The name Pompeii is instantly recognizable. The Roman city buried by volcanic ash has been the subject of a multitude of movies, books, and TV shows, and is renowned for the wonderfully preserved art that was recovered from beneath the ash. So when we were visiting Naples and the Amalfi coast, we made sure to include a visit to Pompeii in our plans.
There are several ways to visit the archaeological site, which is about 25km southeast of Naples. Because we were limited on time, we opted for an organized tour to get the benefit of a guide. We were picked up by a bus in the morning at Fontana di Monteoliveto, near our AirBnB. We were hoping for an intimate experience, when we booked a "small group tour," but unfortunately got the complete opposite. The bus was a huge coach and there were dozens of people on-board. When we arrived at Pompeii, we realized that our tour was one of many run by the same company, and there were busloads of people all funneled to a central location. Our final tour group had about 45 people. The tour only lasted two hours, a fraction of the time necessary to see the entire site. That said, we did see most of the highlights and got some interesting back story and dialogue from our guide, Eliza, that we would have missed out on if we were on our own. Eliza didn't disappoint, and we were happy she was as snarky and expressive as most of our guides in Italy.
Eliza taught us quite a bit about the ancient Pompeii sex industry. Apparently, there were a ton of brothels in the city, more than there were bakeries. Pompeii was a port town so there were lots of sailors to... satisfy. The brothels marked their location with penis shaped markings on the roads that led from the port straight to their businesses. Some of these are still visible today on the streets. Female sex slaves were cheap and cost about as much as 1/2 a glass of wine at the time. Most of these women did not live into their 20s.
In lighter news, we also learned that there were tons of fast food restaurants in Pompeii. Vendors would put food like meat and vegetables on top of bread and this served as a plate for people to take food to go. It also served as a precursor to pizza. Bread was stamped with the logo to mark the restaurant for advertising purposes.
While there is still some art on site, many of the most significant findings from Pompeii, like statues, mosacis, and frescoes were taken to museums. We were able to see a lot of these pieces at the National Archeology Museum in Naples, which helps to contextualize the ruins.
Our first few steps into the site. Blue sky, cool day, great for a hike through an archaeological site!
Preserved pavers.
Road and buildings in the center of Pompeii.
Vesuvius looming in the background.
Exceptionally preserved Roman road through Pompeii.
Being history dorks.
This was likely an oven at one of the many bakeries in town.
Road with stepping stones. Wagon wheels fit within the grooves and people could walk over the road which was covered in filth and waste.
Crowded but not too bad, especially compared to the Amalfi Coast and Rome.
Some original frescoes exist throughout the site.
Plaster mold of a person buried in volcanic ash. There are several preserved silhouettes in Pompeii.
Inside a bathhouse. Some original paint was preserved.
Geometric patterns in the bathhouse.
Frescoes from a brothel. Our guide told us the art was to help you pick what you wanted.
More brothel art.
Well preserved mosaic tile walkway.
Vesuvius over the Forum.
Augustus really got around...
Old columns.
Another plaster silhouette of a person covering his face.
Hanging out in the Forum.
Janice and Peter in the Forum.
Vesuvius is still an active volcano.
It's really hard to get the scale of this place, it's a huge site!
We definitely recommend you go to Pompeii. How you visit really depends on how much you are interested in Roman history and how much time you have. Since we're both fairly interested, we wish we had made a more intimate arrangement with a private guide. The tour we took was fine if you're just interested in the highlights and don't mind being shuffled around in a herd. There are also add on trips you could arrange from Pompeii. Christina and David E. tried to go up Mount Vesuvius for the views, but a cold front came through the evening before and the winds were very high on the summit. Supposedly some tourists were knocked over and they closed the path. Can't have a 90 year old woman falling into the volcano, now can we?
Like all good things, our time in Rome eventually came to an end. You can catch up on our adventures earlier in the week and look at the google map we created to plan our time:
This post covers our last day and a half in Rome and starts in the afternoon after our mad dash through museums and churches in the city. After half a day of walking all over the place and being super tourists we needed a drink. We stopped by Harry's bar on the way to our reserved ticket entry into the Galleria Borghese. You can tell it was a nice part of town by the price tag on the drinks, €16 each!
The Galleria Borghese is one of several museums and galleries located in the Villa Borghese park. This area used to be the private grounds of the Borghese family, but has since become a large centrally located public park. The Galleria Borghese is a must-see art museum filled with works from Bernini, Titian and Caravaggio. Unlike other museums we visited that focused on classical sculpture and frescoes, this gallery was mostly focused on Renaissance works. It's not a huge museum, but there's a masterpiece around every corner. We were in and out within about one hour. Make sure to order your timed ticket early, as this museum sells out days in advance.
