Museo Archeologico Natzionale in Napoli

To compliment our visits to Pompeii and Herculaneum, a visit to the Archeological Museum in Naples was a must. I had heard and read that many of the relics found at these sites were housed at the museum, including many of the frescos and mosaics.

I really enjoyed the beautiful sculptures and frescoes, but was disappointed to find out as I reached the end of the museum that I hadn't seen any mosaics, nor had I seen the Egyptian room that I'd read about.  I asked at the bookshop and was told that both the mosaic and Egyptian sections were closed for renovations.  The museum was still worth the visit, but if I ever make it back to Naples I will have to visit the museum again to see the sections that I missed.

Herculaneum

Ercolano, or Herculaneum in English, is another city that was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD.  I had heard that although smaller than Pompeii, Herculaneum was a better preserved site with more to look at in the way of frescos, mosaics, and most of all multi-storied buildings, still standing nearly 2000 years later.

Pompeii was engulfed by approximately 4 meters of burning ash and pumice, whereas Herculaneum was covered by 20 meters of mud and ash from the pyroclastic flow of hot gas and rock. The site, discovered in the 1700's, is still being excavated today.  The modern cities of Ercolano and Portici were built above the ancient Roman city and it is estimated that a number of public and private buildings, including the forum, are still buried under 20 meters of volcanic debris and the modern cities.

Visiting the archeological site of Herculaneum was very different from Pompeii.  Herculaneum was much less crowded, and although small, it had more to offer (in my opinion) than the better known site at Pompeii.

Inside the Terme Suburbane

Detail on the Casa dei Cervi

Casa dei Cervi

Casa dei Cervi

In the Palestra

Thermopolia - ancient Roman fast-food joint

In the next photo notice the bit of glare on the dark door panels at the back of the room.  These are wooden doors, a bit charred, and encased in glass that were original to this home.

Casa del Tramezzo di Legno (House of the Wooden Partition)

A bedroom

Inside the Terme del Foro (Forum Baths for Women)

Wine jugs

Frescoed walls and ceilings

I was blown away by the details and colors that are still so vibrant after nearly 2000 years.  This must have been a remarkable place to live (at least until Vesuvius blew).

The following day we tried to stay on our archeological theme by visiting the Museo Archeologico Natzionale but after being lost in horrible Naples traffic for nearly two hours we gave up and went to the base, hoping to get some help.  We found out that most everything closes on Tuesday in the Campagna region so we ended up back at our cabin and relaxed for the rest of the day and vowed to try again later that week, armed with instructions on where to park and to use public transit to get into the centro of Napoli.

In the meantime, our next adventure was the Alamfi Coast.  Hopefully I'll have time to post a few photos from this amazingly beautiful area tomorrow.

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!