Pompeii • Herculaneum • Vesuvius
Stopped in their tracks by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, Pompeii and Herculaneum offer the best look anywhere at what life in Rome must have been like around 2,000 years ago. These two cities of well-preserved ruins are yours to explore. Of the two sites, Pompeii is grander, while Herculaneum is smaller and more intimate; both are easily reached from Naples on the Circumvesuviana commuter train (for details, see “Getting Around the Region” on here). Vesuvius, still smoldering ominously, rises up on the horizon. It last erupted in 1944, and is still an active volcano. Buses from the train stations at Herculaneum or Pompeii drop you a steep half-hour hike from the summit.
A once-thriving commercial port of 20,000, Pompeii (worth ▲▲▲) grew from Greek and Etruscan roots to become an important Roman city. Then, on August 24, A.D. 79, everything changed. Vesuvius erupted and began to bury the city under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash. For the archaeologists who excavated it centuries later, this was a shake-and-bake windfall, teaching them volumes about daily Roman life. Pompeii was accidentally rediscovered in 1599; excavations began in 1748.
Cost: €11; €20 combo-ticket includes Pompeii and three lesser sites (valid 3 consecutive days). Also consider the Campania ArteCard (see here) if visiting other sites in the region.
Hours: Daily April-Oct 8:30-19:30, Nov-March 8:30-17:00, last entry 1.5 hours before closing.
Closures: Be warned that some buildings and streets are bound to be closed for restoration when you visit. If you get totally derailed, just use the map and numbers to find your way.
Crowd-Beating Tips: On busy days, there can be a wait of up to 30 minutes to buy a ticket. If you anticipate lines, buy your ticket at the “info point” kiosk at the train station (same price as at the site).
Getting There: Pompeii is roughly midway between Naples and Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana train line (2/hour, €2.90 and 40 minutes from Naples, €2.20 and 30 minutes from Sorrento, one-way, not covered by rail passes). Get off at the Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri stop; from Naples, it’s the stop after Torre Annunziata. The DD express trains (6/day) bypass several stations but do stop at Pompei Scavi, shaving 10 minutes off the trip from Naples. From the Pompei Scavi train station, it’s just a two-minute walk to the Porta Marina entrance: Turn right and walk down the road about a block to the entrance (on your left).
Pompei vs. Pompei Scavi: Pompei is the name of a separate train station on the national rail network that’s a long, dull walk from the ruins. Make sure you’re taking the Circumvesuviana commuter train to Pompei Scavi (scavi means “excavations”).
Parking: Parking is available at Camping Zeus, next to the Pompei Scavi train station (€2.50/hour, €10/12 hours, 10 percent discount with this book); several other campgrounds/parking lots are nearby.
Information: The “info point” kiosk at the station is a private agency selling tours (not a real TI; see “Tours,” later), but they can provide some information and also sell tickets for the site.
Be sure to pick up the free, helpful map at the entrance (ask for it when you buy your ticket, or check at the info window to the left of the WCs—the maps aren’t available within the walls of Pompeii). Tel. 081-857-5347, www.pompeiisites.org.
The bookshop sells the small Pompeii and Herculaneum Past and Present book. Its plastic overlays allow you to re-create the ruins (€12; if you buy from a street vendor, pay no more than that).
Tours: My self-guided tour in this chapter covers the basics and provides a good framework for exploring the site on your own. You can download this chapter as a free Rick Steves audio tour; see here.
Guided tours leave every hour from the “info point” kiosk near the train station (€12). You can also sign up for a guided tour of Pompeii offered to Rick Steves readers through Naples-based Mondo Tours (€15, daily at 10:30, reservations required, meet at Ristorante Suisse, on Piazza Esedra, down the hill from the Porta Marina entrance; see here).
Private guides (around €110/2 hours) of varying quality—there really is no guarantee of what you’re getting—cluster near the ticket booth at the site and may try to herd you into a group with other travelers, which makes the price more reasonable for you. For a private two-hour tour, consider Gaetano Manfredi, who is pricey but brings energy and theatricality to his tours (€120 for up to 4 people, reserve in advance by email and mention this book, www.pompeiitourguide.com, gaetanoguide@hotmail.it). Antonio Somma mainly specializes in Pompeii (from €120—varies with season and number of people, book in advance, evening tel. 081-850-1992, daytime mobile 393-406-3824 or 339-891-9489, www.pompeitour.com, info@pompeitour.com). Antonio can organize transport for visitors who want to fill up the rest of the day with a trip to the Amalfi Coast. The Naples-based guides recommended on here can also guide you at Pompeii. Parents, note that the ancient brothel and its sexually explicit frescoes are included on tours; let your guide know if you’d rather skip that stop.
