Story: Pompeii's Last Day

One of the challenges first time visitors to Italy face is the daunting task of deciding what to see in this vast and beautiful country. Some flock here to visit the awe-inspiring St Peter’s Basilica, hoping to catch a glance of the Pope. For others, such as me, the best of Italy can be found in the unique and weathered floating city of Venice, with its dizzying maze of canals and footpaths. For some, there is no experience more quintessentially Italian than sipping wines and taking cooking classes in the famed Tuscany region. For my wife, one of the things she’s always had on her ‘must do’ list is a visit to the excavated ruins of Pompeii, as well as the neighboring volcano responsible for its demise.

Located in the province of Campania, Pompeii is located a mere 24 km from the provincial capital of Naples. While there are tour group operators which will bus you from Rome to Naples for a Pompeii/Vesuvius day trip, most people (including us) spend a couple days in Naples itself, using the city as their base of operations. Frequent trains connect Naples with the rest of the country, with one or two arriving from Rome per hour after a short 2½ hour trip. Accommodations are also available in modern suburban Pompei, but most tourists avoid these because of safety concerns.

Our visit to Naples itself was an interesting experience. Unlike wealthier cities to the north, Naples has a distinctly grittier ‘inner city’ feel to it. It’s noisier, dirtier, more polluted, and has a higher crime rate than Rome and certainly Venice. Traffic here is insane. I’ve visited much of Asia and have yet to witness more reckless driving by cabbies than in Naples, or more dishonest ones. Fares have to be negotiated up front, so tourists new to the city are basically at their mercy.

Happily, we survived our taxi ride from the main railway station (Stazione Centrale) to our hotel (after paying twice as much as the subsequent return trip). We were buzzed in through the hotel’s locked iron gate by the concierge (gulp), and settled in for the night. The guidebooks appropriately suggest that tourists avoid walking around Naples after dark. If you must do so, don’t attract attention to yourself by lingering or by sporting flashy jewelry.

The next day, we were picked up at our hotel by our tour guide, who whisked us off to Pompeii in a comfortable mini-van. Those who wish to see the archeological site on their own can get there via the private Circumvesuviana Railway (tel: 081-7722444), located at Piazza Garibaldi, next to Stazione Centrale. Take the Sorrento-bound train and get off at the Pompei/Scavi stop, a 45 minute ride. Admission costs 10€ per person, though a three-day pass for 18€ is available (also allowing access to ruins at Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabia). The grounds are open daily from 8:30AM to 5:00PM (last admission at 3:30PM), and till 6:00PM from April to October, so arrive early before the fleets of tour buses arrive. Most visitors need at least four hours for a cursory tour of the site. If it’s a sunny day, bring a bottle of water. There is a café and gift shop just outside the entrance, but no refreshments are available once you’ve entered the grounds.

Those who show up without a pre-arranged tour guide will be greeted at the entrance by many offering such services – as always, some will be worth their weight in gold, others not at all. For those who wish to navigate ancient Pompeii on their own (something we would recommend if we could do it over again), pick up a guidebook with a detailed map at the bookstore. This way you can learn about what you are seeing at your own pace, rather than that of your time-constrained tour guide.

There is much to see at the ruins. The most popular sites include the large patrician villas, the forum in the center of town with its surrounding temples, the brothel, the grand theatre, the bathhouse, the bakeries, and the amphitheatre. As you wander the grounds, you’ll be in awe of this UNESCO World Heritage site, which attracts some 2.5 million tourists a year.

Perhaps what fascinates visitors most about Pompeii is that its burial by Mount Vesuvius under several metres of ash in 79 AD preserved much of the town, thereby giving us a snapshot of life at the peak of the Roman Empire some 2,000 years ago. Not only were the town’s streets and buildings surprisingly well preserved, so were many of its residents and their art, tools, and other personal belongings. Sadly, much of these have been lost or destroyed since its rediscovery in the 16th century, the result of both natural (such as weathering and water damage) and man-made forces (e.g. poor excavation techniques, vandalism, and theft). Only recently have efforts been initiated to halt its ongoing decay. For example, only a third of its buildings are now open to the general public.

As our morning tour of ancient Pompeii all-too-quickly drew to a close, it began to rain lightly. After a quick bite at the café, we got back into our mini-van and began our ascent up Mount Vesuvius. Those traveling without a guide can also reach Vesuvius via the Circumvesuviana Railway, and then catching a bus from the Ercolanoscavi stop.

The rain started to pour heavily as we neared the top of continental Europe’s only active volcano. This made for an interesting ride up, especially with the increasingly narrow roadway (which in parts was wide enough for only one vehicle). In typical Neapolitan fashion, our driver would still pass the slower buses ahead, even around blind corners, announcing his presence with a toot of his horn. We soon reached the jam-packed parking lot, at which point we noticed that we had ascended above cloud level and that it was no longer raining.

The remaining 200-metre vertical ascent to the summit would now have to be completed on foot. Visitors must be accompanied by a guide, who had already been pre-arranged for us. Ours was a bubbly native of Sicily who spoke English (and Japanese) fluently. This was her fifth climb up today, so we took things slowly for her benefit. During our walk, we learned that Vesuvius’ last rumble was in 1944, but that experts predict it could erupt again at any time. It is considered one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, mostly because of the potential impact upon the 3 million inhabitants who live nearby.

After about 45 minutes, we reached the summit, where we walked around the rim of the impressive 200-metre-deep, 600-metre-diameter, sulfur-spewing crater. The panoramic views of Campania from the summit were equally memorable. On the way back to the parking lot, we picked up a bottle of wine known as Lacrimae Christi (Tears of Christ), produced from grapes grown on the fertile volcanic soils around Vesuvius. That night, we enjoyed our wine with dinner, and easily appreciated why many consider this to be one of the region’s finest wines.

Pompeii was not the only town that lay victim to Vesuvius’ eruption. The ruins at the former seaside resort of Herculaneum, and the aristocratic villas in the towns of Oplontis and Castellammare di Stabia, were also buried by the mud and lava from Vesuvius. In an effort to dampen the effect of mass tourism on the excavated ruins at Pompeii, the local authorities have been encouraging tourists to visit these lesser-known towns.

For those who still want for more of ancient Italy, visits to the underground cities and mythic ruins of the Phlaegrean Fields (west of Naples) and to the majestic Greek temples at Paestum (southeast of Naples) should help quench their thirst. Finally, the true history buff would be remiss without a visit to the National Archeological Museum in Naples (tel: 081-440166), where many of the fascinating finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum have been permanently housed.