The one place we couldn’t miss on our tour of southern Italy was Pompeii. From Sorrento, we spent the entire day climbing Mt. Vesuvius, walking around Pompeii, and finally getting lunch at a winery on the mountainside. Our tour of Pompeii prompted our interest in visiting Herculaneum and the National Archeological Museum in Naples. People had told us off-handedly that all of the good stuff from Pompeii was at the museum in Naples. I would have to say, they were correct.
Climbing Mt. Vesuvius
We booked a tour for a combo visit from Sorrento to Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii.
In addition to purchasing the tour, we had to buy a timed ticket to go up the mountain. Thankfully, the ticket was for a pretty wide time window, since traffic in the area was quite bad, easily adding 30-60 minutes to what should be a 60-minute trip from Sorrento.
Our van took us to an altitude of 1000m, then the final 281m to the summit would be on us. The path up to the crater proved to be a pretty consistent, moderate grade made of crushed lava rock. Given, the altitude, heat, humidity, and sun, I adopted a pretty slow yet maintainable pace for the 60-minute trudge. Once at the crater, it was still another 20+ minutes to get around to the other side. I had to get to the other side because… it was there. Definitely worth the effort for the view inside the crater and the surrounding area. Most people take about 90 minutes round trip from the parking lot to the summit. We took an extra 10 minutes because we spent quite a bit of time taking pictures.
Side note: A group of Americans recently chose to climb the mountain by hopping the fence, since they didn’t plan ahead enough to get tickets in advance. They did untold damage to the area by scrambling up the side of the crater. The only reason I know this is one participant made the news by falling into the crater while taking a selfie in an unprotected area. Karma, I guess.
Visiting the Ruins at Pompeii
After our climb, our guide took us on a brief ride to Pompeii, one of our must-do Italy items. If you didn’t know, Pompeii is famous for being preserved in time by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, covering most of the town in volcanic ash and killing 16000 people. Largely forgotten to time, discovery in 1763 led to nearly 200 years of unfettered excavation and looting. Many of the best finds were quickly spirited away by whatever king, authority, or archeologist was in charge. Today, quite a trove can be found in the Archeological Museum in nearby Naples, which you can read about below.
Defilement notwithstanding, a visit to Pompeii can provide boots-on-the-ground insight into the structure and customs in ancient Roman towns, especially when accompanied by a guide. Walking the well-preserved Roman streets and surveying how the dwellings are arranged, our guide brought to life what we saw. He pointed out grooves in the ground where sliding doors on shops once were and intact lead pipe plumbing in the ground and walls. We learned about how roads had raised block “crosswalks” to allow citizens to cross without having to walk in the omnipresent dung in the streets.
We of course visited the famous brothel with its picture menu. It was interesting, but not amazing. Funny side note: my mother was denied entry to the brothel when she visited in the 1950s. The pictures were deemed too racy for her delicate nature, medical degree notwithstanding. Unfortunately, sometimes the past is a prologue.
Comments on Pompeii
Other finds included how rich merchants lived in palaces where their market and food stalls faced the street and they lived behind, around interior courtyards. Lavish frescoes adorned the walls and equally beautiful mosaics covered the floors. Guests were frequently business partners, each with their own bedroom and dining room. The wife had her own dining room, too. This allowed the master to conduct affairs with everyone individually and avoid conflict.
Between climbing Vesuvius and walking Pompeii for more than two hours in the heat, we were hot and tired. Diana’s pedometer had ticked 15581 steps.
Having Lunch at a Winery
Our tour ended with a well-deserved lunch on the terrace of the Cantina del Vesuvio Russo Family Winery, situated on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. Volcanic rock is rich in minerals and makes interesting wines. Before we could sit, they took us on a winery tour. Although I’ve been on many, I always enjoy the show and tell and we occasionally encounter some unusual techniques. In this case, some of the wine was fermented in outdoor tanks. I remember asking why, but I don’t recall the specific reason. I guess I will have to return for another look 🙂
Our lunch came in 3 courses: Antipasti, Pasta, and Dolce. For the antipasti, we each got a sizable plate of cheese and meat. The pasta was a simple but delicious bucatini with fresh tomatoes and sauce. Dolce was a ginger cake. Each course came with its own wine pairing and was accompanied by a 360-degree view from Vesuvius to the sea. Truly Livin’ La Vita Dolce!
Note about Italian tours including lunch. We had lunch breaks included on 5 driving tours during our time in Italy. Without fail, the operators did all of the tourist stuff prior to lunch, meaning that food often didn’t become available until 3 pm. I mention this because I would run into trouble on tour days if I didn’t have a decent breakfast. The worst was this day. I ran out of energy in the afternoon heat in Pompeii after scaling the mountain. I was basically stumbling around the ruin and unable to pay much attention to our guide. As such, I advise chowing down to begin the day, making an effort to grab a bite at the site (which I could have done), or packing some energy bars.
Herculaneum (The Other Pompeii)
The same eruption that took out Pompeii also wiped out the nearby town of Herculaneum, a little to the north. Less excavation has occurred in Herculaneum than in its southern sibling, due in part to the volcanic ash being 20 meters thick in Herculaneum as compared to 4 meters in Pompeii. Although Herculaneum was discovered (and looting began) before Pompeii, a strong criticism regarding that lack of conversation by a contemporary nobleman stopped the practice right around the time that excavation picked up in Pompeii, leading to much more of Pompeii being unearthed.
Another key aspect vs. Pompeii was that a pyroclastic flow of ash and gas flow covered the town of Herculaneum, which had the effect of preserving organic materials like rope, wood, papyrus, and even food. There are numerous intact villas with frescoes, roofs, and elaborate mosaics. Another interesting find is the so-called “boat houses”, unearthed in the 1980s. These appear as seaside caves where the citizens vainly hid to escape the oncoming flow. Many skeletons were found in them, crowded by the beach with nowhere to go.
Overall, we preferred Herculaneum. It was much less crowded, smaller, more approachable, and had better preserved intact dwellings. Whichever you choose, I highly recommend a guide to at least one of the sites to bring to life the stories these ancient and unfortunate towns hold.
Discovering Naples, Briefly
After our stop in Herculaneum, we proceeded on to spend a couple of nights in Naples. We had been told that this third largest city in Italy was gritty and a bit sketchy. While both of these claims seemed true, we also found a lively city, where the locals were out in force enjoying their town. We chose to stay in the Renaissance hotel to get a little pampering after our Sorrento farmhouse. The location was great and we were afforded some nice views of the Bay of Naples. Our stay was only a few days because we had a train to catch from Naples to Sicily for our Food and Wine tour.
We only hit a couple of restaurants on our brief stay in Naples. Neapolitan pizza was a must and Diana liked it better than the cracker-like crust of the pizza in Rome. An interesting local dish I found is Pasta Alla Genovese, i.e. in the custom of Genoa. The thing is, I’ve never seen this served in or around Genoa, which is about 430 miles to the north. Although puzzling, I really liked the dish. Being comprised of slow-cooked meat and onions, it was high in umami.
The Archeological Museum
Our most notable stop in Naples was at the National Archaeological Museum. Housed in a former palazzo, it had, huge, fantastic mosaics you could walk on (with shoe covers). Many artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum have been assembled (recovered) and are on display.
There’s a cool solar calendar in the main hall where a small ball of light crosses an inlaid brass rail around noon, indicating the time of year. There was also a Japanese Manga temporary exhibit, which was… different. But the collected urns, jewelry, and artifacts are really the stars of the show.
Which excavated sites have you enjoyed visiting?
