Napoli, Italy: The Ancient Streets of Pompeii

Ruins in the Forum with Mount Vesuvius in the Background

Pompeii is the ancient city that perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  The eruption buried the city in volcanic ash preserving many of the buildings and even human bodies below it.  You may remember seeing pictures of Pompeii or pictures of the plaster casts of bodies found during excavations from history classes growing up.  I definitely remembered this and was very much looking forward to the visit.

The ruins of Pompeii were different from the other ruins we have visited on our trip due to just how much of the city was preserved.  Entire building walls are still standing and the old streets are intact just as they were during the days when the city was inhabited.  

In current streetscape design we try to focus on pedestrian access while still accommodating vehicular traffic.  While walking through the ancient streets our guide shared some things with us that showed old ways of pedestrian focused design.  

For instance, the streets used to flood with storm water as well as dirty water dumped into the streets by the people living and working there.  Due to the high level of water in the streets, stepping stone crosswalks approximately 12" high were installed to allow people to cross the streets while not having to step into the filthy water.  Another element that is an old example of something we have refined and continue to use today is the curbs lining the streets.  Although the curbs are extremely high and the sidewalks are quite narrow it is still an early example of separating pedestrian and vehicular traffic.  On the main street they installed white lava rock in the joints of the large cobblestones to reflect the moonlight and help guide those using the street.

Raised Stone Crosswalk and Cobble Street

Close-Up of the Crosswalk Stones

Narrow Side Streets with Large Curbs

Wider Main Street with Wider Sidewalk

Cobblestone Streets with White 'Reflector' Stones

One last item that is something we strive to do on many projects these days is the use of native materials.  This is evident in much of the early construction, but for the purposes of this blog I want to highlight the use of large volcanic rock as the street cobbles, and the large blocks of volcanic rock used as the curbs and sidewalks.  In those days access to foreign materials was much more rare than today, therefore obtaining local materials for construction wasn't just a desire it was a necessity!

Volcanic Rock Curb
(The Holes were for Tying Up One's Horse in the Street)

Design standards for streetscapes have come a long ways since these days.  Although there are no tree pits or bike lanes it is unique to see early examples of design elements we continue to use today.

Messina, Italy: Off Street Parking?

Dome and Bell of Tempio Votivo di Cristo Re

Today we visited Messina, the smaller port town in Sicily.  We started out the way we typically do in a new place, in search of cappuccino and espresso (or depending on the time of day a cocktail).  As we walked deeper into the town past the souvenir stores selling Limencello and 'Godfather' t-shirts I was soon faced with a question.  'Why the heck am I having to wind my way around parked cars...ON THE SIDEWALK?'  It seemed to me this is simply how the local drivers interpret parking.  Never mind the 4" curb and the fact that the side walk is for, I don't know, walking.  It may be that there is simply no other possible way to accommodate a growing number of vehicles here.  Hailing from a place that will ticket you if you are parked on the wrong side of the street on certain days of the week, I was shocked that this was acceptable.

Curbs Don't Mean a Thing

With Narrow Sidewalks Cars Make the Route Impassable

Smaller Cars Allow People Like This
to Sneak Into the Tightest of Spaces

Just Nosin' On In

We also found out rather quickly that just because a light to cross the street at a crosswalk may be green does not mean the drivers will stop.  Even the crosswalk signs (seen below) indicate the best way to cross is by running (apparently while holding a briefcase and pulling along a girl wearing pigtails who is holding a dust pan).  It was a very interesting contrast after visiting many places on our trip with significant emphasis on the pedestrian traffic.

Crosswalk (or run...)

 Messina is a really charming Sicilian town by the sea, just mind the vehicles!

Intermission: Coffee in Italy

                                        

So here we are, we have passed the halfway point by over two weeks now!  That is said with quite a bit of sadness as the time has been flying by and the places we visit just keep getting better and better.  All of the pieces of the puzzle have been sliding into place as we fill in those blanks that before we left sounded like, 

“Well we arrive into Rome and then we have seven weeks to get to Istanbul, probably by train and bus mostly.”  Now our story sounds more like this.  “Well we flew into Rome for three nights, and then we made some great new friends in Sacile (pronounced ‘Sah-Cheel-Eh) who then drove us down to Venice.   We spent two nights in luxury on the Grand Canal in Venice before taking a bus and then a train to Salzburg where we will spend three nights before heading to Neuhofen to stay with someone we met along the way for two nights.  She offered to drive us to Vienna where we will stay for three nights before heading to Prague for four nights.  After that we will fly back to Rome to meet Andrea’s parents for two more nights before heading out on an 11-night eastern Mediterranean cruise together.”  

There is more, but you get the point, the four month unplanned adventure is filling up with plans!  In the past 2.5 months we have had a lot of experiences, every minute of every day is something different.  This whole experience started as a dream in Andrea’s mind.  I have to give her 98% of the credit.  I get 2% because it took A LOT to convince me that this was remotely feasible before I was 100% on board.  However, here we are after years of plans, changing of plans, and saving, two and a half months into this great adventure.   

When we began to plan this out we realized (as I mentioned much earlier in my blog) that we would need to cut back in a lot of areas to be able to save enough to enjoy this trip.  For me that meant my Blu-Ray movie acquisition would have to slow way down.  It actually came to a screeching halt, and I missed it a lot less than I thought.  For Andrea, less caramel macchiatos at Starbucks.  Together we made fewer purchases, and cut way back on our dinners and drinks out.  Whenever I was visibly annoyed at Andrea saying maybe we shouldn’t buy this, go here, or eat that she would say, “that could be a coffee in Italy.”  Well it kind of stuck and that was our little “thing” as we saved.  No Starbucks now meant a “coffee in Italy.”  No dinner out on a certain night meant several “coffees in Italy.”  I am sure you get the picture.  Well my friends, I have had “coffee in Italy” several times, and even two in one sitting once.  All I have to say is it was delicious and totally worth the sacrifices and wait.  Every single thing we have done has been amazing, and I can’t help but smile thinking about what we have packed in so far and what is coming up!

                           

So as I sit here on the OBB Train from Villach to Salzburg, Austria after a 2.5 hour bus ride from Venice, sipping my vino rosso in a juice box, listening to The Lumineers as we wind through the Alps, I cannot help but smile.  

Prost!