Pompeii

Wednesday April 21, 2010

This morning we went to see the ancient ruins of Pompeii. That was an amazing sight. In 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted. I always imagined that the lava was what destroyed the city, but it is really 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the volcano. The thing that was so damaging was all the volcanic ash. It was rather ironic to be hearing about the damage caused by volcanic ash given the situation with the volcano in Iceland right now. The ash from Vesuvius really changed things there, including changing the shape of the coastline.

Pompeii was really interesting because we were able to see the buildings and lifestyle of people from so long ago. It is amazing how much has been preserved. We saw the equivalent of a fast food restaurant, which had pots of soup for sale along the streets. We saw the home of one of the wealthier citizens which had beautiful frescoes painted on the wall. It is amazing that they were painted so long ago and we can still see them today. One of the things that has amazed me the most is the age and the size of things here in Italy. Richard and I were commenting that it is unbelievable that they were able to make such amazing things, all without the use of the modern tools we have available. And yet, I doubt people 2000 years from now will be coming on tours to see the ruins of John Burroughs High School. What are the chances that it will still be standing then?

The forum at Pompeii, the meeting place, was beautiful as well. There were quite a few columns still standing from the original temples. There was also a two story colonnade that surrounded the entire area. The columns on the bottom row were Doric, and the top Ionic. (Do any of my students remember what that means?)

I have to admit I have always been skeptical of being one of those tourists in a big group. However, this experience has changed my mind. Both here and in Rome we used an audio system that gave me the freedom to wander a bit and get some great pictures, but to still hear the commentary from the guide. I really like hearing the details and the stories that you would definitely miss if you did the tour on your own.

I also have to mention that I have been really impressed with the timing on our tour. We have managed to visit most of the sites when there were not too many other tours. We were the first group to arrive today and walked through the site without seeing too many other tourists. By the time we left there were many more groups arriving. I know that has been due to the planning of our wonderful tour director, Heidi!