79 AD and all that....

Looking down on Herculaneum from the entrance walkway

Herculaneum

Having our friend "6" to stay galvanised us into doing some sightseeing further afield. We had already visited Pompeii when we passed through Italy on our journey east a few years back but we still had the smaller and better preserved Herculaneum to visit. We picked a sunny day and a small group of us set off on the train to Naples. We then had to negotiate the busy commuter Circumvesuviana line and finally alighted at Ercolano Scavi. The site was a short walk down the main street in the middle of the built up town of modern Ercolano. The entrance road crosses a bridge over part of the site and gave us a great view from above of the once wealthy port town with many fine houses and made all the more dramatic with Vesuvius brooding on the horizon. 

Herculaneum with Vesuvius brooding in the background

                                          Fresco and mosaic panels, Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Charred remains of a bed, Herculaneum

Detail of floor mosaic, Herculaneum

Herculaneum is an ancient Roman town which, like Pompeii, was destroyed by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Unlike Pompeii, which was buried by only a few metres of volcanic material, Herculaneum was buried 20m beneath the surface by successive surges and flows of volcanic material and clouds of hot gas which arrived at speeds of over 70km per hour. This caused little structural damage and preserved buildings, objects and victims almost intact. Herculaneum was originally discovered when a well was being dug in the early 18th century. We had the site almost to ourselves and spent a wonderful few hours exploring every nook and cranny including the ancient shoreline where in 1980 archeologists discovered some 300 skeletons. These were the remains of a crowd that had fled to the beach only to be overcome by the intense 500°C heat sweeping down from Vesuvius. Back in present time we needed reviving and set off in search of food. The ubiquitous pizza came to our rescue as did the local vino rosso and happily rejuvenated we set off on our journey home.

                                           Casts of skeletons as they were found

View north west from Sperlonga old town

View south east from Sperlonga old town towards Tiberius' villa

View back from Tiberius' villa to Sperlonga old town

Remains of Tiberius' villa

Remains of Tiberius' villa

Our next journey back in time took us to the beautiful seaside town of Sperlonga which lies about halfway between Rome and Naples. It was a twenty minute bus journey away from Gaeta. The charming old town is comprised of whitewashed houses that are clustered together on a steep headland. We started with a coffee and admired the views out to sea. We then wandered through the warren like stairways down to the small harbour and set off along the deserted beach in search of the remains of the Roman Emperor Tiberius' villa. The Emperor Tiberius chose this beautiful natural setting right next to the sea for his summer residence and the site also included a grotto which was used for dining. Archeologists have found fragments of huge sculptures which once adorned the grotto and man-made fishponds at the cave mouth. These marble statues dating from around the 1st century BC depicted scenes from Homer's "Adventures of Odysseus" and some are now on display in the great little archeological museum adjacent to the site. We made our way back to town and clambered up to the top for a sandwich before catching our bus home.

View out of Tiberius' grotto

Inside Tiberius' grotto

Remains of Roman fish ponds

Marble bust of Tiberius, Naples archeological museum

Theatrical masks, Sperlonga archeological museum

Marble busts found in the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum
Naples archeological museum

Marble bust of a philosopher, Herculaneum

Marble bust of a poet, Herculaneum

Fresco, Pompeii

Fresco, Pompeii

Having visited two wonderful sites it was now

Mosaic, Pompeii

time to seek out some more of the treasures the archeologists have unearthed. We hopped on the train back to Naples and spent the good part of a day exploring the wonderful Naples National Archeological museum which houses an extensive collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. Their core exhibits are from the hugely impressive Farnese collection, one of the premier collections of Greco-Roman art, as well as a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Moscaic, Pompeii

Getting to know Napoli

Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was also the most bombed Italian city during World War II. The historic centre is the largest in Europe and it is also a UNESCO world heritage site. We wanted to get to know the home of pizza and ice cream and spent a couple of days exploring this fascinating city which lies an hour away on the train from Gaeta.

Naples old town

                                                          Neopolitan kitsch
                                                     

Pulcinella statue, Naples old town

Piazza Bellini

The Duomo

We arrived at Napoli Centrale station and set off on foot. We started in the old town and a walk along

Sign for the doll hospital

Spaccanopoli (split Naples), a lively narrow thoroughfare dating back to Roman times. It is like an open air museum with a rich array of churches, squares and historic buildings. It is even home to a unique doll hospital! We detoured up the famous Christmas alley passing stores selling glorious Neapolitan kitsch including endless nativity scenes despite it being January. We had a passing glimpse of Naples cathedral, The Duomo, an impressive medieval building with a neo-Gothic facade added in the late 19th century and stopped for a welcome coffee at the arty cafe-bookstore in trendy Piazza Bellini.

Piazza Dante

Galleria Umberto I

Naples from the Lungomare

The locals having a swim
or was it a wash?!

Outside the old city walls we passed through the 18th century Piazza Dante and on down Via Toledo, aka shopping street. We popped into the 19th century Galleria Umberto I with its impressive iron and glass roof and sumptuous marble floor. The Palazzo Reale was completely covered for redecoration but we had fun with our backs to the palace trying to walk blindfolded up to the statues of horsemen in the elegant Piazza Plebiscito. Something to do with the ground camber makes this an impossible task! We wandered on to the glamourous Chiaia

Castel dell'Ovo

quarter with its expensive shops before dropping down to the seafront which afforded wonderful views of the city and bay including some locals enjoying a swim! We continued to walk along the upscale Lungomare with its five star hotels and restaurants and on past the Castel dell'Ovo, the oldest standing fortification in Naples. Of course we had to have a pizza for dinner!

Bay of Naples

The Lungomare

There was no time left for any more sightseeing. Two days on foot gave us a tiring but good taster of this vibrant city. We look forward to returning as we still have the Naples National Archaeological museum and its collection of treasures to explore.

The pizzeria made famous by Julia Roberts
in the film Eat Pray  Love