Thursday, October 14, 2010

Pompeii

Visiting Pompeii has long been on my "bucket list" so it makes sense that our first full day in the Naples area was spent at Pompeii exploring the ruins of the city destroyed by the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Roaming the streets of this city was a somber experience.  My imagination was at work picturing what life might have been like so many years ago.  With Mt. Vesuvius still hovering over Pompeii it feels a bit eerie knowing the power of nature that entombed this town and its inhabitants.

I took hundreds of photos that day cataloging the details that remained scattered around Pompeii - from mosaics and frescos, to statues, and of course the plaster molds of the bodies that were swiftly entombed when Vesuvius' spewed burning ash and pumice, blanketing the city.

View of Vesuvius from the Forum


















Inside the Macellum

View of Vesuvius from the Forum


Porta Marina

After departing from Pompeii's archeological park we decided to take a drive up Mt. Vesuvius.  The view of the bay of Naples was stunning.  We stopped at a restaurant on our way down for dinner and enjoyed the spectacular sunset from our table.

Sunset over the bay of Naples with Ischia in the background
Our next excursion was to Hurculaneum, another town destroyed by the 79 AD explosion of Mt. Vesuvius.  Check back in the next day or two for photos from these amazing ruins!

2 comments:

Catherine "Cat" Evans said...

You captured it! Made me regret not getting there. Maybe we go? Your shots are great. I want to ask about the post process on some of them.
Fantastic shots!

Sheena said...

Beautiful. The bodies are a definite reminder of how one instant can change everything. Very sobering. Great work, Angie. Miss ya! btw, I have a new blog home. (again... LOL)