Welcome to Italy – first stop Pompeii

We caught an overnight ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy and then made the long drive down to Naples (refer to ‘Where in the world…’ for some perspective). We arrived late in the afternoon and did nothing. We were exhausted.

The next morning we headed straight for Pompeii. For Monique this was a huge moment, having been fascinated by Pompeii’s tragic story and history for many years.

Some very brief history – Pompeii was a thriving commercial Roman city when in 79AD the volcano of Mt. Vesuvius erupted and covered the town in six meters of ash and volcanic rock.

We spent the entire day wandering through the enormous excavated site. It was fascinating to see a complete and vivid picture of society and daily life from two thousand years ago, frozen at the very point that the volcano erupted.

The city had everything. Theatres, temples, council buildings, villas, pedestrian crossings, fast food outlets, public baths, bakeries, running water, heating, and brothels (some interesting frescoes on those walls!). Many of the buildings still have well preserved mosaics, fountains, frescoes, tiled floors and statues. One house even had a floor mosaic at the front door of an angry black dog with the words ‘Cave canem’ – translated to ‘Beware of the dog’.

Mt. Vesuvius erupted without warning so the residents of Pompeii had no chance of escape or survival. They were trapped in a rainfall of pumice and ash. Over time their bodies decomposed, but the cavities that had hardened around them remained perfectly intact.

When a 19^th century archeologist discovered this he poured liquid plaster into the cavities. The technique created over a thousand whole body casts of Pompeian men, women, children, and animals, captured at the exact moment of their deaths. It is truly heartbreaking to see the shape of another human lying prostrate, desperately trying to cover their mouths to avoid being suffocated, but to no avail. Similarly, seeing perfectly preserved expressions of terror, fear and pain etched into the faces of the victims is chilling.