Pompeii, Italy & Mount Vesuvius

It was only a few years after the destruction of Jerusalem....it was the year 79 C.E. when Mount Vesuvius blew it's top and covered the bustling city of Pompeii in ash and papilli (little bombs of lava) to a depth of about 12 feet. The ash formed a crust around everything and actually preserved it instead of allowing it to burn up from the lava, so the city of Pompeii is well preserved....including the people that were killed....as you'll see from the photos.







A temple to the God Apollo













These are some of the 2000 people that were killed....encrusted in ash. But rather than being killed by the ash and papilli, it was the poisonous gases let off by the explosion that was the cause of death. Caught so off guard, their bodies are still contracted in positions and gestures of fear.































a structure similiar to the colloseum where gladitoreal games were played in pompeii.





From Pompeii, we drove up the side of Mount Vesuvius - which by the way - is still an active volcano (call us crazy). This is some of the volcanic mess we saw.







We finally reached the crater, but the highest point of the mountain was in thick fog and clouds, so we couldn't see deep into the crater. Sad. But we still had such an adventure! Especially with our funny guide, Rafaello.