Naples & Pompei (Italy)

When Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, it buried centuries worth of Oscan, Etruscan, Greek and Roman influence in the small city of Pompeii. The original Oscan settlement dated back to 7th century BC, so Pompeii already had quite a history by the time it was engulfed. The eruption gave archaeologists a time capsule of life in Pompeii in 79AD, and also clues to the ways of life in earlier times. Pompeii's misfortune, and the terrible fate of her people, have ...
...for generations. Excavation of the site began in 1748, and continues to this day. People flock to Pompeii from all corners of the world, both as academics to study the site, and as tourists to experience the thrill of walking those ancient streets. GETTING THERE If you've hired a car, follow the signs for Pompei Scavi [the Italians write Pompei with one i, and scavi means excavations in Italian] from the Autostrada A4 (Naples to Salerno). By train, ...

thecatsmother 09.03.2004 (19.04.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...impression that I had of Naples before I visited, but what I found was that it is a vibrant, happening really interesting city, some fantastic architecture, lots of great restaurants, which I would encourage everyone to visit if they get the chance. Oh and the drivers are not too careful! ==*** Safety ***== Some people have said that Naples is a very dangerous city, but in my experience of walking around the city day and night, you just need to ...
...walked along the coast to Naples itself, I would say it is about 3 Km, but is totally flat. ==*** Trips out ***== There are a lot of very nice places to visit away from Naples, I've just listed some that I have been to. Generally the train is the best mode of transport. ===Pompeii=== No trip to Naples is complete without visiting the ultimate Roman site - I didn't visit during this stay, as I have been before, I just had so many other things ...

lazza123 14.11.2007 (25.03.2008) · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...I spent 24 hours in Naples (on my way to Sardinia), I´d like to take you with me and show you what I saw. I stayed in a hotel in the historical centre, Hotel Sansevero in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 9; 70 Euro for a single room (clean, quiet, nice modern furniture, small breakfast). The description on the net said, ´easily reachable by underground (Metropolitana) Montesanto station or by bus direction Corso Umberto´. Ha!, says I, nonsense, nothing ...
...think of street life in Naples is right, rows of stalls with clothes, shoes, music cassettes, fruit and vegetables, fish and octopus, you name it, they sold it and hundreds of people bustling and shouting. Has the way of driving changed in Naples or have I developed better nerves? Over a period of 39 years I´ve been to Naples several times, I remember vividly my first encounters with what Neapolitans consider traffic, I feared for my life when I ...

MALU 10.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...you arrive by train from Naples is to realise that there are 2 stops for Pompeii. The scavi or the excvations and other being the new town of Pompeii. Be sure that you get off at the right one. The new town of Pompeii (not the excavations) is nohing special compared to other Italian towns, there are lots of dogs roaming the streets and think twice about driving, all cars are battered to glory! The main church of the town is spectatucular and the ...
...ripped out and put in Naples museum, well worth a visit. Hop on the train to Naples, it's not far from Pompeii and visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Naples is a bit daunting after Pompeii, but don't be put off buy the many lanes of traffic in front of the station but if you do cross here, be prepared to run fast! The museum houese artefacts from many eras, but the main interest if for artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum and ...

SimonJB 19.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...and I ended up in naples with the family of 4 children that I was looking after, whose mother in law was Countess Leonetti from Naples,whose villa we visited when her grandchildren were on their summer holidays to stay with her.(phew! that was rather long winded..!) It is here,I fell in love -not only with my husband, Giuseppe,but naples itself. The place and the neopolitan people are unique, which I will briely describe in a minute.. Anyway,having ...
...I both love and detest,for Naples is like that in everything you can see,do or experience there... Giuseppe's family are extensive,(in laws etc) and it is a place I both love,and miss,but couldn't live there again for various reasons. NAPLES. The very name brings a magic,deep within my heart. A misty tear of reminiscence to my eyes,a mixture of joy,and hell,pleasure and pain...there is no getting over it,and if you are looking for cold hard facts,url ...

christina44 02.01.2003 (17.02.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

For me, to visit Pompeii was a dream i have had since i was a tiny child. Now, being an archaeology student, it has even more of an appeal to me. I had many ideas of what the area was going to be like- and when i arrived i wasn't dissapointed. Our group visited Pompeii, Herculaneum, walked to the crater of Mt Vesuvius, spent evenings in Sorrento and went to many other interesting historical and geographical places. To me personally Herculaneum ...
...were still amazing and worth a visit). From an archaeologists point of view the site of Herculaneum was much harder to uncover than Pompeii due to the two sites being covered by Mt Vesuvius' eruption in AD79 in two different ways- Pompeii was covered by falling ash and debris, whereas Herculaneum was covered by mud flow which sped down the mountainside. Because of this fact i find it to be of much more interest. But Pompeii is much better preserved- ...

smileitsmejo 25.02.2005 (05.03.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...to go on holiday to Naples for 4 to 5 days. I had only been to Italy once before and that was to Rome, but I know Rome is a very touristy city so I didn't know what to expect as Naples is more of a working city. Also I was unsettled about going when my mum read a review and it said the first day they arrived they got mugged, so understandingly I was a bit dubious about going. Anyway, we arrived at the airport and went outside to get a taxi to our ...
...said before we knew that Naples wasn't really a tourist city therefore it was quite dirty in the centre with quite a lot of litter around but what city doesn't have some of these problems. By the end of the night we didn't feel threatened or intimidated by anyone and whoever got mugged here the first night must have just been unlucky because the people that we have met here so far were lovely and we did feel quite safe walking around at night. The ...

