Herculaneum
- On the Bay of Naples in the Region of Campania in south-west Italy
Ercolano is a modern town just
south of Naples. Herculaneum is the Roman resort town destroyed by
Vesuvius in 79 AD, at the same time as neighboring Pompeii and located on
the Bay of Naples in the Region of Campania in south-west Italy. Only a
quarter of the site has been excavated so far - and this is enough to
exhaust even the most determined visitor.
All the evidence confirms that
Herculaneum was an upmarket seaside resort. It feels different to
Pompeii, because people were there to enjoy themselves, or to provide
services for those on holiday. Appearances mattered to Roman visitors who
were comfortable but not wealthy. For example, many of the columns were
made of brick, then rendered to approximate fluted marble that resembled
the real thing found in Pompeii.
You can see metal bathtubs
whose shape proves that there is no need to change a good design over
2,000 years, an early immersion heater in the men's communal baths; a
price list painted on a wall, a poster advertising a shop's range of
wines and a fast-food restaurant where the counter is set with fixed
earthenware pots that would have kept the food hot. All the shops and
houses used brightly colored, extensive mosaics and frescoes to foster a
holiday atmosphere, and many have survived.
The paintings and mosaics are
humorous and suggestive but many of the very best artifacts are held in
museums elsewhere, because they have been considered too sexually
explicit, or in some cases, pornographic to be on general display. They
were briefly on display in the Secret Museum of Naples in the 1960s, but
were finally opened to the public in 2000, with a warning about the
contents.
When visiting Herculaneum, do
not miss the Argus House, House of Neptune and Amphitrite, House of the
Deer, and Pozzuoli. Herculaneum is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and
there is an entrance fee. You can get there by train or bus from Naples
or Sorrento.
