Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii

Our first volcano. . .Mt Vesuvius!  Mt. Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe! It was made famous because of the eruption in 79AD which buried the city of Pompeii!  It was a VERY busy day on the volcano today. . . many school groups and just visitors that must have taken off  for Easter week!  Most visitors only get to walk around half the crater, we got a special permit to walk around the whole crater!

This photo is at the top of the short but steep climb to to the ridge.

This is the group behind us but you get the idea of the narrow path that we walked on along the ridge.

 This volcano was on about a 20 year cycle and the last major eruption was in 1944!!!  So this baby is way overdue!  You can see the steam venting out of a hole. . .we were able to dig in the soil and it is quite warm to the touch!!

Our friend, Leela and Jeanna on the edge looking towards the sea and the city of Pompeii!

We hiked all along that rim. . .it was stunning!

Looking into the deep crater

The city of Pompeii was recovering from a series of earthquakes in early 79AD so no one was paying very close attention on August 24th, 79AD when Mt. Vesuvius woke from it's slumber!  The events of that day are well documented because Pliny the Younger wrote to his friend Tacitus a detailed account including survivors and witnesses!!!

The city was very quickly buried in volcanic ash. . .so the city is saved as a "snapshot" of life in a Roman City in 79AD

 The use of arches to distribute the load bearing weight of the wall!!

A look at one of the major streets.

 A bakery almost perfectly preserved . . .the grinders still intact!

A garden of one of the largest houses in Pompeii.  The house was about 24,000 sq ft in size!!!!

 The roads were also the sewer system so they had stepping stones so you could cross the road with having to step in the cesspool that was flowing in the roads.

Most victims of the volcanic eruption died instantly as the superheated air burned their lungs and contracted their muscles.  So all the casts of the victims show their hands and feet curled because of the contracted muscles. . . then they were quickly buried in ash preserving them for hundreds of years!

\

The brothel house of Pompeii was preserved, the beds were made of concrete and there were maybe 4-6 rooms.

Because Pompeii had a lot of visitors the brothel had a menu system. . .the different offerings were pictured on the wall and patrons could just point to want they wanted!

It was awesome to walk around MT. Vesuvius and then to see the ruins of Pompeii to get a glimpse of life in 79AD!  It was too and that there were sooooo many visitors but it was still great!  We then went to a great restaurant for dinner then boarded our overnight ferry to Stromboli!