Images: Lost cities you can see now
Images: Tourists may make must-see sites vanish
Pompeii is an ancient city best explored on foot. Looking at the ruins is interesting, captivating even, but walking the streets is another thing entirely. A visit to these ruins means walking directly in the footsteps of people who died almost 2,000 years ago. It involves going into their homes and following the paths they took in their daily lives. It’s about walking a street and stopping, just as they did, to read election graffiti that’s been preserved exactly as it was centuries ago.
In many streets there are big blocks of stone set at regular intervals across the pavement. These elevated steps allowed Romans to avoid getting their clothes dirty in bad weather. It’s nearly impossible to resist the temptation to walk across these stones yourself, to take the same path as those who died here but whose presence can still be felt.
Preserved by a 20-metre thick layer of ash from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, Pompeii is one of Italy’s most popular sites with around 2.5 million visitors each year. The site was discovered in 1763 and has drawn people from around the world ever since. There’s no shortage of tourists, but the site is large enough you won’t find yourself tripping over other visitors.
It’s not hard to conjure ghosts of the past as you lose yourself in the small streets of this ancient city. Pompeii isn’t a collection of old stones. It’s a city full of homes to explore. There’s no better example than one beautiful residence known as “The House of the Tragic Poet” because of a painting found inside. As you enter, a dark form looms up from the floor. This turns out to be a mosaic of a big, fierce-looking black dog that dominates the entrance with the words “Cave Canem” written below, Latin for ‘Beware of dog.” Just as we do today, city inhabitants used dogs to guard their homes. This mosaic is famous in Italy and reproductions can be found almost everywhere.
Visiting these homes is an incredible experience. The floorplan and decor are almost as they were on the day of the fateful eruption. We learn that Roman homes were built around an open air “impluvium” or courtyard with a central basin used to collect rainwater. In other words, the Romans were thinking ecologically long before we were.
Some of the many intact murals are suprising, like the little cherubs depicted on some walls. These chubby-cheeked characters look like angels and you suddenly understand that the origin of angels isn’t tied directly to Christianity as these were depicted a long time before.
Also amazing is the esthetic quality of the art. Roman artists had a solid technique that, while not always perfect, involved using perspective — something that was only rediscovered by Renaissance painters. Several large frescoes grace the walls of these houses, and whether they feature hunting scenes, mythology or landscapes, the subjects are varied and detailed. You can even find graffiti praising Pompeii’s best gladiators, the pro athletes of the day.
In a newly excavated section of the city, the baths feature some very erotic scenes that are explicit even by today’s standards. Pompeii seems to have been an anything-goes kind of place. Without going into detail, let’s just say that pleasure of Roman women was not ignored.
Just before Vesuvius rained its destruction down on Pompeii, the city was in the middle of an election. Along the ancient commercial streets, you’ll find political slogans painted in red letters that can still easily be read, if you understand Latin. It seems the politics of the time were a bit different from our own. The slogans brag about promises candidates fulfilled before the election, not those they (might) have kept afterwards.You can also visit restaurants, a bakery — even a bordello.
Pompeii was home to more than 25,000 people, most of whom lost their lives over a few days as their city was choked with ash and debris. But their deaths were not in vain: They have bequeathed to us the most extraordinary instant history lesson imaginable, an experience to be appreciated one step at a time.
If you go to Pompeii
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From Naples, take the “Circumvesuviana” train, towards Sorrento. The 45-minute trip costs a mere 2.50 euros. If you continue on this line, you’ll end up in Sorrento, a lovely port town and gateway to the Amalfi Coast. From Naples, it’s also an easy drive to Pompeii.
— Admission is 10 euros. It’s recommended you wear sturdy shoes and buy the excellent guide for sale at the entrance so you don’t get lost in this vast site.
— Numerous interesting artifacts from Pompeii are now in the Naples Archeological Museum, including casts of bodies and erotic curios. No visit to Pompeii is complete without seeing this collection. Pompeii wasn’t the only community preserved by 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. Nearby Herculaneum met the same fate and features many well-preserved dwellings.
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