The city of Pompeii was founded around the 7th century BC but in 79 AD, the neighbouring volcano Mount Vesuvius decided to empty its wrath onto the ill-fated city, thoroughly burying it in thick layers of ash, leaving no trace of its former existance. Almost 1700 years later, came workmen seeking an ideal location to build a summer palace for the then-king. It was then that Pompeii was rediscovered and escavation works began, to uncover the lost ancient civilisation.
right: makan places outside the Pompei Scavi station, trying to pull in the tourist dollar.
The entrance fee to Pompeii was 11€ for Lynn and I but only 5.50€ for EU students (lucky Guillaume!!) Upon purchasing our tickets, we were given a map and a small booklet explaining what each site was used for. Without the former, one is bound to get lost in this 163 acres worth of surprisingly well-preserved buildings and monuments.
left: ruins near the Temple of Venus
right: can't recall the name of this place hmm...
left: in the olden times, walls were built with stones arranged in such a diagonal fashion to better withstand the effects of earthquakes.
right: Lynn and Guilaume simulating a chef and a customer. Haha though it probably didn't work that way in those times.
right: a building called the Basilica which was used for business negotiations and as a courthouse.
right: The culpable Vesuvius in the background!
left: The Temple of Jupiter
left: Ciao Bello! =D
right: the act of seduction hohoho
left: the twelve bases arranged in a circle were once used to hold a conical roof, which housed the city's main market within.
As we ventured on, we chanced upon huge glass cases containing the plaster casts of victims of the Vesuvio eruption. It was a heart-wrenching sight looking at the agony-stricken faces of these unfortunate souls. We could scarcely imagine the terror and torment they went through before the lava swallowed them alive in a split second.
But it's thanks to a certain Giuseppe Fiorelli that these plaster figures exist. The actual bodies of the doomed inhabitants had already been long decomposed when Fiorelli and his team started excavation work in the mid 19th-century. However, he came up with the ingenious idea of injecting liquid plaster into the holes left in the ashes after the gradual decomposition of the luckless. Upon solidification, the team obtained disturbingly realistic depictions of the victims' last moments.
above: the public baths. It is said that using the public baths was a very common practice for the people of that era as it was inexpensive.
above: the Lupanare, or brothel which still bears surprisingly well-maintained (very) explicit paintings of the different erm...positions one can adopt...haha. The last picture shows a stone block against the wall which acted as the 'bed'. The women who worked there were slaves who were mostly Greek or Oriental.
right: The Great Theatre, which made use of the natural gradient of the ground to create tiers. Plays, mimes and music were played there.
right: More plaster casts. This particular one really left an indelible impression for it portrays the pain of a father who, on the verge of death, tries to locate his wife and kid but finds them one foot away, already dead.
left: The Amphitheatre, of a capacity of 20 000, is one of the most well-preserved in the world today. It was used as a battlefield for gladiators, as was the Colosseum. Two gates led to the centre of the arena. The first was where the gladiators entered and the other was used to carry away the killed or injured.
right: my lunch - pizza again! But when you're in Naples or its neighbouring cities, you'd be a fool not to indulge in pizza all day long! =D
Sadly, we covered only less than half the 69 sites in Pompeii as we wanted to visit Mount Vesuvius before sunset. But as luck should have it, we missed the last bus for Vesuvius and had to contend with the absolute discourtesy of the men running the private bus company. Argh.
On the bright side, this gave us the opportunity to start exploring the city of Naples itself. I wasn't really blown away by the architecture, piazzas, or churches as they weren't in my opinion, particularly outstanding. I was however, enthralled by the everyday life in this city! The countless number of street vendors hawking imitation goods, chestnuts, cotton candy, popcorn, pretty Murano glass bottles, pirated DVDs, the most appetizing pastries and desserts, the throng of locals creating a near human traffic jam in the streets... It was such a breath of fresh air from the typically modern and developed European cities that I'd been to.
left: Piazza Garibaldi and its surrounding buildings where Guillaume found Ms Intimissimi perched on a rooftop =p
right: Castel Nuovo (New Castle)
left: Teatro San Carlo, the oldest theatre still in use in Europe.
above: Piazza del Plebiscito, the largest piazza in Naples. It was named after the plebiscite that gave Naples entry into unified Italy.
left: Caffè del Professore, a supposedly renowned café, where I tried a Napolitan speciality - the Sfogliatella (sfoh-lyah-tel-la), meaning many leaves. It's a triangular piece of crispy pastry, which true to its name, is made up of many layers. Within, it is filled with orange-flavoured ricotta cheese. Simply finger-smackingly good!
left: Guillaume and I with our sfogliatelle
right: Lynn and gelato! Who'd have thought that we'd have gelato in winter =)
Just one word to sum up this perfect day: Bellisimo! =D
3 comments:
WAAAAAA... This post is great !!!
I can help you or the place you don't remember. Behind you and Lynn, there is Forum (N°6 in the little guidebook). In front of you,there are the basilica and me taking the photo !!!
ohhh merci!! Je m'en souviens plus! J'ai toujours des trous de mémoires. you have a memory like an elephant! (bonne mémoire!) Haha =)
I just want to say "thank you" for your comments re your visit to Pompeii. I've been searching the internet for some time now just trying to find out some simple facts about Pompeii, cost and the fact that it can be done in a few hours. I've stumbled upon a lot of useless information and really appreciate the information you were able to provide.
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