Elsien's Traveblogue

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

 







Naples 9th June 2010
Went to Pompeii today – one of those must-do-must-see's. I may be a total Philistine, but I really think that, especially when there is such an abundance of old stones and ruins, there is a case to be made for reconstruction of a bit of it, yes, maybe Chinese style, but even so .... Pompeii may be a priceless archeological treasure and very interesting, but, if you are brutally honest, what can you really see? All the frescoes and mosaics – bar a few piddly ones – have been taken elsewhere; I really enjoyed the frescoes in the Museo Archeologico in Naples and all there is left on site, are crumbling, unpainted, stone walls and a few pillars. I did manage to escape the tourist groups though and find a few houses where something had been left, including the skeletons of the inhabitants. It's hard to escape the notion that this is not only a place where people lived but, much more, a place where people died.
I went on the little train from Naples, thinking there might be views of Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. Yes, there were, but they are thoroughly spoilt by horrible concrete blocks of flats, most not even painted. Some are painted, but very dirty and all are festooned with washing. Unkept wasteland spoils the beautiful lemongroves and lovely flowers: purple bougainvillea, red hibiscus, yellow broom and there are overhead cables and TV aerial everywhere. China yet again springs to mind, where I never managed to take a photo without a cable in it. I remember many years ago, when I passed through Naples on the way back up from Sicily, being surprised at how ugly the surrounding area was... Vesuvius itself was clouded up top. He's smaller than you think, blew his own top off in one of his explosive rages.
I enjoyed my day though, it was lovely and warm and I quite like these 'realities', but you can guess I gave Herculaneum a miss. I have seen quite a few ruins of Roman cities in my life ....

Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

Archives

August 2006   September 2006   October 2006   November 2006   December 2006   January 2007   March 2007   October 2007   November 2007   December 2007   February 2009   September 2009   December 2009   February 2010   March 2010   June 2010   September 2010   October 2010   November 2010   December 2010   February 2011   October 2011   November 2011   December 2011   June 2012   August 2012   September 2012   October 2012   December 2012   March 2013   April 2013   March 2018   April 2018   May 2018  

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?