In the Shadow of Vesuvius

A view of the Forum with Vesuvius looming in the background

Pompeii was founded about 600 BC, and sat at the foot of Vesuvius, a volcano. At the west is the Bay of Naples and south are the mountains that one can find the town of Sorrento. It is a very beautiful setting, and life would have been very pleasant, with rich fertile soils and abundant seafood in the bay.

In AD 79 the city held about 22,000 people. It was at this stage that Vesuvius erupted, destroying both Pompeii and Herculaneum (another town close by). All but 2,000 managed to escape before the volcano erupted. Those that remained were incinerated in hot gases and ash. A layer of about 3 m of ash fell on Pompeii, burying it and sealing it for almost 2,000 years.

Our Guide in the Forum

It is amazing how much of the city was preserved. Mostly, only the roofs of the buildings had been destroyed by the weight of ash and pumice. The archaeological site is vast, with h hundreds of houses, bars and restaurants, temples, ampitheatres all being recovered.

The Temple of Diana and Apollo

Many temples have been recovered, some with the original bronze statues of their gods. The one above was to the two gods, Apollo and Diana.

Stepping Stones and Roads

An intricate pattern of roads can be found, formed from basalt from earlier eruptions of the volcano. Drainage was not good in Pompeii, so stepping stones existed on roads to allow people to avoid the water welling in the roads. The stones are small enough for chariot and cart wheels to pass either side. Notice in the above photograph that the wheel marks can be seen grooved into the stones making the road. I guess several hundred years of wear will do that.

One Way Sign

Also, the people of Pompeii had road signs. The above depicting a one-way road - for traffic to proceed in the direction of the donkey.

Restaurant and Bar

Many bars and restaurants have been uncovered. The above shows the wells for water and wine used by locals. Out the back would be room for food and a place to sit.

Casa del la Fontana

Several houses of the well-to-do have been found, containing courtyards and many rooms, with frescoes and mosaics. The colours of the frescoes are as vibrant as the day they were painted. The one above depicts a scene of the Bay of Naples and also has a fountain with a mosaic motif.

An elaborate mosaic

A saucy fresco

A town the size of Pompeii naturally had many bars and restaurants, bakeries and other shops. It also had a brothel, and the above fresco is a saucy picture used to decorate the establishment.

One of the Victims

Approximately 2,000 people were killed by the eruption. Many of their bodies left casts by the ash and have since been poured with plaster and images made. They show what a terrorising event it must have been, with people huddled in corners trying to escape the suffocating gases and hot ash.

Vesuvius erupted without significant consequence in 1944. About 3 million people live around Vesuvius today - it is the most dense crowding of people around a volcano for anywhere in the world today.

Florence - The birthplace of the Italian Renaissance

Florence is the capital of the Tuscany region and said to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It is marked by the great domed roof of the Duomo. The roof was modelled on that of the Pantheon in Rome, but built of bricks instead of concrete. Brunelleschi designed and built the dome between 1420 and 1436. The dome is actually one dome on top of another, meaning no scaffolding was used in the outer dome's construction. It is an engineering marvel.

The roof of the Duomo

The Gates to Paradise

The Bapistery sits in front of the green, pink and white marbelled exterior of the Duomo. The doors leading into the Bapistery were designed by Pisano and built in 1425. These are on the east side (he earlier won a competition to build the north doors - which are not quite as remarkable). Michelangelo called the east doors the Gates to Paradise, for which they are still called.

David by Michelangelo

A copy of Michelangelo's David - where the original used to stand in the Piazza della Signoria. A groupd of statues sits next to David - including The Rape of the Sabine by Giambologna - which, I think, is every bit as good as David. The originals are stunning and can be found in the Galleria dell'Accademia. The original David was supposed to sit on top of the Duomo and hence the head looks a bit out of proportion, as Michelangelo wanted it to look in proportion from street level. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic carving. Apparently it was done without guidelines etc. from a single, otherwise unwanted, piece of marble.

The Rape of the Sabine by Giambologna

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio spans the Arno river. I didn't think much of it, but apparently the Germans thought it was too good to destroy as they retreated from the allies coming up from the south of Italy. I wouldn't have given it a moment's thought...

Piazza della Signoria

The famous piazza where the Medici's Palace can be found and the Uffizi Gallery. In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola ended up being burnt here himself when it was believed he had gone a tad too far with his persecution of protestants.

The Orsanmichele

A little visited church was a redesigned granary, the Orsanmichele. It is surrounded by great sculptures, mainly from Donatello. It is incredible to believe that you can walk the same steps as Michelangelo as he studied these sculptures in preparation for designing and chiselling away David. The alter in this church is equally fantastic.

Galileo's Telescopes from 1610

With these telescopes Galileo turned astronomy (and religion) on its head. He studied the Moon and Venus to find that they weren't perfect bodies as Aristotle had suggested - created as perfect celestial objects by God himself. Galileo was then put under house arrest in his villa just on the outskirts of Florence by the Catholic Church.

Galileo's Middle Finger

Why this was put in a jar is anyone's guess. I think it's his right hand.

A Papal Audience

St Peter's Basilica

Mussolini might not have had much going for him, but one thing he did do that was pretty useful was he knocked all the buildings down along the road leading to the Vatican giving it a wonderful aspect on approach.

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's is said to have been built on the site where Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, was crucified. Bernini remodelled the square to its present shape and design. When I was visiting, the Pope was due to give his Wednesday mass. I took the opportunity to duck straight into the museums and Sistine Chapel, with no queue!

The long gallery in the Vatican Apartments is covered is frescoes and paintings. No photo can show the depth of work and the grandeur of the gallery.

The Vatican apartments now contain a series of museums. Above is a Dali - which most people miss as they pass quickly through to get to the Sistine Chapel. This particular room contain several of his works.

