We were able to tour the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, in Italy. The city of Pompeii was destroyed, along with other communities by the major eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The eruption was so sudden and severe that it covered the city in 4 to 6 meters of ash in a very short period of time. Pompeii  was preserved under the ash until it was excavated some 1,600 years later.

The excavation of Pompeii revealed an extremely preserved and detailed insight into the history of the time. It is the best preserved and complete roman ruins in the world and designated  a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We arrived at around 10 a.m. and the heat was already extreme at over 30 degrees celsius. We started the walking tour of the site with our first stop in the common square area which was used for the gladiators to practice in.

We then walked through the streets looking at the remains of the houses in Pompeii.  Most of the houses we saw had a similar design. In the front of the houses, there was an area for a small storefront or market.  The rear of the house was the  living space.

The cobblestone was well-worn and you could see the grooves made by the wheels of the oxen-drawn carts in the streets.

We went into several houses and looked at the layout. The Roman city is so well-preserved that in certain areas of the buildings we could still see the original paint on the walls.

It was spectacular to see a complete Roman city preserved and excavated in such great detail. We walked several of the streets in Pompeii looking at the different remains of buildings.

We entered a Roman bathhouse and the guide explained how the process worked.  The bathhouse was an area where people would meet and socialize. It was considered a social event and people would gather for saunas, baths, and  messages. The design of the bathhouse is ingenious. It used steam that flowed under different floor areas heating baths to different temperatures.

We walked along a street called “Alley of the Skeletons” one of the main streets of Pompeii . At the end of this street, there was a display containing a cast of a body from Pompeii.

The display is not a body but a cast of a body. During the excavation process, it was discovered that there were hollow spaces in the ash. They poured plaster into the hollow area and it formed a cast of the body.

We walked freely around the streets of Pompeii looking at the different buildings and streets. It was enjoyable but very hot and there was basically no shade throughout the entire three-hour tour of the Roman ruins. It was worth every bit of sweat to see the site. It is hard to put into words the amazing ruins and how well-preserved they were. Below are some of the pictures we took in Pompeii.

“Arrivederci e hanno un grande giorno”