Discovering Pompeii, the only archaeological site in the world capable of showing the appearance of an ancient Roman center in its entirety as it was in 79 a.C., the year of the violent explosion of Vesuvius which buried it for over 17 centuries.
Pompeii offers the incredible emotion of walking through a Roman city left as if “crystallized” following the terrible eruption which enveloped everything in a layer of ash and lapilli and which, although decreeing its tragic end and that of its inhabitants, allowed it to reach us incredibly preserved.
Its rediscovery was gradual but we had to wait until the mid-eighteenth century at the behest of Charles of Bourbon for serious archaeological investigations to begin both in Herculaneum (1738) and in Pompeii (1748). Since then, excavations have continued without stopping, offering continuous discoveries.
Nothing is as singular as this relic, seventeen centuries old. Fate seems to have buried it to give future generations a complete idea of Roman habits. We are all men of very bad taste in 1819.
(Klemens von Metternich)
The surface area of the ancient city is approximately 66 hectares and the surface excavated to date is approximately 44 hectares for over 1500 buildings (domus and monuments) brought to light. To see it all, a whole day would not be enough and we recommend considering at least 3 hours to visit it, perhaps first identifying the points of interest by consulting the official map.
To learn about the stories behind each house and monument, we recommend equipping yourself with the official audio guide of the site developed by D’Uva, a Florentine company that invented audio guides in 1959 for the Milan Cathedra. They developed for Pompeii a multilingual app, conveniently accessible via a smartphone that allows freedom of movement and listening (just go to the audio guide desk at the Porta Marina entrance, near the Circumvesuviana stop to get one included in the regular ticket).
The visit begins from the Baths and the Forum, once the large square at the center of the citizens’ public activities, where you can admire one of the scenographic statues by the artist Igor Mitoraj located in the archaeological area of Pompeii.
From here, proceeding to the left, at the western border of the archaeological site, you can reach the marvelous Villa dei Misteri, so called because of its frescoes which depict some mysterious rites linked to the cult of Dionysus, Bacchus for the Romans. The most famous ones, restored in 2015 and known as the “Triclinius Frescoes” the best preserved of all ancient frescoes, depict the union of Dionysus and Ariadne.
The image depicting a young girl with long hair, assisted by a handmaid and a cupid during the preparation for the wedding, is truly spectacular, so strong and contemporary in her style and beauty.
Returning back towards the Forum, it is nice to get lost in the streets of the cities where you can visit the interiors of some of the main domus famous for their frescoes and mosaics, such as that of the “Battle of Issus” which is found (a reconstruction, the original one is on MANN) on the floor of the House of the Faun. Everywhere it is so colorful, in particular painted in the “Pompeian red”, a red ocher of natural inorganic origin, composed of iron oxide.
A curiosity worth visiting is certainly the Lupanare, from the goddess Lupa whose priestesses practiced sacred prostitution, a two-storey brothel with beautiful erotic paintings.
From there, you can proceed towards the area dedicated to religious institutes with the large Amphitheater and the Temple of Isis, one of the best preserved in the world dedicated to the goddess.
Going towards the exit of the site, you can visit the Antiquarium, a museum structure built in the spaces below the terrace of the Temple of Venus, overlooking Porta Marina, where famous testimonies of the immense Pompeian heritage are preserved, such as the frescoes of the House of the Golden Bracelet, the silvers of Moregine or the triclinium of the Casa del Menandro.
Certainly, what strikes every visitor is the extraordinary contemporaneity of life in the 1st century a.C., a commonality in our feelings that leads us to reflect on the importance of knowing history to interpret the present and our social consciences.
The Secret
The cast technique has made it possible to preserve the positions and even the expressions of the inhabitants of Pompeii in the last moments of their lives, whose silent bodies make their visit even more sacred than in any other archaeological site.
Useful Info
Tickets with suburban villas: 22 euros with audio guide included
