Vesuvius and Pompeii
Content
Vesuvius
Opening times Vesuvius crater
General Information
Table of major vulcanic eruptions
Transportation
From the Hotel with an organized tour
From Naples to Ercolano by train
Form Naples by bus
From Sorrento
From Ercolano
From Pompeii
Low cost recommandation for your visit
Proposal A
Proposal B
Pompeii
General Information
History of excavations
Opening times, admission fees, transport
From Naples
From Salerno:
Tips for visiting Pompeii
Sights and special sights
Suburban Baths
Casa del Prinicpe di Napoli
Maps of Pompeii
Route for families with
infants and strollers,
elderly or handicapped people:
Best of Restaurants at Pompeii
Vesuvius
Opening times Vesuvius crater
January 1st to March31st 09:00 - 15:00
April 1st to May 31st 09:00 - 17:30
June 1st to August 31st 09:00 - 18:30
September 1st to October 31st 09:00 - 17:00
November 1st to December31st 09:00 - 15:00
Vesuviusis a volcanoin avolcano. The actual mountain is called Mount Somma, a meanwhile extinct volcano. Monte Somma is a stratovolcano, whose tip collapsed in 79 AD or even before and was called Vesuvius. Due to the volcanic activities, the explosions of the cone and the implosion of the crater, Vesuvius frequently changed its height. Sometimes it grew, and then the cone collapsed again. Some experts believe that Vesuvius or Monte Somma was originally up to 3000m high. The current height is 1281m.
The
gigantic eruptions of 1631, 1872, 1906 and 1944 brought about the collapse of
the upper part of the volcano.
Photoright: Vesuvius‘crater wall
Centuries
before the outbreak 79 AD Greek and later Roman settlements originated at the
foot and on the flanks of the mountain, mainly because of the fertility of the
volcanic soil: e.g. Baia (Baia in Bacoli), Puteoli (Pozzuoli), Neapolis
(Naples), Herculaneum (Ercolano), Oplontis (Torre Annunziata), Pompeiia (Pompeii),
Stabia (Castellammare di Stabia), Surrentum (Sorrento), and many small, rural
settlements and villas.
In the year 79 AD, at the time of the explosion of Vesuvius, the slopes of the
volcano were almost entirely planted with fruit trees, vegetables and
vineyards. Former poets sang of the beauty and fertility of the area.
In the year 62 AD the first major disaster has already occurred - a powerful earthquake destroyed Pompeii almost entirely. The population, accustomed to the frequently reoccurring earthquakes, started rebuilding the city immediately. Seventeen years later, the repair, of the temple and hot springs as well, was almost finished, as 79 AD, the new earthquake and the resulting explosion of Vesuvius negated these efforts.
The eruption was accompanied by a violent seaquake. According to the descriptions of Pliny the Younger and from an interpretation of today's "modern" sight, the eruption column had the shape of a mushroom cloud. As a result of the quake a tsunami could have devastated the coast as well:
Pliny VI 20 (experiences when Vesuvius erupted)
Gaius Plinius to his friend Tacitus
...Then we saw the sea sucked back, apparently by an earthquake, the coast had moved forward, and many sea creatures were left stranded on the dry sand. From the other direction over the land, a dreadful black cloud was torn by gushing flames and great tongues of fire like much-magnified lightning.
… The cloud could best be described as more like an umbrella pine
than any other tree, because it rose high up in a kind of trunk and then
divided into branches. I imagine that this was because it was thrust up by the
initial blast until its power weakened and it was left unsupported and spread
out sideways under its own weight. Sometimes it looked light coloured,
sometimes it looked mottled and dirty with the earth and ash it had carried up.
