Pompeii, the City Frozen in Time

One of my dreams is finally coming true! Ever since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of seeing Pompeii!

As you already know, I’m crazy about volcanoes; I find this work of nature to be the most incredible and ferocious of all. It’s as if Mother Nature had poured all her fury into this one. Okay, I admit it’s not the only one—we can all agree on that—but still. The god Apu lives only through volcanoes.

We headed to Naples—a good hour’s drive and a few traffic jams—to reach the entrance to the archaeological site of Pompeii.

We’d planned ahead and booked our tickets to the site for €25 per person. Parking also costs extra but is paid on-site.

We exchanged our confirmation for our admission tickets, and it’s a good thing we planned ahead since there’s a massive line to buy tickets—which I find pretty stressful.

Under the blazing sun, we entered the site, and it was clear that there was little to no shade to protect us from the scorching sun.

In various mythologies around the world—and certainly in most of the countries I’ve visited—stories about volcanoes are cruel and brutal. There’s also symbolic significance across different cultures. In Japan, for example, there’s a connection to the lotus flower in Buddhism.

Between mythology and cultural symbolism, volcanoes play a vital role in life on Earth. It is indeed thanks to them and the greenhouse effect they create that ocean water remains in a liquid state.

They are both destroyers and sustainers of life on Earth. It’s this balance that impresses me! You can see how Mount Vesuvius towers over Pompeii in the photo above.

Pompeii was a small village located at the foot of a large mountain. No one at that time could have imagined that Vesuvius was a volcano simply because it had been dormant for a millennium. The mountain’s slopes were ideal for agriculture. The soil was rich in nutrients—and for good reason!

In addition to its thriving agriculture, Pompeii served as a vacation destination for Roman senators after it was annexed by Rome.

Painting by the artist Karl Brioullov, 1830–1833.

In October 79, Pliny the Younger—who witnessed the event from the island across the way—tells us:

“The cloud shot up into the air; from such a great distance, it was impossible to tell from which mountain it was emerging. It had been preceded by several days of earthquakes, taking the shape of an elongated trunk before unfurling like a branch.”It wasn’t long before the sky darkened, obscured by volcanic material and ash spewing from the volcano. “The sea seemed to be turning in on itself… ,” “a black and horrible cloud, pierced by flames that shot up in serpentine patterns,” “I turn my head and see behind us a thick plume of smoke following us, spreading across the land like a torrent ….”

I wander through this city, discovering its labyrinthine streets and its sometimes flamboyant colors. I imagine what it might have been like in days gone by. The world went about its business, as if I were part of that universe. Every time my eyes fell on the volcano, I saw the flames and lava pouring down onto this world that was once full of life. The faces of the inhabitants contorted with fear and the suffocating heat of this mountain spewing the poison that would soon engulf them.

At times, through the eyes of a tourist, I was in awe. At other times, my vivid imagination and the books I’ve read filled me with dread. What could I have done in that situation? Where could I have gone to protect myself?

The tour ended with two mummies frozen in time by lava.

We left the site to cool off for a while on the covered terrace of a bar, and honestly, after that heat wave, the mist on the terrace felt absolutely wonderful.

We headed toward Maiori to relax on the beach and cool off after the heat wave we’d just endured.

Maiori is located in the Campania region. It’s yet another of the few places where we find beautiful stretches of beach. Another beautiful day that ends on a wonderful note.

Yours truly,

Ninve

A few more photos of this magnificent archaeological site:

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