Off adventuring in the southern half of Italy, I took a day trip to the site of Pompeii. Pompeii is this crazy place where you can literally go back in time 1931 years ago to 79 AD when Mt. Vesuveus buried the town in ash. Unlike most volcanic disasters, the lava never hit Pompeii, rather between 4 and 7 meters of ash and pumice fell on the city killing the inhabitants and preserving the city. It was rediscovered first in the 11th century and real excavation started in the 18th century.
Pompeii is a bit of a crazy place and it really makes you realize that human existence hasn't changed all that much in the past two thousand years. They had many of the same types of buildings - churches, law courts, bakery's, residential areas, theaters and the inevitable brothel. It amazed me that many of the frescos and floor mosaics are still well in place. Many of the statues and such have been removed to preserve them at the national museum in Naples, but the mosaics and the frescos are still in place.
One of the things I thought was really cool were the casts of people who had died during the eruption. In one home alone, there was 13 bodies, children, adults, babies. When they were doing the digs, if they found the remains, they would pour plaster cast before completing the dig resulting in perfect casts of the people who were buried by the ash and pumice.
I quite enjoyed the whole thing. As a side note, Robin I looked for the urn that went missing, but no luck. There were too many to pick it out.
When I got back to Sorrento, I had the wonderful Italian experience of learning to make gelato. Unfortunately, it involved a special machine, so I will not be able to replicate at home, but I did find it interesting and enjoyed the samples at the end.
Off to the Amalfi Coast today!
Off adventuring in the southern half of Italy, I took a day trip to the site of Pompeii. Pompeii is this crazy place where you can literally go back in time 1931 years ago to 79 AD when Mt. Vesuveus buried the town in ash. Unlike most volcanic disasters, the lava never hit Pompeii, rather between 4 and 7 meters of ash and pumice fell on the city killing the inhabitants and preserving the city. It was rediscovered first in the 11th century and real excavation started in the 18th century.
Pompeii is a bit of a crazy place and it really makes you realize that human existence hasn't changed all that much in the past two thousand years. They had many of the same types of buildings - churches, law courts, bakery's, residential areas, theaters and the inevitable brothel. It amazed me that many of the frescos and floor mosaics are still well in place. Many of the statues and such have been removed to preserve them at the national museum in Naples, but the mosaics and the frescos are still in place.
One of the things I thought was really cool were the casts of people who had died during the eruption. In one home alone, there was 13 bodies, children, adults, babies. When they were doing the digs, if they found the remains, they would pour plaster cast before completing the dig resulting in perfect casts of the people who were buried by the ash and pumice.
I quite enjoyed the whole thing. As a side note, Robin I looked for the urn that went missing, but no luck. There were too many to pick it out.
When I got back to Sorrento, I had the wonderful Italian experience of learning to make gelato. Unfortunately, it involved a special machine, so I will not be able to replicate at home, but I did find it interesting and enjoyed the samples at the end.
Off to the Amalfi Coast today!
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