Source: http://quakeinfo.ucsd.edu/~gabi/erth15-06/lecture08/pliny.html
Photoleftmediterrane
pine with umbrella/mushroom type crown
Photo right Vesuvius eruption on April 1872, taken by Giorgio Sommer
(1834-1914) from www.latein-pagina.de. This site also provides the text by
Pliny the Younger in Latin. The same photo is to be found in de.wikipedia as
well. www.latein-pagina.de
The
volcanic eruption of 1631 was particularly disastrous. The main activity lasted
6 days. The still large rock dome collapsed.
Photo left from www.vesuvioinrete.it
Curiosity:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe climbed on March 2nd 1778, compared to today, an
even higher and more cone-shaped and at that time smoking mountain. A few days
later, Goethe had the opportunity to watch from the port of Naples in the
evening a little eruption and see hot lava flowing down the Vesuvius.
Photo below on the left it.wikipediaorg/Vesuvio,
also by Giorgio Sommer in 1914 and further below a photo from 2009 for
comparison by the author. Both photos were taken from the Forum in Pompeii.
From the comparison, the different height and shape of Vesuvius can be seen,
whereby you can see in the older photos the still clearly existing cone shape
and the smoke plume. At the photo shoot in 2009, the atmospheric conditions
were so good that it seemed Vesuvius would be only an arm’s length away, and
not 8 km as the crow flies.
The most
intensive period of volcanic activity was registered during the second half of
the 18th century, with breaks of 10 to 15 years. The least active period was
between 1872 to 1944 with two cycles of 34 and 38 years. Since 67 years there
was no further eruption of Vesuvius - but a new volcanic outburst could to be
expected anytime.
This fact seems not to trouble very much the approximately three million people
living around Vesuvius.
Pompeii
History of excavations
79 AD after the great catastrophe it gradually became quiet around Pompeii.
Over the years, the city fell into oblivion - even the knowledge of its
geographical location was lost. First traces were found again in 1628, as
during work in Sarnotal ruins came to light that aroused the curiosity of
scientists.
Only in 1748, under the Bourbons, excavations were
started in Pompeii, zone Civita. There was no plan or method, and convicts in
chains, and children were used for the work. The finds were partly labelled.
There was no further interest in the rest of the excavations. Many of the most
valuable art objects and artefacts were stolen; others served as foundation for
the exhibition of the National Museum in Naples. In the royal palaces and
castles, some of these art works were found as well, and many other objects
disappeared abroad. Since the site was not covered, it was exposed to the
weather for decades. Numerous artefacts, but also parts of the archaeological
excavation site were destroyed beyond repair.
During the French Revolution in 1789 revolts began to arise also in Naples. As a result, the excavations were almost discontinued. Under Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of Emperor Napoleon, King of Naples and his successor, King Joachim Murat, the excavations continued in a more sophisticated way. The historic townscape, city planning, architecture and city limits were now the centre of scientific research.
Under King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy the unification of Italy took place. The ruling family was well aware of the historical significance Pompeii’s and used the new scientific findings for their own prestige.
Giuseppe Fiorelli, professor of archaeology at the University of Naples, was appointed head of the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum. He arranged Pompeii in "regions" and "islands" and numbered all the houses consecutively. Fiorelli made use of new scientific excavation techniques, by not first uncovering the streets, but by ablating the excavation layer by layer, from top to bottom.
Giuseppe Fiorelli also invented the method of
filling in the hollows of the victims, which were left behind in the hardened
ash, with plaster to create plaster models of the deceased. Fiorelli had
hundreds of plaster models made, including animals and plants.
Fiorelli left, if possible, the frescoes and mosaics in place and protected the houses from the weather with roofs. He also tried to capture the destroyed city by accurate reconstructions.
Another well-known scientist, Amedeo Maiuri, led the excavations as director from 1924 to 1961. A number of research results and studies about the history of Pompeii before its decline are due to him. He led major excavations, on the Forum, the city walls and the Villa of the Mysteries. In the past 30 years, the focus increased on preservation and conservation, rather than further excavations. Nevertheless, almost every year new facilities at the excavation site are accessible to the public.
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