Pompeii, Italy
On the third day of my trip to the Amalfi Coast, I visited Pompeii, Italy. I wish I could have spent more time there, but I’m glad I got to see it. I decided to pay for a tour guide, which was a good decision because I would have missed a lot if I went on my own. Pompeii was originally settled by the Greeks, so it has mostly Greek architecture with some Roman influence. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the entire city in ash. It was not rediscovered until 1748.
Pompeii was known for trading, so it was a very wealthy place. The tour definitely helped us envision this, but it does take a little bit of imagination. The entire town square used to be covered in marble, which you can try to envision in the first few photos below. Our tour guide told us to pay attention to the columns made out of brick. It is very unusual that the columns were constructed this way, and this has not been found anywhere else.
The building that used to be Pompeii’s market now is where archeological findings are kept. We saw three preserved people here. The person in the glass box was a young pregnant woman. There is usually a preserved dog on display, but it was in Germany as part of an exhibit.
It was amazing to see how advanced the technology and architecture in Pompeii was. We walked past a water fountain, and our tour guide turned it on. It’s safe to drink out of and was constructed the same way we make water fountains today – 2,000 years later! We also walked past an old bakery. I loved this because I am a bakery science major. In the photos, you can see the flour mills, the area where the flour was stored, and also the oven.
My favorite part of the tour was getting to go inside of an old house. You could still see all of the intricate paintings on the walls. This part of the tour helped to envision how Pompeii looked before the eruption. Most of the city is brown now, so seeing colorful paintings really brought it to life.
The entrance to the house.
The room where the slaves lived.
The library/reception room.
The floors were very intricate.
One of the bedrooms.
The women’s living room.
The women’s living room.
The men’s living room.
The last part of the tour was a visit to a bath house.
Hope you enjoyed seeing Pompeii! It was really neat to see something so historical. You can read about the rest of my Amalfi Coast weekend trip if you are interested. I also visited Capri and Positano.
As always, thanks so much for reading, I appreciate it! Ciao!
About the Author
Rachel Budke Rachel is a senior at Kansas State University, where she is studying Bakery Science. In the fall of 2013 she studied abroad in Florence, Italy. She loves cooking, photography and DIY projects.
Related Posts
Modena, Italy: Parmesan Cheese & Balsamic Vinegar →
Rome, Italy →
Positano, Italy →
