Pompeii and Herculaneum

These two places are easy to visit together because they are along the same train line. The first hurdle was to discover where in the main Napoli station we could find our train tickets on the separate Circumvesuviana line for Pompeii/ Herculaneum, and then the train tickets for our trip from Napoli to Palermo on Friday. The first was accomplished amid the din of a rather physical argument with some men nearby. We think the railway police were attempting to restrain a man who was objecting very forcefully. This was also concerning the ticket sellers and made it a little hard to hear. Next stop was the Trenitalia ticket office, some distance away, to buy the Palermo tickets where another disagreement was occurring between a ticket seller and a customer who seemed dissatisfied with his service. The customer left but not before the ticket seller yelled some more abuse - 'Who do you think you are, a lord? You are just a girl.' and then stuck up one finger, and then, saying "Not one but two", used his second hand, inviting the customer to come back and sort it out like a man. Could have been two sets of fisticuffs on the same day. We were next to buy from the seller next to the one who was yelling and the two Trenitalia staff continued the conversation between themselves right in front of all the customers. I have to add that I'm glad that the first altercation didn't occur near the second as the ticket seller might have jumped the barrier and let fly there too! We did get our tickets and were told we stay on the train all the way as the train goes on the ferry. We had been wondering.

We had to go deep underground as usual to wait for the Pompeii train. We were both struck by the state of neglect and decay that you see both on the Circumvesuviana trains. This is effectively a branch suburban line joining Naples and Sorrento via Herculaneum and Pompeii. All the trains are veterans, covered in graffiti as were all the stations they pass through. The area all along the line area is filled with people people living cheek by jowl in six/ seven storey high apartments practically on top of the railway line. Other apartment blocks we saw are also in poor condition and we also saw some that appeared to brand new. There was much evidence of serious decay and possible concrete cancer in many of the unit blocks. Only those on the top would escape the possibility of a piece of concrete falling onto a balcony below. It was a lovely day so all the washing was out. There was a period of time when the local mafia known as La Camorra had a stranglehold on the area and built blocks of units using substandard materials. In 1980 an earthquake destroyed thousands of shoddy buildings. Perhaps we were seeing the evidence of this shoddy workmanship 30/40 years later?

We got out at what we thought was the stop for Pompeii, having passed through Herculaneum which we intended to visit on the way back. This station appeared to be very new and nobody was about but too late.....our train disappeared into the horizon before we could jump back on. This will teach us to make sure we have the latest version of the railway map - one that includes all the stations! The next train to go the one extra stop was in one hour so we thought we might get a taxi. Before we could look too far One of the staff at the station cafe realised our mistake. He asked a customer if he would take us and he immediately leapt up, so for 10E one of them offered to drive us. The cafe staff promised to keep his coffee and pastry warm. He drove us directly there. In the end we had thirty minutes to wait before the Pompeii site opened, so we got a coffee nearby and then went in at 9.

The place is awesome- it's hard to believe that all those years ago Romans were walking around shopping and gathering to discuss important matters, and also buying bread and other supplies. It was established around the sixth century BC, partly destroyed in 62 AD with an earthquake and then in 79AD, Vesuvius erupted, killing all 20,000 or so residents and raining ash and pumice on the town for three days. There were thirty or forty brothels, many baths and about seventy bars as well as houses of varying size and importance. The House of the Tragic Poet is well known for the mosaic that reads "CAVE CANUM"- ie beware of the dog. The House of the Faun covers about 3000 square metres and dates back to the second century BC. There is a copy of the famous dancing faun inside- the original is in the Archeological Museum here in Naples and we plan to visit that on Wednesday, the weather forecast being wet. The amphitheater has wonderful acoustics as well as great views of the whole place so was well worth the climb to the top seats, where in the past the riff raft would have sat. Mick went up to the top and said hi to me down below in a normal voice and although he was some distance away I could hear him clearly.

The ingenuity of the Romans is evident at every turn. From the everyday genius of the arch, to the systems that provided three different water systems to the town, to the technology that provided the comfort of the bath houses, to the system of a consistent gauge for carriages, the use of stepping stones to indicate one or two way traffic - and that is not to mention the town plan, its government, its commerce ... but of course none of that counted for aught when the big day came! The fact that so much has been recovered is such a gift to humanity. (Although we wouldn't be volunteering to suffocate in volcanic fumes and be buried in ash just to make it possible!).

We struck gold today as we had this amazing site almost to ourselves on a lovely sunny day. Nothing short of miraculous. We suspect it is the beginning of the actual low season. Italians are all back at work and school after the Epiphany, and thee are fewer foreigners around. I heard a tour guide, having finished her commentary, ask one of her group to take a photo of her at the site as she had never seen it so empty, and in such beautiful weather.

We got some gifts and had a quick snack and got back on the train to Herculaneum to see the ruins there. As soon as you leave the station you find yourself standing in front of more of these large apartment blocks- really close to the railway line. I'm sorry to say that we were immediately struck once again by the poor state of the area and the rubbish lying around the streets. There is a lot of rubbish in Naples too but at least a lot seems to be somewhat close to the huge bins placed for collection. There was little signage to the ruins and we ended up coming in a back way which we almost missed as a delivery truck obscured the open gate. A kind official rang through to the ticket office to tell them he had let us in and we were to pay there. This was great and saved us walking around the entire outside of the site. We had already covered quite a few kilometres at Pompeii. Herculaneum was affected in a different way to Pompeii partly because the volcanic eruption of 79AD destroyed Pompeii first, giving the citizens of Herculaneum time to flee, while taking the Pompeii residents by surprise. Herculaneum was covered in very hot mud and lava and the heat instantly killed those who remained. For the same reason some of the buildings were not destroyed as in Pompeii. The lava even preserved some of the old timbers due to locking out both moisture and oxygen. Herculaneum has many well preserved frescoes and mosaics- it's hard to believe that they were completed before the time of the eruption.

M: One of the most recently excavated areas of Herculaneum is what was once the shore. The alcoves at the water's edge would have been the last recourse in the face of the advancing lava. Sadly it wasn't enough, and the scores of people huddled there faced the same dreadful fate as every other Herculaneum. As I gazed at the uncovered skeletons in those alcoves, I couldn't help but wonder who they were, and what they were thinking of as the lava approached. Were they alone? With loved ones whom they were trying to protect? This will be the abiding memory for me - capturing in a single scene the fate of both Pompeii and Herculaneum.

A: What a day- visiting two major historical sites on the one day. This would not have been easy in the summer. We walked back to Herculaneum station ( Google sent us the long way!) and changed trains to the station near our apartment - University. Lunch was about 3pm and was a delicious fresh bread roll and salad- thanks Mick. I was too tired and hungry by then to be able to do much at all but would not have missed any of this incredible experience.