Pompei
is the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Ever since Pliny
the Younger wrote his moving letters to Tacitus describing the
eruption of the Vesuvio that buried Pompei in 79 AD, the city
has been the stuff of books, scholarly frivolous and perfect subject
for the big screen. Much of the site, the richest insight into
the daily life of the Romans, is open to the public and requires
at least three or four hours to visit.
The Theatre of Pompeii.
The theatre could hold 5000 spectators. Built in the Samnite period
during the second century B.C., it underwent several reconstructions.
The seats of the ordinary spectators were located inside the cávea,
the wider seats at the bottom with comfortable chairs were for
important personalities, while the two lateral boxes over the
entrances of the “orchestra” were reserved to very
important people.
Atrium of the House of the Faun.
“The House of the Faun” covers an entire city block.
Its size and elegance are extraneous to the mediocre surroundings
of Campania, but it is rather comparable to the princely residence
of Pellas in Macedonia. It takes its name from the discovery of
a small bronze statue (a dancing Faun) found in the atrium.
House of the Large Fountain.
This niche-shaped fountain is completely covered with refined
mosaics, composed of glass paste. In the “House of the Large
Fountain” there are some copies of bronze statues representing
a putto with a dolphin and a fisherman.
The Thermopolium.
It was an ancient tavern. The presence of numerous shops, taverns,
and inns, let us suppose there was a production not only for the
requirement of the city, but also destined for the exportation.
The Arch of Caligola.
It is so called because of the discovery of an equestrian statue
credited to this emperor. The Arch of Caligola is located near
the Forum (the main square of the town) along Via di Mercurio
street. The Roman emperor Caligola lived from 12 to 41 AD: we
don’t know so much about him because the texts by Tacitus
about him were lost in ancient times.
Ruins of Pompeii by night
A moonlight walk among the history of two thousand years ago.
The excavations of Pompeii are also open after sunset, thanks
to a fixed lighting system which allows a unique, fascinating
visit of one of the most beautiful archaelogical sites in the
world. The area open to the public in the evening extends from
the Porta Marina entrance over all of the Forum. It will be possible
to walk, admire and linger in the houses and temples open to the
public.
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