What were the most memorable moments in Pompei(i) for you personally and why?

[Rysyonok]

- The museum - with all the mummies of citizens captured in their moment of tragedy

- The baths, I mean, bordello: hey, they did belong to a different culture!

- The fact that Pompei(i) is on a hill. Wait, where did lava flow down then?

- The mosaics. Enough said.

- How well they had organized the city, taking advantage of street cobblestones to make them directional arrows.

- That time you got to steal a small souvenir from an area that was (or should have been) closed to public access...

- All the stray pets nearby.

 

[euro cruiser]

What museum are you referring to?  If the Antiquarium, odds are few of us here have managed to see it since it only reopened in 2016 and again, after a refresh, during the pandemic.  

 

It seems that you're not asking about the public baths (thermae) but rather about the lupanare (brothel).  Two very different places. 

 

And presumably by mummys you mean the plaster casts created in the late 1800's.  Some can be seen at the ruins, others are at the archaeology museum in Naples.

[Rysyonok]

43 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

What museum are you referring to?  If the Antiquarium, odds are few of us here have managed to see it since it only reopened in 2016 and again, after a refresh, during the pandemic.  

 

It seems that you're not asking about the public baths (thermae) but rather about the lupanare (brothel).  Two very different places. 

 

And presumably by mummys you mean the plaster casts created in the late 1800's.  Some can be seen at the ruins, others are at the archaeology museum in Naples.

 

Good feedback, thank you.

 

I realize I may have missed numerous great sights. So, I welcome comments and ideas. Yours alone has been very fruitful, I'm grateful. 🙂 

[cruisemom42]

Oh dear, you have opened a can of worms. I may have to make 50 posts...

 

To respond to the discussion above, Pompeii has several sets of baths, and one of them -- which apparently were private, sort of like a "club" -- did have erotic frescoes much like those seen in the lupinaria (brothels). These are the Suburban baths, rarely if ever open to the public but some years ago you could make an appointment for a private tour. They have also been featured in some Pompeii documentaries. The "fun fact" is that these scenes -- each one different -- were painted above the cubicles in the changing room (apodytarium) and experts now think that they were both an advertisement for services offered at the baths but also a tongue-in-cheek way of remembering which cubicle you left your belongings in.

 

@euro cruiser  The antiquarium has now reopened after many years of being closed. I was able to get a sneak peek in February 2020 (just as COVID was hitting Italy.... 😷 ) with the small specialist tour I took, and it was great. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-decades-pompeii-museum-reopens-180976834/

 

Some of my memorable moments:

-- First visit:  Coming up to the Forum and seeing Vesuvius looming behind it. Never fails to chill me each time I go.

 

-- The thermopolia ("fast food" joints) -- I don't know why but I find these so amazing and endearing. I realize that 2,000+ years separate us, but for some reason these make me feel that we were not so very different.

 

-- The Villa of the Mysteries -- its frescoes are astonishing and nearly unique in the surviving Roman world.

 

Most memorable:

 

I probably shouldn't even post this, and these days I suspect it's unlikely to happen, But it has long been a goal to see as many of the individual houses in Pompeii as possible. It's been wonderful to see them opening up more of them in recent years. On one visit a few years back, a friend and I had spent considerable time and effort researching the site, and at that time you could make reservations for private openings for a few of the houses. We did this for 5-6 houses. An employee, usually just a groundskeeper, would meet us at the house at the appointed hour with a big ring of keys and let us in. 

 

After looking at the last house, we waited while he locked it up again. At that time, we knew just enough Italian to be dangerous, and my friend thanked him, then pointed to the big key ring and said in halting Italian:  "Do you have keys to other houses that are closed?"  The man, who looked -- as an Italian would say -- distinctly furbo (cunning, sly), replied in dialect, which we couldn't understand at all. But over the course of the next few minutes he made it clear that yes, he did have "chiavi" (keys) and if we offered him suitable contributions (universally understood to be money), he would take us to see some of the houses.

