11 things to see at Pompeii ruins
Probably the most fascinating and famous archaeological site in the world. Pompeii is a World Heritage Site visited by millions of people every year, who come from the most remote corners of the world to admire the beauty of a timeless city. Its charm, as everyone knows, is linked to its excellent state of conservation, due to the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which projected several tons of ash, lapilli and pumice onto the city, until it covered the entire urban perimeter for over six meters high. Its actual discovery took place only in 1700, at the time of King Charles III of Bourbon. The sovereign promoted the first explorations, which were mainly aimed at enriching his collections of antiquities. These were already largely inherited from the mother Elisabetta Farnese, to whom the homonymous collection belonged, which soon passed into the hands of her son.
Thus it was that the excavations continued during various campaigns, directed by eminent scholars and archaeologists such as Giuseppe Fiorelli and Amedeo Maiuri.
Numerous pieces of research are still ongoing today. It is for this reason that the city is still defined as "alive", as it never ceases to surprise; for the beauties that it still mysteriously hides under the thick layer of debris that obscured its existence for over seven centuries.
Let's see what are the ten "gems" not to be missed during a visit to the excavations:
The forum
The architecture of the Pompeii forum was characterized by a portico on two orders of columns along the three sides of the square, while the northern area was occupied by the famous Capitolium, the temple dedicated to the Capitoline triad.
On the opposite side there were some municipal buildings, while along the E/W sides there were the granaries, the macellum, the temple of Apollo, the Basilica, the building of the Public Lares and the so-called building of Eumachia, priestess of Venus belonging to a very rich Pompeian family.
A stop at the forum allows you to fully enjoy the view of Vesuvius, which rises in its grandeur completely dominating the scene and letting our mind go back to that fateful eruption of 79 AD which, in the course of a few hours, completely buried this city from over six meters of lapilli and ash.
Villa of the Mysteries
The Villa dei Misteri, located a few hundred meters from the north walls of Pompeii , was partially discovered in 1909, but almost entirely excavated twenty years later by the archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri.
It was built starting from the 2nd century BC and enlarged at the end of the Republican age. Its architectural conformation is arranged in a so-called "rustic" area, linked to agricultural cultivation and wine and oil production; the other sector, the residential one, is occupied by sumptuous rooms richly frescoed and decorated, a distinctive sign of the opulence of the family that owns this enormous villa. We don't know the names of the owners; some hypotheses have linked the residence to one of the many properties of the Istacidii, one of the most influential families of Pompeii in the Augustan age.
The great hall of the triclinium occupies the best preserved cycle of frescoes of all ancient Roman painting. Along all the walls are shown some images of initiation to the Dionysian cult, the famous "mysteries", which must be read from left to right. The mysteries were certainly linked to marriage or to the rituals that the young bride had to follow before getting married. An elegant portrait of a young woman brushing her hair could fully confirm this interpretation.
The Amphitheatre of Pompeii
Many were the shows that were held inside, mainly the munera, or the fights between gladiators or venationes, which also involved the presence of wild animals and complex scenography.
The building, without basements, broadly follows the same layout as the typical Roman amphitheatres: an elliptical structure with a large cavea divided into three sectors: ima, media and summa cavea, where the public was arranged on the basis of the distinct social castes of belonging. The two large doors, the triumphalis and the libitina, constituted the two entrances to the arena,
surrounded by a side gallery (the spoliarium), which served as a shelter for wounded fighters, who were literally "stripped" of their armor and cured of the most serious wounds.
At the apex of the cavea there was a large velarium, a linen cover which provided shade and shelter for the public, especially during the hottest months.
This large amphitheater is also famous for the memorable Pink Floyd concert in 1971, which was chosen as the ideal location to take advantage of the excellent natural acoustics of the structure.
The way of Abundance
Walking along this road allows you to relive the same sensations that the ancient inhabitants of Pompeii felt when walking along it. It is very easy to imagine how life was at that time, between domus, fountains, streets and shops.
