Archaeological Areas of Pompei and District of Casale and Santo Strato

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Archaeological Areas of Pompei

   Pompeii is the most famous ruin in the world, and it deserves its fame in a way that is hard to explain until you have walked its streets. In AD 79 Vesuvius erupted for two days, burying the town under about four metres of pumice and ash, and what was left was a Roman provincial city caught mid-sentence, with graffiti on the walls, loaves in an oven and a dog chained in a doorway. The letters of Pliny the Younger describe the eruption from across the bay, and they are the first account of a volcanic event by an eyewitness. Excavations began in 1748, and about two-thirds of the town is now uncovered.

   Read the complete Archaeological Areas of Pompei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Areas of Pompei is where the day begins. Next is Herculaneum.

2. 2. Herculaneum

   On the morning of 24 August in AD 79, as the story is usually told, Vesuvius blew its top, and Herculaneum, a small seaside town on the Bay of Naples, was buried under around twenty metres of volcanic material. Pompeii gets the headlines because it was buried in ash and pumice, but Herculaneum was overwhelmed by superheated surges of gas and ash, and that violence did something kinder to the evidence: it carbonised wood. Roof beams, doors, beds, shop shutters and even food were preserved in a way that Pompeii cannot match, and the town feels smaller, closer and more intact.

   Read the complete Herculaneum write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Herculaneum comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is District of Casale and Santo Strato.

3. 3. District of Casale and Santo Strato

   Posillipo takes its name from a Greek phrase meaning a pause from pain, and the Romans, who knew a good view when they saw one, covered the ridge with villas. It is the green promontory that divides the Bay of Naples from the Gulf of Pozzuoli, a hill of soft yellow tuff thrown up by the volcanoes of the Phlegraean Fields, and its western slope falls into the sea in cliffs and small coves. The Casale and Santo Strato district sits on the sea side of the hill, where terraced gardens, old walls and tiny ports survived the building boom that swallowed so much of Naples.

   Read the complete District of Casale and Santo Strato write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 36 km into the recorded legs you reach District of Casale and Santo Strato. Next is back through Herculaneum.

4. 4. back through Herculaneum

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Herculaneum write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Herculaneum, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Areas of Pompei.

5. 5. Archaeological Areas of Pompei

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Areas of Pompei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Archaeological Areas of Pompei. That is the ride.