Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Ruins of Pompeii
RUIN
(
081 857 53 47;
www.pompeiisites.org
;
entrances at Porta Marina & Piazza Anfiteatro; adult/reduced €11/5.50,
combined ticket incl Herculaneum €20/10; 8.30am-7.30pm summer, to 5pm winter, last entry 90min before clos-
ing)
Of Pompeii's original 66 hectares, 44 have now been excavated. Of course that doesn't
mean you'll have unhindered access to every inch of the Unesco-listed site - expect to
come across areas cordoned off for no apparent reason, a noticeable lack of clear signs
and the odd stray dog. Audio guides are a sensible investment.
At the time of writing, the Casa dei Vettii was closed for restoration. The Terme
Suburbane, just outside the city walls, can be visited on weekends subject to prior booking
at
www.arethusa.net
. It's here that you'll find the erotic frescoes that scandalised the Vat-
ican when they were revealed in 2001. The saucy panels decorate the changing rooms of
what was once a private baths complex.
Porta Marina
seven gates that punctuated the ancient town walls. A busy passageway now as it was
then, it originally connected the town with the nearby harbour, hence the gateway's name.
Immediately on the right as you enter the gate is the 1st-century-BC Tempio di Venere
(Temple of Venus), formerly one of the town's most opulent temples.
The Forum
Flanked by limestone columns, this was the ancient city's main piazza and the buildings
surrounding it are testament to its role as the city's hub of civic, commercial, political and
religious activity.
BC seat of the city's law courts and exchange. Their semicircular apses would later influ-
ings. Most of what you see today, including the striking columned portico, dates to the
2nd century BC, although fragments remain of an earlier version dating to the 6th century
BC.