Excavated in the first half of the twentieth century, it forms the decumanus máximo of Pompeii , i.e. the main road that connected the eastern and western areas of the city, starting from the Sarno gate and reaching the forum. The road still partially retains its original paving and is flanked by a series of secondary arteries (the cardi) which used to connect the parallel decumani of the city. It was called "via dell'Abundance" due to the presence of a sumptuous fountain with the representation of the Concordia Augusta, erroneously interpreted as the goddess of abundance.
House of the Menander
On the sides of the beautiful garden of the house there is a portrait of the playwright Menandro, who gave its name to the homonymous house. A little further on, you enter the servants' quarters, where numerous wine amphorae and the cells used for the storage and preservation of food are still preserved.
The Menander house is also known as the "house of silverware", since several hundred dishes and pieces of silverware used during the most important banquets and ceremonies of the domestic hearth were found inside. Today they are exhibited in a special section of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The suburban baths
The suburban baths of Pompeii still retain their subdivision into the typical ordinary environments: frigidarium, tepidarium and calidarium , preceded by a large changing room, the apoditerium, where customers could leave their clothes and personal effects.
The baths are well preserved; inside you can admire the splendid frescoes, stuccos and marbles that enriched all the rooms. In the warmest room, the hypocaust heating system is still visible, consisting in circulating hot air coming from a furnace under the floor and in the walls. A rather ingenious system that confirms, once again, how advanced the engineering techniques used in ancient Rome have been.
The theaters of Pompeii
Numerous tragedies, comedies, mimes and fabulae from Atella were staged in the great theatre, popular farces and grotesques born in Campania starting from the 1st century BC
A few meters away you come across the small theater, the Odeion. Much smaller in size, it was used for musical shows, concerts and singing performances. Unlike the first, the Odeion was covered with a large wooden roof, aimed at functionally improving the acoustics. The orchestra of the building has very rich polychrome marbles of African origin and imposing stone telamons placed at the base of the cavea.
The antiquarium of Pompeii
The exhibition follows the critical line of Fiorelli's original project; it is divided in chronological order starting from the first Samnite phase and continuing along the path up to the moment of the catastrophe, told through a series of everyday objects stopped by time and by the events that left them in an excellent state of conservation. Among the exhibits on display in the various rooms of the museum, the amulets found in a small box in the Garden House, a series of everyday objects and the recent casts of the victims from the suburban villa of Civita Giuliana stand out.
The thermopoly of Regio V
Between the alley of the silver wedding and the alley of the balconies you come across a beautiful diner of the time, a real "fast food" from two thousand years ago.
In this inn, which takes the name of thermopolium, drinks and hot foods were served, stored in large amphorae built into the counter, the so-called "dolía". Many Pompeians went to these shops to have their lunch, which generally took place outside the home and consisted of a quick and frugal meal. The food ordered could be heated up and eaten to take away, just like a modern take away of our times. The thermopoly of regio V is just one of the many scattered throughout the ancient city. It is located in Region V, the area currently involved in the new excavations financed by the Great Pompeii Project. Discovered only a couple of years ago, it fully retains the marble counter, on whose facades there are a series of frescoes in perfect condition. Nice are the various images showing a dog, a nereid on a hippocampus, some still lifes and game, which was certainly also sold inside the restaurant; a sort of “menu” for local customers.
Currently, the thermopoly can be visited every afternoon, without booking, starting at 2pm.
Leda and the swan
This marvelous fresco adorned the cubículum (the bedroom) of a rich domus, excavated in small part only a few years ago. The fresco came to light in a completely fortuitous way, during some safety and consolidation interventions on the Via del Vesuvio.
The highly refined image shows the story of Leda and the Swan, a very frequent iconography throughout the classical age taken from the famous Metamorphoses of Ovid. Leda, beautiful queen of Sparta, was fertilized by Jupiter who transformed her person into the guise of a splendid swan. From this bizarre meeting will be born the twins Castor and Pollux, the so-called Dioscuri.
Behind the room there is another fresco of valuable artistic quality, which shows Narcissus in the act of admiring himself in front of a reflection of water.
These highly prized paintings certainly denote a refinement of style and an elegance chosen by the clients of the domus themselves, who certainly belonged to one of the highest social castes of Pompeian society.
