Port of Salerno - Excursion to the Ruins of Herculaneum (Ercolano)

Tuesday was again hot as we left the Port of Salerno to head towards Naples (Napoli) and the ruins of Herculaneum (Ercolano).

Here is a photo from our balcony of Salerno, a pretty town propped up on the side of the mountain here on the famous Amalfi Coast.

After about 30 minutes on the highway, we arrived at a cameo factory for a quick stop.

Then we headed off to the ruins.

Ercolano is very well preserved, better than Pompeii which we saw years ago. Ercolano was also covered by the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. 

Here is a photo from the top road. 

It shows how low down the land was 2000 years ago. Only 30% of the town is excavated so alot is still underground.

It's hard to imagine but in those days the sea arrived here yet the sea today it far away. That is because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which created a new shore line and also raised the level of the land to the level seen today. 

We started off at the Ercolano beach where we see these beachside porticos where it seems people gathered to try to escape the eruption but instead were entombed. The skeletons in the photos are quite eery seen up close.

Then we continued our walk along the streets and saw a range of public buildings and residences. 

The streets are the original Roman streets.

It's amazing to imagine that we were walking through a 2000 year old city. 

Below is a photo of a public eatery, they stored the hot food in the vases.

This mosaic floor is so well preserved.

Our guide, Luigi, was very informative and told us many interesting things about the town and it's way of life all those years ago.

After the tour it was time to head back to the port of Salerno by bus. We were very hot and tired by this point so the bus was a nice place to come back to.

Now back on the ship and ready to relax.

Another culture and sun filled day.