26 February 2024 – Pompeii

Miles driven today = 0

Total Miles to date = 1,741

Pompeii has been on my bucket list since I was a kid and it was also at the very top of all the things that I wanted to visit on this trip, so what with being camped right next door to the site we were able to wander over to the entrance just a little after opening time at 9am and beat the majority of the tourist crowd.

First stop were the Suburban Baths which, as the name would suggest, lie just outside of the city gates.  There are five different bath houses (“Termes”) at Pompeii.  It’s thought that these ones were privately owned.  Some of the paintings in the changing area have erotic themes, suggesting the building may also have been used as a brothel.

We walked up through the Marina Gate which would have been the main access to the City from the Sea.

The 1,500 square metre Basilica would have been the main building for civil administration and justice.  It forms part of the central Forum complex.

The Forum is the main focal point of the City, surrounded by temples and administrative buildings.  It would also host the City’s main market.

We assumed this statue was a replica but we were bemused by the head, perhaps that of the prostrate victim, set into the horse’s flank.

The Temple of Jupiter lies to the northern end of the Forum.  To either side are “Honourary Arches”, which are individually dedicated to various Emperors.

We continued Eastward along the main Via dell Abbondanza.

More Baths, this time at the huge Terme Stabiane complex.

This is one of no less than a dozen Fullonica (laundries) to be found in Pompeii.  It belonged to a fellow called Stephanus who is believed to have been found near the entrance carrying a bag of coins, which were thought to have been his day’s takings.

Fullonica were almost entirely staffed by slaves as their work included treading materials in vats of human and animal urine for hours at a time.

The House of the Lararium of Achilles has some fine mosaic floors as well as pictures on the walls which depict scenes from the Trojan Wars.

A Thermopolium like the ones we saw the other day in Herculaneum, where one could buy hot food and drinks.  This one apparently belonged to a chap called Vetutius Placidus.  A hoard of nearly 3kg of coins was found in one of the earthenware jars when it was excavated.

The House of the Orchard has this beautifully preserved painting of a City Garden.

This vineyard has been planted to the rear of the House of the Ship “Europa”, so called because of a picture of a ship engraved onto its walls.

I’m not sure if these are authentic but they made for a great picture.  It was only after we got back to the van that I read that the Forum Granary has more than 9,000 artefacts covering all areas of Pompeii daily life, and, despite having walked past it twice, we managed to completely miss it.

The Large Palaestra is an open area of 140 metres square, surrounded by porticos.  It was built in the 1st Century AD to promote physical and intellectual training of young citizens.

The Amphitheatre was built in 70 BC and is therefore the oldest known in the Roman World.

The arena had a capacity for 20,000 spectators and in 59 AD it was the scene of a massive bust up between the people of Pompeii and their neighbours from Nocera.  It was closed for a number of years as a result.  Some things never change!

Mount Vesuvius, as viewed from Pompeii.  Imagine watching that blow itself apart and knowing what was coming your way.

The Praedia of Giulia Felice is a large villa at the Eastern end of town.  

Considering most Pompeii families lived in one or two roomed dwellings, this was definitely a case of how the other half lived.  The owners would be served meals in this room whilst they reclined on cool marble covered beds with water cascading from a central waterfall.

Next door is the House of Venus in the Shell, which doesn’t really need any further explanation.

In the House of Loreio Tiburtino we found this grotto with a picture of Narcissus on the left and the doomed (a la Romeo & Juliet) lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe on the right.

We got a peek at the mosaic floors in the House of Paquius Proculus through locked gates.

This is very typical of the roads around Pompeii where cart wheels have worn obvious grooves into the stones.  The large protruding stones allowed pedestrians to cross the street without having to step down into the roadway.  One has to assume that all of the carts wheels and axles were of a standard gauge for the ruts to be so uniform, almost like tram tracks.

More baths.  This time at the Terme del Foro.

Not only did these establishments promote good hygiene, they were also popular for social interaction as well.  

On top of the standard €18 entrance fee we opted to pay an additional €4 to visit the area outside of the City walls beyond the Porta Ercolano and along the Via delle Tombe.

The first section of the road is a necropolis which was in use as early as the 4th Century BC, although the monuments we can see today date from no earlier than the 1st Century BC.

Beyond the necropolis is the Villa of Diomede, which has some impressive gardens.

The villa would have enjoyed a position overlooking the coast at the time of the eruption in 79 AD.

At the furthest point along the trail is the Villa of the Mysteries.  

The Villa gets its name from the Hall of Mysteries inside, which has some of the best preserved paintings from the Roman era depicting a mysterious ritual.  

No explanation was given for this particular picture but I found the seated woman’s expression particularly enigmatic.

We headed back through the Forum again past these columns at the entrance to the Macellum.

The Romans obviously took their theatrical entertainment very seriously given there is a whole district of Pompeii dedicated to it.  The Large Theatre could accommodate an audience of 5,000.

Close by, the Small Theatre or “Odeon” had a more intimate 1,500 capacity.

With the exception of a short sandwich break we had been on our feet for a solid 5 hours and had clocked up nearly 17,000 steps so we decided to call it a day at this point.  We had barely covered half of the residential properties which have been excavated to date but, apart from the aforementioned Forum Granary with its 9,000 artefacts, I don’t think we have particularly missed out on anything we set out to see.

We did pop into the Antiquarium on our way to the exit gates and we didn’t find it particularly inspiring.  Most of the prize pieces are either in major museums or on tour around the globe.

There were a few of the grizzly plaster casts of Pompeii citizens frozen in the moment that they met their maker but they weren’t enough to detain us further from getting back to the van for a brew and putting our feet up for a bit.

So, in the great Pompeii v Herculaneum debate I’m going to go against the grain to a certain extent.  Despite there being a degree of repetition, it’s certainly very worthwhile visiting both.  And I know that generally size doesn’t matter but for me Pompeii wins purely because there is just so much to see here.  Whether I would feel the same if we were to come back at a time of year when there are considerably more people around would probably be another matter entirely. 

27 February 2024 - Sorrento