POMPEII AND THE AMALFI COAST

Mary Ann: During our last week in Italy, we traveled west to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a wonderful choice after 3 rather uneventful and low-key weeks in Alberobello. By that time, we were ready for a little more adventure. We used Sorrento as our home base, and then took day trips from there: one to Pompeii and one down the coast to the small town of Amalfi.

Visiting Pompeii has been a dream for me, ever since I was in high school. Maybe it was Miss Staudt’s Latin class that first whet my appetite, or perhaps it was that small, old book about Pompeii that I picked up somewhere along the line and pored over when I was young, but we decided I had waited long enough and it was time to explore those ancient remains. Pompeii is heavily promoted in the Naples area, and appeared very touristy as we approached. But once inside the ruins themselves, we were transported to another time and place.

Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the city, as well as the surrounding cities and homes, with a heavy layer of ash, mud and toxic gases. About two-thirds of the 66 acres have been excavated so far, and 12 of those acres are open to the public. The remains include a mixture of public buildings such as the large and small theaters, the amphitheater, and the structures in the forum where the government was headquartered; the temples of various gods such as Isis and Apollo; various service centers such as the baths and storefronts; and then of course the private homes which varied from 3- or 4-room structures to the 40-room House of Faun. All of these are tied together by cobblestone streets. Within every block of the city, crossing the streets at perhaps 2 different places were 3 larger, taller stones which were used by people to actually walk on to get to the other side of the street. The reason is that sewage ran through the streets, along with water from the outdoor fountains which were continually left running to wash away the waste.

Although many frescoes and statues were destroyed by the eruption or were taken to be displayed in the Archaeological Museum in Naples, there are a number of beautiful frescoes and mosaics still remaining on the walls and floors of the largest houses, the baths and the temples. These homes often had a garden room with large pastoral scenes painted on the wall, surrounding a catch basin where rain water was collected in a pool. It was awesome to walk on the same tiled floors and cobblestone streets that people walked on almost 2000 years ago. I loved to wander through the largest homes and imagine myself there back in 79 AD, living a rather ordinary life, going to the store to buy food, relaxing in the baths, or seeing a play at the large theater. Don was especially taken by the huge amphitheater which has the same oval design as a modern stadium, with tiered seating, sectioned off with steps. This is where gladiators (slaves and prisoners) fought each other and wild animals, often to the death. There were 2 doors into the main arena, one where gladiators entered, and one where the dead ones were removed after the battles.

On the second day of our stay in Sorrento, we took a hair-raising, white-knuckle bus ride along the Amalfi coast. The public buses travel several times an hour along the very edge of the Mediterranean, winding around hairpin turns, often 500-600 feet above the blue-green water. We were told to sit on the right side of the bus to get the full effect so we were perched only inches away from the drop offs. That was scary but also gave us the most spectacular views possible. Small cities ran up and down the side of the mountain facing the expansive sea. Houses, some that were large Italian villas, clung to the cliffs and ledges over the water. Small islands floated serenely not far from the shore, and watch towers left over from the days of Turkish pirates stood guard along the rocky shore. Although the road was meant for traffic coming from both directions, either one or the other had to move even closer to the edge, and still there were only a few millimeters separating the vehicles. After 90 minutes of travel, we arrived at our destination, the city of Amalfi, one of those spectacular cliff-hugging places where fishing and tourism drive the local economy. I suppose during tourist season, it’s jam-packed with hordes of sightseers, but we were able to sit by the Mediterranean and leisurely drink a cup of cappuccino before touring the Duomo, and spending some time in the shops which lined the piazza and the main street.

This trip to Sorrento, Pompeii and Amalfi was such a good one and allowed us to experience many places far different from either the big city of Rome or the very tiny Alberobello. It’s made me more aware of how people from other countries view the United States, and how important it is not to judge a country by one small piece of it.