Monday, August 09, 2010

Sorrento, day 3 - 10,000 steps in Pompeii (part 3)

Then we visited the Necropolis, which was built in the 1st century BC.

From there, we visited the amphitheatre; it was built in 70 BC and apparently is the oldest known and most complete Roman amphitheatre anywhere. Apparently there were riots there in AD 59, resulting in a 10-year ban on gladatorial contests; however, after the earthquake in AD 62, the amphitheatre was one of the first buildings to be restored, and the ban was lifted to help with morale.


It’s MASSIVE.

This is the entrance.

And this gives a bit more of an idea of its size…


After that, we took the main road back to the Porta Marina – you can see here where the pavements have been worn in the middle by people walking there (pretty much like the steps to English castles and English church towers).


On the way, we found another caupona (and you can see the storage jars in the room behind) and some lovely frescoes that can speak for themselves.

8 comments:

Scarlet Wilson said...

Kate I am so jealous I never got to see these parts! That's what comes from being part of a guided tour thats on a tight schedule! I bought three guide books while I was there, plus some Cave Canem tiles that my dad has now installed in his back step (!) so I'm going to have a look about for these bits. May email you later about something else - need some advice x

Nell Dixon said...

Lovely to see all these places. Thank you so much for posting them.

Caroline said...

Great photo' again Kate. Thanks. Caroline x

Kate Hardy said...

Susan - that's why I don't do guided tours any more. We did that in Venice and I didn't get a chance to visit the glass museum at Murano or the church at Torcello, so we agreed to do it independently and buy good guide books :o) And how great that you got the tiles. I missed the shop (scowl). And yes, do email :)

Kate Hardy said...

Nell - I always love seeing other people's pics from their trips and they often provide lightbulbs for me, so I'm kind of trying to pay it back :o) And Pompeii was definitely exciting enough for three posts *g* Capri tomorrow!

Kate Hardy said...

Caroline - glad you enjoyed them!

Lacey Devlin said...

Oh wow it's so amazing! It's size in incredible. I bet it's even more breath taking in real life!

Kate Hardy said...

Lacey - it really is breathtaking in real life. Especially when you consider how old it is... amazing how much of it is still there.