What was once a busy port town bustling with sailors, Pompeii was destroyed by a three-day eruption of the nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is known for being of the most catastrophic eruptions in European history.
The first official dig of Pompeii occurred in 1748. It took 300 years of digging to reveal all of what is seen of Pompeii today. What is left of the ancient city is now open to tourists who can walk among the ruins and get a glimpse of what life was once like there.
As you walk through the city, you can make out what many of the crumbled structures once were. A room with a rectangular hole in the wall close to the ground was the town’s bakery. The hole was the oven. A fast food store was revealed by a table that was close to the street with three open holes in it that once held pots. Various soups were once sold from the stand which was frequented by people leaving the Teatro Piccolo, an old indoor theater that would sit 5,000 people, one-fourth of what used to be the population of around 20,000 people.
One of the tour guides, Giusy Santarpia, explained that the acoustics of the theater were known for being some of the best in Italy. The roof collapsed from the rocks and ash that piled up on it during the eruption, leaving the impeccable acoustics in the past.
As you walk deeper into the city, you reach what was once the red light district. Prostitution was legal in Pompeii. As a port town, sailors wanted to engage in sexual activity during their time on land. Many brothels lined the streets, marked by phallic symbols above or next to the doorways so people could easily identify them. Stone beds can be seen in what is left of many of the rooms. Stone beds were used to ensure that the bed was just used for sex and not comfortable enough for sleep. In addition, they were easier to clean. Sailors that roamed the streets of Pompeii were from all over the world. Therefore, they spoke various languages. To accommodate to the variety of languages, the brothels had murals on the walls of different sexual positions the guests could choose from by simply pointing at what they desired.
The photographs above show the phallic symbol marking the brothel and one of the stone beds.
Ashley Lu, a student in one of the tour groups, noticed that some of these murals had two men in bed together, showing that the society at the time was fairly open-minded and sexually accepting.
“Why aren’t we still just as open-minded and non-judgmental?,” Lu said. “It seems as though the world has reversed some of their views because we wouldn’t see casual murals like that today.”
Lu said that she found this part of the tour most interesting because the culture being as progressive as it was surprised her.
People even had erotic pictures in their bedrooms at home. Sex was celebrated. To ensure that the prostitutes would not get impregnated, condoms were often used. They were made from goat intestines. Prostitution was Pompeii’s main business, generating the most profits and consumers. Many people were involved in the business as it was a way to make good money without having to acquire a specific craft. It is the oldest profession in the world.
Currently, only 2,000 skeletons have been found since the eruption. Many of the people left before the eruption began, as they felt tremors that scared them off. The remaining people suffocated due to the ash in the air or were buried under the rumble and collapsed buildings. Very few actually died from burns, as the lava did not flood the city as many people think. The skeletons were well preserved due to the ash. While walking through one of the main squares, some of the hardened ash-covered skeletons are on display for current visitors. One includes a man crouching with his hands over his mouth, trying to stop the ash from entering his system. Others include a dog and a child that was believed to be around the age of five. The size of the skeletons and doorways reveal that the people were much shorter at the time. In the same area of the skeletons are other miscellaneous items that were preserved by the ash and found at Pompeii. They include wheel barrows and various pots, pans and tools that the people used.
For visitors to Italy, a tour of Pompeii is a must. Expert tour guides will explain the city and its history in even greater detail. Physically standing in the city while being explained the intricacies of its past is a surreal feeling. It is the closest you can get to having a sense of what the spirit and energy of the time was like, drinking out of the same water fountains as they did in 79 AD and walking on the same roads. Visitors are able to enter the brothels and view the famous murals firsthand. It is a trip to the past.
To visit Pompeii, the easiest and most inexpensive option is to book a bus that will bring you to the city from Naples. If you are coming from somewhere other than Naples, such as Florence, it is easy to book a fast-track train that can get you there in a few hours or less, depending on where you start. A round trip train from Florence takes two-and-a-half hours and costs around 90 euros. The tickets can be booked on trainline.eu. The bus takes about 35 minutes and a round trip from Naples costs around 5 euros. Tickets can be purchased on www.goeuro.com/Bus/Tickets. Before entering the ancient city, there is an area directly outside filled with stands for souvenirs as well as restaurants and booths for cold drinks. However, it is best to buy snacks and water beforehand. One water at Pompeii is at least two-and-a-half euros. The smoothies were eight euros and a slice of pizza was five euros. The entrance fee to Pompeii is usually 11 euros. People that are 18 to 25 years of age are able to get student discounts that make the ticket five-and-a-half euros. These can be purchased at www.visitpompeii.it. To hire a tour guide is an additional 35 euros. A tour guide can be booked on www.citywonders.com/Pompeii. It is recommended to spend at least two hours exploring the city in order to fully grasp the history and culture of what was once a seaport thriving with life.