Pompeii
The Lost City
General Information
Other Name: -, District: NA, State: Campania , Italy
Area: 0 -
Languages Spoken: Italian
Long Distance Code: -
Importance: -
Best Time to Visit: May to August and -
International Access: -Description
Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei.The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748.Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is both one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with 2,571,725 visitors in 2007,and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Pompeii has been a popular tourist destination for centuries. It is part of a larger Vesuvius National Park and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.Location
-Climate
Mediterranean climate
In the Via delle Terme, the westerly continuation of the Via di Nola (the western part of which is also called the Via di Fortuna), are the Forum Baths (Terme del Foro), smaller and more modest than the Stabian Baths but also occupying a whole insula.
The principal square of the Roman town, which was enclosed by colonnades.At the north end of the forum is the Temple of Jupiter, on a base 3m/10ft high. At the northeast corner is the Macellum, a hall for the sale of foodstuffs. Down the east side are the Shrine of the Lares, the Temple of Vespasian and the Building of Eumachia, probably a hall for the sale of wool. On the south side of the forum is the Curia, the meeting-place of the town council, flanked by three other rooms.
Opposite the House of the Vettii, to the south, is the House of the Faun, the most palatial mansion in Pompeii, taking up a whole insula.By the impluvium is a copy of the statuette of a faun which was discovered here. The famous mosaic of "Alexander''s Battle" was found in the room with red columns.
South of Nuovi Scavi is the large and well-preserved House of Menander which belonged to a wealthy merchant; it was named after a likeness of the Greek comic playwright Menander in a niche in the magnificent peristylium. Adjoining this is the charming little House of the Lovers.
The very interesting House of the Vettii in the Vicolo di Mercurio has well-preserved ornamental paintings and fine frescoes in the triclinium. The peristylium (partly rebuilt) still has its original marble decoration and has been replanted. The kitchen still contains its cooking utensils.
Of particular interest in this area are the House of Venus (Casa della Venere), with a fine painting of Venus; the House of the Orchard (Casa del Frutteto); and the Villa di Giulia Felice.
At the corner of the Via dell''Abbondanza and the Via Stabiana are the Stabian Baths (Terme Stabiana), the largest and best-preserved baths in Pompeii.The entrance leads into the colonnaded palaestra, with a swimming pool on the left; on the right are the male and female baths, separated by the stoves for heating the water. Each establishment has a circular cold bath (frigidarium), a changing room (apodyterium) with racks for clothing, a warm bath (tepidarium) and a hot (Turkish) bath (caldarium) heated by air-ducts in the floor and walls.
At the northwest end of the Street of Tombs is the large Villa of Diomedes, with an extensive garden enclosed by a portico 33m/36yd long each way. In the center of the garden is a basin and six columns which belonged to a pavilion. In an underground passage (cryptoporticus) were found the bodies of 18 women and children. Near the garden door (now walled up) was the body of a man, presumably the owner of the house, with a key in his hand and a slave beside him carrying money and valuables.