The Lost City

In the ampitheatre....
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After the most amazing day in Sorrento I really didn't care to leave. However, I was very interested in the history behind a city that was covered by Vesuvius in approximately 79 A.D. (this time was determined based on writings found on the walls that all ended in 79 A.D.). After some bus trouble on our journey with it overheating and us hanging out at a gas station- we finally made it to this historic area. At first sight this is just like any other tourist area, there are tents filled with souvenirs (including many phallices...). There are people scattered everywhere and a few little restaurants to attract the tourists in for a meal. However- I was here for the experience, the chance to learn about a fallen civilization, the opportunity to understand how truly fragile life can be.

Veronica...
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We enter the grounds and it's still feeling like an amusement park. We meet our tourguide and this is where things change in Pompeii. He is a local historian who has helped in the archaeological digs of the area and he is truly passionate about explaining to us what happened where we stand. We only had two hours, as Pompeii was one of the stops just like other little stops we had made to our main destinations- so he made sure to include the most important aspects with our limited times.

The opportunity to understand how truly fragile life can be...

Up the road...
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We started down a fairly uncrowded street in comparison to the rest of Pompeii. He wanted to show us his favorite preserved home- one where wall paintings were still completely visible. To think that these paintings have been here for more than 2000 years and still can be seen without effort gives me a great appreciation for the fact that art can and does transcend generations- leaving something for the future to appreciate. These paintings were of darker colors; reds, browns and greens- colors our tourguide told us were easily accessible from things such as plants and berries. Apparently the wealthier you were the more colors and paintings you could afford, so the house we were standing in was of someone who was very affluent.

The casts of the bodies...
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We changed direction and went down a main road filled with other tourists. Along the way phallic symbols cut into the stone were point out to us and it is apparently believed that they pointed in the direction of the brothels.

We enter another house down the mainstreet and find the casts of bodies who had been covered during the eruption. I had seen these pictures before but it was really sad to be standing anext to the glass case of someone trying to save themselves in their last moments- even more emotional was that of the mother trying to protect her child. I can't imagine knowing that this is it, these are my final moments- it must have been absolutely terrifying.

And this is only a 3rd of what was covered...
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The tour continued to the main courtyard that had been exposed, but I felt at this point I was taking in how truly tragic the history of Pompeii was- how life can be taken from you in an instant. The tourguide told us that only 1/3rd of the area had been exposed so far because they knew once it was uncovered it wouldn't last for eternity and they wanted their to be more to last for future generations to be able to visit and appreciate.

From here we grabbed pizza (our last authentic Italian pizza, very sad) and headed back to the bus for our overnight cruise to Greece.