02-07-2012, 08:41 PM
If you're going for a week you should definitely visit the villa at Oplontis - it's a huge site, still largely intact, and probably the best surviving example of a Roman villa suburbana in the world. It's quite close to Pompeii, and accessible by the circumvesuviana railway that runs between Naples and Sorrento. Get off at Torre Annunziata (one of the scuzziest and most graffitoed of the many scuzzy and graffitoed towns around the Bay of Naples) and follow the signs for the villa - it's about a ten minute walk from the station.
When you visit Herculaneum, you might try getting access to the Villa of the Papyrii excavation - it's outside the main site, just across the road that runs down towards the sea. You'd have to book a visit in advance, but you can do this on-line. Sometimes it's open, sometimes not. Not much of the building is visible, but it's an amazing experience just to see how much solid rock was dug away to expose the ruins - you can stand on the front portico of what was once a luxurious villa, staring out at a wall of dripping tufa and trying to imagine the sweeping sea views that the villa's inhabitants would once have enjoyed...
* One more - still on the villa theme. If you walk out along the coast south of Sorrento (or take a bus, to avoid the hectic Italian coastal traffic), you'll get to the remains of the villa of Pollius Felix at Capo di Sorrento, set in a dramatic position on a rocky outcrop above a natural pool. Allegedly, this was the inspiration for the poem by Statius... Location and views are better than actual remains, but it's worth the trip.
When you visit Herculaneum, you might try getting access to the Villa of the Papyrii excavation - it's outside the main site, just across the road that runs down towards the sea. You'd have to book a visit in advance, but you can do this on-line. Sometimes it's open, sometimes not. Not much of the building is visible, but it's an amazing experience just to see how much solid rock was dug away to expose the ruins - you can stand on the front portico of what was once a luxurious villa, staring out at a wall of dripping tufa and trying to imagine the sweeping sea views that the villa's inhabitants would once have enjoyed...
* One more - still on the villa theme. If you walk out along the coast south of Sorrento (or take a bus, to avoid the hectic Italian coastal traffic), you'll get to the remains of the villa of Pollius Felix at Capo di Sorrento, set in a dramatic position on a rocky outcrop above a natural pool. Allegedly, this was the inspiration for the poem by Statius... Location and views are better than actual remains, but it's worth the trip.
Nathan Ross
