The “touristy” part of Italy roped me in with the trove of Greek and Roman cities. While in Sicily, Selinunte, Agrigento, and Palermo were my keyhole view to peer into the world of 300 BCE-400CE. Imposing limestone pillars and grand temples to Apollo, Hercules and Demeter made a home in my heart…but I still yearned to know more and follow the trail of sanctuaries to Dioscuri and Avesta.
That brought me to Napoli, after my sojourn in Sicily. Napoli by far had the best pizza and pasta, but nothing came close to arancine I had feasted on in Palermo.
My flight to Naples was short, but the accommodation in the city was quite sketchy. I felt quite uncomfortable walking in the narrow lanes off via Umberto and felt a gaze following me. WIth that irksome feeling, I waled back to the main street and booked a snazzy hotel room for myself. After settling in, I made my way to the National Museum in Naples and my oh my, I did have the best four hours of my life looking at the exhibits at teh museum. Once again, I was thankful for the museums where I could look at each display taking my own time, and not melting away in the sun… That means, once again, my moral compass is moving away from the thought experiment of de-museumization!
The next day was going to be a full day at Pompei. The chapters on Indo-Roman trade that I paged through over and over for my degree in Archaeology had piqued my interest in the site of Pompei and Herculaneum. Did you know that Venus was teh patron deity of Pompei?! And the sanctuary to Venus is thus the highlight of Pompei city planning. Buried under the ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvio, the city was buried under a 50cm (I think) deposit and many died due to suffocation, etc. The description in Classical sources on the eruption of Vesuvio in 79 CE furnish ample details on the eruption and the former glory of the city.
The quintessential aspect of entertainment in a Roman city is a theatre. The amphitheater in Pompei displays three levels (cavae). A similar setup is seen in the colosseum in Rome – to which I will touch upon later. These buildings were covered with stucco embellishments that would have looked something like the palaces that are now standing in Florence and Rome.
The city was preserved well owing to the ash bed and some preserved specimens are displayed in the precincts of the city. The cast of the bodies in the city highlight the daily life and 79CE seems to be frozen in front of your eyes… The tradition of tossing coins at the exhibit (as in the fountains across Italy) is a recurring aspect even in Pompei.
My exploration in Pompei reached its pinnacle (literally) and I decided to hike to Mt Vesuvius! The climb was strenuous and I had a half a heart to give up with the sun torching me with every step. But the climb and the sea of perspiration was totally worth it for the breath-taking view of Naples and surrounding areas that lay at the foot of Vesuvio.
The view of the landscape transported me back to ancient Greco-Roman cities, and somehow I wanted to linger more in that era rather than to move on with a generous dose of Renaissance architecture that lay waiting for me next…
D.
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