Having a snack and an expensive drink before heading to Villa Borghese.
Grounds of the Villa Borghese.
Galleria Borghese, an impressive art museum.
Again the museum itself is really a piece of art.
Bernini's self portrait. He was a painter, a sculptor, and architect. He's our favorite Italian artist.
Leda and the swan.
Marcello Provenzale's Orpheus mosaic. This was a small piece (maybe only a foot across) made from thousands of tiny tesserae. Very impressive.
Another impressive mosaic in the Borghese Gallery.
Every room was packed with art from the floor to the ceiling.
Bernini's beautiful sculpture of Apollo and Daphne. Daphne is turning into a tree.
Bernini's David - a marked contrast to Michelangelo's version. A look of determination.
The pillow (made of marble) of Canova's Paolina Borghese (Bonaparte) as Venus Victorious.
The marble carving was so delicate we had to double-take to be sure it wasn't really a pillow.
Mariano Rossi's huge 1770s ceiling fresco in the central hall.
Hades and Persephone by Bernini. So much emotion depicted in marble.
St. Jerome Writing by Caravaggio.
Another Caravaggio oil painting - David with Goliath's Head.
After touring the museum, we went back to the AirBnB and then to eat dinner with David's Uncle Rick and Aunt Terri in Trastevere at a restaurant called Hosteria La Botticella. Overall, this was probably one of the best meals of the trip and we'd highly recommend it. We arrived a little after 9pm and the place was pretty full. The waitress told us to hold on a moment and pulled out a folded table and chairs from inside the restaurant for us to use. She set them up on the street, which luckily had very little traffic. The waitress was endearingly surly and haggard, but very welcoming. For dinner David had lasagna and Paul ate a baby pig, and we drank some delicious Sicilian wine. After dinner we strolled through Trastevere, which was bustling on a Saturday night, and made our way back to the AirBnB for a nightcap on our balcony.
Hosteria La Botticella in Trastevere. We highly recommend eating here.
Bustling Trastevere around midnight on a Saturday.
For our last full day in Rome we split up for the first half of the day. Paul woke up at the crack of dawn to go ride some roller coasters at Rainbow MagicLand. Getting there involved a train to Valmontone and then a free shuttle bus. Rainbow MagicLand is a medium sized park that is really well themed and has a couple of great coasters - the launched Shock and the indoor spinning Cagliostro.
Cows on the way to the amusement park.
The impressive theming at Rainbow MagicLand.
Some kind of weird halloween dance thing when the park opened.
Shock was a unique and fun coaster, definitely the highlight of the park.
Catching the train back to Rome at Valmontone station.
While Paul was busy riding roller coasters, David went to Campo de Fiori to buy some produce since his Dad wanted a salad for lunch. Lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, and a red bell pepper cost around 4.50€. Then he came back picked up his mom and went to the Spanish Steps area for some shopping on Via del Corso. David bought his mom some perfume and they wandered around for a bit. After his AM roller coaster dash, Paul joined for lunch at a little cafe off the Via del Corso.
Spanish Steps from the top.
David's Mom at the Spanish Steps.
Lunch prosciutto. Basically 75% of meals in Italy involved us eating prosciutto.
Last cacio e pepe of the trip.
Piazza del Popolo. Near the Villa Borghese, the old northern entrance to the city.
After a week of running around Rome and Florence we were pretty tired and crashed for an afternoon nap. After we got up, we did some packing and went out for a farewell to Rome and family dinner with all of David's family at Enoteca Ferrara - another restaurant we'd recommend if you're in the Trastevere area. David's parents were heading home the next day and his Uncle and Aunt were heading up to Tuscany while we went to Naples/Amalfi with Christina and David E. It was also Paul's family's last day in Italy. They opted to go to a cat cafe for dinner. It was in neighborhood to the south.
Last meal in Rome at Enotecca Ferrara.
Not wanting to leave Rome, we took one last stroll through the city center after dinner. We walked past the Pantheon, the Altar of the Fatherland, the Roman Forum and the Trevi Fountain. We threw a coin into the fountain over our shoulder - a customary promise to return to Rome again in the future.
Pantheon at night.
The Trevi Fountain all lit up.
Altar of the Fatherland.
Column of Marcus Aurelius.
Close-up of the column.
The Arch of Septimius Severus.
With that we bid arrivederci to Rome. Quite possibly one of the most interesting cities in the world with countless layers of history. At first we thought nine days would be way too much time, but it ended up being appropriate - we didn't see everything on our list. We're sure we'll be back to this city again some day. The food, history, art and the people make it a great destination! Onward to Naples and the Amalfi Coast!
