Ercolano - Message Sent

Herculaneum

..They consulted together whether it would be most prudent to trust to the houses, which now rocked from side to side with frequent and violent concussions as though shaken from their very foundations; or fly to the open fields, where the calcined stones and cinders, though light indeed, yet fell in large showers, and threatened destruction…. Pliny the Younger, sole account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Herculaneum Mosaic

Rob and Beth settled into their new accommodations in Ercolano - a small city outside of Napoli. They selected this room because of the many, many positive reviews and it was located in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius. Although weather did not allow them to climb La Rocco in Cefalu, they were determined to scale the infamous volcano best known for the destruction of Pompeii.

Mt. Vesuvius

On the first morning, they climbed into their host's car and Fulvio set off to drive them to the base of the mountain. En route they stopped at a grocer's and a produce stand to pick up lunch for the climb. Fulvio watched over both purchases like a concerned father to ensure that they received the local rate and not the tourist price. Once loaded up they continued onto Mt. Vesuvius.

Fulvio carefully drove along the switchback roads that lead to the pedestrian drop off point. However, just before they reached their destination, they were stopped by a police officer who informed them that Vesuvius was closed to vehicles and hikers. Darn. On to plan B - exploring the ruins Ercolana Scavi.

Salve!

Beth working the
Herculaneum diner

Although not nearly as famous as Pompeii, Ercolana Scavi, the excavations of the ancient Roman town Herculaneum, was destroyed in 79 AD from the same explosion that destroyed Pompeii. While Pompeii was covered by a deadly layer of ash, because of Herculaneum's proximity to the volcano, it was covered by rivers of boiling mud which resulted in the two towns being preserved differently. At Herculaneum, the heat from the flows preserved much of the bio matter in the dwellings that gave archeologists more information then Pompeii and caused wooden artifacts and building frameworks to be carbonized.

Ancient household wall paintings

Although the excavation of Herculaneum is on a smaller scale than Pompeii, visitors are still allowed to walk through to explore most of the buildings. Ever since a building collapsed in Pompeii in 2010, visitors movements around its grounds are more restricted.

Storage containers of an
ancient goods shop

After spending a few hours in the light rain exploring the grounds of Ercolano Scavi they approached the stone gate to exit the site. To their surprise, a staff member attending the gate, barred their exit and warned them of a possible explosion. They didn't understand what he was referring to until they took a couple steps further and a car on fire came into their sight. Flames were shooting out of the hood of the car and thick smoke was billowing up. As they waited, they roamed around, safely keeping the stone wall between them and the fire, looking for the best vantage point for observation. Soon enough there were a series of small booms, but they were simply the tires exploding.

Aiuto!

After what seemed a 15 minute wait, a fire truck arrived and, in short order, extinguished the fire. As Rob walked around photographing the event, a fire fighter put up his hands in warning telling Rob not to document it.

As the way was clear, Rob and Beth walked up the street and stopped at a cafe for a drink. As they ordered their espresso and cappuccino, they talked with the man working at the cafe who had also been watching the accident. Beth pointed around wondering which vehicle was the one that had collided with the car in flames.

When he understood what they were asking, he made a strange face and informed them, "That was no accident. Only one car involved."

Ancient women's bath house

MAV digital 3D re-creation of
the women's bath house.

As Beth and Rob walked away they mused if this was somehow related to the mafia that reportedly is ubiquitous in the Naples region. They began to invent stories that would require a message to be sent through a car bomb.

They made their way to the M.A.V. or Museo Archeologico Virtuale, their second stop for the day. This Museum provided virtual views of the ruins as the way they would have looked before Mt Vesuvius erupted.

While they paid for the tickets, they asked the woman who was working if she saw the car on fire as it was just down the road. After a look of query, Rob turned the camera display towards her to show the pictures he’d taken. With one look at the photos she shook her head in derision and confirmed, "That was no accident."

Rob and Beth looked at each other... ‘Message sent.’ they mused.