Audioguides are available from a kiosk near the ticket booth at the Porta Marina entrance (€6.50, €10/2 people, ID required), but they offer basically the same info as your free booklet.
Length of This Tour: Allow two hours, or three if you visit the theater and amphitheater. With less time, focus on the Forum, Baths of the Forum, House of the Faun, and brothel.
Baggage Check: The train station offers luggage storage for €3/bag (downstairs, by the WC). Or use the free baggage check near the turnstiles at the site entrance.
Services: There’s a WC at the train station (€0.50). The site has two WCs—one near the entrance and another in the cafeteria.
Eating: The Ciao cafeteria within the site serves good sandwiches, pizza, and pasta at a reasonable price. A few mediocre restaurants cluster between the entrance and the train station. Your cheapest bet may be to bring your own food for a discreet picnic.
Starring: Roofless (collapsed) but otherwise intact Roman buildings, plaster casts of hapless victims, a few erotic frescoes, and the dawning realization that these ancient people were not that different from us.
Pompeii, founded in 600 B.C., eventually became a booming Roman trading city. Not rich, not poor, it was middle class—a perfect example of typical Roman life. Most streets would have been lined with stalls and jammed with customers from sunup to sundown. Chariots vied with shoppers for street space. Two thousand years ago, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean—making it a kind of free-trade zone—and Pompeii was a central and bustling port.
There were no posh neighborhoods in Pompeii. Rich and poor mixed it up as elegant houses existed side by side with simple homes. While nearby Herculaneum would have been a classier place to live (traffic-free streets, fancier houses, far better drainage), Pompeii was the place for action and shopping. It served an estimated 20,000 residents with more than 40 bakeries, 30 brothels, and 130 bars, restaurants, and hotels. With most of its buildings covered by brilliant white ground-marble stucco, Pompeii in A.D. 79 was an impressive town.
As you tour Pompeii, remember that its best art is in the Archaeological Museum in Naples (described in the previous chapter).
Fish and Produce Market Plaster Casts of Victims
Baths of the Forum (Terme del Foro)
House of the Tragic Poet (Casa del Poeta Tragico)
House of the Faun (Casa del Fauno)
House of the Vettii (Casa dei Vettii)
Bakery and Mill (Forno e Mulini)
(See “ Pompeii Tour” map, here.)
• Just past the ticket-taker, start your approach up to the...
Porta MarinaThe city of Pompeii was born on the hill ahead of you. This was the original town gate. Before Vesuvius blew and filled in the harbor, the sea came nearly to here. Notice the two openings in the gate (ahead, up the ramp). Both were left open by day to admit major traffic. At night, the larger one was closed for better security.
• Pass through the Porta Marina and continue up to the top of the street, pausing at the three large stepping-stones in the middle.
Pompeii’s StreetsEvery day, Pompeiians flooded the streets with gushing water to clean them. These stepping-stones let pedestrians cross without getting their sandals wet. Chariots traveling in either direction could straddle the stones (all had standard-size axles). A single stepping-stone in a road means it was a one-way street, a pair indicates an ordinary two-way, and three (like this) signifies a major thoroughfare. The basalt stones are the original Roman pavement. The sidewalks (elevated to hide the plumbing) were paved with bits of broken pots (an ancient form of recycling) and studded with reflective bits of white marble. These “cats’ eyes” helped people get around after dark, either by moonlight or with the help of lamps.
• Continue straight ahead, don your mental toga, and enter the city as the Romans once did. The road opens up into the spacious main square: the Forum. Stand at the near end of this rectangular space and look toward Mount Vesuvius.
The Forum (Foro)Pompeii’s commercial, religious, and political center stands at the intersection of the city’s two main streets. While it’s the most ruined part of Pompeii, it’s grand nonetheless. Picture the piazza surrounded by two-story buildings on all sides. The pedestals that line the square once held statues (now safely displayed in the museum in Naples). In its heyday, Pompeii’s citizens gathered here in the main square to shop, talk politics, and socialize. Business took place in the important buildings that lined the piazza.
The Forum was dominated by the Temple of Jupiter, at the far end (marked by a half-dozen ruined columns atop a stair-step base). Jupiter was the supreme god of the Roman pantheon—you might be able to make out his little white marble head at the center-rear of the temple.
At the near end of the Forum (behind where you’re standing) is the curia, or city hall. Like many Roman buildings, it was built with brick and mortar, then covered with marble walls and floors. To your left (as you face Vesuvius and the Temple of Jupiter) is the basilica, or courthouse.
