Pompeii
Our last day in the Naples area! We decided to check out Pompeii. Ever since I learned about the devastating volcano eruption that obliterated an entire town years ago when I was in school, its history has fascinated me. So the opportunity to go see it in person was a no brainer. It was a really fun day. The sun was very warm, but there was a wonderful breeze and many neat things to look at in Pompeii. We ended up spending most of the day there.
First, we caught a train from Napoli Centrale, and it was PACKED! It took about 40 minutes to get to Pompeii. Once you’re off the train, the entrance to Pompeii is literally a two minute walk away. Convenient! We got in and quickly became overwhelmed by the huge map and the amount of things to see. We picked a direction and off we went! Honestly, even after spending hours there, I feel like we barely scratched the surface.
I cannot believe how old this city is, and that it’s still there – even though it’s in ruins – for us all to see and enjoy today. I really felt like I was walking through living history today. Pompeii was devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius almost two thousand years ago. People were living, loving, working, dreaming, in the same streets I walked today, two thousand years ago, before it all ended tragically for them.
The rest of this post is mostly gonna be photos because I took a ton.
Remnants of a basilica 
Inside one of Pompeii’s bathhouses 
This was the smaller of two theaters Pompeii had 
These apparently were used to serve hot food – like soup pots would go into these holes. Probably similar to quick service restaurants 
This area was used as a barracks for gladiators 
Whoever lived in this house had a great view! 
You could tell who had status and who didn’t by the size and look of their homes 
The Sanctuary of Apollo
A mostly intact fresco found in the Villa of the Mysteries 
Pillars 
More frescos 
Someone’s courtyard 
At the villa of the mysteries 
A statue at the House of the Faun 
A statue at the forum 
Statues at a temple 
Somewhere near the forum 
People still work on Pompeii! 
So overall, Pompeii was really cool to see, and I’d be happy going back to explore even more since the place is huge and there’s plenty more that I could explore.
We got a train back to Naples, and back to the hotel to shower and pack! Off to Florence next…
The pictures look incredible. I googled it as I forgot much of the history. Amazing the detail in the plaster casts of the people and how quickly the volcano must have killed them. They were not blessed with all the alerts we have today. It is hard to believe how old everything is compared to the US.