When visiting Italy, a highlight has to be visiting the magnificent ruined city of Pompeii. Known most famously for being buried by the great mountain in Italy: Vesuvius, which blew up in 79 A.D., covering the city in ash and pumas stone. The city was preserved so well, that it was/ is one of the highest attractions in the area! Of course, we had to go see it! Here are ten fun facts about Pompeii that I found particularly awesome!
🎥🍿Don’t trust the Movies! There was no lava.
So, the moral of this fact: don’t trust the movies folks! A common misconception about Pompeii is that when the mountain erupted, it also sprayed lava over the city. This is not true. Pompeii was actually so far from Vesuvius that it was only first covered with a layer of pumas stone (you know that rock thing you scrub your feet with? That’s it.), then buried with ash. The ash filled everything, preserving buildings and even bodies for years to come.
No Sewage! 🚰 Despite the Fountains…
Okay – now the Romans were very smart. So smart that we actually still use many of their creations today! For instance, pipes for running water into the city! Of course for the fountains, and… other things. Despite this fact, they failed to make tuning pipes out of the city, for sewage! A solution to this problem? I got you: build sidewalks and some stepping stones every few 100 feet to walk over the lowered part of the streets where the sewage would flow out of the city. Lovely, right? 😄 ahh well good thing the city only lasted a couple of centuries!
Lead pipes 🚱
Even though the pipes were in good order for bringing in water into the city, you must be wondering at this point, “How the heck did they get pipes??” Let me tell you: they used lead… yes, you read the right. The Romans – as smart as they are – used aqueducts and lead pipes to bring water into the city. Supplying the general fountains, stationed around the city, with mostly clean water for drinking, washing, and cleaning. Only a few got lead poisoning… but we don’t talk about that. 😅 (I did drink out of one of the fountains that had a pipe, but this one was completely sanitary and not made out of lead. The water was quite nice and refreshing! I highly recommend it!)
Originally a Waterfront city! 🌊
This is something I did NOT know, but before Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., Pompeii was popular because 1) it was a good-sized city, close to more important cities like Naples and Rome. 2) it was a waterfront city! Over the centuries, the land expanded and Pompeii became an inland city. But can you imagine sailing in and coming to a fun city? Or even better, when you visit the place yourself, see how far the water is. Almost 2 miles (about 3 Kilometers) out!
Roman Fast Food 🍔🐠
Guys guys guys, I’m legit not joking, the Romans had fast food stations! Seriously – on almost every street there are these shops where you can buy food that was most popular for the middle class. In the shops, you had the actual kitchen off to the side and circular holes where you stored the hot food and handed it out to the customers! Primarily fish filets and bread were sold to customers.
NO! Money money money! 💰 🚫
So actually… along with all the other conspiracies about Pompeii, it was NOT a rich city! It was considered a lowly city in the realm of wealth. I find this very hard to believe, for all the extravagant tile work and neat houses seem to protest otherwise. But Pompeii was more of a trading city, and one known for the rich soil on Mount Vesuvius!
Laundry ways!🧺
Alrighty, here is where the history gets a little bit… fun. The following content may seem weird or discussing but I promise you, it’s just history. Now – there are so many things that the Romans did well, am I right? Yes. But you might be wondering about the simpler things like – how did they wash their clothes? Everyone needs clean garments, right? You would be correct again, but I advise you not to use this method of washing at home: the Romans used urine to wash their clothes. I am legit, not joking! You would boil down the pee and mix it with some kinds of soap (usually animal fat), then put the cloths in the boiling contraption, and stir till… clean!(?)
That Fun Arrow to the Fun Place…⬆️
So… another fun fact about Pompeii is that if you look closely at the stones, you will see a particular one, that is shaped like a penis. And, it’s pointing toward the brothel, on the other side of town. The fun fact about this is that the Romans believed that the male genitalia actually meant fertility and prosperity. So – there you go!
Stone Beds – get in, get out. 🪨
As previously mentioned, the penis points towards the brothel, and the brothel has some interesting facts! If you don’t know what a brothel is, here is the cleanest definition I can give you: a house where either gender may visit to pay to have sex. In the Roman century, it was not a problem whether or not each gender had sex with the other, it was pretty much a free-for-all. But the funny thing about this building was that the beds were actually made of stone. They probably had some sort of animal skin covering them or something, but to put it in the short but wise words of our tour guide, “It was more of a get it to get out the situation. You weren’t meant to stay long.” And that was that.
Pink Floyd: Live in the Amphitheater in Pompeii 🎸
This is super cool, but Pink Floyd did a live concert at the amphitheater in Pompeii! The story goes that one of the band members lost his passport at the amphitheater, and went back at dusk to search for it. When he heard the bats in the crickets flying around, he also heard the acoustics in the theater. And he had a thought, “This would be a great place to do a Pink Floyd concert!” In the next few years, they organized things, and it was just the band who played no audience, but they recorded the whole thing. It sounded even better than when they played it at the studio the acoustics were so good. You can now watch the Pink Floyd concert here: Pink Floyd, Live in Pompeii.
Overall, the whole tour was extraordinary and amazing. I highly recommend going, there’s just so much information to learn. If you need tips or recommendations on what to do, you can see my other post here: 5 tips for going to Pompeii. I hope that you have enjoyed learning Peace 10 fun facts are not typically known in textbooks! I even recommend going to the actual place yourself and learning as much as I did. See you in the next post!
