Saturday, 17 March 2012

Vesuvius, Herculaneum & Pompeii

When visiting Italy it is well worth heading south from Rome and visiting the surrounding area of Mt Vesuvius. Although Naples is the major city of the area, the city itself has mixed reviews from travellers. I stayed in Piano di Sorrento, near to the larger town of Sorrento.


The imposing volcanic cone of Mt. Vesuvius dominates the landscape (below) and it is possible to walk around the crater. This offers superb views of Naples and the surrounding coastline.


The famous eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD also provides two fantastic historic sites to visit, Pompeii and its less popular neighbour Herculaneum (Ercolano). I recommend visiting both.

Herulaneum

Herculaneum is much smaller in scale than Pompeii but has some of the best preserved artefacts including buildings, tiled floors and painted murals. 











Pompeii

The size of Pompeii and the realisation that it was covered by ash for over a thousand years gives an idea of the scale of the eruption in 79 AD.



















Also see Woderful Wonderful Venice:
http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/wonderful-wonderful-venice.html





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