The year was 79 AD, the place, Mt. Vesuvius and environs, the upscale playing grounds of wealthy Roman citizens. The mountain had been grumbling for years – earthquakes and tremors – but no one gave it any thought until … the top of the mountain lit up in fire. Ash rained down from the sky, covering the surroundings at the rate of a meter every few hours. Then came pyroclastic lava, burying everything in its path as it made its way to the sea and reshaped the coastline. That path included the cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, Boscoreal, Oplontis and Herculaneum.
Amy and I visited the ruins of Pompeii many years ago on our first trip together to Italy in 1996. It was a less than stellar visit and left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. It was crowded, dirty and large portions of it were not open to the public. Apparently, the intervening years haven’t been kind as the site slowly decays with the Italian government unable to provide the necessary funding to preserve and protect the remains.
That brings us to Herculaneum. For many years this site was accessible only to scholars. Now, through a unique private-public partnership this UNESCO World Heritage Site can be viewed by all. Early March is a good time to visit. The weather is mild but the site is free of the throngs that visit during the high season. Approximately 1/10 of the area has been unearthed although more exploration has been done using tunnels.
Herculaneum is more intact as it was buried by the lava flow from the ground up, allowing the upper stories of houses to be preserved as well. In Pompeii the upper stories were destroyed by the rocks falling from the sky. You can walk the streets just as the Romans might have some 2000 years ago.
Scholars have even gone so far as to replant the gardens using the same varieties of plants in the same configuration that archeological work indicates was present at the time of the disaster.
The intense heat of the lava carbonized wooden beams and objects, turning them into charcoal.
There are even remains of a wooden staircase.
There are brightly painted inner courtyards
and the remains of decorative frescoes,
seen here in detail.
There is some evidence that the color palate we currently see was not the original as the heat of the lava might have altered and changed some of the pigments just as pottery glaze changes when fired at high temperature in a kiln. These three paintings sit above a tiled alcove which might have contained a fountain.
Several magnificent mosaic wall tiled areas can be seen.
Both of these pictures are in the same courtyard.
Tile can also be seen intact or restored on floors
and in this interior fountain.
Such fountains were used for air circulation as well as decoration since in the summer the cold, moving water would have promoted cooling, convective currents. There were several bathing complexes including one with these remarkable tiled floors.
Pompeii and Herculaneum offers different experiences. For that matter, Ostia Antica provides a nice opportunity to see the remains and layout of an ancient Roman city, and it is much more accessible from Rome. If you have time to see them all, by all means do. However, if there can be only one, then Herculaneum is your best choice.
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