diary+1-+clare

13/05/07

Today was my first day exploring the wonders of this small boot-shaped country called Italy.

The first place I had to go and see was the ruins of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Having studied about it in Ancient History in high school, this place was always one of high interest to me. Driving my scooter that I hired on the way there, I could see the massive Mount Vesuvius towering over everything. It was hard to believe that this now still, serene and fertile mountain had erupted all those years ago and destroyed so many homes and families.

As we began the tour, our guide led us through a wide street, on either side were all these two story houses and buildings. The top half of the houses were still intact however the bottom looked as though it had been bulldozed to one side and set alight. The streets looked so deserted and roughed up, it was hard to imagine that anyone had lived there at lee as most of the contents of the homes were no longer there.



As we walked further into the city I could smell the faint smell of sulfur, so still to this day the ruins are stained by the smell. The guide led us into a building that was once a bathing house of Pompeii and amazingly the dome shaped roof was still in tact and we could view the beautiful frescos that adorned it. One of the fresco's depicted the vast fields of grapes that they grew at the base of Vesuvius. The guide said that the soil around Vesuvius was very fertile due to its volcanic compound.

When we neared the end of the tour, the guide led us into a modern built building, a place where they view and examine the items and bodies found in the ruins. We got to view a body that had been preserved in almost perfect condition, due to the Volcano’s pyroclastic surge. We also saw the body of a dog that had been preserved in the same way. It was incredible to see as the bodies were frozen in the exact position that they would have died in, it was as if seeing the last moment of their lives before Vesuvius so tragically took it away.

At the end of the tour, I visited the gift shop to buy some souvenirs. I asked how much a poster was, but clearly the man did not speak English. Luckily he did recognise the language and got the other guy to serve me as he could speak a little English and could help me out.

All in all it was a tiring, but good day that gave me a little insight into Italy’s history.