Herculaneum and Naples

For our study day trip, JFRC took any student who wanted to come to Herculaneum, an ancient Roman village near Pompeii that was also destroyed by the volcanic explosion.  Herculaneum was preserved just as Pompeii was since the volcanic rocks and lava filled the buildings, supporting them from the inside and enabling them to remain standing, but under the earth. 

 The volcano

When drilling for a well in the past 100 years, a farmer discovered the first portion of Herculaneum, and it quickly became an archeological dig site.  About one fourth of the entire city has been completely uncovered and relatively restored.  The quality of what remains is absolutely incredible.  We had a tour group who showed us all around the town.   

 An intricate mosaic in the process of being cleaned

We walked into homes, saw the bakery, went by the wine shop, checked out he public fountain and bars, along with the pool.   

 The town bar/coffee shop

Each of these places has unique things that were preserved.  The tile floors in some of the houses were extremely intricate.  In the baths, Poseidon, fish, dolphins and octopi were depicted in the tiled floor.   

Many amphoras survived, and we even saw some of the original wooden structures that supported the doorframes of buildings.  

Door frame with illuminated tiles

 It was mind boggling to walk through this town that has been completely excavated and imagine what life must have been like over 2000 years ago.  Or to imagine how people would have acted the same or differently then us when they walked down the same street.  The structures that are still standing give an outline of the city, but it was very fun for me to use my imagination to fill in all of the gaps about the culture, people, and interactions that occurred there.  

 The main road

After our time at Herculaneum, we got back on our bus and took a quick driving tour of Naples, which is very nearby. We walked along the waterfront and had authentic margherita pizza in the birthplace of pizza.  It was fabulous, to say the least.  Everything about it, from the sweet tomato sauce, the right amount of basil, the fresh mozzarella cheese circles, and the perfectly thin yet fluffy crust made it amazing.   

 

Pizza Margherita

We saw a few more parts of Naples, including this beautiful view, before getting on a water ferry to the island of Ischia, our weekend destination!