Preserved by Disaster

Yesterday we road tripped out to Pompeii! It was about a three hour drive from Rome, which wasn't too bad. We haven't had to drive much in Italy so far; this was definitely our longest road trip here. We drove right through Naples, which was kind of fun to see.

Pompeii was pretty fantastic. Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and completely buried the city in ash for 1,500 years. Following the eruption, people could not even find where Pompeii had been because the landscape changed so drastically. It was discovered again in 1599 and excavation began in 1748. It is still being excavated today.

The original front gates to Pomepii. The sea used to come up almost to this point, prior to Vesuvius.

Mt. Vesuvius

Today, the ruins do not live alongside modern life like so many other ancient cities. They are in fantastic condition and stand alone, so that as you walk through the streets, you really feel like you can envision what life was like at the meridian of time.

The Pompeii forum, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

I loved the little details of ancient life that you don't see anywhere else. For instance, the streets were flooded with water everyday to clean them, so there are stepping stones for pedestrians to cross the street. One stone signified a one-way road, two stones a two-way road, and three or more meant a big thoroughfare. The stones were a uniform size so that chariots could still pass.

You could see the ruts in the roads left by chariots on the major roads. So cool!

Some areas were pedestrian-only. Pompeii had chariot-blocks just like our modern road-blocks! I heard them called "beaver teeth," lol. There were also pictorial signs to inform people. The men carrying the jug meant pedestrians only.

The "beaver teeth" roadblocks

We got to go inside the public baths, which were really cool. It's amazing how advanced they were so long ago. The rooms had non-slip mosaics on the floor, the ceiling was etched with rivulets so that the condensation would not drip off, and one room had a heated floor. 

The holes in the wall are where wooden pegs used to be to hang your clothing on.

There was also a fast food counter! Many people's apartments were tiny and did not have a kitchen. So restaurants were very common.

Pompeii McDonald's

One thing kind of boring but at the same time amazing was their water pipes! They had lead pipes throughout the city. There were different series of pipes for public and private uses, so that in case of water shortages, water to public places could be shut off before private homes.

Pompeii was a a very egalitarian city, which rich and poor living side by side. Some of the nicest houses still have some amazing things intact! The mosaics were my favorites. One house had a Beware of Dog (Cave Canem) mosaic at the entrance! Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture because of the lighting, so I swiped one from Google.

Another fun mosaic was the welcome mat, which reads "Have," meaning "Hail to You!" This house was over 20,000 square feet large!

The entry courtyard to this home

Another amazing mosaic in the house

In Pompeii there was a theater, a small theater ("Teatro Piccolo"), and a stadium where gladiators fought. The gladiators had barracks and a training yard nearby. We actually didn't see the auditorium because we were hot and tired, haha.

Teatro Piccolo

Main Theater

Main theater

Gladiator training grounds and barracks

Of course, there was so much more than we saw or knew about! What we saw was incredible, and I'm sure there is even more. 

Mt. Vesuvius

There were a few memorable things of Pompeii that we did not see. We did not go to the brothel (with its explicit paintings and statues), which is a really unusual and popular site. We also did not see any of the plaster casts of bodies found. I was really disappointed about that! The place where our guidebook said they would be did not have any. And we did not see any in the other spots we went to. I was super bummed!!

The forum. You can tell it was the end of the day by the tired faces!

The courthouse

In all honesty, it was a long, hot dusty day (we were all covered with a layer of grit from head to toe)! But incredible to see! 

It was very eerie to see Vesuvius looming on the horizon the whole trip. The people of Pompeii did not even know Vesuvius was a volcano before the eruption, because it had not been active for over 250 years. I read that Vesuvius is the most dangerous volcano in the world today, because it is so close to such a densely populated area. Over a million people live in Mt. Vesuvius' shadow.

But with a week that included Pompeii, Vatican City, and the Capitoline Museum, I think we're ready to spend time in the less crowded sites of Rome now! I think we've hit the must-sees, and we'll take things a little easier for our last week and a half.