This summer, 10 Students and two faculty members are traveling to Italy to examine the Etruscan, Greek, Roman, medieval, renaissance and modern footprints on the Italian peninsula and in Sicily. Please enjoy this blog post below from Sophia ’26 and Skylar ’27 where they share how the group explored the remarkably preserved ruins of Herculaneum, hiked to the summit of Mount Vesuvius for breathtaking views and volcanic souvenirs, and ended the day with a delicious dinner in Sorrento.
Ciao! Today was full of highlights from this last section of the trip in mainland Italy! We grabbed a bite to eat at La Culla, the convent we are staying at in Sorrento, and headed to the bus for a ride over to the Archeological Park at Herculaneum. After applying some sunscreen and bug spray, we headed through the entrance of the well-preserved city, and into the two museums at the front of the park. Herculaneum, like Pompeii which we also visited, was buried under volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Unlike the site at Pompeii, however, Herculaneum felt more residential, and its smaller cityscape spoke to its role in society, as most wealthy citizens resided in Herculaneum. In the museums, we saw preserved items, furniture, and art from the time, as well as a boat was archeologists restored in 2007-2008. We had about an hour of free time to explore the city, and we noticed beautiful frescoes on the walls of houses, mosaics on the ground, and other structures with columns and organized architecture. Today, the partially-excavated city of Herculaneum rests underneath the modern-day city above it, and it was interesting to see the contrasts between the two building structures. After visiting Herculaneum, we walked to spot for lunch, and had some pizza and gelato before heading back on the bus to begin our hike to the top of Mount Vesuvius.
After the bus drove us the majority of the way up to Vesuvius, we got out and began our hike up the volcano. The incline was quite steep, which made for a challenging hike in the hot sun. Students went up the mountain at their own pace, and it took between 25-35 minutes for each person to make it up. At the top of the mountain there were beautiful views of the bay of Naples. It was incredible. It was also amazing to see inside the volcano. Many people thought that they could smell sulfur and see smoke coming out! At the top of the mountain there was a spot to buy souvenirs, and many people chose to purchase volcanic rock to bring home. For dinner we went to a restaurant located in Sorrento. For antipasti, we had an amazing mozzarella and eggplant dish. For the main course shared a few fish dishes and some meat and vegetarian options for those who don’t eat fish. It was overall an amazing day, and we look forward to the final days of our trip!