Several of the apartments contained frescoes by Raphael (now buried in the Pantheon). This work (above) is of the Greek philosophers - with Socrates standing pointing upwards.

The Sistine Chapel

The main attraction is, of course, the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo painted the ceiling standing up on scaffolding over a 3 year period. The work is a series of frescoes, painted on drying plaster - causing the colour to become embedded int he plaster and intensified as it dried. It is am amazing work for the sheer scale alone. The above photo is a bit blurred as you aren't allowed to take pictures in the chapel and I snuck this one while the guard wasn't looking.

Michelangelo returned almost 30 years later to paint The Last Judgement on the wall above the alter. By this time some of the steam was going out of the renaissance and so the mood of this fresco is noticeably darker.

I don't know how Michelangelo managed (apparently the demands of Pope Julius and the physical exertion of the job itself nearly killed him); my neck was sore after looking up for 30 minutes.

The Swiss Guard

The Swiss Guard for the Papal bodyguards. They still wear very medieval costume, and look kinda goofy.

Il Papa

Pope Benedict XVI gives mass when he's in town, every Wednesday. There was a reasonably large crowd in St Peter's Square, probably 5000 or so. One of the helpers reads out the names of groups who have made the pilgrimage to hear mass, much to their football-like cheers. A short homily is read out by the Pope in about 5 or 6 languages (in turn), followed by a blessing.

The Pope on the big screen

Feeling radiant after being blessed

Even for a non-catholic, it was kinda good to see the Pope giving mass. I guess that's why you come to the Vatican. I couldn't go inside St Peter's basilica as mass was being given - it saved me climbing the 320+ stairs into the dome....

The Eternal City

The she-wolf with Romulus and Remus

A week in Rome, the Eternal City - it has so many things to see it could take an eternity to see them all. It's terrible, but after a while you walk past a 500 year old church and don't bother stopping - if it isn't 2000 years old then why bother? But doing that you miss the great art works of the renaissance, like the Caravaggios etc.

In front of the Arch of Severes, The Forum

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi fountain marks the meeting point of three roads (hence the name). It used to be the location where the acqueduct brought water to Rome from outside the city. The fountain itself was designed by Nicola Salvi (although he died before it was finished in 1762) and is the largest of the baroque fountains in Rome. If you throw a coin into the fountain it ensures your return to Rome (so the story goes). Apparently over 600,000 euros are collected from the fountain per year and given to charities.

The Spanish Steps

Part of my seeming 'reconstruction tour of Rome', the obelisk at the top of the steps was being renovated. The 138 steps lead to the church of Trinità dei Monti.

The Victor Emmanuel II Monument

This pretty tacky monument dominates the city skyline. It is a monument to the first king of the new Italy (in the 1870's). It looks like a wedding cake or typewriter and houses the tomb of the unknown soldier. It also has an interesting museum inside it outlining Italy's 140 year old history.

The Statue of Marcus Aurelius

Behind the Victor Emmanuel monument is the Capitoline Museum. The square out the front was designed by Michelangelo. Most things in Rome were designed by Michelangelo or Bernini. The square houses a copy of this magnificent statue of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (he's the one who dies in the first few minutes of Gladiator). The original (above) is in the museum, with the she-wolf statue and thousands of roman busts and marbles.

The Roman Forum

The Forum was the meeting place of ancient Rome. The road through it (Via Sacre) lead from the Arch of Constantine right up the Capitoline Hill. Along the way is the Senate House, The Rostrum and several temples (including the Temple of Vesta where apparently the vestal virgins would keep the sacred flame alight - it was a 30 year job, but once they hit 40 they were 'released' with a large sum of money and could marry).

The Coloseum

The Coloseum was completed in AD 80 and is actually called the Flaviam Ampitheatre. It could seat 50 000 people and was so well designed that it could empty in 15 minutes. It has since been used as a quarry for marble and the iron brackets have been stolen and melted down in the middle ages, leaving its surface pockmarked. As with most ancient roman buildings, the thing that probably saved it was its consecration as a church.

Under the floor of the Colosseum. Here animals and gladiators could be elevated up through trap-doors to 'surprise' those in the arena.

The Pantheon

Probably the most impressive building from ancient Rome is the Pantheon. It was built by emperor Hadrian and resembles a greek temple. It is in a fantastic state of repair, again, because it was consecrated as a Christian church in the 7th Century. The domed roof is spectacular.

Munich Loves You

Konigsplatz

I really liked Munich - and strangely enough, Munich's motto is 'Munich Loves You'! It is a lot warmer feeling city than Berlin - with it being the capital of Bavaria, the economic powerhouse of Germany.

Marianplatz - the main square in Munich



The Glockenspiel (clock)

I didn't actually see the clock chime as I think it only chimes a couple of times a day. I think it is on par with the one in Prague for excitement levels...


Konigsplatz - 'built' by Ludwig I (the one before the mad one). It's a very Teutonic display of architecture. Hitler liked to have a few rallies now and then from here.



Either side of the main building are two museums housing greek and roman art. One has this weird sculpture in the front.

But of course, Munich is best known for beer. And it is very good beer at that! Above is the Hofbrauhaus, the famous beer hall in Munich. Beer Halls and gardens are everywhere in Munich - its a great social event as people all share benches and you can constantly hear the clinking of glasses and toasts being made.

The drink out of 1 litre glasses (well I didn't - I wimped out at 500 mLs), while the Oom-Pa band strikes up!

The Englischergarten is the largest city garden in the world at about 3.7 square kilometres. I found out that Count Rumsford designed it! Only science people would know who he is. They have some small creeks running through it - one has a wave pool with surfers trying to catch (the) wave.

Englischergarten