 

The next 90 minutes were unbelievable as he offered us the opportunity to enter house after house, some of which had not been opened to the public in years. We felt like characters in some shady movie as he would urge us to hurry between houses, presumably so no one would notice what he was doing. 

 

This lasted until our ability to provide additional cash infusions dried up, but it was certainly memorable!  Whenever I revisit Pompeii I look at some of the houses we entered -- most still locked up with big rusty grates and padlocks -- and it makes me smile every time; it's such an Italian solution.

 

 

[VMax1700]

😁😁Well known proverb - 'Best grease for a locked door is a greased palm!'😉

[marazul]

The Villa of the Mysteries for sure. 

Peaceful Vesuvius standing like a menace over the town.

[lisaatric]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Oh dear, you have opened a can of worms. I may have to make 50 posts...

 

To respond to the discussion above, Pompeii has several sets of baths, and one of them -- which apparently were private, sort of like a "club" -- did have erotic frescoes much like those seen in the lupinaria (brothels). These are the Suburban baths, rarely if ever open to the public but some years ago you could make an appointment for a private tour. They have also been featured in some Pompeii documentaries. The "fun fact" is that these scenes -- each one different -- were painted above the cubicles in the changing room (apodytarium) and experts now think that they were both an advertisement for services offered at the baths but also a tongue-in-cheek way of remembering which cubicle you left your belongings in.

 

@euro cruiser  The antiquarium has now reopened after many years of being closed. I was able to get a sneak peek in February 2020 (just as COVID was hitting Italy.... 😷 ) with the small specialist tour I took, and it was great. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-decades-pompeii-museum-reopens-180976834/

 

Some of my memorable moments:

-- First visit:  Coming up to the Forum and seeing Vesuvius looming behind it. Never fails to chill me each time I go.

 

-- The thermopolia ("fast food" joints) -- I don't know why but I find these so amazing and endearing. I realize that 2,000+ years separate us, but for some reason these make me feel that we were not so very different.

 

-- The Villa of the Mysteries -- its frescoes are astonishing and nearly unique in the surviving Roman world.

 

Most memorable:

 

I probably shouldn't even post this, and these days I suspect it's unlikely to happen, But it has long been a goal to see as many of the individual houses in Pompeii as possible. It's been wonderful to see them opening up more of them in recent years. On one visit a few years back, a friend and I had spent considerable time and effort researching the site, and at that time you could make reservations for private openings for a few of the houses. We did this for 5-6 houses. An employee, usually just a groundskeeper, would meet us at the house at the appointed hour with a big ring of keys and let us in. 

 

After looking at the last house, we waited while he locked it up again. At that time, we knew just enough Italian to be dangerous, and my friend thanked him, then pointed to the big key ring and said in halting Italian:  "Do you have keys to other houses that are closed?"  The man, who looked -- as an Italian would say -- distinctly furbo (cunning, sly), replied in dialect, which we couldn't understand at all. But over the course of the next few minutes he made it clear that yes, he did have "chiavi" (keys) and if we offered him suitable contributions (universally understood to be money), he would take us to see some of the houses.

 

The next 90 minutes were unbelievable as he offered us the opportunity to enter house after house, some of which had not been opened to the public in years. We felt like characters in some shady movie as he would urge us to hurry between houses, presumably so no one would notice what he was doing. 

 

This lasted until our ability to provide additional cash infusions dried up, but it was certainly memorable!  Whenever I revisit Pompeii I look at some of the houses we entered -- most still locked up with big rusty grates and padlocks -- and it makes me smile every time; it's such an Italian solution.

 

 

Jealous!

[dritan]

From a historical perspective, just that first sense of how expansive the city is.  Even compared to the fantastic Ephesus, the sheer scope of the excavations is somewhat overwhelming.  For repeat visits, it's the fact that each time there is something new to see.

For a parental perspective, it was seeing the excitement my kids had when visiting.  Happiest memories are them standing in the ruins of a shop stall pretending to be shopkeepers, selling me bread and soup. And pretending to be gladiators in the stadium.  

