Pompeii

The next day we took a day trip to Pompeii. After another lovely breakfast at our hotel, we walked from our hotel to the Sant'Agnello station. We caught a local train for the 45 minute ride to Pompeii, traveling north towards Naples. What a beautiful day!

The older couple seated next to John on the train were really cute. They were holding hands and talking sweetly to each other, but occasionally they would look over and point towards John. They looked fascinated by his interest in the iPad.

We had not laid out plans to visit Pompeii in advance of our time on the Amalfi coast. Instead, I had outlined a day trip to the Isle of Capri. But after having spent the previous day enjoying the coast and Amalfi, Scott and I wondered whether visiting another tourist-oriented coast town might be too repetitive. So upon recommendation from the bartender at our hotel and our driver from Naples, we visited Pompeii instead.

From Wikipedia...Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 (Note: Looking back to our drive from Naples, where we drove past Mount Vesuvius coming from the train station). 

Researchers believe that the town was founded in the seventh or sixth century BC by the Osci or Oscans. It came under the domination of Rome in the 4th century BC, and was conquered and became a Roman colony in 80 BC after it joined an unsuccessful rebellion against the Roman Republic. By the time of its destruction, 160 years later, its population was estimated at 11,000 people, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium, and a port.

In the photo below, Amelia and John are listening to their audio guides just outside of the amphitheatre.

The eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash. The site was lost for about 1,500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748. The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and moisture. These artifacts provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died.

Pompeii has been a tourist destination for over 250 years. Today it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors every year.

And crowded it was! Holy moly, Pompeii made Venice look like a pretty empty place. I think all 2.5 million visitors were there on the day we toured Pompeii. Nearly everyone there seemed to belong to a large tour group, and they tended to walk in packs completely taking over the ancient cobblestone pathways.

We used various commentaries on our audio guides to meander through a handful of the hundreds of homes and courtyards that were open to visitors. It was slightly less crowded on the inner paths and the stories on the audio guide about home construction and lifestyle were interesting.

Pompeii was an interesting place to visit, but after a few hours in the heat and overpowering crowds, we left for the day. We enjoyed a quick lunch outside the walls of Pompeii and then took the train back to Sant'Agnello.

Sant'Agnello was pretty quiet in the early afternoon, and it was fun to walk along the empty streets admiring the flowers and old church on the corner near our hotel.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at our hotel before dinner. John was fascinated by this yacht that we could see from the pool on one of the upper decks of the hotel.

Amelia enjoyed some quiet reading time in the small garden next to the pool.

After pool time, happy hour and refreshing showers, we ventured out for dinner. We were lucky to (accidentally) time our exit form the hotel at sunset. What a spectacular view from the patio off the lobby!

Sadly, Restaurant Moonlight was closed this evening. But the bartender at our hotel gave us a recommendation for his favorite local trattoria, and it ended up being a great place for our last meal on the coast. After seeing an abundance of lemon trees earlier in the afternoon when we walked back from the train station, I decided to order lemon shrimp risotto for dinner. This was delicious!

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