Last week I had the privilege, yes I said privilege to visit Pompeii for the second time. The first time was about 4 years ago with my husband and our daughter. That time we had a guide take us around Pompeii and explain the history of this city. I found it all fascinating and wanted to see more, but we only had so much time that day with that tour guide. So when my husband and I had the opportunity to go back to Pompeii just the two of us for our anniversary last week I said, YES. We probably spent at least 2 hours on the day of our anniversary and we still didn’t see everything in that city.
I didn’t realize the vastness of the city of Pompeii until this second trip. The number of streets they had is too many to count. I mean there is one after another, after another, after another. There are homes where you can still see the murals and there is one house where you can still see the “beware of dog” sign, how cool is that! You can still see the vessels of where the restaurants, or maybe we should call it their version of take-out would have been. Getting to see firsthand what is left of Pompeii is completely fascinating or at least to me it is.
When you walk along what would have been their sidewalks and you get to where you can cross the street, you get to walk over these huge stones that the people back then walked over to get from one block to another. And along those same roads, you can still see the indentations from the chariots and carts they used to use back then. I mean how cool is that, that you can literally still see those indentations all these years, all these centuries later. It’s crazy that we can see them with our eyes and yet they are there. It puts me in awe. Pompeii puts me in awe.
As I walked along these streets in Pompeii with my husband and crossed over the stones I started to wonder. I wondered what it was like for the people of Pompeii to live there. I wondered what their clothes would have looked like. I wondered what their homes and stores would have looked like. I wondered if they had any idea that Vesuvius was a volcano. I wondered what was going through their minds when Vesuvius was getting ready to erupt and destroy their city and more importantly take their lives. I wondered if they had more time would they have run as far as they could or would they have tried to figure out a way to stop it from happening. I wondered if they had any idea that years into the future people would be curious and fascinated enough to want to visit their ruined city to see what it was like.
And then I started to wonder what Pompeii would look like today if Vesuvius hadn’t erupted and hadn’t destroyed that city. Would it look like Naples today? Would it be a thriving city today? Would there still be people who could tell stories about their ancestors surviving Vesuvius? There are so many things Pompeii has me curious about, none of which really have any answers to. I feel bad for the people who lost their lives to that volcano especially the children. When I see all that has been discovered in Pompeii between the people and the pottery my heart sinks for them. I think it’s one of those things you wish had never happened. On the other hand, I also think it’s maybe a lesson learned for other people on how to handle volcanoes. I could be wrong. All I really do know is Pompeii has always been a fascination to me and it will continue to do so. The city, its stone-paved roads, the indentations from the chariots, its lost people and so much more.
If you ever have the chance to visit Pompeii I would highly suggest you do so. This city is beyond fascinating and it really makes you think about its people and the past.
Kathleen Smith is an indie author, blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read or listen about her life in Brooklyn and Upstate NY. You can also either read or listen to her personal story of how she and her husband kept their marriage together through 3 miscarriages in Miscarriages My Story