Where to Go While in Pompeii

To fully explore the site of Pompeii would take hours and even days, but one of the best ways to see how a citizen of the Roman Empire lived would be to explore the artwork and architecture of the city. About two-thirds of the site is now excavated, and most buildings are open for public viewing. However, a little-known fact about the city is that the guards and caretakers of Pompeii are more than accommodating, if you want to see something all you need to do is ask (be firm if necessary), and they will unlock a building for you. Or, if you are feeling daring, you need simply step over a crumbled wall and walk in yourself. If you do decide to do this, however, it goes without saying that you should still be very careful not to touch or disturb anything in the building you are viewing; they are usually locked for a reason, and most times it is due to it being in an obscure location or to protect the building from further damage.

One important thing to consider is that bathrooms are hard to come by. You will want to stay hydrated, so bring your own water as their prices tend to be outrageous, but keep in mind that a bathroom may be far away from where your group will be going. In addition to this, make sure you wear good walking shoes when you visit. The site, although remarkably preserved, is in ruins; the roads and sidewalks are not always in good condition, and it is extremely easy to sprain an ankle while walking around. The key to getting around comfortably is to wear appropriate footwear.

Remember, since the site is in ruins, it is important to either stay with your group or keep a map with you (or both). One crumbling wall can look the same as the next, and it is easy to get lost if you're not paying attention.

Buildings and Sights of Interest:
1. Forum
6. Stabian Baths
7. House of the Cryptoporticus - Dancing Elephants fresco found here
9. House of the Menander
10. House of the Tragic Poet
11. House of the Marine Venus - Showalter Fountain at Indiana Univ. is modeled after a fresco found here
13. Amphitheater
16. House of the Silver Wedding - Oldest example of Second Style wall decoration
17. House of the Golden Cupids - VERY hard to get into but is a must-see; the only fresco in the ancient world showing work as pleasurable (cupids)
18. House of the Vettii - Famous frescoes and gardens found here
19. House of the Faun - The largest villa in Pompeii; it takes up an entire city block!
21. House of Sallust

From an art standpoint, make sure to notice the different styles of wall decorations known as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Style (as can be distinguished here: http://www.pompeii.org.uk/s.php/escursione-la-pittura-parietale-a-pompei-scavi-di-pompei-it-222-s.htm). Much of what was found in Pompeii has been left in situ, or as it was found, and there are some very exciting examples of ancient frescoes, mosaics, furniture, and statuary. Botanists have even studied root casts of plants so that they could re-plant the species of flora that grew in ancient times. If you are lucky, you may even be able to see an example of the water works a garden featured. As stated before, if something interests you, ASK! You never know what you might experience that otherwise may have been overlooked.

Websites of Interest

A great way to get a bird's eye view of the Pompeii ruins would be to view it from Google Maps. Simply go to:

http://maps.google.com/ and enter "Pompeii, Italy, ruins"

You may need to search around and zoom in a bit, but once found it is a great way to see the city in detail with color.


The following link shows Pliny the Younger's account of what happened during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

http://www.volcanolive.com/pliny.html


Another interesting article about what would happen if Mt. Vesuvius were to erupt today.

http://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/mount-vesuvius.htm

A Brief History of Pompeii

The ancient city of Pompeii is a port city but not a sea port. It is situated in the region of Campania in the Bay of Naples, just south of the infamous volcano, Mt. Vesuvius.

It is unknown when the city was first founded. There is evidence of a Doric temple dating back to the 6th century B.C., so it can be assumed that the city was already in existence at that time. It was founded by a Latin people called the Oscans, most notably from the Pompey gens, or clan, which is where the term "Pompeian" comes from. Thus, the city is Pompeii of the clan of the Pompeys.

In the year 80 B.C. a colony was sent down to Pompeii from Rome under the leadership of Publius Sulla, a nephew of the Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. Its official name is Colonia Veneria Cornelia Pompeianorum, after the Dictator Sulla and from the goddess to whom he paid special honor, Venus Pompeiana, who then became the patron goddess of the city. From this point on, Pompeii became much like any other small city in the Roman Empire. It was never known to be a very wealthy city, but took advantage of the rich volcanic land at the base of Mt. Vesuvius for wine, cabbages, and the huge market for flowers. It is estimated that the city boasted a population of around 20,000 people.

In the year 62 A.D. Pompeii fell victim to a horrible earthquake, a warning of the reawakening of Mt. Vesuvius. Much of the city was destroyed, and there is still evidence of rebuilding until the time of the volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. Up until then, the volcano was believed to be extinct.

While somewhat debated, Mt. Vesuvius is credited by Pliny the Younger as erupting on August 24-26 in the year A.D. 79, which was devastating to the Bay of Naples as it destroyed the cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, Oplontis, and Herculaneum.

Ash spewed five miles into the air and blew south, toward Pompeii. It wasn't lava that buried the ancient city, but little ash pellets called lapilli, meaning "tiny stones," about the same size but three times heavier than Styrofoam packing pellets. These pellets were not hot, but came down at such a fast rate that the city was buried in roughly 20 feet of ash over two days. Massive thunderstorms also formed in reaction to the ash clouds, causing the ash to form a sort of plaster over the city. Because of this, all organic things took a long time to rot and instead dessicated over the millenia. Many items look charred or burnt but this is actually due to them being dried out.

From the casts of human remains found, it is estimated that around 2,000 Pompeians died in the city at the time of the eruption. Some look as though they died horrific deaths due to their body placement, but this is most likely because they were trying to "swim" out of the falling ash; in reality they probably suffocated or, as newer evidence suggests, they died from intense heat flashes that occurred when the volcano erupted.

Some inhabitants returned after the eruption to try and sift through the debris and reclaim buried belongings, but Pompeii was soon forgotten after this. It wasn't until the 1740's that it was rediscovered by chance, and it has been an active archaeological site for the last 250 years. Roughly two-thirds of the site is now excavated, with funding being the main reason that the rest has not been explored yet.

**Information from August Mau's book World of Pompeii (http://academic.depauw.edu/~pfoss/Mau/maukelsey.html), James Franklin's class at Indiana University titled "The Art & Archaeology of Pompeii," and www.wikipedia.org.
**Picture credits to thinctanc.co.uk/photogrophy/pompeii.html, www.dogsofpompeii.com, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ho6pag2ipNxZNsoPZyxgCfj0iuUzInep9XOZ4lyY4Kqdfhdd8RNTCIH7wOQr3VUe5nb5cUqRHkVYENO4nqRX0grYNcDjLhfFsKXhtz4Em8nAc4meFxi4atX6w-GyiP1XC99VD8xbaugO/s1600/DSC_0864.JPG, http://opentravel.com/Things-To-Do-In-Italy-Attractions, and http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/282/cache/101102-plaster-body-cast-of-pompeii-victim_28275_600x450.jpg