Since Pompeii was a pretty typical Roman town, it has the same layout and components that you’ll find in any Roman city—main square, curia, basilica, temples, axis of roads, and so on. All power converged at the Forum: religious (the temple), political (the curia), judicial (the basilica), and commercial (this piazza was the main marketplace). Even the power of the people was expressed here, since this is where they gathered to vote. Imagine the hubbub of this town square in its heyday.
Look beyond the Temple of Jupiter. Five miles to the north looms the ominous backstory to this site: Mount Vesuvius. Mentally draw a triangle up from the two remaining peaks to reconstruct the mountain before the eruption. When it blew, Pompeiians had no idea that they were living under a volcano, as Vesuvius hadn’t erupted for 1,200 years. Imagine the wonder—then the horror—as a column of pulverized rock roared upward, and then ash began to fall. The weight of the ash and small rocks collapsed Pompeii’s roofs later that day, crushing people who had taken refuge inside buildings instead of fleeing the city.
• As you face Vesuvius, the basilica is to your left, lined with stumps of columns. Step inside and see the layout.
BasilicaPompeii’s basilica was a first-century palace of justice. This ancient law court has the same floor plan later adopted by many Christian churches (which are also called basilicas). The big central hall (or nave) is flanked by rows of columns marking off narrower side aisles. Along the side walls are traces of the original marble.
The columns—now stumps all about the same height—were not ruined by the volcano. Rather, they were left unfinished when Vesuvius blew. Pompeii had been devastated by an earthquake in A.D. 62, and was just in the process of rebuilding the basilica when Vesuvius erupted, 17 years later. The half-built columns show off the technology of the day. Uniform bricks were stacked around a cylindrical core. Once finished, they would have been coated with marble dust stucco to simulate marble columns—an economical construction method found throughout Pompeii (and the Roman Empire).
Besides the earthquake and the eruption, Pompeii’s buildings have suffered other ravages over the years, including Spanish plunderers (c. 1800), 19th-century souvenir hunters, WWII bombs, wild vegetation, another earthquake in 1980, and modern neglect. The fact that the entire city was covered by the eruption of A.D. 79 actually helped preserve it, saving it from the sixth-century barbarians who plundered many other towns into oblivion.
• Exit the basilica and cross the short side of the square, where the city’s main street hits the Forum.
Glance down Via Abbondanza, Pompeii’s main street. Lined with shops, bars, and restaurants, it was a lively, pedestrian-only zone. The three “beaver-teeth” stones are traffic barriers that kept chariots out. On the corner (just to the left), take a close look at the dark travertine column standing next to the white one. Notice that the marble drums of the white column are not chiseled entirely round—another construction project left unfinished when Vesuvius erupted.
• Head toward Vesuvius, walking along the right side of the Forum. Immediately to the right of the Temple of Jupiter (just before the four round arches), a door leads into the market hall, where you’ll find two glass cases.
Fish and Produce Market Plaster Casts of VictimsAs the frescoes on the wall (just inside on the left) indicate, this is where Pompeiians came to buy their food—fish, bread, chickens, and so on. These fine examples of Roman art—with their glimpses of everyday life and their mastery of depth and illusion—would not be matched until the Renaissance, a thousand years after the fall of Rome.
The glass cases hold casts of Pompeiians, eerily captured in their last moments. They were quickly suffocated by a superheated avalanche of gas and ash, and their bodies were encased in volcanic debris. While excavating, modern archaeologists detected hollow spaces underfoot, created when the victims’ bodies decomposed. By gently filling the holes with plaster, the archaeologists were able to create molds of the Pompeiians who were caught in the disaster.
• Continue on, leaving the Forum through an arch behind the Temple of Jupiter. Here you’ll find a pedestrian-only road sign (ahead on the right corner, above the REG VII INS IV sign) and more “beaver-teeth” traffic blocks. The modern cafeteria is the only eatery inside the archaeological site (with a coffee bar and WC upstairs). Twenty yards past the cafeteria, on the left-hand side at #24, is the entrance to the...
Baths of the Forum (Terme del Foro)Pompeii had six public baths, each with a men’s and a women’s section. You’re in the men’s zone. The leafy courtyard at the entrance was the gymnasium. After working out, clients could relax with a hot bath (caldarium), warm bath (tepidarium), or cold plunge (frigidarium).
The first big, plain room you enter served as the dressing room. Holes on the walls were for pegs to hang clothing. High up, the window (with a faded Neptune underneath) was originally covered with a less-translucent Roman glass. Walk over the non-slip mosaics into the next room.
The tepidarium is ringed by mini-statues or telamones (male caryatids, figures used as supporting pillars), which divided the lockers. Clients would undress and warm up here, perhaps stretching out on one of the bronze benches near the bronze heater for a massage. Look at the ceiling—half crushed by the eruption and half intact, with its fine blue-and-white stucco work.
