Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast

We decided to do a tour out of Rome that visited Pompeii and Positano on the Amalfi Coast. It was a 14 hour round trip. The Amalfi coast had been on our radar for walking so we were keen to see it up close. Our main guide shared a lot of information about Italy and Rome that a better researched tourist might have already known. For Pompeii we were handed over to a resident archeologist. Pompeii is an ongoing project with large areas yet to be unearthed. It took a 1500 years to find it. The landscape was altered so much by the event. Eventually a farmer selling precious items caught the attention of the authorities of the time. 

That's Vesuvius in the background. The big chunk missing that stops it looking like Mount Taranaki is attributed to the Pompeii event. Scientists are currently recording high activity so an eruption is expected at some point "in the future"

The roads are worth a mention. Stepping stones allowed you to cross without needing to walk through the human waste tipped onto the streets. The ruts are for (or made by) horse drawn carts. A bit over 4.5 feet wide, the same measurement used today for railway tracks in Europe we were told. Two horses in width.

Our guide pointing out some graffiti which is common at the site. She said they've been able to learn a lot from it. I'm not sure that would be true of the current art form which seems to be mostly tagging. This might have been one of the phallus ones. Being a snapshot of pre-Christian Roman times, it was a symbol used throughout the site, explained as bringing good fortune.

Our comfort stop along the way was near Monte Casino. The various memorials are close by, but not on the itinerary.

We free ranged in Positano and enjoyed a Limoncello Spritz cocktail. A drink of choice here with a location price multiplier. I thoroughly enjoyed it, perhaps trying to persuade myself it was worth it.

A sample of Positano snaps

Positano was a lot busier than Cinque Terre, which we think has similar appeal. Large areas like Milan and Rome are pretty close though.

The agenda of the trip was achievable but the operaters needed to be pretty slick to pull it off in competition with the hoards trying to do the same thing.