Autumn 1960. I’m nine years old and the family visits the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Pompeii.
I have only fragments of memory from that visit, but those fragments are still bright in my mind: a dog writhing in agony. Well, a plaster cast of what was left of a dog writhing in agony from the poisonous gas that was killing it before the pyroclastic flow engulfed it and vapourised it in an instant on that fateful day in A.D. 79.
The other memory is of the stepping stones crossing many of the narrow streets. I couldn’t understand how any vehicle could navigate through those streets with all those stones blocking its way.
Sixty three years later, I learn new things, and see Pompeii in a completely different light than I did as a nine-year-old.
The excavation of this incredible window into the life and culture of the Roman Empire has expanded from about 110 acres in 1960 to about 123 today. Not a lot in 63 years.
The reason is that the focus has become more of preservation than unearthing. Pompeii is critically fragile. Much of the wall art (mosaics and frescoes) that adorned many of the richer households, and most of the relics (kitchen utensils, pottery) now sit in climate controlled rooms in both the Museum of Pompeii and the Archaeological Museum of Naples.
There is only one human figure (plaster cast) left on-site. And that’s a copy of the original that sits in a museum.
Pompeii is an extremely popular tourist destination. Millions visit every year. It can be quite crowded, so we opted for a ‘small bus tour’ of Pompeii and Vesuvius for $50 a person.
It was worth it for only one thing: Elisa Cassiani Ingoni, Guida Turistica. More of her in a moment.
The tour operator organising the buses was one of the most chaotic ground operators I’ve ever had the misfortune to experience. There was confusion on which bus to board and some people were even told to get off.
Inexcusable.
But. Once we arrived at the entrance to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, we were introduced to our English speaking guide for the 90-minute walking tour through the ruins. Elisa was amazing. She was articulate, entertaining and knowledgeable, engaging the entire group of us and answering our questions.
I finally understood those stone stepways across all the streets: the streets themselves acted as open-air sewers, so pedestrians were obliged to use those stones to cross the street unless they wanted to walk in the muck. The builders of the carts and chariots that navigated between those stones were well aware of the precise width and height of them, each of them consistent throughout the town.
I learned that there were more brothels in Pompeii than bakeries. Bakeries were indispensable (only the very rich had kitchens to speak of), so the middle and lower classes counted on take-away meals mostly, including bread. Considering the number, brothels must have been even more indispensable!
The brothel we briefly visited made it clear this way of life was rough and short: stone beds and reusable condoms made from sheep intestines. Prostitute life started at 13, with a life expectancy of 20.
While Pompeii feels like a tourist attraction - with all the crappy souvenir tat surrounding the entrance - it’s still an amazing look into the past, because it is "the only archaeological site in the world that provides a complete picture of an ancient Roman city," according to Wikipedia.
Well, that and Herculaneum.
One of the many things that makes it hard to picture what ancient Roman life was like in Pompeii is because the site itself is barren of pretty much anything but the building ruins.
Not so, Herculaneum.
We enjoyed Elisa’s tour so much, we asked her if she would be willing to take us on a private tour to Pompeii’s sister ruin: Herculaneum.
That visit was one of the highlights of our month in Campania.
While Pompeii was first discovered in 1600, Herculaneum wasn’t discovered until the mid eighteenth century. The difference in discovery was in part due to the fact that Pompeii was buried under 13-20 feet of hot ash from the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius.
Herculaneum on the other hand, was buried in up to 65 feet of pyroclastic materials - super hot mud, then lava - ironically preserving wood beams and furniture, food and even human remains.
It is a stunning sight to see this ancient town with its intact wall mosaics and frescoes, mosaic floors, wooden window jambs and wooden room screens. Even a baby cradle is on display.
One especially sobering sight is at the former docks of this ancient port. While the sea has moved away from the ancient port town, Herculaneum was once right on the coast. On that fateful day in A.D. 79, many residents gathered at the docks on the water’s edge, hoping to be saved from the impending destruction.
They weren’t.
Today, in the open-air stalls along the docks are the bodies of dozens of people who perished.
We tourists may only view this tragedy from a railed walk overlooking the docks, a fitting way to preserve the solemnity of that tragedy.
I've said little of Elisa, but she was a treat. Her delivery was so good in Pompeii, we wanted her for our own private tour. She’s been a guide for 38 years. Although she’s a vetted guide for all of Italy, she currently focuses on her Naples home and surrounds. In addition to her native Italian, she speaks French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. She’s personable and very professional.
We told her we'd be back.
I recently caught up with Elisa to plan a number of tours to more ancient wonders of Naples on our next trip this autumn.
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