Italy Trip Sept 2025 - Part 7 Pompeii, Campania (1)

Pompeii is vast! It had a population of about 11,500 people and it would be very hard to see all of it in one day, so we chose to explore just the western end as this was the side where our campsite was and the entrance that our ticket said to use. Some of these photos are Keith's as he took many more photos than I did.

This is the forum - the market place, with various temples facing onto it.

Temple of Apollo

One of the main streets.

The Macellum, an indoor market building selling provisions. This is the remains of the central structure, which was a kind of rotunda.

The restored portico of the entrance to the Macellum, with shop fronts behind.

As we walked away from the forum area we passed many buildings which looked similar to this. The sign on the wall says Casa del Forno, and you can just see what I think are millstones through the gate. We couldn't go in though. Quite a lot of the buildings are blocked off for various reasons, i.e. preservation work being done or walls that are dangerous and need restoring. I get the impression the whole site is in continual need of restoration and preservation work - the elements are not kind on ruins once they have been uncovered.

Not the same building but still of an oven, with millstones in front. This was most likely a bakery, of which there were many.

The entrance to a house with a 'Beware of the dog' sign - in mosaic! It says 'Cave Canem'.

The House of the Faun

This was the largest residence found at Pompeii and takes up a whole city block. It has two gardens and two atriums. As you can see, it was very popular!

A faun is a mythological creature that is half goat, half human. This is a replica with the original being in the Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Opus sectile or inlay flooring.

The Alexander Mosaic below, not easy to see with the shadows and from this angle. Believe it or not this is a replica! The original is at the National Archaeological Museum at Naples and you can see what it looks like much better here. It's just incredible that someone took the time and trouble to make an actual replica mosaic - it must have taken months if not longer to do! But at least it means that the original is preserved and doesn't have people walking all over it. The original is an absolute masterpiece.

The two gardens with the Alexander mosaic under the roof between the two.

Typical view of a side street.

Stepping stones to cross the road, as raw sewage ran down the street! If you look close up you can just make out wheel ruts from carts passing through on either side of the right hand stone.

It was hard work walking on these old Roman roads and the pavements were quite high in places so hard work on the old knees too! As there is only one place where you can buy food within Pompeii we took a packed lunch with us, and sat on one of these pavements to eat our sandwiches! 

I'll do the rest of the photos in the next post.