Page 134 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

Pompeii
132 EUROPE

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, the
town of P ompeii, near modern-day Naples, was
complely buried in 20ft (6 m) of pumice and ash.
It was rediscovered in the 16th century, but serious
excavation only began in 17 48. This amazing find
. Ro ...
revealed an entire town petrified in time. Houses,
NaplaS POMPEII
TYRRHENIAN temples, works of art, and everyday objects have
SEA
been uneart hed, all in a remarkably good state
MEDITU AANEAN SEA
IONIAN
SEA of preservation, providing a unique insight into Pompeiian vase in
Naples' archeological
everyday life at the height of the Roman Empire. museum
VILLA OF THE MYSTERIES ~ House of
This large vi II a outs ide P orn peii' s city walls , VESUVIUS AND THE CAMPANIAN TOWNS the Vettii
on Via dei Sepolcri, was built in the early 2nd Almost 2,000 years alter the i terns were preserved by the
century B C. lniti ally designed as a n urban eruption ot Mount Vesuvius , mud. About 2,000 Pompeiians
dwelling, it was later e xtended into an elegant the R oman towns In Its shadow perished, but few, if any, of the
are still being rei eased trom residents of Herculaneum died, House of the Faun
country house. The vi II a is famous for its interior the petrification that engulfed Much of our knowledge
decoration a nd contains a series of well- them. Pompeii and Stabiae of the daily lives of the
preserved fresco cycles. The most famous is in (C astellammare dl Stabia ), to ancient Romans derives from
the salon and features 29 brightly colored, life- the southeast ot Naples and the the excavations of Pompeii Forum baths ,·
volcano, were smothered by and Herculaneum. Most of "
size figures against a red background, They are hot ash and pumice stone. The the objects from them are J '
believed to rt>present a bride's Initiation into the roofs ot the buildings collapsed now held in Na pies' Mus eo >
Dionysian mysteries, or a postulant's initiation under the weight or the volcanic Archeologico NaZionale, creating
1nto tht> Orplic mysteries. Some sd"lolars say ~@~~~ debris. To the west, Herculaneum an outstanding archeological
li!i (Ercolano) vanished under a sea collection. Although Mount
tlis subjt>ct was depicted because the owner Casts of a mother and of mud. A large number ot its Vesuvius has not erupted since
was a prit>stess of the Oionygan cult wh1ch <hild in the ar<heologi<al buildings have survived, their 1944, it rumbles occasionally,
was widt>spread 1n southem Italy at the time museum in Naples roots Intact. and many domestic causing minor earthquakes.

VIA DEU'ABBONDANZA AND ~Scene from
VIA STABIANA the fa mou5 fresco
Once the liveliest, buSiest street in Pompeii, cycle in the Villa
of the Mysteries House of the Faun
Via deli'Abbondanza was lined with private The famous villa of the wealthy
homes and s hops sell1ng a wide range of goods. patrician C asii is named after this
Felt and tanne d hide were sold at the s hop of bronze statuette (right). The mosaic
Verecundus, and fa rther along, there is als o a Battle of Alexander, now in ill e
well-preserved laundry. Among the inns Museo Archeologico Nazionale in
Naples, also originated here.
(thermop!ia), the most famous belonged to r;;;============;;;; ~ Ma<ellum
Aselli na, whose obliging foreign waitresses are P ompeii's marketplace was
depicted in graffiti on the wall. T he inn sti II has fronted by a portico with two
a record of the proceeds of that fateful day in moneychangers ' kiosks.
AD 79: 683 sesterces. T he Via S tabiana was a ~ Sacrarium of the lares
major road, used by carriages traveling between Close to the Tempi e of
P ompeii and the port and coastal districts. O n Vespasian, ill is building
the wt>st s ide stood the Stabian Baths. housed the statues of
Pompeii's guardian deities,
the La res Publici.
LIFE IN POMPEII
In the 1st century AD, Pompeu was a prosperous
place. Once Etruscan, and later Greek, it was
by AD 79 a thriving Roman commeraal center,
with baths, amphitheaters, temples, and
ltroJrious villas for the wealthy The House of ~ Amphitheatreand
Sports Ground
Julia Felix occupies an entire block, diVIded into
the O'M'Ier' s quarters and rented dwellings and Y Via deii'Abbondanza
s hops. T he house also had baths, which were
open to the public. On the h1ghest spot in
Pompeii was the rectangular, paved Forum,
once the marke t place. Th1 s was the cente r of
public I ife and the focus for the most important
civic fundi ons, both secular and religious. The
Amphitheater (80 B C ) was used for gladiatorial
combat and is the oldest of its kind in the world.