The aristocratic silence of Pompeii – The transition to an exclusive world

The ancient city on the Gulf of Naples still offers fascinating insights into the daily life of a Roman society that was wiped out by a devastating natural disaster almost 2000 years ago. Those who move through the historic alleys enter at a striking intersection through a huge brick arch, which was once used as an invisible border for cart trafficthe morning sun bathes the noble marble and travertine slabs of this monument in a warm salmon glow, while an equestrian statue of Caligula towers overhead. Behind this threshold, a world of absolute silence begins, which is spared even at night from the noisy hustle and bustle of dealers and carriages.

The play of light and shadow

The early rays of the sun are not yet able to fully illuminate the deep pavement, as the tall buildings and the mighty arch allow only sparse patches of light to pass through. These bright spots spread like a frightened flock of pigeons on the wooden shutters and the wide ledges in front of the houses. In this special section of the city, there is a flawlessOrder that immediately captivates the eye of the beholder. Hardworking slaves tirelessly swing their brooms to rid the pavement in front of the magnificent portals of every speck of dust. At the same time, fresh water runs in thin threads over the ornate mosaics that adorn the entrances to the posh estates.

The Rich Aristocrats’ Quarter

Only at the immediate beginning of this boulevard do a few simple inns and taverns crowd together before the architectural dominance of the rich begins. This is followed by one luxuriously decorated entrance portal after another, which shows off the immeasurable prosperity of its inhabitants. In this magnificent and quiet district, which modern research now considers the 6th regionof the city, the leading aristocrats of the society have taken up residence. The children who accompanied us on our way are now gathered in the middle of the street at a mighty fountain of dark lava rock. The clear wet shoots up from the mouth of a water-spouting Mercury figure, while the winged helmet of the deity rises high above the beam.

The naming of ancient paths

Because of this striking structure, the path was given the name Merkurstraße in modern times, although such designations are a pure invention of today. This applies to almost all alleys of the buried metropolis, as we only know the original names from antiquity from three paths. Only the middle road, the salt road and the road to Pompeii contributed to thePast their real names. The researchers of modern times based their designations on the cardinal direction, on special finds or on public buildings. The names of private families who lived in the corresponding alleys also served as inspiration for the modern signposts.

The structure of the neighbourhoods

Of the numerous entrances to the city, only two gates with their ancient names have survived, namely the Salt Gate and the Gate to Urbula. Today, the Salt Gate leads to the famous Mystery Villas, while the other gate points the way into the Sarno Valley. Science suspects that the individual districts played a similarly important role as the historic districts in the citySiena. There, each district forms a small town in the city, where all residents know each other personally and support each other. A former excavation manager and expert on the ancient wall inscriptions confirms that the names of these quarters have actually been handed down to us.

The inhabitants of the different districts

The people around the former Salt Gate referred to themselves as Salinians, as this led to the nearby salt fields. The Campanians lived near the gate to Capua, while the commuters inhabited the area around the Forum and the Sea Gate. However, the historical sources are largely silent about the exact customs and practices of these individual districts.Research concealed whether there were joint celebrations or whether the residents called other districts by swear names. We are now exactly in that district of the Salinians, where the lack of any house numbers on the facades immediately catches the eye.

The challenge of finding an address

Without any numerical marking of the houses, one inevitably wonders how a Roman messenger could ever find a particular recipient. Even a modern navigation system would fail completely in such a maze without numbered targets. However, a crucial reference to the ancient address system can be found in an engraved wall message, which is reminiscent of a famousActress recalls. This inscription reveals that the great star of the city lived in Nuceria, and at the same time shows the exact methodology of Roman addressing. The inquirer was instructed to search for the named person in the city of Nuceria near the Roman gate in the quarter of Venus.

From Antiquity to Modern Research

This system follows a clear logic that calls first the city, then the gate, then the neighborhood, and lastly the name of the resident. Such an approach is strongly reminiscent of today’s habits when you are asked for a certain way in a shop and only mention approximate landmarks. If you visit the excavation site today, you will come across city maps with RomanDigits for the different regions, which were completely unknown in antiquity. Rather, this division into nine areas comes from an important historical excavation leader in the 19th century. He introduced a uniform numbering of all blocks and residential units, which still determines the orientation for visitors today.

The climb to Mercury Tower

After these historical reflections, we continue our walk and follow the children happily dancing along Merkurstraße. At the end of the path, one of the city’s 13 watchtowers juts out into the sky, which modern times have named after the god of commerce. The children discover an open door and immediately storm up the narrow spiral staircase, where we take them at a leisurely pacethe tower has three levels, halfway up we reach the same level as the tour on the massive city wall. Once at the top, we push open the heavy wooden door and scare a large flock of pigeons into the blue sky.

The breathtaking view over the rooftops

We lean over the stone battlements and enjoy a completely unique view of the awakening hustle and bustle of the metropolis. Pompeii presents itself with an endless escape of red tiled roofs and small terraces, partly adorned with golden statues. On other rooftops, colorful cloths dry in the gentle morning wind, while white columns salute over from the nearby forum.A little further in the background, the coloured friezes of the theatre glow, and in the southeast, the huge round of the amphitheatre arches. Gradually, the city gets louder, even if the morning smell of freshly baked bread is still floating above the rooftops.

The deceptive tranquility of the mountain

Suddenly, the stony ground under our feet swayed, and the birds on the battlements rushed away in panic in all directions. This earthquake lasts for an unusually long time, which is probably due to our exposed position high up on the tower. Instinctively, we turn to the mighty mountain as if it had patted us on the shoulder with an invisible hand. However, over there iseverything is quiet, and the volcano presents itself in a deceptively peaceful and almost paradisiacal shape. Behind the massive city walls, the lush vineyards and fields rise almost to the summit, interrupted by individual farms.

The unstoppable end of an idyll

This idyllic landscape makes the volcano appear as a completely natural and harmless part of the environment. It is hard to imagine that all this splendor and beauty will be buried forever under ashes and pumice by tomorrow. The unstoppable countdown, which began in secret many centuries ago, is nearing its devastating end.