Yes, it’s a bunch of ruins, but people like me are fascinated when thinking about what happened there over many years. We walked right by the place where Julius Caesar was murdered at age 55 by 60 conspirators and said (according to Shakespeare) “et tu Bruté?” (and you Brutus?).
We then went over to the Colosseum.
We originally had a reservation that would allow us to go down underneath the arena floor level to see where the animals and gladiators waited until they went into the ring. It was cancelled so the best we could do was to see it from the arena level and take pictures from there.
We also visited the Pantheon which is a former Roman temple and, since 609 AD, a Catholic church in Rome, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus. It was rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated c. 126 AD. It is one of the best preserved ancient Roman structures.
On Saturday we took the high-speed train south to Naples. From there we rented a car and headed to Herculaneum. I have dreamed about visiting here since I was in junior high and first learned about it.
Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved nearly intact, as the ash that blanketed the town during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD protected it against looting and the elements. Although less known than Pompeii today, it was the first, and the only discovered buried Vesuvian city (in 1709) for a long time. Pompeii was revealed only in 1748 and identified in 1763. Unlike Pompeii, the mainly pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum carbonized and preserved more wood in objects such as roofs, beds, and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus.
These are storage and boathouses used by citizens of Herculaneum. In 79 AD the sea level was much higher than it is today. As the volcano erupted, they fled toward the shore and sought refuge in the boathouses. Sadly they were overcome by the gases and intense heat. If you zoom in you can see skeletons and bones inside some.
This is the actual seabed as it was in front of the boathouses in 79 AD. To the left you can see the 65’ of pumice that accumulated from the eruption.
We spent lots of time walking through Herculaneum viewing their homes, fast food places, baths, etc. It was so interesting yet so sad knowing what eventually happened to so many.
Sandi
