Things To See & Do In Pompeii: An Archaeological Marvel

The Pompeii Forum was the main square of the city and was surrounded by many different buildings. Buildings to note include: the Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Apollo and many municipal buildings. In the Pompeii Forum you can also find the Macellum, which is the city's main market and the Comitium, which was an open air hall used as a polling station.

Make sure you save some time to spend in and around the forum as there is a lot to take in. As the center of the city, life in Pompeii revolved around heading to the forum to buy from the market, to vote in elections, and to accomplish many day-to-day tasks.

The Arch of Caligula is found at the intersection of Via de Mercurio and Via delle Terme in the northwestern part of Pompeii. While we are calling it the Arch of Caligula, this arch has also been referred to by several other names including: the Arch of Tiberius, the Arch of Augustus, the Arch of C. Caesar Augustus and Castellum Aquae, the Arch of Nero, and the Arch of Mercurio [after street location].

The name Arch of Caligula was given to it as a large equestrian statue, broken into pieces, was found under the arch. From this, the arch was attributed to Caligula but today there are doubts about this identification and it is now thought to more likely be associated with a high ranking civic person from Pompeii.

As you approach Pompeii along the main street connecting Herculaneum to Pompeii, you’ll see tombs built along the side of the street. These tombs were built as the final resting place for the citizens of Pompeii as it was forbidden to bury anyone within the city walls. These tombs were positioned to impress visitors and showcase the wealth of some of Pompeii’s most important citizens.

Today the Street of Tombs is a popular attraction to see when visiting Pompeii. Visitors from all over the world come to see this cemetery and to walk along the Street of Tombs. Definitely check it out as part of your visit to Pompeii and walk the street to get a sense of life during the time of the Romans and what it was like to approach Pompeii right before its ultimate destruction.

The amphitheater in Pompeii is the oldest known amphitheater with its construction period dated to 80 B.C. As it is the oldest known amphitheater it is speculated that it may have been the model used for other amphitheaters built across Rome.

It is estimated that the Pompeii Amphitheater was capable of holding between 12,000 and 20,000 spectators. Pompeians spent much of their spare time taking in events and spectacles at the amphitheater watching things like gladiator battles and circus shows.

During the excavations of Pompeii, excavators noticed that the skeletons of the victims were surrounded by a gap. As the bodies were hit by the volcanic materials, they stayed in the same position, becoming encased in a layer of ash that calcified over the centuries. Though the biological material decomposed, the calcified ash preserved the form of the victims bodies. Using a method perfected by Giuseppe Fiorelli, over a hundred plaster casts have been made of these bodies since 1863.

Though some of the plaster casts have been displayed in museums, or were destroyed during the bombings of WWII, many of the plaster citizens were returned to be displayed in their final resting places. The largest number, 13 plaster citizens, were found in The Garden of the Fugitives, nine in the House of Mysteries, and one plaster citizen can be seen in the Cauphona Pherusa tavern.

Two plaster remains are housed in both the Stabian Thermal baths and the Macellum, and several more can be found in the Olitorium. Of those in the Olitorium, look out for the plaster cast of a pig, and, the most famous plaster citizen of all, a perfectly preserved small dog, complete with collar intact.

The walk up to the crater of Vesuvius is about 800m long with a 175m elevation gain. This hike is well worth the effort as the views from the top of the crater and surrounding area are magnificent and you get the experience of walking up the side of a volcano! The quickest way to get to the crater is by taking a trail called ‘ill gran cono’. This hike falls into the easy category and makes the crater of the volcano accessible to most people of decent fitness. The tour buses from Naples will drop you off at the start of this trail making it a great day trip.

There are several other trail options for the more adventurous or experienced hikers. One option is Across Valle Dell'Inferno which is a 12km hike that is considered difficult and takes you through the woods and along the caldera of Mount Somma. Another option is the Riserva Tirone trail which has some amazing views and ends at Vesuvius. This is an 11km hike of medium-difficulty.

Mount Somma can been as a semi-circle around Mount Vesuvius with a height of 1132m, which is just 150m lower than Vesuvius. Mount Somma erupted 17,000 years ago and at the time it was a much larger volcano. Mount Somma is what gave Somma Volcano's their name, as Mount Vesuvius is a new cone partially filling the caldera of Mount Somma.

After the eruption of Mount Somma 17,000 years ago, where the top of the volcano was blown off, Mount Vesuvius grew and has been the active component of the Vesuvius-Somma volcano's since then.

The Casa dell’Albergo was originally the house of a nobleman (or woman), before being turned into an inn. When you look at the columns that used to be in the atrium of the inn, you can get a sense of the sheer size that this building would have been in its heyday. In fact, the Casa dell’Albergo nearly filled the whole block!

You can find the Casa dell’Albergo at the southern end of Cardo III, a street that runs through the area that was excavated in the 19th century. Whilst you are here, take a look across the street at the House of Aristides and the House of Argus. The former once was a luxurious villa, and the latter was an aristocrat’s villa, complete with garden and colonnades. Further on from the inn you can also find the House of the Skeleton, which has some fantastic wall paintings and mosaics.

The House of Galba is a little further along Cardo II, just after the crossroads with the Decumanus Inferior. This is another opulent patrician mansion, though the House of Galba is unique in its stylistic elements. Particularly, this mansion contains the remains of a pool that was in the shape of the cross.

There are many theories about what this pool could have been - perhaps it was a fish pond, a bathing pool, or even a reservoir. However, the shape is totally unique to this house, no matter what it was used for. As you gaze away from the House of Galba, notice that there are many other residences still waiting to be excavated.

The town of Herculaneum was named after its patron, Hercules. The biggest shrine dedicated to Hercules can be found at the other side of Cardo II, by the name of Sacello degli Augustali. However, the shrine was later re-dedicated to a group of priests who served the first Roman Emperor, Octavian Augustus, who was posthumously declared as a god.

Despite this, there are still some magnificent surviving frescos of Hercules, including one showing him in Olympus with Juno and Minerva, and another depicting his fight with an Etruscan god.

There are two thermal baths that have been excavated in Herculaneum, the Thermae, which are the Central Baths, and the Terme Suburbane, or the Suburban Baths. The Thermae is the larger of the two, with separate facilities, whereas the Terme Surburbane must have been either co-ed or have limited times for when men or women could use them.

Head towards the end of the Decumanus Maximus, where it meets the Cardo V. This street leads further back to reveal a wide range of shops, evident as potentially Herculaneum’s main shopping area. The shops that have been excavated here include a weaver, dye shop, bakery, and a number of food shops.

We know this as excavators found artifacts such as looms, dye pots, ovens, baking pans, and even containers filled with nuts and legumes. Behind the shopping area, there is a large area that was once used as a public field for games and events, called the Palaestra.