The opulence of their dining room showed that they entertained a lot; the brightly painted frescoes are simply stunning.  

Getting Lost In Pompeii

 I was so excited to see the next building.  In fact, I had been saving this for the end of the Pompeii prowl... The Lupanare or in English the brothel.  Prostitutes were nicknamed "Lupe" or she-wolves for the calls they would make in order to attract customers.  You can imagine how busy this place was in ancient times with all the sailors arriving from far off places of the Empire.  The Lupanare was quite an interesting system with "menu" boards and portraits of the prostitutes.  So if you did not speak Latin, you could point to the portrait of the prostitute you were interested in, and then point to the menu of the sexual act you wanted and you were given the price of the service.  Very clever business model. When we tried to go down the street of the Lupanare, it was closed off for restoration.  So we went another way around; it too was closed.  NNNNNOOOOO!  TIP #2:  SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SEE WILL BE CLOSED FOR RESTORATIONS.  GUARANTEED.  It will be saved for a future trip.

Most folks stick to the main areas of Pompeii; the forum, bathhouses and the House of Vetti.  We found the less known areas like the Temple of Isis and the theatre had fewer crowds.  The theatre seats 5,000 people and has been restored in recent years to be able to hold small concerts and operas.  Sitting on the warm stone seats and peering down on that stage, transports you to another time.  
You can see the gladiator's barracks and training courtyard are just beyond the theatre's stage.

Amphitheatre of Pompeii

If you really want to get away from the crowds head down the forested path from the theatre for about 10 minutes to the Amphitheatre.  This where the Gladiators used to fight exotic animals and each other.  This is one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres built around 70 BCE.  This was a crowd-free paradise at this point in the day and if the upper level is unblocked it is a great place to sit and take in the view of the arena with Mount Vesuvius in the background. 

There are many other villas, gardens and vineyards on the grounds of Pompeii to explore like the House of Julia Felix and all the neighbouring villas.  When the crowds and the heat get to be too much head to the East end of the ruins for a quiet, shady respite.

Pompeii was all that we had hoped for and more.  To see the city that had been stopped in its tracks nearly 2,000 years ago was to realize how similar the citizens of Pompeii are to us in our Western world and to admit how our fragile life can change in an instant.  

Great video on the eruption of Vesuvius: