Submitted by Johanna Chajes on the 2016 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Philosophy…
This past week, our group left the beautiful city of Rome for Sorrento, a small city near the Amalfi Coast. Yesterday, we were able to take a short train ride from Sorrento to Pompeii, where we met our guide who took us on a tour through this forgotten city. We walked along the ancient Roman’s main streets, visited the huge house of a wealthy family and even took a trip to see the brothels. At the end of the tour, we ended up in Pompeii’s town square where we had an amazing view of Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that covered Pompeii in ash when it erupted in 79 AD. It was incredible to see how well all of the buildings in the city had been preserved, especially the mosaics and frescos on the walls which looked only 200 years old rather than their actual 2,000. It was fascinating to walk around and imagine what life would have been like for the Romans back then, and it was an experience that we couldn’t get anywhere else.
