While I was in Campania, I planned a half-day trip to visit Pompeii Scavii, a ruined Roman city that was engulfed by Mt. Vesuvius’s volcanic eruption in 79 AD. For 1700 years, Pompeii and its civilians were buried underneath twenty feet of ash and soot until its rediscovery. Because of this, these ruins are now the most well-preserved ruins that exist on Earth today. I’ve wanted to visit these ruins since I first read about them in a Magic Tree House book as a a child; this trip was a little overdue! It was astounding to walk through the streets of this ancient city and imagining how people lived back in the day.
The Main Forum of Pompeii was home to two temples: the Temple of Jupiter and the Temple of Apollo. They were held up by beautiful Roman pillars that still stand gloriously to this day.
Main Forum
Temple of Apollo
Strong Pillars
The cobblestone streets in Pompeii are often very wide and spacious. These stones nicely complement the brick buildings in this city. This was probably a very picturesque city once upon a time.
It was most interesting to see the layout of a normal Roman home from back then. The most well-preserved homes still had their rooves in place – impressive architecture!
The ceilings of indoor rooms all had a few holes in them to let sunlight in during the day.
I really like how all Roman homes had a courtyard; it makes the home more scenic and close to nature.
Like in all other Roman cities, the amphitheater was the venue for performing arts in Pompeii. Unfortunately it wasn’t open for viewing on the day of my visit.
View of Pompeii
Lion King Tree?
A full walk around Pompeii Scavii should take about two hours, assuming that you don’t get lost. This city isn’t huge, but it isn’t small either, so don’t venture off too far or else you may get lost (like I did). Since these ruins are very true to their nature, there aren’t any air-conditioned resting areas inside, so drink lots of water and take regular breaks to avoid getting a heat stroke.
I loved every part of my visit to Pompeii, it was everything I imagined it to be when I was a child. Until time machines are invented, this is the closest that one can get to the ancient world. Exploring places like this reminds me of the great world I live in and all the past that my present moment is built on.
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