They had watched and rewatched lots of youtube videos and a BBC dramatisation of the last day of Pompeii.  

[Rysyonok]

On 11/5/2022 at 6:32 AM, dritan said:

From a historical perspective, just that first sense of how expansive the city is.  Even compared to the fantastic Ephesus, the sheer scope of the excavations is somewhat overwhelming.

 

That's a great point. That place is genuinely huge! And the fact that what, a third of it is still unexcavated is unbelievable.

[Rysyonok]

On 10/29/2022 at 3:33 PM, marazul said:

The Villa of the Mysteries for sure. 

 

Wow, thank you for that tip. Does it require a separate entry, etc.?

[Rysyonok]

On 10/29/2022 at 9:26 AM, cruisemom42 said:

After looking at the last house, we waited while he locked it up again. At that time, we knew just enough Italian to be dangerous, and my friend thanked him, then pointed to the big key ring and said in halting Italian:  "Do you have keys to other houses that are closed?"  The man, who looked -- as an Italian would say -- distinctly furbo (cunning, sly), replied in dialect, which we couldn't understand at all. But over the course of the next few minutes he made it clear that yes, he did have "chiavi" (keys) and if we offered him suitable contributions (universally understood to be money), he would take us to see some of the houses.

 

The next 90 minutes were unbelievable as he offered us the opportunity to enter house after house, some of which had not been opened to the public in years. We felt like characters in some shady movie as he would urge us to hurry between houses, presumably so no one would notice what he was doing. 

 

This lasted until our ability to provide additional cash infusions dried up, but it was certainly memorable!  Whenever I revisit Pompeii I look at some of the houses we entered -- most still locked up with big rusty grates and padlocks -- and it makes me smile every time; it's such an Italian solution.

 

Such a great story! Thank you so much for sharing this. What house did you enjoy the most - although I imagine all of them were fascinating!

[cruisemom42]

32 minutes ago, Rysyonok said:

 

Wow, thank you for that tip. Does it require a separate entry, etc.?

 

The Villa of the Mysteries was reopened a few years ago following extensive restoration. It is usually open every day and does not require a separate entry or reservation. It is at the far end of the site, so unfortunately many people -- especially those on the "two-hour tour" never get there.

[cruisemom42]

32 minutes ago, Rysyonok said:

 

Such a great story! Thank you so much for sharing this. What house did you enjoy the most - although I imagine all of them were fascinating!

 

Probably my favorite was the House of M. Obellius Firmus.  It was not a house I'd heard of before, and I had done a lot of research by that time. However, it's a very large house that takes up nearly an entire block and has some well preserved architectural elements that give it a (neglected) elegance.

 

What really got me was the huge wooden and metal strongbox (like an oversized steamer trunk) that was still sitting in the atrium. This is where the family valuables and extra cash would've been kept.  I'd only ever seen pictures of them before. But seeing it in the house made me stop and think about the volcano erupting and whether the family (and servants) would've been packing up what they could, maybe trying to figure out whether they should empty out the chest or leave it there, locked, for when they could return later -- not knowing that would never be possible.

 

https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ix/reg-ix-ins-14/house-of-m-obellius-firmus

 

The strongbox (or "cassaforte" in Italian):

 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, Rysyonok said:

 

Wow, thank you for that tip. Does it require a separate entry, etc.?

No, it doesn't.  It requires more time than the average tour. 

The Transvesuvian rail line has a stop at Scavi Villa dei Misteri. It is a short walk from there. 

[Rysyonok]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

What really got me was the huge wooden and metal strongbox (like an oversized steamer trunk) that was still sitting in the atrium. This is where the family valuables and extra cash would've been kept.  I'd only ever seen pictures of them before. But seeing it in the house made me stop and think about the volcano erupting and whether the family (and servants) would've been packing up what they could, maybe trying to figure out whether they should empty out the chest or leave it there, locked, for when they could return later -- not knowing that would never be possible.:

 

Wow. What a way to feel in the moment, to see 2,000 years (or 300, depending on one's beliefs) back. I'm speechless.