When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 Ad it buried the nearby Roman town of Pompeii. Layers of ash and pumice kept the village almost intact until it was rediscovered in the 1700s. We visited Pompeii with Michael’s mother a few weeks ago. Follow along as we present the following images of Pompeii:
While walking around Pompeii it is hard to escape the continual presence of Mount Vesuvius.
Many columns were sheared off by the force of the blast.
Wildflowers abound in the cracks and crevices of Pompeii as seen at the top of this wall.
The theater appears ready to put on a show.
The amphitheater survived fairly intact. Pink Floyd filmed a concert video (without an audience) here in 1971.
Parts of the Roman forum still retain their two-story height.
In one of Pompeii’s brothels the fresco paintings on the walls survived the eruption. Over a dozen images present a visual menu of what was available to the discerning customer. Until 40 years ago this room was off-limits to female visitors as it was considered too shocking.
This pedestal table sits in the courtyard of a merchant’s house.
On a cloudy day the tip of the volcano appears to be steaming. Is there another eruption in its future?
Sometimes on even a gray day a little splash of color survives. We like to think it represents rebirth and survival.
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Lovely pictures. I haven’t made it to Pompeii yet, but my parents went a few years back on their way down south to visit me, and said it was fantastic. Guess that’s another one to add to my list of places to visit this summer …
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Definitely keep it on the list. And allow plenty of time–there’s so much to see!
Fantastic photo journal of a place I would love to visit
Glad you like the photos. . . you’d love the pizza in nearby Naples as well!
Awesome place! We couldn’t get over the sheer scale it! Amazing to think a place so big and influencial could be left undiscovered (considering the eruption was so well documented by Pliny) under a layer of ash for so many years.
You feel priviledged to be there though with the looming threat that another eruption could happen anytime and cover it all over again.
Doz,
Thanks for checking. We’re impressed by the Pliny reference. It speaks well of the Welsh school system.
Cheers!
Hi Michael & Larissa,
This is a powerful place and your b&w photos really bring this out.
I greatly enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing.
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Color photos just didn’t seem to do it justice.
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