Pompeii

In the morning we went to the archeological museum of Naples which everybody says is top notch and they do not lie. A lot of the easily transportable statues, mosaics and other works of art from Pompeii/Herculaneum are there. We really dig mosaics and their are some awesome examples. A piece called the Alexander mosaic has over 1 million individual mosaics in it. The Farnese Bull is there, which is thought to be the largest ancient sculpture. It is freakin huge. There is a really extensive collection of coins and almost all denomonations from about 1500 years are represented.

Now, another less scholarly section of the museum was dedicated entirely to sex. This part of the museum has been alternatively opened and closed to the public depending on the prevaling social mores of the era. Since the museum was founded in 1585, it has been open and shut several times, but thankfully it is now open to the rabble. Now sure, ancient people adored the human body and loved to represent it in an artistic manner. We can all sit around and nod at what equisite work was done on a statue of a nude Hercules or something, but this was basically ancient pornography. People in every imaginable position: in mosaic, in painting, in fresco, in sculpture, on the sides of amphoras. And just to add to the spicieness of the room there were phalluses everywhere. Ancient people believed the penis warded off evil spirits and brought good luck (I knew it was good for something). And apparently the bigger the member the more evil it kept away. Ok, on to the real deal and some more high brow sites.

So we are at Pompeii and after the forum, the center of the town and the heart of life. Everything is well preserved, from urns at lunch counters to the temples, to a few peoples bodies. You really feel that you could live in this city today. Then we make our way to the Lupanarium, litteraly ´the place of the she-wolves`. The brothel. Man, this trip has really taken a turn into the gutter. Basically a building divided up into about 6 rooms with stone beds (sex must have been uncomfortable back then), with more mosaics and frescoes of sex covering the walls.

We spent the rest of the time wandering from building to building in the enormous city of Pompeii. We were there about 4 hours and didn`t see half of it, you could easily spend a day or two there. It really is an entire city preserved. The whole place is in pretty good shape and you can really get a feel for what the city must have been like.

The stadium is very well preserved.


As is two theatres. Baths were well preserved and everything was labeled and explained in a way that really brought you into what life might have been like. These last two days were a real highlight and we had loads of fun at these ruins in these beautiful surroundings. And nothing is a better reward after a hard day of hiking around than delicious pizza pie, so big it falls off the plate.