Pompei

Wow. We saw only a small portion of the excavated portion of Pompei but it dazzles the senses. We walked along one of the original roads still in excellent condition, It bears the grooves from countless chariots that travelled over the paved volcanic rock. On either side is an elevated sidewalk for pedestrians. Also on either side are the small shops the lined the road. Bars with terracotta amphoras hanging inside stone boxes to keep the wine cool on hot days. Fountains with running water for pedestrians to drink. The occasional villa, though most weren’t on the main road. Rooms were small, but the entrance foyers were large and each one has a sunken rectangle which contained the household water.

The communal baths were divided into cold, tepid and hot water areas since even then, they understood that it can be a shock to the body to go from cold to hot. Hence the tepid water. It was piped in. Unfortunately, their pipes were lead and they were all slowly being poisoned. They knew they were being poisoned but they never knew how.

We were so impressed at how civilized these early Romans were back in 79 B.C.
Lunch was a traditional Italian pizza. Apparently when the pizza was invented, the chef wanted to create something with the colours of the flag of Italy. So he covered the bready base with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella and green basil. It was surprisingly tasty given the scant ingredients.



Following lunch we toured the museum that houses many of the artefacts recovered from Pompei. Like the exquisite mosaic floor coverings. The richer the homeowner, the more elaborate the mosaic. The largest one recovered has over 2 million tiny pieces!