Next, admire the engineering in the steam-bath room, or caldarium. The double floor was heated from below—so nice with bare feet (look into the grate to see the brick support towers). The double walls with brown terra-cotta tiles held the heat. Romans soaked in the big tub, which was filled with hot water. Opposite the big tub is a fountain, which spouted water onto the hot floor, creating steam. The lettering on the fountain reminded those enjoying the room which two politicians paid for it...and how much it cost them (5,250 sestertii). To keep condensation from dripping annoyingly from the ceiling, fluting (ribbing) was added to carry water down the walls.
• Today’s visitors exit the baths through the original entry. If you’re a bit hungry, immediately across the street is an ancient...
Fast-Food JointAfter a bath, it was only natural to want a little snack. So, just across the street is a fast-food joint, marked by a series of rectangular marble counters. Most ancient Romans didn’t cook for themselves in their tiny apartments, so to-go places like this were commonplace. The holes in the counters held the pots for food. Each container was like a thermos, with a wooden lid to keep the soup hot, the wine cool, and so on. Notice the groove in the front doorstep and the holes out on the curb. The holes likely accommodated cords for stretching awnings over the sidewalk to shield the clientele from the hot sun, while the grooves were for the shop’s folding accordion doors. Look at the wheel grooves in the pavement, worn down through centuries of use. Nearby are more stepping-stones for pedestrians to cross the flooded streets.
• Just a few steps uphill from the fast-food joint, at #5 (with a locked gate), is the...
House of the Tragic Poet (Casa del Poeta Tragico)This house is typical Roman style. The entry is flanked by two family-owned shops (each with a track for a collapsing accordion door). The home is like a train running straight away from the street: atrium (with skylight and pool to catch the rain), den (where deals were made by the shopkeeper), and garden (with rooms facing it and a shrine to remember both the gods and family ancestors). In the entryway is the famous “Beware of Dog” (Cave Canem) mosaic.
Today’s visitors enter the home by the back door (circle around to the left). On your way there, look for the modern exposed pipe on the left side of the lane; this is the same as ones used in the ancient plumbing system, hidden beneath the raised sidewalk. Inside the house, the grooves on the marble well-head in the entry hall (possibly closed) were formed by generations of inhabitants dragging the bucket up by rope. The richly frescoed dining room is off the garden. Diners lounged on their couches (the Roman custom) and enjoyed frescoes with fake “windows,” giving the illusion of a bigger and airier room. Next to the dining room is a humble BBQ-style kitchen with a little closet for the toilet (the kitchen and bathroom shared the same plumbing).
• Return to the fast-food place and continue about 10 yards downhill to the big intersection. From the center of the intersection, look left to see a giant arch, framing a nice view of Mount Vesuvius.
Aqueduct Arch—Running WaterWater was critical for this city of 20,000 people, and this arch was part of Pompeii’s water-delivery system. A 100-mile-long aqueduct carried fresh water down from the hillsides to a big reservoir perched at the highest point of the city wall. Since overall water pressure was disappointing, Pompeiians built arches like the brick one you see here (originally covered in marble) with hidden water tanks at the top. Located just below the altitude of the main tank, these smaller tanks were filled by gravity and provided each neighborhood with reliable pressure.
• If you’re thirsty, fill your water bottle from the modern fountain. Then continue straight downhill one block (50 yards) to #2 on the left.
House of the Faun (Casa del Fauno)Stand across the street and marvel at the grand entry with “HAVE” (hail to you) as a welcome mat. Go in. Notice the two shrines above the entryway—one dedicated to the gods, the other to this wealthy family’s ancestors.
You are standing in Pompeii’s largest home, where you’re greeted by the delightful small bronze statue of the Dancing Faun, famed for its realistic movement and fine proportion. (The original, described on here, is in Naples’ Archaeological Museum.) With 40 rooms and 27,000 square feet, the House of the Faun covers an entire city block. The next floor mosaic, with an intricate diamond-like design, decorates the homeowner’s office. Beyond that is the famous floor mosaic of the Battle of Alexander. (The original is also at the museum in Naples.) In 333 B.C., Alexander the Great beat Darius and the Persians. Romans had great respect for Alexander, the first great emperor before Rome’s. While most of Pompeii’s nouveau riche had notoriously bad taste and stuffed their palaces with over-the-top, mismatched decor, this guy had class. Both the faun (an ancient copy of a famous Greek statue) and the Alexander mosaic show an appreciation for history.
The house’s back courtyard leads to the exit in the far-right corner. It’s lined with pillars rebuilt after the A.D. 62 earthquake. Take a close look at the brick, mortar, and fake-marble stucco veneer.
