27/12/09 Well I'm now back, so many changes to look at, lots of reading to do, if you want me to rea...
27/12/09 Well I'm now back, so many changes to look at, lots of reading to do, if you want me to read any reviews, just let me know.
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I work overseas quite a lot, and always try to take time to visit interesting places. This is one such place. I've worked in Italy many times, I have visited Pompeii, but I have always wanted to visit Herculaneum
*** What is it ? ***
Everybody (I hope) has heard of Pompeii, the Roman city which was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Herculaneum was a Roman city & port, which was caught up and devastated by the same eruption, but in some respects the preservation of the city, was much better.
*** Where is it ?***
The best way I found to get there was by train. Take the Circumvesuviana from Napoli Central Station and go 8 stops to Ercolano Portico station. The train ticket cost 1.70 Euro for 120 minutes, so you will need two tickets, one for the return journey! To get to Herculaneum from the station follow the brown tourist signs straight down the hill. You can't miss the entrance, as it is a large doorway, in a shaded area, with the name "Herculaneum" in bold above the gateway. Here you find the ticket office. It will cost 11 Euro to get in This ticket is valid for one day.. You do get a really good map and summary booklet detailing 43 of the buildings - which you do need to ask for.
You can buy a ticket to access 5 sites: (Herculaneum, Pompeii, Oplontis, Stabiae, Boscoreale) - valid for 3 days Full
price: € 20.00
Opening times November - March, every day from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission 3.30 p.m.) April - October, every day from 8.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. (last admission 6 p.m.)
Closed: 1st January, 1st May, 25th December
(If you are driving, you need Autostrada A3 Napoli-Salerno (exit Ercolano))
You need to allow a good 4 hours to wander around and take the site in, you will feel quite jaded at the end, as there is a lot of walking.
*** What is there? ***
I love watching Time Team on channel 4; they go wild when they find a piece of Roman floor tile, or a piece of Roman pottery. On this site, you are walking on material, floor tiles, broken pots etc, which Time Team could only dream of finding in a cold English field!
Once you have paid, and walk through the gateway, you look down to your right, and you see the expanse of Herculaneum. Awesome is a word that describes it, initially I found it difficult to take in, a small town was before me, with multi-level buildings, and to think this whole city was engulfed by the eruption of Vesuvius.
To get to the Archaeological site, you walk down a fairly gentle slope, about halfway down I turned around, and looming high above I could see the rugged top of Mount Vesuvius - when you work out how far away it actually is, you suddenly realize the power of nature.
Once down to the site entrance proper, there is a shop, where you can buy various books, postcards etc. I bought a fantastic book a history of the excavations - it was only 7 Euro. You can also rent audio guides - I didn't bother, so I can't vouch for the quality.
Nearby are toilets, they seemed very clean.
One thing that makes you think is that the area you are now standing on was in AD 79 the sea! Look over the wall to Herculaneum and you are looking at the sea wall! As you look at this wall, you read in the guide book that a number of skeletons were found here, they were trying to flee the devastation!
One word of warning - take plenty of water with you, as there was nowhere to get any refreshments. I went in the middle of November, and it was still very hot (you can visit bars & restaurants outside of the site)
Note: If you are a bit unstable on your legs, you may have difficulty moving around, as some of the floors are not very level. I didn't see any wheelchairs when I visited, but I imagine it would be very difficult to navigate around.
*** Buildings? ***
There are many building here to look at or look in, they are built out of brick or stone, humble shop or temple, the level of preservation of fantastic. Many have decorative colonnades, many have frescoes, many have mosaics, and many still have roofs. I just marvelled at the sheer scale of some of the buildings. When you think of the way these were built 2000 years ago, it certainly puts some of our modern buildings and indeed builders to shame!
All the buildings have been given names, such as "House of the Mosaic Atrium", a lot of the names are derived from the objects that have been found within them. Some have been able to be associated with an individual due to artefacts found on the site. Most of the buildings you can just walk in and wander around. There are some which were closed off when I visited, due to conservation work going on.
A lot of the buildings still have upper floors. There is one, where the carbonized remains of the staircase remain in situ.
Many of the buildings have frescos painted on the walls, one the House of Neptune & Amphitrite has the most amazing wall mosaics still in situ.
There are a number of shops, with the counters & amphora in situ. Again some of these shops have been so well preserved, it has been possible to tell what they sold , Lanarius (fabric merchant) and Cucumas (Pub) are but two. The Cucumas is really interesting - not because it is a pub! But on the doorway you can still see the painted signs listing the drinks sold, and the prices, and a play being advertised. The Plumbarius shop (blacksmith or welder) is very interesting, as you can still see the crucible for smelting metal, and some of the items people had bought in to be repaired, the wooden loft is also partly preserved.
Walking around, you get the feel of this being a really bustling city, on some of the cobbled streets; you can see the worn cart tracks.
The best preserved (to my mind) was the bath house complex, walking around the many rooms; you can imagine the Romans at play, resting and relaxing. The building here still have the vaulted ceilings in place, some are painted some not.
Every building I visited was a surprise, be it the wall paintings, or the tiled floors, there was so much to take it.
*** Mosaics ***
Herculaneum is famous for the buildings which have been left standing, but also there is a wealth of mosaic floors left to be seen. The thing that struck me was the fact you are allowed to walk on the mosaics! Some are quite plain; some have the most amazing designs on them. It is to my mind worth going just to see the mosaics. The ones that stand out for me are the ones in the bath house. They are all complete, with some very intricate patterns on, such as the ones in the male baths depicting Triton a sea god.
*** Other Finds ***
There were many items found on this site (and Pompeii) during the excavations, some are very delicate, and probably valuable, so they have been preserved and displayed in the Muzeo Archeologico Nazionale (the National Archaeological Museum) in the centre of Naples.
I'm due to go to Italy a couple of times this year, I will certainly visit again, as there was so much I didn't see, and certain things I want to see again.
Thanks for reading this, and enjoy your visit.
Larry
Pictures of Herculaneum, Naples, Italy
View of Herculaneum from entrance
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This sounds so much more exciting than when I learned about it in Latin...
debmercury 12.03.2008 15:30
Fantastic review visited Herculanem last year and loved it. My id photo is me climbing vesuvious last year views at the top were breath taking. Would love to return to Sorrento :o)
Debs x
watkins11 07.03.2008 11:57
Sounds wonderful, the photos were a great addition. Would love to see it all first hand.
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