Pompeii A City Of Death Lives On

< i>It's Europe - without          that have weathered such utter     the cost, without the           circumstances. Marvel at the       politics, and without the       citizens' names that will live on  other thousands of tourists!      forever in the clinging paint on                                         their homes. Imagine the marble    Amid the hardened ash and pumice      splendor of the mighty Temple of   of a two-thousand year old            Apollo and the other religious     disaster lies a city so perfectly     icons of the day. Ponder what it   preserved, it sparks the              would have been like to live in    imagination of even the most          this flourishing city that was at  indifferent visitor. Pompeii has      its zenith when Vesuvius began to  become more of a living museum        grumble its ominous warning.       than an excavation site since its                                        discovery in the 1700s. Millions      The excavation of Pompeii has      flock to the ancient Italian city     been nothing short of              to explore this pristine time         astonishing. Such care has been    capsule that has taken over 250       taken since the beginning of its   years to be slowly and delicately     unearthing that we are able to     uncovered.                            see a clear snapshot of the city                                         on its last fateful day in AD 79.  It takes at least one full day to     Simple terra cotta containers for  be able to truly take in all of       oil and wine, giant millstones,    Pompeii's many intricate              iron farm tools, and decorative    discoveries. Walk the stone           columns have been protected for    streets where only the wind and       2,000 years in a heavy blanket of  birds now reside, wondering how       ash and serve as witnesses to      much more of the town's secrets       everyday life.                     await resurrection. Take in the                                          magnificent beauty of elaborate       The most shocking is the presence  mosaics and colorful frescoes         of Vesuvius' victims. As the       digging began, empty cavities         the looting while trying to        were found among the layers of        escape the catastrophe. Another    volcanic debris. Archeologists        cast portrays a frightened dog     soon realized that each void was      fruitlessly fighting against the   actually where a body had long        chain that held him captive. Each  since decomposed. Plaster was         plaster mold projects such an      poured into the empty spaces to       intense emotion that visitors are  create molds of the bodies, which     sometimes moved to tears at the    are chillingly detailed – their       profound loss of life that         writhing agony during a               Pompeii exhibits.                  suffocating death, the terror on                                         their faces, even the way their       Despite its constant reminder of   hair was styled that day are          death and destruction, Pompeii     frozen forever in the casts. Some     proves that life continues to      were found fleeing for their          overcome obstacles as the vines    lives while others were found         and blossoms thrive among the      curled up on floors and beds with     silent ruins. A sleeping Vesuvius  their hands covering their faces.     remains as a visual remembrance    One cast depicts a thief with his     that life is precious and the      hand in the purse of a wealthy        unexpected could happen at any     man who is seemingly unaware of       moment.                            About the Author: Vicki Landes is the author and photographer of Europe for the Senses, a Photographic Journal. She has been soaking up Europe for the last six years and has visited 42 countries. Learn more at Europe for the Senses. Published At: www.Isnare.com