Honestly, I don’t know how to effectively describe Pompeii. I can outline some history for you, but to understand what it feels like to actually be there and walk the streets…you’re going to have to go yourself, because it is beyond description.
So after we finished our time in Naples, our favorite Italian, Diana Gianquitto took us down to Pompeii for a guided tour. What I didn’t understand about this ancient archaeological site before my visit was just how big it is. This Roman city is enormous! Somewhere between 10 and 20 thousand people lived in Pompeii at the time of eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
When you walk the streets of town you can see so much evidence of daily life. There are grooves in the stones where horse drawn carts and carriages wore away the rock. There are fountains where people would get their drinking water. There are bars where people might get a snack on their way home! All of these things were such a surprise to me. I knew I would see some well preserved frescoes and tile work and the ruins of structures, but I certainly didn’t anticipate being able to look at these places and see what actual life might have looked like for the people who lost their lives so very long ago.
Pompeii is a beautiful place to visit. Not only are there the ruins to see, there is pottery, plaster casts of bodies made where they lay during the destruction, amazing mosaics, and even modern art. And one of the craziest parts of all of it is that you can walk around it all; you can go into many of the homes; you can explore the baths; you can sit in the amphitheatre where the ancient Romans sat. By the end of the visit, I was able to imagine what my own life might have been like 2,000 years ago in Pompeii. It’s times like that when you remember just how fleeting life is. Don’t waste a moment; carpe diem!
Click on the thumbnails below to see more photos!
I wanna go!
Rebecca….I wanna go back.