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Named for the Greek hero Hercules, Herculaneum was once a thriving fishing village known for its upper class inhabitants and housing. The day after we went to Pompeii we made our way to Herculaneum which is just three or four train stops away from Pompeii.

We got there around noon and it wasn’t nearly as crowded as Pompeii. Herculaneum is fairly small and much better preserved than Pompeii. Much of it is still under the earth and as with Pompeii, there were workers doing excavation work. There were stray dogs everywhere. We were still tired from the day before, so decided to take our time exploring.

The regular entrance was closed so we had to go down the handicapped access entrance. Not that big of a deal but the travel guide I had made a point of going into the main entrance. Oh well, maybe next time.

Herculaneum looks a lot different than Pompeii. The city actually looks like it has been dug out of the ground. It is recessed while the rest of modern Herculaneum sit several stories above. Some of the more modern buildings look like they should be in the excavation area; pretty old and traditional in style.

Above is a typical street in Herculaneum. Not to the same scale as Pompeii and the stone is brown on the buildings where as the stone in Pompeii is white. There was some pretty heavy excavation going on while we were there. Warning signs were everywhere…

We got the audio tour for Herculaneum so took our time going from number building to numbered building listening to the tape and trying to imagine what the city was like 2000 years ago.

a shot taken on the way to the access ramp to the entrance of the city.

another shot.

above are some workers actually doing excavation work.

Once we were in the city and towards the beginning of the entrance, we saw a square that faced the sea when the sea was just a few dozen yards away. The explosion of Vesuvius dumped so much material onto the city and surrounding areas that it pushed, over time, the ocean edge over a mile away. Absolutely incredible.

In the main square area were some shrines, houses, dedication tomb to Caesar including a statue of him and this area, that used to be an alter of sorts…

Here’s Carlos up on the alter area. When I took this a guard was yelling at him to get down. There were no signs around telling people to keep off, but that’s typical of Italy from what we saw. I don’t think Italians believe in signs.

Here’s a nice columned area to a house…

The frescos are much better preserved in Herculaneum than in Pompeii. Fantastic works of reliefs, paintings and architecture were everywhere. Here’s a carving of a scene where Hercules is being told by a prophet of some kind I believe to heal someone he wounded in battle, followed by him actually healing him…

Us posing. Me pointing at nothing of interest…

more great works of art…

Here’s an amazing mosaic floor…

Lastly, is a panoramic of the city from the sea looking towards it, followed by a short video of Herculaneum…

after Pompeii there is just one logical place to go next and that is to Mt. Vesuvius. From Pompeii it was just a short walk to a bus stop and after buying a ticket and a bit of a wait for the bus, we were on our way to the top of a volcano.

It was quite a hike to the top, and my legs paid the price. Extremely steep at times and with nothing but loose volcanic rock under our feet I was certain at times I was going to lose balance and slide back to the bottom. Alas, I didnt fall and no one else I saw did either.

At the top we were greeted by some of the most spectacular views I have ever seen. I’ve never seen further, never seen more of the earth than when I was on top of this volcano. It truly is an awe inspiring panoramic view of Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and surrounding areas.

Here is part of the trail leading to the top.

And the view when we reached the top. It was like this all 360 degrees around the volcano. The picture doesn’t give justice to just how far you could see.

At the top, you could walk around more than half the way around the volcano. Trying hard enough, I was able to find some good spots where I could see all the way down into the volcano. No, no hot liquid-magma, but we did see some smoke coming out from the crevice.

Last but not least, after the trip to Vesuvius we decided to have dinner in Naples. We found a nice little restaurant outside. The food was good even though the service was less than desirable. I did manage to have a genuine Tiramisu. Ah, so good!!!

From Praiano to Pompeii was quite a trip. Praiano isn’t the most easily accessible lil village in the world, but what it lacks in convenance it makes up for in sheer beauty. We arrived in Pompeii roughly around 10am. To our surprise there was a crowd waiting outside. We discovered that there was a strike that morning and all the workers at site were striking. Luckily for us, the strike ended just as we arrived. Apparently, strikes happen all the time in Italy and don’t last too long thankfully.

We were approached by a kindly Italian gentleman about doing an english tour of the ruins. Apparently, and we got this a lot throughout our trip, we look American. We opted to take the tour because, for one reason, it got us in ahead of most others waiting in line.

Above is our fantastic guide who was so elegant and animated in his descriptions and history of Pompeii as it was 2000 years ago. He took us on a 2 hour tour around the city to all the major areas of the city. After his tour we spent another 2 to 2 and half hours just walking around the once grand city.

That’s me in the forum of Pompeii. Behind me is what remains of Mt. Vesuvius.

This was a temple that was Greek in origin and was probably one of the earliest building in Pompeii, existing, I think, several hundred years before Pompeii’s run in with Mt. Vesuvius.

Down one of the streets. You can’t tell but these walls and streets were once all white and bits of inlaid marble in the road helped to reflect the moonlight so the city would glow with subtle light each night.

A plaster cast of one of the unfortunate people who decided to stay behind when Mt. Vesuvius began to erupt.

We were told, jokingly I think, that this is the first “beware of dog” sign. LOL It’s amazing to think someone had this as basically their doormat over 2000 years ago.

another long road.

Pompeii is beautiful and the inhabitants definitely had a lot of what we would consider modern amenities. They had a stadium, amphitheater, brothel and bars…many, many bars. Most of the architecture looked like you would find in many of today’s buildings, with break, mortar and streets, sewage, and plumbing all well laid out.

paintings (frescos) usually covered the inside of the houses and buildings. You wouldnt find paintings or elaborate molding. Inside paintings would be painted right on the walls and fake paneling and molding, including painting to look like stone, brick and marble was the style of the day. You can see an example from the picture above.

Above is the amphitheater of Pompeii.

This is a Pompeii bar where wine was stored in large earth ware urns.

The coliseum at Pompeii. It wasnt very big but could easily fit several hundred people and probably most of the city’s inhabitants. There was a training area next door where the gladiators trained.

Lastly, a view of modern Pompeii and a building built when in the last hundred years or so.  This building was primarily used I believe to house artifacts from the digs.  Unfortunately, it was built on top of more of the city and so this building will be torn down soon and excavations will be done to unearth what’s below…