Jan and Bo's Tales From The Mediterranean: More Ruins

We are nearing the end of our journey and will be flying out of Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to London. On our drive from Sorrento to Fiumicino, we visited the impressive Herculaneum ruins in Ercolano. (Ercolano, like much of Napoli, is not a particularly inviting place). Herculaneum was a village, while Pompeii was a large city. In comparison, it was much more relatable than the overwhelming size of Pompeii. The excavated ruins are better preserved here. While Pompeii was covered in heavy ash, causing roofs to collapse, Herculaneum was hit by pyroclastic flows that preserved some of the organic material. Apparently 75% of Herculaneum is still buried.

Rather than flying out of Fiumicino the same day as our arrival, our plans included a two night stay so that we could visit Ostia Antica (Ancient Ostia), the ruins of the ancient harbor city of Rome. Ostia was a working seaport city. Chiefly it was Rome’s largest port, but it, also, had salt flats. The city did a tremendous business in salt which was the only preservative for meats. It was a military fort, as well. As Rome gained control of the entire Mediterranean, Ostia’s importance wained. Unlike Pompeii and Herculaneum, Ostia Antica’s decline was heightened when Rome fell and the Tiber river changed course. Silting, by the river, caused the city to be two miles from the sea. Ostia was literally abandoned and a new port dug out further down the river. This place is huge! Amazing!! We just managed to walk the length of it and get back to the car before a violent thunderstorm started.

So if the volcanoes don’t get you, the rivers just might. Or a lightning strike. Or rising sea levels or whatever. All good things must end-even this blog! We think that we are done with ruins for awhile! Now we are going to enjoy a quiet evening in our hotel room with a nice bottle of Brunello di Montalcino.

Alla vita Italia! To Italian life! La dolce vita!!

Herculaneum With Vesuvius In The Background