Pompeii is definitely where all the tourists go when visiting the ruins of a Roman city. We were there in off season, April 09. It was far from crowded and this excavation can take the crowds but when everyone converges on one building or site watch out! Plus with all the tours it gets busy in spots.
Pompei was covered in over 8ft of pumice from the 79 AD eruption. What I never realized before visiting was Pompeii was a bustling town for over 5 centuries before it was buried by Mt Vesuvius' ash and pumice. As a matter of fact Pompei was still rebuilding from an earthquake 12 years before. Many of the buildings weren't completed yet. Pompei was still considered a construction zone. The morning of the eruption started out like any other, stores were opening their shops for the day, bakers were beginning their bread, and overall the city was beginning to wake up. Bread was actually found in one of the ovens in the house of the baker. While the pumice rained down and ash fell people took cover. Unfortunately, many residents couldn't find a safe place to hide. If their house wasn't crumbled from the weight of the pumice or they weren't suffocated from the ash then the toxic fumes would certainly take their toll.
This day is depicted throughout the site. In the House of the Fugitives you will find the casts of 13 bodies who tried to find a safe haven in the garden. In the House of the Baker you'll find the complete ovens ready for the days work. You can even imagine residents beginning to do their shopping in the forum or worshiping in one of the temples found on every street.
Pompeii is a large excavation. While the streets are narrow there is plenty of walking room and places to visit. I did my research before visiting and one site said if you don't have a lot of time start at the amphitheater and work your way back to the entrance. We did this by taking a less traveled road. We met a nice couple from Wales and strolled through the far distant garden before entering the amphitheater. While smaller than Rome's it is fairly complete in its design. The floor is intact. Across the way is the outdoor recreation area with a pool and lots of grass for the younger generation to frolic. From the amphitheater its easy to find the more popular sites.
We missed the Brothels, not by design, it just worked out that way. My son was more interested in the casts of the long silenced residents. We managed walk half way back to the entrance when I realized we'd missed the House of the Fugitives. Ian was very interested in going back!
I was amazed at the thoughtful care of the archeologists were in reconstructing the gardens. Each house had a garden and the larger ones have been replanted. It does add a nice texture to the otherwise dull brown site and gives the visitor a better view of life in 79 AD. We notice the difference in the size of the houses. While Pompeii was a resort town for the wealthy Romans it was also home to many slaves and other hard working citizens. My son noticed the size of the rooms were larger than those in Ercolano but also from house to house. Pompeii also had more public gathering places.
What we didn't understand until we got home and read more was the narrow streets were often covered in trash and sewage. If one could manage to navigate the filth of the narrow streets they would find themselves dodging carts, horses, and dogs. These cities weren't into today's modern hygiene. After walking miles on the roads I can honestly say I'm glad I was born centuries later.
This site is very large and its easy to spend the entire day. Most people do. Pompeii was our second excavation site in our trip and we were bit tired of seeing it all. We stayed about 4 hours and didn't see everything. It is amazing place and worth a visit.
Some tips: Its very hot in Pompeii and there is very little shade. While water, snacks and guide books are available you need to buy them before you enter the site at the entrance. You will find no accommodations in the site itself. We started our visit in the morning around 10 am and left around 1230. That was plenty of time for us and it wasn't quite hot yet. We could still find shade. However, we were there in early spring. I'm glad we didn't go in the summer heat! Audio guides are available and tours in every language are available as well. One tour guide asked us to join his group. My son's comment was "No thanks, I want to learn my history on my own". I did listen to tours and got a bit of information here and there. The tours are extra and are not part of the Pompeii Scavi. However, the guides must be licensed and registered with the site. If you want to do it on your own stop by the information window next to the bathrooms and adjacent to the ticket window. There you'll get a free map and guide book. A ticket for one day is 11 Euro, 20 for 3 days and 5 sites. There are discounts for students and children if they are EU residents. My son is 6 and although we live in the EU we are not citizens. I payed full price for both of us. It does seem to me that this bit of history is for all the world and they'd want the world to share it, however, I'm sure they have their reasons for the steep prices for those of us not citizens. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a hat and sunscreen!
The touristy part of Pompeii is outside the entrances. Here you'll find eating establishments and refreshments. You'll also find plenty of souvenirs. Each vendor sells the same things at the same price. They can be a little pushy but its easy to ignore. One elder vendor tried really hard to give me a mineral sample of Vesuvius for 24 euro. Fortunately for us we already bought one at the summit of the volcano for a third of the cost. This area is the only place in all of Naples I could find good Italian gelato, reason number one for going to Italy at all! We did drink some really good fresh squeezed lemon slushies. I miss my slurpees so this was a treat for me.
My son and I read the Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne. Of course we had to retrace Jack and Annie's steps through Pompei. Near as I can tell the author had them running all over the city to get the scroll and back to the tree house. Its a large city. Now I understand why the bridge disappeared! Great trip, worth the effort, but Ercolano is a better site to visit.
