Week 12 pt. 2 - Pompei, Paestum, Naples

 

Boungiorno Friends and Family, 

    This trip has been something I had been looking forward to since 6th grade when I first learned about Pompei in school. I have been so intrigued by the history that was preserved here by the volcano Mt. Vesuvius. Our trip to Pompei was a continuation of the trip where we were just at Capri so we truly went from one one the most beautiful places in Italy to one of the most history-rich places in Italy. The way that time was stopped and protected here really gave archaeologists the opportunity to see how Roman citizens were living their lives.

One of the things that became very clear to me when exploring Pompei was understanding that all Roman cities had the same elements that made up the city. For example, there was always a theater, amphitheater, forum, thermal baths, temples to the gods, and a major axis of north and south roads and east and west roads. In most of the places we have been it was hard to picture these elements because these cities have been disassembled down to the foundation stones. However, in Pompei, almost all the walls are still standing and they have even recreated some of the roofs for further understanding. Pictured above is the theater in Pompei.

Our tour guide mentioned that most houses in Pompei were probably two stories and the second story would have been made of wood. People would live on the second floor and then have their business down on the first floor. The picture above is a restaurant counter where they would have saved food out of the bowls that are built into the counter. This is basically like the fast food of the ancient world.

Pompei is also huge and still has lots of areas that have not been uncovered. The green grass above is the volcanic ash that covered the city thousands of years ago and has yet to be excavated. They plan to eventually excavate it but are waiting for new technology to develop so they can do a more in-depth study.

 

Mount Vesuvius looms in the distance.

This is one of the Roman houses they have reconstructed so you are able to understand what the inner courtyard may have looked like 2,000 years ago. Inside the houses, there were many mosaic-decorated floors and frescoes on the walls that illustrated daily life, as well as mythological legends.

Plaster casts of some of the people that were captured in the ash of Mt. Vesuvius.

Our next stop on our trip was Pasteum where we saw the ancient city of Poseidonia. This was a Greek city that was later taken over by the Romans All of the houses and other buildings had been disassbled but the three large Greek temple remain. Even when the Roman's took over this town they left the temples standing and turned them into temples for thier own gods. Over time people have respected the temples enough to leave them standing instead of taking the stone and using it for other projects which is what happened to the rest of the buildings of this town. The first photo is also of a temple in Pasteum.

Finally, the last stop on our trip was a quick visit to Napoli to visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples where the best artifacts from Pompei are stored. There were so many detailed mosaics and frescoes that that was such depth and detail for the time. It really goes to show how talented some of these ancient artists really were.

The tiles used on some of these mosaics were so small making the mosaics even more detailed. These pieces of art simply don't feel like they are 2000 years old. Additionally, the collection of animals they had in their art goes to show how much they studied the flora and fauna that was around them.

Another shocking display was this case of silver dishes that looked as though they could be in a china cabinet presently. These dishes were found barrier under blankets so when the volcanic ash fell it protected these dishes from damage.

I think my biggest realization from these visits was understanding that the archaeologists were able to piece together and know so much about the Romans because of the art they found in Pompei. For example above is a horn that is pieced together but still missing a few important pieces. How were the archeologists able to figure out the shape of this horn? Pictured below is a fresco of the same type of horn being used by a Roman showing exactly what it looks like and how it would have been used. 

By piecing together these pieces of art with the surrounding city, archaeologists have a good picture of what the town looked like and how the people in the city would have interacted with one another. Walking through the city of Pompei and Paestum I felt like a little bit of their history had come alive.