Just got back to the room after an amazing day. Twelve hours in the sunshine visiting two of the worlds most remarkable historic sites. Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both in the shadow of the amazing Mount Vesuvius. Vesuvius is the dominant landmark in this area. She is visible from everywhere and holds court with a quiet dignity. The last time that she vented her fury was in 1944 but it was only a minor eruption. Volcanologist consider Vesuvius to be the most dangerous volcano in the world as the five miles around her are the most densely populated of any volcanic region with an estimated 3.000.000 living in her shadow. They anticipate an imminent eruption. Let's hope she can wait till after Thursday. Crispy,s not good with dust.
Crispy has certainly had her fill of "rubble" today. Bless her she's exhausted.
We left the hotel just after eight this morning and have just arrived back here at seven pm.
The visit to these two places was the real drive for us, by us, I mean me of course, to come this far south. It has been a long held ambition of mine to walk the streets of these ancient cities. Ever since school history class and reading Pompeii by Robert Harris. If you haven't read it go out and buy it now. It is a great read even if your not into your history.
We arrived at the ticket office expecting huge crowds but were very pleasantly surprised to find a short queue. Twenty minutes in line and and we were in. We agreed on the audio tour rather than a guide as I am quite familiar with the city through reading widely on the subject. I'm no expert but I think I know my Cassa from my Domus.
We had a great few hours and covered every available inch of the place. It was busy but not to the point of being aggravating. Plus its massive site and more than big enough to absorb the crowds of tourists. The two places I wanted to see most were unfortunately closed due to conservation works. They were the house of the gladiator, because gladiators are cool, and the house of the prostitutes because prostitutes are .......poor unfortunate ladies and in no way cool.
The fact that these two places were closed did not in any way distract from the visit. We loved it. I can wax
Lyrical for ages on the wonders of ancient Rome but I would bore you senseless.
Some snaps...
After dragging poor old Crispy around several square miles of "rubble" for several hours we made our way into modern Pompeii for some lunch and a well earned cheeky beer. After lunch Crispy had designs on heading back to Sorrento but I informed her that there were more wonders in store in the shape of Herculaneum, a mere several miles down the coast. Herculaneum was the port of Pompeii and the last hope of the ancients to try and escape Vesuvius and all her fury. Many of the citizens fleeing a certain death in Pompeii made their way here hoping to get a boat to safety. Their hopes were dashed when a pyroclastic surge engulfed Herculaneum shortly after the initial eruption and covered the town in several meters of ash and pumice. Many of the dead were found huddled together in the boat sheds on the shore line.
After the initial eruption the ash cloud reached 20 miles into the atmosphere before cooling and collapsing in on itself. This sent a surge of superheated gas and rock surging down the seaward side of the mountain in the direction of poor Herculaneum. Scientist estimate that when it hit the city its temperature was in excess of 500 degree Celsius. As such Herculaneum is far better preserved than Pompeii and far more interesting. Unfortunately Crispy did not get to wander the streets of Herculaneum with me as she was by this time suffering from "rubble overload". She put her foot down with a firm hand and refused to go any further. She planted herself in a nearby cafe and refused to move whilst I wandered about the ruins for another couple of hours.
Here's some quick snaps if your interested.
The most moving part of this trip thus far are the skeletal remains of the terrified people. All are huddled together for comfort just as the surge hit.
I'll try and post some better pics taken with the "big camera" if I get chance.
We had hoped to get a bus up into the national park on Versuvius and climb to the crater but time has beat us. Maybe next time.
Tomorrow I plan to take Crispy along the coast to Amalfi for lunch. She deserves a treat. She had walked her little legs off over the past nine days. So a relaxing day is over due. What she doesn't know is that she will be walking back over the cliffs. Its a well known and glorious hike known as the path of the gods. I bet she loves it...
Bare and Crispy signing off, Pompeii, Italy
No comments:
Post a Comment