And on to Pompei......

We arrived at Camping Pompei on Saturday afternoon, a small family run campsite right opposite the entrance to the Pompei ruins. Having set up pitch we went out to explore, Pompei is a busy tourist area filled with souvenir shops and small restaurants all trying to get your business! But just down the road we did find a good Carrefoure supermarket and a petrol station selling cheap fuel so we could at least stock up during our stay. That evening we had a pizza in the campsite restaurant- thin and crispy base cooked the traditional way in a wood burning oven - delicious!

Sunday morning we went to visit the ruins and I have to say they were not what I expected. Pompei was a much larger city than I thought so the ruins are spread over a huge expanse and the wealth and grandeur of the residents is spectacular. Pompei was a thriving Roman city and was devastated by an earthquake in 62AD, major rebuilding was still taking place in 79AD when Vesuvius erupted and buried the city in volcanic ash and rock that allowed an exceptional preservation of the whole city, unfortunately killing all of the 2000 inhabitants.

We paid for an audio guide and it was certainly well worth the expense, as the detailed information helped to create a picture of what life was like in those times. 

The first place we visited on our 'tour' was the baths - more like a leisure centre really with areas for exercise, massage, hot/cold baths and swimming. The walls were decorated with erotic paintings (more about that later) and the remains visible of the mosaics and marble make you realise that it would have been a luxurious environment for bathing and socialising.

A water feature in the Roman Baths

We then went on to view the Roman forum - their public administration centre, the 'court' where judgement would have been made on criminals (thrown to the lions maybe???) ,
 the public square and the temples.

In this area there was a section which was once the market with a wire mesh  front which allowed you to see the area where many of the pottery urns are stored as well as a few other artefacts including a couple of the plaster casts taken of the bodies found (the only ones we saw - I was expecting to see many more)

Mosaic of Beware of the Dog

We then continued our tour around some of the residential houses and learnt a lot more about what life must have been like for a wealthy Pompean. The existing paintings on the walls were still in some places in good condition.

After a slice of warm pizza in their typical tourist restaurant we carried on and walked around the amphitheatres (there are three!) The people enjoyed being entertained with plays and mimes as well as watching the Gladiators in the main amphitheatre, afterwards they would enjoy takeaway food and a drink in a taverna.

We were disappointed that the largest arena was closed especially as we had to walk quite a way to get to it, but we did sneak in with some other tourists (including a group of Nuns!) over a small fence and up a grassy bank to get in at the back!

It becomes very apparent that our modern life reflects so many aspects of Roman life including the early development of our legal systems, but there are a few huge differences, we saw phallic symbols and erotic paintings in public places and their society was much more permissive and promiscuous. Public toilets were a bench with holes where you might chat with your friends at the same time and great entertainment was had from watching people being torn apart by wild animals or killed in a fight to the death.

At the end of the day my impression was that Pompei is well worth a visit as we were able to gain such a fantastic insight into what life must have been like for a Roman citizen in 79AD but I did feel disappointed that the many treasures and artefacts found when the site was excavated had been removed to Naples museum and there were no replicas or exhibition at the site.

After Rome and Pompei it was time to move to the coast and continue our journey towards Sicily