• Sneak out of the House of the Faun through its back door and turn right. (If this exit is closed, return to the entrance and make a U-turn left, around to the back of the house.) Thirty yards down, along the right-hand side of the street are metal cages protecting...
Original Lead PipesThese 2,000-year-old pipes (made of lead imported from Britannia) were part of the city’s elaborate water system. From the aqueduct-fed water tank at the high end of town, three independent pipe systems supplied water to the city: one for baths, one for private homes, and one for public water fountains. If there was a water shortage, democratic priorities prevailed: First the baths were cut off, then the private homes. The last water supply to go was the public fountains, where all citizens could get drinking and cooking water.
• If the street’s not closed off, take your first left (on Vicolo dei Vettii), walk about 20 yards, and find the entrance (on the left) to the next stop. (If the street is closed, turn right down the street marked REG VI INS XIV and skip down to the next set of directions.)
House of the Vettii (Casa dei Vettii)Pompeii’s best-preserved home has been completely blocked off for years; unfortunately, it’s unlikely to reopen in time for your visit. The House of the Vettii was the bachelor pad of two wealthy merchant brothers. If you can see the entryway, you may spot the huge erection. This is not pornography. There’s a meaning here: The penis and the sack of money balance each other on the goldsmith scale above a fine bowl of fruit. Translation: Only with a balance of fertility and money can you have abundance.
If it’s open, step into the atrium with its ceiling open to the sky to collect light and rainwater. The pool, while decorative, was a functional water-supply tank. It’s flanked by large money boxes anchored to the floor. The brothers were certainly successful merchants, and possibly moneylenders, too.
Exit on the right, passing the tight servant quarters, and go into the kitchen, with its bronze cooking pots (and an exposed lead pipe on the back wall). The passage dead-ends in the little Venus Room, which features erotic frescoes behind glass.
Return to the atrium and pass into the big colonnaded garden. It was replanted according to the plan indicated by the traces of roots that were excavated from the volcanic ash. Richly frescoed entertainment rooms ring this courtyard. Circle counterclockwise. The dining room is finely decorated in black and “Pompeiian red” (from iron rust). Study the detail. Notice the lead humidity seal between the wall and the floor, designed to keep the moisture-sensitive frescoes dry. (Had Leonardo da Vinci taken this clever step, his Last Supper in Milan might be in better shape today.) Continuing around, you’ll see more of the square white stones inlaid in the floor. Imagine them reflecting like cats’ eyes as the brothers and their friends wandered around by oil lamp late at night. Frescoes in the Yellow Room (near the exit) show off the ancient mastery of perspective, which would not be matched elsewhere in Europe for nearly 1,500 years.
• Facing the entrance to the House of the Vettii, turn left and walk downhill one long block (along Vicolo dei Vettii) to a T-intersection (Via della Fortuna), marked by a stone fountain with a bull’s head for a spout. Intersections like this were busy neighborhood centers, where the rent was highest and people gathered. With the fountain at your back, turn left, then immediately right, walking along a gently curving road (Vicolo Storto). On the left side of the street, at #22, find four big stone cylinders.
Bakery and Mill (Forno e Mulini)The brick oven looks like a modern-day pizza oven. The stubby stone towers are flour grinders. Grain was poured into the top, and donkeys or slaves pushed wooden bars that turned the stones. The powdered grain dropped out of the bottom as flour—flavored with tiny bits of rock. Each neighborhood had a bakery like this.
Continue to the next intersection (Via degli Augustali, marked REG VII INS XII, where there’s another fast-food joint, at #33) and turn left. As you walk, look at the destructive power of all the vines, and notice how deeply the chariot grooves have worn into the pavement. Deep grooves could break wagon wheels. The suddenly ungroovy stretch indicates that this road was in the process of being repaved when the eruption shut everything down.
• Head about 50 yards down this (obviously one-way) street to #44 (on the left). Here you’ll find the Taberna Hedones (with a small atrium, den, and garden). This bar still has its original floor and, deeper in, the mosaic arch of a grotto fountain. Just past the tavern, turn right and walk downhill to #18, on the right.
Possible detour: If the road past the tavern is blocked off, here’s another way to reach the next stop: First, backtrack to the Forum—go back the way you came, turn left at the bull’s-head fountain, then turn left again at the aqueduct arch. Back in the Forum, head down to the far end and turn left onto the main street, Via dell’Abbondanza (which we looked down earlier—remember the beaver teeth?). Follow this, turning left up the street after the second fountain (marked REG VII INS I, with a small Vicolo del Lupanare sign). This leads to the entrance of the...
