Pompeii

Rome is exquisite in its own right, but it is also blessed with a central location to explore many other regions in Italy. It is a great base for same day trips or 2-3 day weekend excursions. For a same day trip, I recommend Ostia Antica, Naples, The Appian Way, Orvieto, Assisi, Castelli Romani, Frascati, Castelgandolfo, and Villa D’Este and Tivoli. The most fascinating option is a visit to Pompeii, a Roman city destroyed by a spectacular volcanic explosion by Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. It works as a day trip, but can certainly warrant a multi day visit if you are history or archaeology buffs. It is easily accessible by train from Rome and can be combined with a Naples tour and dinner. Herculaneum was destroyed in the same eruption and also interesting and a bit less crowded. A high quality guide adds enormous value and as always, familiarise yourself with the broad historical outline before proceeding. A great book with a wonderful discussion of the event is PAX, by Tom Holland. A fictional work by Robert Harris, The Last Days of Pompeii is a well researched and compelling read. Excavations are proceeding in earnest and you should revisit if your first tour was over 20 years ago. There have been many new discoveries and the conservation and preservation programs are far more professional now.

Why visit? If you love disaster movies you will love Pompeii. Basically, you get a detailed snapshot of daily life for Roman citizens in the first century AD. You also see how the movie ends when an overwhelming natural force confronts human ingenuity and planning. Nature wins! Volcanoes, typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes and forest fires always have the upper hand. It breeds a healthy humility and caution in human affairs.

There are distinctive features of the Pompeii disaster which provides a roadmap to historians and archaeologists as they perform their research. This happened 1950 years ago and the extended passage of time normally restricts access to original sources. Here, we have a reliable eyewitness, Pliny the Younger, who was present at the actual event and recorded his observations 25 years later in letter to Tacitus, a great Roman historian. He was accompanying his famous uncle Pliny the Elder and they were based on a ship in Misenum, a Roman naval base 25 miles from Vesuvius. The fumes from the eruption actually killed Pliny the Elder. Secondly, the materials released by the volcano completely buried the town, but also preserved it for eternity. Everything discovered in today’s excavations is in the same condition and in the same location as it was in 79AD. Tombstones, coins, jewelry, inscriptions, graffiti, kitchen utensils are treasure troves of information. Frescoes, wine presses, graffiti, foodstuffs tell us much about the culture. 20,000 people died in 79AD, but the site is now a live shot on the nature of their existence. UNIQUE!

Pompeii was southeast of Naples. It was a dynamic city with an active commercial and trading rhythm. All of the social ranks of Imperial Rome were there; nobles, aristocrats, military men, middle class shop owners and artisans, plebeians and slaves. There are villas, townhouses, apartments, government buildings, temples and gardens. It was distinctly pagan with tributes to the Gods everywhere. Interestingly, no evidence has been located suggesting any Jewish or Christian residents. Pompeii was a center for grain distribution and a base for the winemaking area of Campania. Herculaneum was more of a high end resort for the Roman rich and famous. The residents of Pompeii had been Roman citizens since Sulla put down a revolt there before his own march on Rome.

Pliny’s account identifies the date of the explosion as August 24. Recently, archaeologists have uncovered evidence it may have actually occurred in the fall. They have identified pomegranates,and grapes as well as evidence of active wine production suggesting October. A debate of purely intellectual interest and it certainly doesn't make a long term difference for the residents! We know Vesuvius erupted around 1:00 pm on a sunny day. The destruction occurred in continuous waves of explosions that occurred over 36 hours. There had been an earlier eruption in 62AD and the area had experienced regular earthquake type tremors the entire summer before the eruption. There is no evidence the Romans viewed the earlier eruption or the tremor pattern as a warning of an eruption of this magnitude. It was beyond their imagination. Interestingly, Vesuvius is still an active volcano with a rather serious eruption in 1944. Travel at your own risk!

The mechanism of the eruption has been well documented. There were the sustained earth tremors and local engineers reported the water springs above Pompeii were drying up. Engineers were investigating the condition of the aqueducts running beneath Vesuvius. Within minutes of the eruption, the sun was blotted out completely and it was immediately pitch black. A mushroom type cloud rose over the Bay of Naples and may have reached an elevation of 40,000 feet. The cloud was a combination of gas, ash, pumice and rock. The cloud reached its apex and began to drop toward the earth very rapidly. In minutes, the total blackout was joined by tons of pumice and ash falling directly on the town. Roofs were crushed and people outside were killed in their tracks. Red hot flames created temperatures approaching 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This same process occurred three or four times over the next 24 hours with the destruction and death toll increasing by the hour. There was lightning and the earth’s surface rumbled and was unstable. The firestorm was massive and people in Sicily reported seeing the cloud. Herculaneum suffered the same fate- it was at the base of Vesuvius and the wind currents had diverted the original release of deadly materials from them. Unfortunately, the wind patterns eventually changed and they were buried and destroyed as well.

There were no known survivors- at least no Pompeii resident who recorded an escape- and Roman authorities who visited in the aftermath said Pompeii had completely disappeared and the entire coastline had been altered. No big post mortem investigations. Life went on and the story faded into the dustbin of history, particularly with the advent of the Dark and Middle Ages. The general area was not depopulated and farmers and vintners continued their work and the soil was seen unusually rich because of the volcanic content. Concrete comes from volcanic rock residue so all things ultimately have a commercial purpose.

Serious excavations did not begin until the 18th Century. French Bourbons running Naples took the lead. What do the excavations teach us? 1500 human beings have been identified- plastic casts of baked people in their death throes. It is gruesome and you may question whether your curiosity has a voyeuristic component. We see architecture and interior design as practiced back then. Villas and houses with bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and libraries. The Forum, the central gathering place for the community and host to political events and entertainment festivals has been unearthed completely. You visit a working brothel, a fixture in all Roman cities. You discover that Roman culture was erotic, even pornographic. House after house prominently display explicit frescoes with people engaged in sex acts. It is not a class issue- the poor residences have the same erotic motif as the noble houses. The culture was phallic- centric with penis plaques prevalent. The graffiti is saucy in the extreme. English victorian archaeologists who visited Pompeii were so embarrassed they insisted the art be put in storage and hidden from the general public. The Kama Sutra has nothing on those Romans!! Foods and dietary habits are revealed in the kitchen cabinets and storage areas. They had a Mediterranean diet! They like wine and consumed duck, pork, fish, fruits, vegetables and bread. Over 20 bakeries have been identified. There are storefront restaurants, a predecessor to the fast food movement. Political advertisements and governmental proclamations are evident. The good news is that funds for future excavations continue to roll in and the European Arts and Culture Ministry is strong financial supporter.

The destruction of Pompeii has made the Vesuvius volcanic eruption the most famous in history. The site is well worth your time and attention. Thanks.