The best walks and hikes around Boscoreale

The House of the Vettii was the home of two freed slaves, Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, who subsequently earned a lot of money in the wine trade. It was not uncommon at the time for slaves to be freed and to be able to build a career in society. They probably lived there with their wives and children. With the money they earned, they could have the walls beautifully decorated. Striking is the erotic art and twelve mythological scenes. Furthermore, the house has a very beautiful garden full of statues and fountains, but also strongly scented plants and ponds. Nature and culture were meant to stimulate all the senses and thus inspire the mind.

The first organ, previously inaugurated, was an Inzoli. The 1949 reform gave life to the current instrument. Beautiful!

The Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei is an important Catholic place of worship located in Pompei. It is dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary and is one of the most important Marian shrines in the world. It was founded by Bartolo Longo in 1876, on land donated by Countess Marianna De Lellis di Palma. Inside there are wonderful frescoes of great artistic importance.

The purpose here, however, was completely different from modern ones that cross the road. The roads served not only as a means of communication, but also as a system for draining excess water and wastewater. The blocks made it possible to cross the road without stepping into the mud. Furthermore, the interruptions allowed the passage of horse-drawn carts.

The Teatro Grande was built in the 2nd century BC. To create the horseshoe-shaped tiers (the cavea), the natural cavity of the slope was used. The cavea was divided into 3 zones: closer to the orchestra, four continuous marble-clad steps can be seen, reserved for musicians and the most important figures of the city. Behind them were 20 tiers of stone seats. Unfortunately, only a few fragments remain of these massive structures. One still bears the seat number: each person was therefore allocated only 40 cm. The upper tier, divided into seven sectors and supported by a ring corridor, was added, along with the boxes above the side entrances, during the reign of Emperor Augustus, allowing the theatre to accommodate approximately 5,000 spectators. The entire tier was protected by a wall that supported the velarium, a huge movable awning used to shield the audience from the sun and bad weather. The stage and the scene decorated with marbles and statues date back to the restoration of 62 AD, after the earthquake that had struck Pompeii.

The Via dell'Abbondanza is the main artery (decumanus maximus) of ancient Pompeii, connecting the Forum with Porta Sarno. Along this east-west axis, the heart of economic and social life unfolded, characterized by numerous shops, inns, and important residences such as the Fullonica di Stephanus. The street, recognizable by its oval stepping stones for pedestrian crossing, is one of the busiest and best-preserved streets in the excavations.

Sturdy shoes are essential

Aside from providing convenience for pedestrians to cross the street with dry feet, it was also a simple but effective traffic calming measure. The carts in ancient Pompeii were indeed standardized to fit perfectly through the city. Visitors/traders with different dimensions had to rent and reload a Pompeian cart at the city gates, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed into the city.