Wednesday, April 26, 2023 – Day 126
The courtyard of a home in Pompeii
Arriving at the port of Naples. Buses waiting to transport us to our various excursions.
Our excursion in the morning took us on a panoramic driving & walking tour of Naples.
A tree called ‘The Pine of Naples’, believed to have been planted about 1855, was featured prominently in postcards of Naples, with Vesuvius in the background. The tree had to be removed in 1984, but since, the same type of tree has been used around the city. They make a beautiful statement.
Piazza Plebiscito, the main piazza, with the Basilica – Naples
Piazza Plebiscito, facing the Prefecture Palace with Royal Palace to the right, the Basilica to the left.
At one end of the Piazza is Gambrinus, a coffee house established in 1860. Once the hangout of the likes of Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and Jean Paul Sarte, it is still a popular place for visitors and locals alike. It was way too busy for us to visit, maybe next time!
There was some kind of school event going on in the piazza. Groups of what looked like 5th or 6th grade kids were dressed in all kinds of costumes and fancy head pieces. Some, like these two were sporting tails. They all seemed headed for a theater, but it was hard to figure out if they were performing or seeing a performance. They all seemed to be having fun, whatever the occasion was.
The entrance to a large shopping galleria. While we didn’t go in, what we saw reminds me of one we visited in Milan; such beautiful iron and glass ceilings.
The Naples Football Team (soccer) is in the running for the championship of Italy. The city is all decked out in the team colors.
Our morning excursion was to have gotten us back to the ship by noon, time to freshen up, grab a quick lunch and head off to Pompeii by 1:00 pm. We were running dangerously late. Missing a meal wasn’t a concern, but I’d have been really disappointed if we’d have missed our afternoon excursion, but alas, we made it by the skin of our teeth. So, off we went to Pompeii.
Our first glimpse of Mt. Vesuvius whose eruption in 79 AD is famous for destroying and preserving Pompeii & Herculaneum. Like Mt. Etna, Mt. Vesuvius is an active volcano.
The 79-eruption lasted for two days. The first phase was a pumice rain lasting about 18 hours, allowing most inhabitants to escape. Only approximately 1,150 bodies have been found on site at Pompeii so far. The skeletons of those who did not get out were found with jewelry, coins, and silverware. This would seem to confirm the theory that most escapees probably managed to flee with some of their most valuable belongings.
At some time in the night or early the next day, pyroclastic flows began near the volcano, consisting of high speed, dense, and scorching ash clouds, knocking down wholly or partly all structures in their path, incinerating or suffocating the remaining population and altering the landscape, including the coastline. By the evening of the second day, the eruption was over.
I don’t understand how they determine such things, but in 2012 it was determined that the pyroclastic flow was at least 480 degrees Fahrenheit 6 miles from the vent. That temperature was sufficient to cause instant death to even those sheltering indoors.
I wondered how historians know what happened, other than the geologic & archeologic records, so I went to Google and found this information on Wikipedia and other sites – “A man by the name of Pliny the Younger was an eyewitness to the eruption and wrote two letters describing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius approximately 25 years after the event, and both were sent in response to the request of his friend, the historian Tacitus. The first letter outlines the events preceding the death of Pliny the Elder during the attempted rescue of his friend Rectina. The second letter details the Younger’s movements across the same period of time. The two letters have great historical value due to their accurate description of the Vesuvius eruption; Pliny’s attention to detail in the letters about Vesuvius is so keen that modern volcanologists describe these types of eruptions a ‘Plinian eruptions’. “(copied from Wikipedia)
In the foreground is the Gladiator Barricks and practice yard. In the background is the Theater where the Gladiator’s did battle.
Gladiator Barricks.
Public (men’s) gymnasium.
Gymnasium bathhouse with interesting carvings surviving in great detail.
A plaster cast of body on display in the bathhouse.
To create the preserved bodies at Pompeii, cavities found in the ash about 30 feet below the surface were filled with plaster. Despite the soft tissue decomposing over time the cavities had retained the shape of the bodies. Once the plaster filled the space once occupied by the soft tissue, a plaster cast of the body was created.
Some of the people we were traveling with had been to Pompeii years ago and wanted to know where the body casts had gone. Apparently, they were originally left where they had been found and had made a big impact on them as they walked through the ruins. Our guide explained that as the restoration of Pompeii has proceeded over the years, the plaster body casts have been moved into glass display cases (as seen above) and/or into the museum (as seen below) to preserve and protect them.
I do think it would be more moving to see the body casts as they were found, but it also seems somewhat disrespectful. I’m conflicted. Jeff and I were both expecting to see them in the town as they had been found, so we were a bit disappointed. I still found the visit fascinating, but then I could wander among ruins all day. Jeff on the other hand has a bit of ‘rocks & ruins’ overload and was left somewhat unimpressed.
Animals were caught in the ash. This was a small, perhaps young, horse.
Of all the plaster casts, the children were hardest to see.
Colorful frescos/paintings are well preserved in the interiors of many of the homes in Pompeii.
Exterior of one of the larger businesses.
Pompeii had a well-developed system of streets.
Chariot/cart groves worn into the streets of Pompeii.
Steppingstones were used to cross the streets without stepping into water, sewage and other debris. Wheels of carts and chariots fit over and between the steps. In the picture above, you can see the groove going between two steppingstones.
White marble fragments are imbedded into some of the stone streets so that lamp light would reflect off of the fragments lighting the way for travelers. Not unlike our freeway reflectors today!
One street that had the reflective fragments was the road leading to the brothel. Inside the brothel, pictures depicting services customers might purchase were available to overcome language barriers of visiting sailors, merchants, etc.
A stone bed in one of the brothel chambers.
One of the main shopping streets of Pompeii. Ruins of the stores line the road on the right hand side.
This is a store along the street in the picture above. The round holes held clay pots (some remnants remain) where things like olives, preserved fish or fruit and other items would be stored awaiting purchase.
A large commercial bakery found among the shops. Remains of 31 bakeries have been found within the city.
The Forum of Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. The Temple of Jupiter is just in front of Mt. Vesuvius. The columns in the foreground on the right of the picture is the portico of the Macellum, or provision market.
The ruins of the Temple of Jupiter.
Remains of pillars and frescos in the Forum.
A section of the outer walls of Pompeii.
Pompeii is so much larger than we expected it to be, the site covers 170 acres. We learned that based on the excavated ruins, it is estimated that 11,500 households lived within the city walls. Excavation is slow as they grapple with how to preserve the current site as it is deteriorating now that it is open to the elements. Tourist traffic has been restricted to less of the site as well. Much of the economy of the region is dependent upon the tourist trade and the largest draw to the area is Pompeii. It is a puzzle to be sure.
One last look at Mt. Vesuvius as we head back to Naples.
As we pull away from the dock in Naples you can’t see the peak of Mt. Vesuvius from this vantage point, the cloud that has formed over it is a very impressive.
Farewell Naples!