17. Pompei - the Hotel Diana

We just loved the Hotel Diana - the antithesis of The overblown Hilton Cavalieri. A small, family owned place, the staff are as friendly and helpful as you could wish, the coffee hot (and affordable - 1 Euro a cup!) and the general ambience unpretentious and delightful.

The outside terrace surrounded by orange trees was a lovely spot to rest after a day paying homage to the Ancients, or to bring a few slad makings back for an evening feast, and just generally chat and unwind.

The Diana is 100 m from the main rail station, on a quiet, dead end street, so no passing traffic. If you find yourself sojourning in Pompei, we thoroughly recommend the Diana!




Above: Breakfast at the Diana. Not shown, but also featured were handpicked apricots and oranges from the hotel garden.

18. Pompei - The new town

Pompei is more than an ancient site. The modern town of Pompei is a thriving, bustling centre. Its other "claim to fame" is a religious sanctuary, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Pompei, founded in 1900. There were bus loads of pilgrims arriving every day and we witnessed a procession one evening when we were dining. the church seemed to be full of people sayign the Rosary at any one time. The souvenir stands and shops of Pompei town are an eclectic mix of ancient site mementoes and religious paraphenalia.
It has a few other distinguishing features, including:

. more gelaterie than we have ever encounted in any other town. Delicious gelato!

. a large number of sleeping dogs. Well, they sleep by day, and stroll by night. If you walk after dark, you will inevitably be accompanied by descendents of the subject of ancient Pompei's Cave Canem ('Beware of the Dog') warnings! Actually they are a pretty friendly bunch....we didn't meet any aggressive ones at all! Wish i'd taken some pics of the sleeping / strolling Pompeian canines.

. the simply wonderful Hotel Diana (see separate blog entry).
Above: The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario - church and campanile in the centre of Pompei.

19. Ancient Pompei

Above: The Forum, with Vesuvius in the background. The forum was the centre of public life, and the oldest part of Pompei, built on the highest spot. Behind the forum was the Basilica - public administration buildings.

Above: Looking towards Vesuvius.

Above: Large Palestra - a gymnasium with swimming pool in the centre. Only 13 feet wide, Cicero complained that he needed a wider pool to avoid hurting his hands against the wall.



Above: The Anfiteatro (Amphitheatre) - used for gladitorial combat, and the oldest one of its kind in existence. The stone piers were separated into different sections for different social classes. A large cloth canopy provided shade.
Above and below: A tavern (thermopolium) in Via dell'Abbondanza which sold food and drink which had a counter opening on to the street. This one belonged to Asellina, and there is a depiction on the wall of foreign waitresses. The jars kept food and drinks hot.


Above and Below: The large theatre (2nd century BC) seated about 5 000 spectators.


Below: A huge floor mosaic in the House of the Faun depicting Alexander the Great in battle. The original is in the Museo Archaologico Nazionale in Naples. And it is magnificent! This was one of the largest houses in Pompei.


Below: A mosiac depicting a dog in the entrance to a house.

Below: Looking along via di Nola towards Porta di Nola, from the intersection with Via del Vesuvio/Via Stabiana

Below: The magnificent frescoes of the Villa of Mysteries, a large villa outside the ancient walls. It was built in the early 2nd century BC, and converted from an urban dwelling into an elegant country house.

The frescoes are said to represent a bride's initiation into the Dionysian mysteries or a postulant's initiation to the Orphic mysteries. Some say the owner was a priestess of the Dionysian cult, then widespread in southern Italy. Dionysus was the Greek god of wine.

20. Ancient Pompei - Botanic Gardens

A project is underway within the archaeological site of Pompei to cultivate many of the plants which were grown in ancient Pompei.

This botanic garden is a serene haven. There are specimens of many food, construction, medicinal and aromatic, textile and decorative plants (many of course had more than one use).

Fruit trees include apple, olive, pear, fig, almond.
Medical and aromatic plants: basil, marjoram, thyme (antiseptic), garlic (high blood pressure), rue (abortion). Construction: ash tree - whose very flexible wood was used to build bed staves; the willow tree - used to weave baskets; the poplar - cut in foils for baskets.
Bulrushes - used to drip ricotta cheese, and vegetables were tied up with them.
Canes - making musical instruments, traps and pikes and dividing walls for houses and padding mattresses with blooms.
Vegetables included legumes and cereals (chickpeas, lentils, peas, broad beans) which were cooked as soups.
Textile plants were flax, hemp, “ginestra” from which ropes, nets and canvas were made, while the cotton-wastes were used for lamps. Fabrics were dyed with blooms of the “ontano” and the card of the “fullones” was used to tease wool.
“Coronarie”, evergreen plants received a special mention in Plinius work book XXI; they were used to weave celebratory, cult and therapeutic crowns.

23. Napoli - National Archaeological Museum

The Museo Archaeologico Nazionale in Napoli is where original mosaics, frescoes and other objects uncovered from ancient Pompei and Herculaneum and other excavations around Vesuvius are housed. There are also Etruscan and Egyptian relics, Greek and Roman sculptures. It is a magnificent museum.

Possibly the most memorable room is the Gabinetto Segreto (Secret Cabinet) - a collection of ancient erotica from pompei and Herculaneum. It was reopened to the public in 2000 after decades of being restricted to those with academic interest and permission.

Below: Ben joins in discussion with these classical wise ones.


Below: Hercules' bum
Below: The Farnese Hercules - made by Glykon of Athens, it is an enlarged copy of a sculpture by Greek master Lysippus. Napoleon is said to have regretted leaving it behind when he left Italy with his loot in 1797.
Below: The Farnese Bull, behind drapes while the room is being restored. You can see it here. According to Pliny the Elder it was commissioned at the end of the second century BC and carved from one whole block of marble. It was imported from Rhodes as part of the collection of artwork and sculptures owned by Asinius Pollio, a Roman politician. It is widely considered the largest single sculpture ever recovered from antiquity, made by Apollonius of Tralles and his brother Tauriscus.
It represents the myth of Dirce. She was tied to a wild bull by the sons of Antiope, Zeto and Amphion, who wanted to punish her for the ill-treatment inflicted on their mother, first wife of Lykos, King of Thebes.
Below: Three pieces from the Gabinetto Segreto collection
Below: Is that a gun in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?
Below: One of the most famous pieces is this fresco of Priapus - Mercury from Pompei
Below: Amazing mosaics from . This was my favourite part of the museum, apart from the gabinetto segreto. The bottom one is from the large theatre at Pompei. There are many others, and they are all absolutely beautiful.
Below: This model of Pompei, the idea of archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli, was made of wood, paper and cork between 1861 and 1879. It reproduces every detail found in the ruins to that time. In some cases when detailed records of decoration are needed, the model is the only remaining source.

26. Travellin' around

Below: Pompei Scavi - the station on the Circumvesuviana line which is on the Sorrento line. Many visitors to the Pompei site arrive here.

Below: Ercolano -The station for visiting Herculaneum's ruins.
Below: the Circumvesuviano - return from Sorrento. This is the train we were on when we over-shot the station.

Below: the brand new regional train taking us from Pompei to Naples for our return to Rome. So new the remnants of the plastic which had covered the seats was still visible.

Below: the train from Naples back to Rome.

Below: leaving Naples
Below: The station at Lucca
Below: Waiting at Viareggio (I think) for train to Genoa
Below: The train from Viareggio to Genoa

Below: train from Pisa to Lucca