Pompeii

Pompeii is an ancient city near Naples, but unfortunately for the ancient Pompeians, also near Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano. Bum-mer. In 79 AD, the Pompeians were still rebuilding from a 62 AD earthquake when the volcano blew it's top in a big way. The mountain rained down ~2 meters of volcanic rock, and then another ~2 meters of volcanic ash in quick succession. Lots of people were killed and the city was basically buried. The emperor at the time declared the area off limits, and as dirt built up on top of the ruins, what little bit of the city that the volcano didn't cover was hidden and forgotten. In the mid 1700's, construction crews digging a tunnel happened upon some ruins, and a little later, the excavations began. 200 years later, an entire Roman city has been uncovered, complete with a forum, temples, baths, theaters, amphitheater, houses, apartments, restaurants, gardens, fountains, murals, (ancient) graffiti, etc. Most people with a passing interest in history know the story of Pompeii, and know that it's important because the sudden covering of the city preserved the structures, everyday personal items, and even wall murals in a way that wouldn't have been possible if it had stayed inhabited. What most people would be surprised to find out about Pompeii is just how big it is. 10,000 people lived here, and there are thousands of buildings, all with mostly complete ground floors. All of this was completely buried before the 18th century excavations began. It took us 3 hours to tour from one end to the other, and we didn't even get to the north end of the city. The map and audio guides have over 70 points of interest and suggest a 6 hour tour. Yeah whatever. Even I'm not that jazzed about Pompeii, and I'm a big geek.

forum

restaurant

administrative area

amphitheater... the most complete in the world

Reba, Pompeii (foreground), Vesuvius (background)

Another interesting aspect of the journey was our train ride through suburban Naples to Pompeii. The suburbs look pretty bad, to be honest. Covered with graffiti and dirty, the buildings pretty well suited the inhabitants: tough looking and sketchy. I didn't shave and was practicing my angry dude face the whole time... this was the train ride where Lisa and a bunch of Japanese tourists got harassed by local teenagers. Nobody messed with us, obviously due to the fact that I am such an imposing scary figure. ;) We caught the train back to Rome, and ate a late dinner.

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