With pure coincidence I recently managed to tick another one of my “secret” bucket-list, when my wife asked me to accompany her on a brief business trip to Naples, Italy. Pompeii has always been a place I dreamt of visiting but never managed to get to plan along the years, however when my wife asked me to go along with her there was no hesitation. Apart from the beauty of what Naples offer in both culture and history, the architectural wonders are simply amazing, and a stone-throw distance away from the bustling city of Naples lies Pompeii, with its incredible history and ruins that will leave you in awe.
Even before entering Pompeii, with the first glance of the ruins, you are immediately taken to over two thousand years back in time, and for a history lover, like myself, you just shut your eyes and imagine yourself immersed in time, walking through the busy streets, passing by the baker’s and seeing the mule walking around grinding the wheat to produce flour for their daily bread. A few steps away and you may come across a well-signed ‘brottle’ (I’ll leave your imagination to this), well ornate internally with varied artistic depictions of each clients’ pleasures. Then, last but not least, walking into a well preserved Roman villa which apparently belonged to one of the few Gladiators’ merchants, and just a few metres down the Gladiator’s Arena, which upon entering the arena you immediately walk past the Gladiators’ cells, where they would await their moment of fate, to either face each other or possibly wild animals in entertaining the general and senate together with the common crowd.
Oh my, what an amazing experience that was, especially when one considers that these ruins have also managed to survive the Vesuvius eruption in the year 79AD, and in my humble opinion, after all these years, having visited both Rome and Naples amongst many other historical places around the Mediterranean, nothing simply beats the beauty of the Roman Empire’s History!
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