The Ruins of Pompei

Pompei was buried in ash and pumice in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted, preserving a 1st-century Roman town, including its people and art.  Erica and I reached Pompei midmorning after we left Atrani and had taken the bus back to Salerno.  We walked around the ruins for a couple of hours.  A lot of the architecture has been preserved, as well as pottery and frescoes.

 

Since volcanic soil is so fertile, a lot of the vineyards have been regrown in the ruins and there are trees everywhere.  In the background of this picture, you can see Mount Vesuvius resting ominously.

We walked around trying to find the casts of the people whose forms had been preserved by the intense heat of the eruption.  Sadly, we didn’t find them.  We saw one last amphitheater and figured it would be pretty much the same as the other two we’d already been in.  So note: the last amphitheater is where the replicas of the bodies are (the originals are in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.

That was the final adventure on this disastrous trip, and a pretty good conclusion.  When I got back to our apartment, I called Emily and told her what I disaster the trip had been, and she brought me chocolate milk and made me spaghetti.  Best friend EVER. (Thanks Em.)