Naples Day 8 (june 8th)

A beautiful day in a not so beautiful city. S and I had booked a tour for later in the day, starting at 2pm so we thought we would just get off the boat and wander the city for a bit before the tour started. As soon as we got off the boat we were in an industrial type area. It was dark feeling, dirty, graffitied and we were not interested. As we walked to get out of the terminal we were harassed by taxi drivers every two feet to get a taxi and take a tour. We continued on and wandered some. We saw this awesome fort/castle thing in the distance and decided to head towards it. We eventually figured out how to get out of the pier area and as we walked we kept finding more graffiti and garbage everywhere. It was not very pleasant smelling either. We found the galleria that had this cool glass roof. It had shops in it but they were closed when we first passed by. We eventually made it up to the fort (only after almost being kicked by a horse- like I said in the Rome post LL is excited by horses now and so we went up to admire one. We were along side it and it started getting spooked by something and there was no where to move because a bus had blocked us in. Bad situation but we survived). We arrived at the fort/castle and discovered it is the Castle Nuovo. built in 1279 and later it had the triumphal Arch built of white marble in 1470 to commemorate Alfonso of Aragon's entry to Naples in 1443. We walked around  the small courtyard and decided we did not feel like touring a castle so left before having to pay the entry fee. We walked down the street and found a small park. LL had fun running around the park but we are fairly certain that it is one of those parks you don't want to be in at night because it is where the crazies are and the homeless sleep. I hope that paints a lovely picture for you. We then were lucky in finding an elevator to take us up to the top of the mountain/street we walked off the elevator and found we were in a small market, maybe 15 people, with booths of antiques and random things almost like a garage sale. However as we walked through the booths we found a great view of the harbor and of Mount Vesuvius. After take a few pictures we turned back around and headed towards all the yelling we could hear. Now I know what you are thinking, " you headed towards a riot?" well it sounded like protests but I guess we figured that we survive worse in Jordan so lets go check it out. We found it was a youth rally. There is tons of kids in the square at the start of the historical part of the city. We tried to figure out what was going on but it was all in Italian. We left and walked back towards the Galleria. We went in and purchased a few souviners and then returned to the ship for lunch and to wait for our tour. 

Castle Nuovo

Neptune fountain

First glimpse in the galleria

Castle Nuovo

Marble Triumphant Arch

Top of the Arch

Parts of the Arch

Inside the Arch this is near the ceiling

Statue in the Park

First view of Mount Vesuvius

The view from the top of the elevator. That is the park we were walking in. The red brick thing is supposed to be part of the palace

The square with the kids rally

Statue on a building in the Square

Cool fountain in the street

Back to the galleria

In the Galleria

After we finished lunch and even rested a bit we were ready for our tour. We boarded the bus and headed to Herculaneum. This town was a victim of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Unlike Pompeii that was buried in a pyroclastic cloud, this city was buried in mud. The inhabitants of the town were watching mount Vesuvius for days and when the time came they ran to the shore to get in boats and leave however the tidal waves from the earthquakes kept them on shore and when the volcano finally erupted it was too late for them. They were killed instantly by the 500 degree temps and then left to be buried in the mud of the eruption. The mud slide from the eruption contained so much mud it actually buried the entire town and pushed the shoreline out 400feet. AS the excavations continue they have discovered the town. Parts of which are still buried and now lie under current houses. As we walked we walked down their streets and into their houses and baths. We saw the mosaics on the floor and the paintings on the wall. Since everything was so well preserved they found trees and other plants that were native at that time and are able to use seeds from them to regrow them. Through the work of the excavations and archeologists the town is slowly being pieced back together. It was an amazing site. I know I wanted to get to Pompeii but this town was a better tour for us and it ended up being the best part of our day. I can honestly say I have no need to ever go back to Naples but coming back to this destroyed city I would do in a heartbeat. There is so much to see here and our tour barely scratched the surface.

ready for her tour

Mount Vesuvius from the visitors center

The town buried in mud.

The tall wall around the city? That is the mud that came down and buried it. It has since turned to an almost cement like state

Statue of a man that would be an equivalent to the mayor of the town

another view of the city. You can see how close the modern day houses are in the background

The tunnel looking things are doors that were at the harbor/ shoreline in their day.

Looking down into the storage facilities.

Once this part of the city was unearthed you can see the tragedy of it all. These people. men, women, and children who waited to leave their homes had no where to go. They turned to what they thought would be the safety of the harbor storage buildings and instead it became thier final resting place. They were burned to death within seconds. The mothers are still holding their children. There is estimated to be around 300 people buried in these buildings.

This is a view down one of the streets of this city. Isn't it amazing how you can just picture people going about their lives here?

Some of the trees that they are starting to regrow from seeds found in the mud. This is also part of a courtyard. It was surrounded by building that are believed to be the equivalent of an ancient hotel, with a sea view.

original mosaics of the hotel

The reason most of the buildings are still standing is believed to be because of the this honeycomb construction.

a look at the wall surrounding the city and the area that would have be considered houses on the shore.

a walk down a nice street, notice all the modern houses in the background

somones back yard

this was a wealthy persons house. it had a pool of water inside.

looking into a house

Inside a house

These people loved to decorate. All the walls are covered in paintings.

In the ceiling there is a large opening and then a gutter system that sends water to the pool below.

The pool below. It would collect the water and was a natural water feature but allowed for water in the home.

The paintings on the walls

Do you see the face?

This is the floor in the womens bath. There were three areas to the bath. The first being where the clothes were stored in locker type spaces. The second being more of a steam room (this is the floor of the steam room) and the 3rd was the actual bath itself.

The floor in the women's bath 1st area. the locker room

The bath. This is the largest bathtub I have ever seen!

another view down the street

Inside the wine makers house are the most beautiful mosaics. This was his outdoor fireplace

Also part of the wine makers house

In the winemakers house

S entertaining LL while I was able to hear about the city!

inside a house for more of the common folk

urns for cooking.

a place to get water.

more paintings on the wall

another mosaic floor.

another persons yard

posing in the courtyard

This is looking down into the towns library, When this was discovered their found papyrus of many works that are still able to be read today because of their preservation in the mud!

The local birds have made homes in the brick walls and mud surrounding the city!

Leaving the visitor center.

Our last look at Mount Vesuvius. Just think all these people are living in it's shadow and it is only a matter of time before it erupts again. They are constantly monitoring the volcano for activity.