Artful.Dodger 04.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...decorated the streets below. Naples is notorious for its slums and it looks like a rubbish dump. That is being extremely harsh but I cannot lie about what I saw. After the turn off from the autostrada, I arrived in Pompeii. The first thing, I thought was, well where is it? If you are expecting a huge entrance with people dressed as ancient Pompeians, then you are going to be a little let down. From the car park, you have to make your way over a series ...
...I was driving down to Naples I thought it was just a big mountain. I then realized that it was Mount Versuvius and it was still active. It's a massive and looming amount of rock. The last time the mountain erupted was 1946. I walked through the gatehouse and up through a darkened passageway. On the other side, the ruins and streets were visible. Again I got emotional and just surveyed the area with my jaw on the floor. I was in Pompeii where thousands ...

Martyn_Brown 11.06.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

I had first studied Pompeii in second grade. The disaster of AD 79 stayed in the back of my mind all these long years, yet I never entertained any real expectation of ever going there. As a typical, bloodthirsty eight year old, I was only ever interested in seeing the famous plaster cast figures portraying Roman civilians in their final death throes. In July 1999 I finally had an opportunity to set foot outside Pompeii train station. Having no clue ...
...for a cab. Hence follows my first word of advice to would-be adventurers: DON'T take a taxi. Even with the sun beating down like a sledgehammer, it was only a twelve minute walk to the site, in a virtual straight line from the station. You can always ask passers-by if you manage to get lost (though stay away from the dodgy cabbies). The entrance fee was as I recall 12,000 lire (i.e. $5.32, £3.72), which granted access to the whole extent of the ruins ...

Marechal_Grouchy 16.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

This is the day after we returned from this beautiful area, i want to be able to share some advice with you on a variety of related topics, a few do's and dont's, and a few highs and lows. We had an absolutely fantastic time and i urge you to visit this great part of the world. The first thing that i would recommend you do is not to book an apartment or a villa without a personal recommendation from a friend or colleague. We booked one off of the ...

ProfPavilion 06.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

Ok, Pompeii is simply a massive experience, you will probably be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the excavations. A word of advice here, avoid the "hard sell" of the car park guys, they all want you to buy a guide book etc, etc. I was shown 7 before i finally gave in and bought one! Once inside however, make sure you have plenty of fluids, a sun hat and strong, comfortable shoes. Pompeii was literally frozen in time and it is simply an amazing ...

ProfPavilion 07.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...but I preferred Herculaneum. It was similarly destroyed by Vesuvius but with lava rather than ash like at Pompei. Visited both on the same day and Herculaneum gives you much more of a sense of how the town was than Pompei. Would actually recommend seeing both as they are quite a contrast. Amazing how advanced things were back in those days. Did like the menu a'la carte in the bordillo in Pompei and the phalic arrows carved into the stone road ...

greens 15.08.2000 · Read full review
Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...and my father loved about Naples and the Neapolitans. But... Pompei, I was speaking about Pompei... It roads, that so dramatically gather all the signs of the unbelievable vitality of this destroyed city, the writings on the walls: love, politics, messages... everything giving the impression that from a moment to another a pompeiano should come to welcome us, or to invite us into his house or, who knows!, even to drink a glass of wine. The House ...
...of that Faun that's still in my eyes and in my heart. And the villas, the houses, the shops, the roads... all so immensely living that it hurts... I know that the memoirs often deforms the past, but that day (together with that whole in summer passed in Naples), is one of the most beautiful memoirs of all of my life... and it isn't, after all, so strange if you think that in these places there is all what I have always loved and I will always love: ...

shaoli2 10.05.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

...the gritty, bustling city of Naples to the north, and the overgrown city of Salerno to the south. It's a very small town, but probably the most recognized one along the stretch, mainly because the coastline on which it is situated has taken its name. The Amalfi coast actually consists of a number of small towns, most of which can be accessed by bus from either Naples or Salerno. You can also take a train from Naples to the town of Sorrento and then ...
...option from Naples if you are travelling with a Eurrail pass as I was.) If you do visit the Amalfi coast by bus, be prepared for the ride of your life. The access road is just wide enough for the bus in many places, limited by a shear rock face on the eastern side and a deadly drop to the ocean below on the western side. The bus drivers have to be some of the best in the world, and it becomes painfully obvious that they are far more comfortable than ...

m_kingdom 08.06.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)

We have been to Sorrento three times and called in for a day's visit. It simply cannot be beaten - friendliness - everyone is helpful and friendly, language - everyone speaks English but they appreciate you trying Italian food - colourful, fresh wine - you must try the local wine and La Crema Christi places to go - there are too many for one visit. Most places you can get to on your own although at busy times beware of the public bus to Amalfi ...

r.schofield 26.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)