There is one through train a day from from Cinque Terre to Naples. As the train leaves at 5:28 am, it was an early start. The train followed the coast through Pisa and Rome arriving in Naples at 12:30.
We connected to the narrow guage Circumvesuvia train to Pompei. In 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius erupted in two stages. In the first stage, the volcano rained down small rocks on the city to a depth of 6 meters. The next day, an explosive plume of ash and noxious gas erupted, burying many who had survived the rock onslaught. In the museum at Pompei, there was a rather macabre display of castings of the cavities left by bodies in the hardened ash.
Pompei was a very large city, and the on-going excavations have revealed vivid frescoes in many houses depicting Pompeian life and people. There is a different casa del giorno (house of the day) that they open on different days of the week to help preserve the fragile artefacts. We saw Villa Imperiale today.
Back to the train to complete the Circumvesuviana's run to Sorrento, with a connection to the bus over the hills to the Amalfi coast. The ride was literally nauseating as the driver flew around narrow, virtiginous, blind curves, then screeched on the brakes if a car were already in the narrow roadway. We passed many bus stops with waiting passengers as the bus was already jammed full (1) (2).
We took a moment to collect ourselves after getting off the bus in Praiano and vowed to walk or swim when we left; anything to avoid the bus. Our hotel was a small family run establishment with sweeping views to the end of Amalfi Penninsula and the Ile of Capri.
(1) In late afternoon, the bus runs only once every 90 minutes.
(2) The ticket taker had a side hustle selling masks to those without, as he would not let you on the bus without one.
Frescoes and carvings in Pompei
Recently excavated house
Some wall section with well-preserved frescoes were moved into the on-site museum
Macabre castings from cavities in the ash
At Villa Imperiale, La Casa del Giorno
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