Writes Michael Bull, Head of Classics
We enjoyed a fantastic trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples last week. The weather was kind to us, the sites were outstanding and the pizza was particularly tasty! We had a very early start to make it to our flight from Heathrow on time on the Sunday, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the BA pilot was going to be none other than our very own Gwilym H.’s (U3rds) father! Upon arrival in Italy, we immediately tried a pala of pizza, essentially a giant slab which served 16 slices in total. With the boys well fed and watered, we hotfooted it to the ancient port city of Ostia, where we were astounded by the outstanding mosaics in particular.
On Monday, we walked down to the Colosseum, where Miss Solomon gave us an excellent background talk and we also bumped into Habs Girls School. It’s a small world! Dr Chiattelli then led an outstanding tour up the Palatine Hill, through the Ancient Forum and off to the Jewish Quarter. We passed the spot where Julius Caesar was murdered, now a cat rescue centre, and also saw the huge Theatre of Marcellus, or ‘the Temu Colosseum’ as Eddie H. (4ths) preferred to refer to it. Finally, we completed a treasure hunt in the Capitoline Museums, where the colossal statue of Constantine was a particular highlight.
Tuesday was our final day in Rome, and we had just enough time to squeeze in the Ara Pacis and the Pantheon, with the obligatory selfie below the oculus in the dome. We then took our bus down to the Bay of Naples, where we settled into our new hotel at Meta Di Sorrento.
Wednesday was a real highlight with most of the day devoted to the site of Pompeii. We saw some very moving plaster casts of the victims, before entering two areas that haven’t previously been open to the public – a stunning overhead walkway, which allows you to look down into a working domus, and the outstanding House of the Vettii, with its extraordinary mythological frescoes. We spent the afternoon at the Villa Poppaea, which supposedly once belonged to the emperor Nero’s wife. We marvelled at the Olympic-size swimming pool, before trying to guess how many tesserae made up the neighbouring floor mosaics. There was just enough time to squeeze in a little retail therapy in Sorrento afterwards to round off the day.
On Thursday we summited Mount Vesuvius, only to be met by some pretty miserable, cloudy weather, thus restricting our view over the Bay of Naples somewhat. Fortunately, the weather cleared by the afternoon for our visit to the stunning site of Herculaneum. The three, compact main roads make for a far more navigable site than Pompeii, and we were delighted to see some original carbonised doors, original exploded glass in the baths and the haunting skeletons in the boathouses.
Our final stop before the flight home on Friday was to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, which houses a large number of the original finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum. We delighted in the richness of the wall frescoes before marvelling at the Farnese collection, particularly the gems and the colossal bull sculpture, the largest single sculpture recovered from the ancient world. There was just time for one last slice of pizza at the airport before flying home for a well-deserved rest!
My thanks go to Miss Solomon and Dr Chiattelli for their outstanding support and expertise in touring the students around the sites, and to the students as well for being such great company. Here’s to Greece in 2028!
