Buried Cities and Steaming Mountains

Not far from the Amalfi Coast is the city of Pompeii, located in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius.  Pompeii was buried by a volcanic eruption a long time ago (like in the '60s or something).  Anyway, the city was mostly covered in hot, volcanic ash (rather than lava).  While either form of volcanic output is deadly to everything living there, a town destroyed by volcanic ash can be dug up hundreds of years later and examined by Mark and Anne (a town destroyed by lava - not so much).  Pompeii has been largely excavated and we were able to walk through parts of the city (some parts are still under excavation) and see various areas of the town in remarkably well-preserved form.

These little guys stood (and still stand) above the lockers in the bath house.

The menacing form of Vesuvius serves as a backdrop to the ruins of the forum in Pompeii. 

One of the most famous aspects of Pompeii is its "residents."  Some of the people living in the city were unable to escape and were enveloped and killed by the volcanic ash.  Over the centuries that followed the eruption, the ash hardened and these people's remains decomposed.  This left a void in the rock in exactly the shape of the person in their final pose.  Now, when the excavators find a void in the volcanic rock (where a human body was before it decomposed), they fill it in with plaster and remove the rock.  This leaves them with casts of the people of Pompeii in their last positions before dying.  Some of these casts are on display in the city.

In addition to being able to create plaster casts of the citizens of Pompeii, the ruins have yielded a tremendous number of ancient artifacts.  Some of the ancient relics found at the site have been removed and placed in museums.  Others are on display at the site.  However, there is a very large volume of 'less important' relics.  They are simply placed into storage.  Apparently, the first jug we found is priceless, but the 10,000th jug - just throw it on that pile with the others.

Look closely to find the famous ancient Rubbermaid baskets of Pompeii.

As with any visitors to any city (even ancient cities), Mark and Anne naturally gravitated to the places they felt most comfortable.  Predictably, after a few days traveling with Mark, Anne went looking for a tavern while Mark got into an argument with an inanimate object.

Anne finds a tavern.

In fairness, the statue of Apollo started it.

After touring the city, Mark and Anne decided to take a closer look at the volcano itself.  Mt. Vesuvius is a national park in Italy and, assuming it is not currently erupting, you can climb to the top of the mountain and look inside.  Along the climb (and at the top), you can also get a heck of a view of Naples and the landscape in this part of Campania

View of Naples

On the day that Anne and Mark climbed the mountain, there was no eruption (*note to readers - in the event of volcanic eruption, the management of this blog reserves the right to cease publication - no refunds will be issued), but there was steam escaping from vents in the rock.  From the lip at the top of the mountain, Anne and Mark could clearly make out the scent of sulfur.  There was no real danger of eruption, but the sulfur smell and steam was close enough to ensure that Anne and Mark kept close tabs on where all the other tourists were (you know the old saying, you don't have to outrun the lava, you just have to outrun the other guy... oh, wait, maybe that's just for bears...)

The ash from the volcano really makes Mark's hair look gray.

Next... Venice.