Brothel (Lupanare)You’ll find the biggest crowds in Pompeii at a place that was likely popular 2,000 ago, too—the brothel. Prostitutes were nicknamed lupe (she-wolves), alluding to the call they made when trying to attract business. The brothel was a simple place, with beds and pillows made of stone. The ancient graffiti includes tallies and exotic names of the women, indicating the prostitutes came from all corners of the Mediterranean (it also served as feedback from satisfied customers). The faded frescoes above the cells may have been a kind of menu for services offered. Note the idealized women (white, which was considered beautiful; one wears an early bra) and the rougher men (dark, considered horny). The bed legs came with little disk-like barriers to keep critters from crawling up.
• Leaving the brothel, go right, then take the first left, and continue going downhill two blocks to the intersection with Pompeii’s main drag, Via dell’Abbondanza. The Forum—and exit—are to the right, for those who may wish to opt out from here.
The huge amphitheater—which is certainly skippable—is 10 minutes to your left. But for now, go left for 60 yards, then turn right just beyond the fountain, and walk down Via dei Teatri (labeled REG VIII INS IV). Turn left before the columns, and head downhill another 60 yards to #28, which marks the...
Temple of IsisThis Egyptian temple served Pompeii’s Egyptian community. The little white stucco shrine with the modern plastic roof housed holy water from the Nile. Isis, from Egyptian myth, was one of many foreign gods adopted by the eclectic Romans. Pompeii must have had a synagogue, too, but it has yet to be excavated.
• Exit the temple where you entered, and go right. At the next intersection, turn right again, and head downhill to the adjacent theaters. Your goal is the large theater down the corridor at #20, but if it’s closed, look at the smaller but similar theater (Teatro Piccolo) just beyond at #19.
TheaterOriginally a Greek theater (Greeks built theirs with the help of a hillside), this was the birthplace of the Greek port here in 470 B.C. During Roman times, the theater sat 5,000 people in three sets of seats, all with different prices: the five marble terraces up close (filled with romantic wooden seats for two), the main section, and the cheap nosebleed section (surviving only on the high end, near the trees). The square stones above the cheap seats once supported a canvas rooftop. Take note of the high-profile boxes, flanking the stage, for guests of honor. From this perch, you can see the gladiator barracks—the colonnaded courtyard beyond the theater. They lived in tiny rooms, trained in the courtyard, and fought in the nearby amphitheater.
• You’ve seen Pompeii’s highlights. When you’re ready to leave, backtrack to the main road and turn left, going uphill to the Forum, where you’ll find the main exit. For a shortcut back to the entrance area (with the bookstore, luggage storage, and quickest access to the train station), when you are halfway down the exit ramp, take the eight steps on the right and follow the signs. Otherwise, you’ll end up on the main road—where you’ll head right and loop around.
However, there’s much more to see—three-quarters of Pompeii’s 164 acres have been excavated, but this tour has covered only a third of the site. After the theater—if you still have energy to see more—go back to the main road and take a right toward the eastern part of the site, where the crowds thin out. Go straight for about 10 minutes, likely jogging right after a bit (just follow the posted maps). You’ll wind up passing through a pretty, forested area. At the far end is the...
AmphitheaterIf you can, climb to the upper level of the amphitheater (though the stairs are often blocked). With Vesuvius looming in the background, mentally replace the tourists below with gladiators and wild animals locked in combat. Walk along the top of the amphitheater and look down into the grassy rectangular area surrounded by columns. This is the Palaestra, an area once used for athletic training. (If you can’t get to the top of the amphitheater, you can see the Palaestra from outside—in fact, you can’t miss it, as it’s right next door.) Facing the other way, look for the bell tower that tops the roofline of the modern city of Pompei, where locals go about their daily lives in the shadow of the volcano, just as their ancestors did 2,000 years ago.
• If it’s too crowded to bear hiking back along uneven lanes to the entrance, you can slip out the site’s “back door,” which is next to the amphitheater. Exiting, turn right and follow the site’s wall all the way back to the entrance.
Smaller, less crowded, and not as ruined as its famous big sister, Herculaneum (worth ▲▲, Ercolano in Italian) offers a closer, more intimate peek into ancient Roman life but lacks the grandeur of Pompeii (there’s barely a colonnade).
Cost and Hours: €11, €20 combo-ticket includes Pompeii and three lesser sites (valid 3 consecutive days); also covered by the Campania ArteCard (see here). Open daily April-Oct 8:30-19:30, Nov-March 8:30-17:00, ticket office closes 1.5 hours earlier.
