In the Roman Empire, Pompeii was a thriving port city. But it all changed on August 24, A.D. 79, when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, launching a 10-mile-high plume of smoke of dust and lava into the stratosphere. Individuals who were not slaughtered by the pumice projectiles or the magma were taken out by the noxious vapors.
This catastrophic moment in Roman history has provided us with an up-close glimpse at life inside of an ancient Roman metropolis. The eruption’s volcanic ash and mud enclosed and preserved the city’s artifacts as well as some of the people’s bodies, garments, and even business establishments.
Are you planning a vacation to Italy and wish to include a visit to Pompeii? Excellent decision! It’s one of the world’s largest and best-maintained archaeological sites, where you can wander through an old Roman city with a fascinating history. In this guide, we’ll go over everything you want to know about visiting Pompeii.
Pro tip: Are you planning a trip to Pompeii? Save this article to your computer so you can locate it easily when you’re on the go. More planning materials may be found in our Pompeii and Amalfi Coast guide, as well as the Pompeii daytime trip from Rome and other Pompeii excursions for a great and simple vacation. Nancy, a frequent Rome visitor and loyal customer that owns a St Louis event planning business, says that if you’re going to travel from the States all the way to Italy, you better not miss the Amalfi Coast.
Tickets to the Pompeii Archaeological Park may be purchased immediately at the entrance gates. The archeological park has three entrances: Porta Marina, Piazza Esedra, or Piazza Anfiteatro. You’ll most likely enter thru the Porta Marina, that is near to the railway station and big parking lot. It is also the primary ticket counter, so you may purchase your ticket and begin your trip here.
The majority of visitors to Pompeii arrive by rail from Naples. The good news is that the railway station wherein you must get off is directly in front of the archeological park’s entrance. It’s a short walk to the entrance, which you can’t miss.
See below for information on how to travel to Pompeii by rail from Rome as well as the Amalfi Coast, as well as traffic information for individuals who have hired a vehicle.
The Outdoor Amphitheater
The Pompeii amphitheater, the earliest known construction of its sort, accommodated 20,000 people and hosted gladiator games and enormous spectacles, similar to the Colosseum in Rome. The stone edifice is an excellent illustration of the ancient town’s enormous functioning civilization. Pink Floyd played a performance here in 1972!
The Pompeii Forum
The Forum of Pompeii, much like Roman Forum, was the town’s hub of activity and trade. It is home to the city’s principal temples, including the Temples of Venus, Jupiter, and Apollo. There are also the magnificent Forum Baths.
The Forum Baths in Pompeii
One widely held belief is that all the ancient people were filthy and rarely washed. This is true in many circumstances, yet the ancient people of Roman were not like this.
Though only the extremely wealthy could pay for private baths, the Forum’s public Roman baths were open to individuals of all socioeconomic classes. The area was separated into two sections: men’s and women’s.
It contained the ancient Roman Bath’s three chambers, the tepidarium (warm bath), frigidarium (cold bath), and the caldarium (hot bath). Traditionally, each would be bathed in that sequence.
The Brothel of Pompeii
The oldest profession in the world had a presence in ancient Rome, while the most obvious example in Pompeii may be seen in this edifice. They were known as lupanar in Latin, as well as the prostitutes are slaves transported in to cement Pompeii’s reputation as a city of vice.
The structure, which consists of several tiny spaces with beds, is also plastered with interesting explicit photographs of what happened at the brothel. We now know the names of several of the ladies who worked here because of graffiti left by satisfied clients.
The Palaestra’s
If you’re from Philadelphia, you’ll remember the term palaestra from The Palestra near the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. Palaestra is indeed the Latin term for “gym,” and it was comparable to our modern-day counterpart, including training grounds and even a pool house.
Mount Vesuvius
The most renowned and yet still active volcano in history is not located in Pompeii’s architectural complex, nor is it even in the city proper, but I would be derelict if I did not mention it. The last major eruption occurred in 1944, but scientists believe it will be some years before another occurs.
To round up your Pompeii experience, make the short trip to the volcano that earned Pompeii famous in the first place!
The Faun’s House
The term “home” is misleading because it spans an area of about 32,000 square feet, (which is about 3,000 square meters). The owner was so wealthy that he had a mosaic of the Latin word HAVE, which means “greetings!” built into the roadway in front of his property.
Mosaic of Cave Canem
At the entrance of the House of the Tragic Poet there is a mural of a dog, which acted as a doormat, with inscriptions below it that translate to Cave Canem in Latin, meaning translates as “beware of the dog”. This only goes to prove that after 2,000 years, we haven’t changed much.