POMPEII GUIDE: WHAT TO SEE AND DO AND HOW TO GET THERE

Pompeii It's a great excursion from Naples, but whatwhat to see and do? ¿How to get? ¿How much? All this and more we tell you in this article. And Pompeii is one of the key places in a visit to Naples. This site, buried by the eruption of Vesuvius volcano in 79, is simply impressive.

Read on to learn more about this amazing historic city and how to plan your visit to Pompeii.

Pompeii ruins with Vesuvius volcano in the background

Learn the history of Pompeii

Pompeii was one of the richest, most prestigious and avant-garde cities in the world, so much so that it became a shadow of Rome. Today is the best example of Roman city of the first century that we have, the reason is simple: when the Vesuvius volcano exploded, he launched more than 10,000 tons of rocks, lava and debris per second! In a few hours most of the population of Pompeii died asphyxiated and the city was buried under ashes. Paradoxically, this same eruption that destroyed the streets, buildings and razed so many lives, made them remain in very good condition to this day.

Walking through the cobbled streets, the same ones they saw, living before and then dying, more than 2,000 people, is a shocking sensation: it seems to have been transported to another time, to another life and it is hard to believe that, from one moment to another, what that was a dynamic, lively and thriving city, she was trapped in eternal immobility and death.

Pompeii ruins

These are the places you should visit on a visit to Pompeii:

Forum: the center of the political, social and religious life of the city, it was the true heart of Pompeii. At the beginning it only had a few businesses but during the second century it was decided to give it a more modern air and the area was enlarged, areas were created to protect from the rain, the floor paving was changed using travertine marble and public buildings were built and temples like Apollo's.

Apollo Temple: very close to the forum is this temple dedicated to the God of the sun that was undoubtedly one of the most fabulous and beautiful places in Pompeii. The statues that were found near the temple are preserved in the archaeological museum of Naples.

The Lupanar: perhaps the most curious place in Pompeii. The Lupanar was the brothel of the city, proof of this are the erotic frescoes on the walls and the engravings on the doors where you could read the names (and specialties) of the women who worked here. It consists of 2 floors: the ground floor, dedicated to less wealthy customers, had five rooms, a hallway and a bathroom. The upper floor, dedicated to the richest customers, had a separate entrance and was much more elegant. The price to spend an hour of love was around 2-8 assi (a super accessible figure, since a glass of wine cost 1 asse!).

Grande and Piccolo Theater: The Teatro Grande was built in the second century BC and could accommodate more than 5,000 spectators while attending the comedies of Plauto and Terenzio. The Piccolo Theater, close to the big one, is better preserved but as the name says, smaller.

Orto dei Fuggiaschi: One of the most impressive visits. Here are the petrified bodies of 13 people who tried to escape the fury of the volcano. By the way, "ortho" in Italian means "garden" badly thought!

House of the Faun: The remains of this residence suggest that this was possibly the most beautiful and rich house in Pompeii. It is not known who inhabited it although the protagonist here is undoubtedly the statue of a small faun, the Roman divinity of forests and nature, who dances in a fountain.

Terme Sabiane: the best preserved hot springs in Pompeii, an example of how avant-garde the city was.

Amphitheater: It is located at the end of the Via dell'Abbondanza and its construction dates back to the year 80 BC so it seems to be the oldest Roman amphitheater in the world. Here shows, gladiator fights and impressive games were developed.

Visiting one of the streets of Pompeii

We leave you this Pompeii map (click it to make it bigger), so you can see where the main monuments are and better organize your visit to Pompeii.

Such an emblematic place could not come loaded with a few curiosities:

- The forgotten city of Pompeii was not discovered until 1700 and today it is one of the largest and most important archeological sites in the world.

- The houses of the wealthy were on one floor, oriented to the interior (so they were not very bright) and with each well-defined room: for example he ate in the triclinium and slept in the cubiculum (you know where it comes from the word concubine). The mansions used to have a garden with a fountain and enjoyed a decoration (frescoes, mosaics) of avant-garde and luxury. The majority of Pompeians with less purchasing power lived in houses of many plants, made of wood (so it was not unusual for them to burn) and much less luxurious. Obviously!

- Pompeii prostitutes were easily recognizable thanks to their red-dyed hair and the tunic that reached the knee (usually covered the ankles).

- During World War II, a few American soldiers, based in Pompeii, experienced the last eruption of Vesuvius (more than 60 cm of ashes covered their camps).

- In 1971 the band Pink Floyd recorded Live at Pompei in the Pompeii amphitheater.

- Recently another musical group (Bastille) put Pompeii at the center of his music: in the song Pompeii a man (the singer) is seen trying to escape from an evil (metaphor for the eruption of Vesuvius) in a modern city (“Great clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above ”), the ending is a disturbing tad but the song is beautiful.

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