Getting There: Ercolano Scavi, the nearest train station to Herculaneum, is about 20 minutes from Naples and 50 minutes from Sorrento on the same Circumvesuviana train that goes to Pompeii (for details on the Circumvesuviana, see here). Walking from the Ercolano Scavi train station to the ruins takes 10 minutes: Leave the station and turn right, then left down the main drag; go eight blocks straight downhill to the end of the road, where you’ll see the entrance to the ruins marked by a grand arch. (Skip Museo MAV.) Pass through the arch and continue 200 yards down the path to the ticket office in the modern building, taking in the bird’s-eye first impression of the site to your right.
Information: Pick up a free, detailed map and excellent booklet at the info desk next to the ticket window. The booklet gives you a quick explanation of each building, keyed to the same numbers as the audioguides. (I’ve included some of these numbers in my self-guided tour, below.) There’s a bookstore inside the site, next to the audioguide stand. Tel. 081-777-7008, www.pompeiisites.org.
Audioguide: The informative and interesting audioguide sheds light on the ruins and life in Herculaneum in the first century A.D. (€6.50, €10/2 people, ID required, cheaper version available for kids ages 4-10, pick up 100 yards after the ticket turnstiles, uses same numbers as info booklet).
Length of This Tour: Allow one hour.
Baggage Storage: Herculaneum is harder than Pompeii for those with luggage, but not impossible. Herculaneum’s train station has lots of stairs and no baggage storage, but you can roll wheeled luggage down to the ruins and store it for free in a locked area in the ticket office building (pick up bags at least 30 minutes prior to site closing). To get back to the station, consider splurging on a €5 taxi (ask the staff to call one for you).
Services: There’s a free WC in the ticket office building, and another near the site entry.
Eating: There’s a café near the entry to the site. There are also several eateries on the way from the train station.
(See “ Herculaneum” map, here.)
Caked and baked by the same A.D. 79 eruption that pummeled Pompeii (see sidebar on here), Herculaneum is a small community of intact buildings with plenty of surviving detail. While Pompeii was initially smothered in ash, Herculaneum was spared at first—due to the direction of the wind—but got slammed about 12 hours after the eruption started by a superheated avalanche of ash and hot gases roaring off the volcano. The city was eventually buried under nearly 60 feet of ash, which hardened into tuff, perfectly preserving the city until excavations began in 1748.
After leaving the ticket building, go through the turnstiles and walk the path below the site to the entrance. Look seawards and note where the shoreline is today; before the eruption, it was just where you are standing, a quarter-mile inland. This gives you a sense of just how much volcanic material piled up. The present-day city of Ercolano looms just above the ruins. The modern buildings don’t look much different from their ancient counterparts.
As you cross the modern bridge into the excavation site, look down into the moat-like ditch. On one side, you see Herculaneum’s seafront wall. On the other, the wall that you’ve just been walking on is the solidified ash layer from the volcano and shows how deeply the town was buried.
After crossing the bridge, stroll straight to the end of the street and find the Seat of the Augustali (Sede degli Augustali, #24). Decorated with frescoes of Hercules (for whom this city was named), it belonged to an association of freed slaves working together to climb their way up the ladder of Roman society. Here and farther on, look around doorways and ceilings to spot ancient wood charred by the pyroclastic flows. Most buildings were made of stone, with wooden floors and beams (which were preserved here by the ash but rarely survive at ancient sites).
Leave the building through the back and go to the right, down the lane. The adjacent thermopolium (#22) was the Roman equivalent of a lunch counter or fast-food joint, with giant jars for wine, oil, and snacks. Most of the buildings along here were shops, with apartments above.
A few steps on, the Bottega ad Cucumas wine shop (#19) still has charred remains of beams, and its drink list remains frescoed on the outside wall (under glass).
Take the next right, go halfway down the street, and on the left find the House of Neptune and Amphitrite (Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite, #29). Outside, notice the intact upper floor and imagine it going even higher. Inside, you’ll see colorful mosaics and a unique “frame” made of shells.
Back outside, continue downhill to the intersection, then head left for a block and go straight across the street into the don’t-miss-it sports complex (palestra; #12). First you’ll see a row of “marble” columns, which (look closer) are actually made of rounded bricks covered with a thick layer of plaster, shaped to look like carved marble. While important buildings in Rome had solid marble columns, these fakes are typical of ordinary buildings.
Look for the hole in the hillside and walk through one of the triangular-shaped entrances to find the highlight: the Hydra of Lerna, a sculpted bronze fountain that features the seven-headed monster defeated by Hercules as one of his 12 labors. If this cavernous space is unlit, go to the second doorway on the left wall and press the light switch.
