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Day 5: April 17, 2023
Today we have reached one of Italy's most famous attractions: the archeological site of Pompeii: an entire Roman town which was smothered under volcanic ash in 79 CE. We left our hotel in Rome and drove towards the southern slopes of Vesuvius (Mount Vesuvius, Vesuvio), the volcano whose eruption destroyed the town. Pompeii was an everyday working town which had been in existence for several centuries. The town was home to tradesmen and farmers, with the rich and poor living side by side. Among those recorded in evidence around the archaeological site are bakers, house-painters, soldiers, wives, children, slaves. The elegance of some of the town's villas proves the Pompeii was, or had been, home to some very wealthy families.Visiting Pompeii was an amazing experience for us. It didn't take much of our imagination to picture the Roman town living around us. The presence of Vesuvius - appearing at the end of a street or over a ruined wall - is a constant reminder of the disaster which had the perverse effect of preserving much of the ancient city's fabric. The ruins are fascinating, mesmerising and poignant at the same time. What an experience!