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So Confused! Pompei, Herculaneum or Ostia Antica?

So Confused! Pompei, Herculaneum or Ostia Antica?

Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 06:15 AM
  #21  
 
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ttrent,

I think your plan to be flexible is a good one and make your choice in Rome.

Despite A-Brit-in-Ischia's lack of imagination, no less a personage than Rick Steves has written that he finds Ostia Antica the more engaging place to be compared with Pompeii.

Ostia Antica

By Rick Steves

The Roman port of Ostia is easier to visit than Pompeii (which is four hours south of Rome by train). And, in some ways, it's more interesting. Because Ostia was a working port town, it shows a more complete and gritty look at Roman life than wealthy Pompeii. Wandering around today, you'll see the remains of the docks, warehouses, apartment flats, mansions, shopping arcades, and baths that served a once-thriving port of 60,000 people. ...

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...taly/ostia.htm
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Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 06:45 AM
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Yes, kwren, you're right -- all my information gathering had me second guessing our initial plans. Thank you so much, Peter, for these terrific resources! And you have some stunning photos posted. Absolutely loved the one with the sun glistening on the water -- amazing shot.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 06:59 AM
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And zeppole, I don't disagree -- if it was just my husband and I, we would go to Ostia Antica instead, especially given the rest of our schedule. For my girls, though, their prior knowledge and the "hook" of the Pompei story (as they say in education circles), is what will capture their imagination and make the experience more meaningful I think. There's simply a connection there that would be great to take advantage of, where they can react emotionally as well as intellectually.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 07:17 AM
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Actually, I think Rick Steves is wrong. While Ostia was a working port city, so was Pompeii. Herculaneum was the resort town. Ostia has a great deal to offer and given the time frame and season, might be the better choice. However, it lacks the "frozen in time" sensation of both Herculaneum and Pompeii, as well as the spectacular murals, mosaics and architecture.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 07:24 AM
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Far be it for me to contradict such a source, but Pompei is most definitely not "four hours south of Rome by train" - nor in fact is even Florence these days!

From Termini the journey down to Naples now takes 70 minutes, and then it's 35 minutes on the Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi - under two hours.

Your might care to be the one to inform the illustrious personage?

Peter

PS - "Lack of imagination"?
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Old Nov 3rd, 2010, 07:35 AM
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>>Despite A-Brit-in-Ischia's lack of imagination, no less a personage than Rick Steves has written that he finds Ostia Antica the more engaging place to be compared with Pompeii.
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Old Nov 4th, 2010, 12:51 AM
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Whilst speaking of differing opinions, just a little more from the RS site....

Of Ostia...
"And, in some ways, it's more interesting. Because Ostia was a working port town, it shows a more complete and gritty look at Roman life than wealthy Pompeii. Wandering around today, you'll see the remains of the docks, warehouses, apartment flats, mansions, shopping arcades, and baths that served a once-thriving port of 60,000 people."

And yet, of Pompei...
"Not rich, not poor, it was middle class — a perfect example of typical Roman life. Most streets would have been lined with stalls and jammed with customers from sunup to sundown. Chariots vied with shoppers for street space. Two thousand years ago, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean — making it a kind of free-trade zone — and Pompeii was a central and bustling port. There were no posh neighborhoods in Pompeii. Rich and poor mixed it up as elegant houses existed side by side with simple homes. While nearby Herculaneum would have been a classier place to live (traffic-free streets, fancier houses, far better drainage), Pompeii was the place for action and shopping."

Bets hedged?

.........................

To best understand Ostia Antica - if that is what you eventually choose - try to go on one of the days when it's also possible to visit the remains near the unusual hexagonal harbour at nearby Portus, of which you may have had a glimpse from the plane?

For more about that, see... http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/portus

Peter
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Old Nov 4th, 2010, 04:48 AM
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Wow, now we're quoting Rick Steves?!
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Old Nov 4th, 2010, 09:05 AM
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Unquoting, if that's not too imaginative word for me to use?

Peter
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