In Ruins: My Day in Pompeii

Some excursions are better than others.  Pompeii wasn’t one of those.  The 8 hour bus ride and the perhaps a tad longish 5 hour tour was a little overkill.  My expectations were probably a little high based on my memory of the Magic Treehouse version of Pompeii that I read in 4^th grade.  I still think that costumed guides and some Williamsburg-like stuff would make Pompeii more fun.  However, it was an interesting experience to walk along the city’s ancient streets and imagine the people who once lived there. 

The City of Pompeii is not just a town or a village—it’s a city and it takes quite a while to walk all over it.  Even in our marathon tour we didn’t cover all the ends of the city.  

In 79 AD, Mount Vesusvius erupted, covering the town in a layer of volcanic ash.  In 1599 it was excavated and Pompeii was discovered.  Even today Mount Vesusvius looms in the background, reminding vistors of its power and force. 

When the people of Pompeii died in the eruption, their bodies decomposed under the volcanic rock.  When Pompeii was excavated, the rocks were molds of their bodies and you can see the plaster casts of the citizens of Pompeii today.  The figures are frozen in time, in different positions, some surrendering, some trying to protect themselves from the inevitable.  The figures definitely make Pompeii more real.

Another thing that makes Pompeii more like a town than a collection of ruins is the ancient graffiti of politicans campaigning for office who would write their names in frescoes on the walls of the city.  Funny but effective!

Ancient Winery

Ancient Bakery

We also saw the ancient Theater, bakery, and site of the world’s oldest profession, as our professor put it. 

Pompeii is also interesting because it has become a refuge for dogs and there is a pet adoption program at Pompeii.  It was nice to see dogs running around and enjoying themselves.  They were all very friendly and begged for food. 

Kathryn + Cane

The last thing we saw at Pompeii was the (dun dun dun dah!)  Villa of Mysteries.  What’s the mystery, you ask?  Don’t get too excited—it’s not the World’s Biggest Ball of Twine.  It’s a room with some frescoes of a mysterious subject matter. 

Mysterious Frescoes

Despite the long day, Pompeii was definitely worth seeing-- it was interesting and informative.

So Happy To Be Done