Here’s a question - What do you see in your mind when I say the words Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius?

Well probably like us you think about an eruption that covered a city centuries ago that you can now visit and see bodies where they actually died.

Well that is all true – but omg visiting Pompeii – the modern and ancient cities and climbing the rim of the volcano involves so much more and we tell you all about it in this episode which is day three of our Rome to Amalfi tour with Intrepid travel.

From the sleek, upmarket modern city where we watched the sunset behind Mount Vesuvius from a rooftop bar sipping cocktails, to exploring the time capsule that is ancient Pompeii.

We share all the things we were blown away with – the ancient city is exactly as it was 2000 years ago. – can you imagine that?

We take you inside their houses with all the decorations and artwork intact and it is as vibrant today as it was 2000 years ago. It’s incredible.

We walk the cobblestone streets lined with restaurants with their kitchens and mosaic benches, and ovens in their original condition.  We wander through where the bustling market once was and past the forum area which was the heart of the city.

You will discover with us the arena, the roman baths, the theatres, shops, factories, the whole city. Make sure you stay listening if you want to hear about thing that surprised us all the most – so all I’m going to say it is pretty graphic and definitely not for the easily shocked.

Of course a visit to Pompeii wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Fugitives – or the bodies.  We tell you exactly what happened to these people so many years ago.

Day four we head off to ascend the summit of Mount Vesuvius and hike around the rim. You will definitely want to hear all about the eruption of 2000 years ago and some subsequent eruptions and what this active volcano looks like today and what they are doing to make sure there isn’t another catastrophe around the corner.

Of course you can see all the pictures and links, including an accurate animation of the eruption below.

Please enjoy episode 70 all about Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius.

SHOW NOTES AND PICTURES BELOW

We are continuing our Rome to Amalfi tour with Intrepid Travel. This episode and show notes is all about days three and four.

We arrived by train from Naples and walked the easy 600 metres to our accommodation through the main area of modern Pompeii. It is a lovely city and very upmarket and modern, although it still has that unique Italian feel.

Our third day of the tour we all gathered together in the morning after our breakfast to walk the short distance to the entrance of the Ancient city of Pompeii.

Pompeii was a wealthy town with a population of 11,000 in 79 AD.

It’s important to know that the whole city of Pompeii was buried under metres of volcano ash and dust for 2,000 years and has only been excavated now for 250 years.

Only a third of the city has been uncovered. Many of the buildings including houses and businesses have mosaics, kitchens, rooms, paintings, and many more things that have been preserved in a time capsule and are as vibrant and look just like they did all those centuries ago.

We did a tour with a fantastic specialist guide. It was so interesting and we saw and learnt so much.

The tour started at the entrance where we visited the Amphitheatre which is the oldest among those known from Roman times. It held up to 20,000 spectators. From the theatre you can see Mount Vesuvius in the background and some of the labyrinth of streets that take you into the heart of ancient Pompeii.

The heart of the city was the Forum area. Here you can see ruins of the government buildings, cathedrals and temples that surrounded the main square.

Exploring the streets in our group with our fantastic guide we saw some of the amazing houses and buildings that are in original condition. Picture one above shows a restaurant that had a mosaic marble bench and kitchen area. The next two pictures show the house of a wealthy Pompeii resident with its mosaic floors and big courtyard area. The last picture is of a private bath area. The are so many buildings that are in such good condition that you could wander around all day.

It was incredible to see all the artwork and painting on the walls of houses and other buildings. The variety of colour in these places was incredible and still bright and vibrant after all these centuries.

One of the things that surprised us all, and made us have a bit of giggle were the frescos on the walls of the brothels. These pictures show the menu of the services that were available. I think you will agree that they are pretty graphic and risqué. Once again you have to remember that these were painted over 2,000 years ago.

Another part of the raunchy side of Pompeii that made us shake our heads, were the penis shapes carved into the roads and in the stone walls. These were like arrows pointing the way to the brothels around the city.

Most people who visit Pompeii are there to see the “fugitives” or the bodies that are in the same position they were in when they died in the volcanic eruption in 79 AD. When the skin and bones decayed there was a hollow left under the ash and scientists were able to pour in plaster to make accurate model recreations of these bodies. There were nearly 2,000 lives lost that day and the cause of death was asphyxiation.

Our day wasn’t all about historic Pompeii. We had plenty of time to enjoy an authentic ancient Roman restaurant as well as a roof top bar watching the sunset over Mount Vesuvius.

Day four of our Rome to Amalfi tour with Intrepid travel had us hopping into a small bus and heading up the steep drive to the car park area on Mount Vesuvius. The road up is very windy and steep, so if you are driving, take your time at the bends as you can encounter large buses.

From the car park we met our expert guide and followed him up the steep gravelly track for 45 minutes to the top of the volcano.

We stopped several times on the way up and our guide shared some great insights into the eruption. The whole eruption took about 18 hours. After four hours the whole top blew off the mountain and ash, smoke and other volcanic material went as high as 30km into the stratosphere. The ash and debris covered Pompeii by the afternoon as well as being showered by continuous fiery volcanic bombs. The whole city was covered in metres of debris and ash and was almost forgotten about until it was rediscovered just over 250 years ago when the excavation started.

When you are at the top of the Mount Vesuvius you can see where there have been previous lava flows. You also have a 360 degree view of the Bay of Naples and the surrounding cities. You can hike about half way around the crater.

The volcano’s highest point is 1277 metres. The crater’s diametre is 450 metres and its depth is 300 metres. There is steam coming from the volcano today and it is considered an active volcano.

This is the second part of our Intrepid Rome to Amalfi tour. If you would like to listen to the first one or any of the other Italian episodes we have done, or just want to look at the pictures, then click the button below.