Ercolano

I flew into Naples pretty late at night, but enjoyed the view of the moon over Mt. Vesuvius.

I only had one day.  The plan was to get someone to take me down the Amalfi coast for the day.  Cost: $450.00.  Uh no.  So, I decided to rent a car.  Cost for an automatic: $350.00.  Uh no.  So, instead I took public transportation for less than $40.00.  Sweet.

The last time I was in Italy, it was Pompeii.  This trip: first stop, Herculaneum (Ercolano).  After the eruption in 79 AD the city was buried under 60 feet of ash.

Interesting facts about Herculaneum: A succession of six flows and surges buried the city's buildings from the bottom up, causing little damage and preserving structures, objects and victims almost intact. The surprisingly good state of preservation is due to several factors:

1. The rapid and complete filling and covering of Herculaneum buildings and the town itself by the ash surges preserved most of structures from collapse.
2. The intense heat of the first pyroclastic surge carbonized organic materials and extracted the water from them.
3. The signs of bone carbonization and the preservation of victims' joint connections indicate that most soft body tissues were destroyed by the intense heat and then replaced rapidly by ash. The heat of the ash was sufficient to vaporize most of the organic matter.
4. The deep (up to 25 meters), dense tuff formed an airtight seal over Herculaneum for 1,700 years

Ancient doors petrified in time with ash and soot.

Skeletons of people waiting to be rescued at the harbor.