European Vacation Day 8--Pompeii
Our final day in Rome, we decided to take the train into Naples and then on to the ruins of Pompeii. We thought this would be a fun excursion for the boys. We took a really nice train into Naples and then transferred to the rundown Naples line. The little I saw of Naples guaranteed I would not want to ever go back. Naples is a dirty, rundown, graffiti covered armpit. Ok, that sounds pretty harsh, but what we saw from the train was pretty trashy looking and a pickpocket attempted to rob me on the Naples train. Grrrr!
Pompeii was really quite fascinating and the boys enjoyed romping through the maze of ruins. There were so many well preserved frescoes, mosaics, statues, and other artifacts to explore. It really is an amazing place. Wingnut Jr. especially loved seeing the human body casts in their sad, grotesque forms.
We toured Pompeii for a couple hours and then headed back to Rome for gelato, and one last Church--Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Saint Mary above Minerva). I had really wanted to see this particular church, because it is one built over the top of an ancient Roman temple to Minerva (or an ancient Egyptian temple to Isis depending on the source of information one reads) and I love that the Catholic Church chose to do so as a demonstration Our Blessed Mother, through her Son, is above all pagan gods/goddesses. Inside is another spectacular work of sculpture by Michelangelo--Chris the Redeemer.
Unfortunately, I did not get very good photos inside or outside the Church. Lil' Lamb had had it at that point and was throwing a rip roaring tantrum over the sorbetto he dropped in the alley. He'd been gearing up for a good tantrum for several days. He was tired of touring; being dragged around from one church to another; from one museum to another; and he was definitely tired of having to be good. We took him to get one last pizza from Dar Poeta and headed back to the hotel to pack for Milan.
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Pompeii was really quite fascinating and the boys enjoyed romping through the maze of ruins. There were so many well preserved frescoes, mosaics, statues, and other artifacts to explore. It really is an amazing place. Wingnut Jr. especially loved seeing the human body casts in their sad, grotesque forms.
We toured Pompeii for a couple hours and then headed back to Rome for gelato, and one last Church--Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Saint Mary above Minerva). I had really wanted to see this particular church, because it is one built over the top of an ancient Roman temple to Minerva (or an ancient Egyptian temple to Isis depending on the source of information one reads) and I love that the Catholic Church chose to do so as a demonstration Our Blessed Mother, through her Son, is above all pagan gods/goddesses. Inside is another spectacular work of sculpture by Michelangelo--Chris the Redeemer.
Unfortunately, I did not get very good photos inside or outside the Church. Lil' Lamb had had it at that point and was throwing a rip roaring tantrum over the sorbetto he dropped in the alley. He'd been gearing up for a good tantrum for several days. He was tired of touring; being dragged around from one church to another; from one museum to another; and he was definitely tired of having to be good. We took him to get one last pizza from Dar Poeta and headed back to the hotel to pack for Milan.
The boys did thoroughly enjoy climbing about on the ruins.
I loved the patina on this bronze bust.
A plaster cast of human remains from Pompeii
The excavations are on going
So many lovely and well preserved frescoes
and mosaics
wandering the ancient streets of Pompeii
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