My only “Must See” on this vacation was Pompeii. Pompeii did not disappoint. For one thing it is HUGE! From photos you just can’t get an idea of scale.
My husband and I both love history so it did not surprise me when our son majored in history in college. So mainly for them, I want to to share some of my photos, along with the most memorable facts I learned from our guide. I am skipping the dates and details that are in the history books and concentrating on the things I found most interesting.
Marina Gate (names here come from Archeologists (not Romans).
Big hole is for chariots, small one for pedestrians.
Much of the marble came from North Africa only a small amount from the Tuscany region of Italy.
My camera cannot capture the enormous size of the forum. That is part of Mt Vesuvius in the background.
Another memorable fact (no photos of this one) human urine was collected for its ammonia for use in the making of wool.
As a painter I was hoping to see more original frescos, but the ones I saw did not disappoint.
This fresco is from the “menu” in a very tiny brothel. Don’t speak the language? Just point at the picture of what you want, like in McDonalds!
How do you find a brothel? The penises point the way!
This is the ceiling in the sauna in the men’s public baths. To prevent drips on the men below, the moisture that collects on the ceiling runs in grooves down the dome of the ceiling into gutters on either side.
The Romans were also ahead of their time in advertising. The name of the family that donated this marble basin in the men's’ sauna is engraved in the marble.
The best preserved statues (not moved to the museum in Napoli) are here in the men’s sauna also. Here is a single one close up:
This looks like our neighbor’s Pizza oven and it works the same way. It is the oven in a Pompeii bakery.
This is a stone for grinding flour, several are in this one bakery.
These large stepping stones kept pedestrian's feet dry when crossing the roads that often flowed with water or waste water. The clever Roman’s also figured out standardization, all the chariot wheels were the same distance apart so they fit between the stepping stones.
These roads were busy you can see the tracks worn in the stone by the chariot wheels.
The archeologists think this tiny bits of marble were fitted in-between the stones of this road to help light the way at night. The marble would reflect the moonlight.
As a painter I am always careful to use archival products in my work, so I wonder if this artist had any idea his or her work would still be viewed today?
Art must have been everywhere, most of course has been removed to the museum in Napoli, but here and there you find carvings like this.
Bringing home the bacon?
If you enjoyed this short tour of Pompeii please leave me a comment below, because I always wonder who is reading my blog. I get many emails about it, but I would prefer to receive comments directly on the blog. Just click on the word “comment” and let me know you are out there.