Return through the sports complex and turn downhill to the House of the Deer (Casa dei Cervi, #8). It’s named for the statues of deer being attacked by dogs in the garden courtyard (these are copies; the originals are in the Archaeological Museum in Naples). As you wander through the rooms, notice the colorfully frescoed walls. Ancient Herculaneum, like all Roman cities of that age, was filled with color, rather than the stark white we often imagine (even the statues were painted).
Continue downhill through the archway. The baths (Terme Suburbane, #3; enter near the side of the statue, sometimes closed) illustrate the city’s devastation. After you descend into the baths, look back at the steps. You’ll see the original wood charred in the disaster, protected by the wooden planks you just walked on. At the bottom of the stairs, in the waiting room to the right, notice where the floor collapsed under the sheer weight of the volcanic debris. (The sunken pavement reveals the baths’ heating system: hot air generated by wood-burning furnaces and circulated between the different levels of the floor.) A doorway in front of the stairs is still filled with solidified ash. Despite the damage, elements of refinement remain intact, such as the delicate stuccoes in the caldarium (hot bath).
Back outside, make your way down the steps to the sunken area just below. As you descend, you’re walking across what was formerly Herculaneum’s beach. Looking back, you’ll see arches that were part of boat storage areas. Archaeologists used to wonder why so few victims were found in Herculaneum. But during excavations in 1981, hundreds of skeletons were discovered here, between the wall of volcanic stone behind you and the city in front of you. Some of Herculaneum’s 4,000 citizens tried to escape by sea, but were overtaken by the pyroclastic flows.
Thankfully, your escape is easier. Either follow the sounds of the water and continue through the tunnel; or, more scenically, backtrack and exit the same way you entered.
The 4,000-foot-high Vesuvius, mainland Europe’s only active volcano, has been sleeping restlessly since 1944. While Europe has other dangerous volcanoes, only Vesuvius sits in the middle of a three-million-person metropolitan area that would be impossible to evacuate quickly.
Many tourists don’t know that you can easily visit the summit. Up top, it’s desolate and lunar-like, and the rocks are newly created. Walk the entire accessible part of the crater lip for the most interesting views; the far end overlooks Pompeii. Be still. Listen to the wind and the occasional cascades of rocks tumbling into the crater. Any steam? Vesuvius is closed to visitors when erupting.
You can reach the volcano by bus, taxi, or private car (described below). No matter how you travel up, you’ll land at the parking lot. From here it’s a steep 30-minute hike (with a 950-foot elevation gain) to the top for a sweeping view of the Bay of Naples. Bring a coat; it’s often cold and windy (especially Oct-April).
Cost and Hours: €10 covers entry to the national park (and a mandatory but brief introduction from a park guide, who then sets you free), daily April-Oct 9:30-17:00, until 18:00 in summer, Nov-March 9:30-15:00, last entry 1.5 hours before closing, primitive WC only (plan ahead), tel. 081-865-3911 or 081-239-5653, www.vesuviopark.it.
By Car or Taxi: Drivers take the exit Torre del Greco and follow the signs to Vesuvio. Just drive to the end of the road and pay €2.50 to park. A taxi costs €90 round-trip from Naples, including a 2-hour wait; it’s about €70 from Pompeii.
By Bus from Pompeii: From the Pompei Scavi train station on the Circumvesuviana line (just outside the main entrance to the Pompeii ruins), you have two bus services to choose from, each taking about three hours (40 minutes up, 40 minutes down, and about 1.5 hours at the summit).
Busvia del Vesuvio winds you up a bumpy private road through the back of the national park in a cross between a shuttle bus and a monster truck. It’s a fun, more scenic way to go, but not for the easily queasy. Note that at the top, this bus drops you near the main parking lot—leaving you with a similar uphill walk to the crater (€22 includes summit admission, runs hourly April-Oct daily 9:00-15:00, also at 16:00 and 17:00 June-Aug, rarely runs Nov-March—call for schedule, buy tickets at “info point” at Pompei Scavi train station, mobile 340-935-2616, www.busviadelvesuvio.com).
The old-fashioned Vesuvius Trolley Tram (Tramvia del Vesuvio) uses the main road up (€12 round-trip plus €10 summit admission, 10 percent discount with this book, 6/day, tickets sold at and departs from Camping Zeus next to Pompei Scavi train station, tel. 081-861-5320, www.campingzeus.it).
By Bus from Herculaneum: The quickest trip up is on the Vesuvio Express. These small buses leave from the Ercolano Scavi train station (on the Circumvesuviana line, where you get off for the Herculaneum ruins; €10 round-trip plus €10 summit admission, daily from 9:30, runs every 45 minutes based on demand, 20 minutes each way—about 2.5 hours total, office on square in front of train station, tel. 081-739-3666, www.vesuvioexpress.info).
Via Abbondanza