This morning we got up, packed all of our things, and headed down to the lobby to get breakfast. I was running a little late so I just got a quick slice of cheese and some kind of meat (prosciutto?), then gulped down one of the best cappuccinos I’ve ever had due to the little time left for me to get to the bus. We hopped on the bus and were on our way South. After an hour or so drive we pulled into the parking lot of the Paestum ruins and you could immediately see one of the temples. It was massive! We disembarked the bus and made our way over to the site itself.

We sat down on the rocky area next to the temple closest to the shops and parking lot. This was the Temple of Athena. Dr. Smalley and Dr. van Iersel both gave short lectures at this spot before we were given time to explore the rest of the site which included two other large temples that were dedicated to Hera and other more Greek style architecture and landscapes than we saw in Pompeii.

This is one of the most important sites on our Grand Tour because it was one of the first stops that the Grand Tourists would see, and they took it back to incorporate it into their own architecture. We can still see the influence that this architectural style has had on our own through Greek revival architecture (i.e. UGA’s North Campus).

I really enjoyed this site because of all the time that I spent in high school reading and learning about classical culture. This site allowed for me to “travel” to Greece without actually going there, but I still got to experience the beauty and massiveness of the Greek temples.

After visiting the Site, we walked across to the shops and ate at lunch at a little pizza place before boarding the bus for Naples. The drive into Naples was cool because it was the first really urban area that we had been in not including Rome, which was mostly historical rather than a modern urban setting.

The bus dropped us off right in front of the building where Dr. van Iersel led us in and to our first exhibit room to view the statue of the Farnese Heracles where both professors led a discussion about what there was to see in the museum and the importance of some of the typical pieces that we were later given a chance to explore. Some that we saw included the original Alexander Mosiac, the Cave canum mosaic, the fawn statue, and the Farnese Bull.

After exploring the museum, we boarded the bus and began the journey back to Rome! The ride seemed pretty long until we finally saw the city walls as the sun had started to go down. The bus parked and everyone unloaded and went up to there rooms. This hotel room was a bit nicer than the one we had stayed at back in Pompeii. I want to say that we were on the 5th or 6th floor so opening the window was beautiful to see a little bit above the some of the rest of the buildings. It wasn’t too late yet, so we went out to get dinner and explore a little bit of the city. A few of us broke off from a large group to get to see the Colosseum at night and then head to dinner. The view was stunning the way they had it lit up that night. We then continued down through the typically touristy spots (i.e. forum, wedding cake, etc.), which were all very beautiful to see at night. We made our way towards Piazza Novana to find dinner. We basically just stopped at the first restaurant and I enjoyed getting to know some new friends for the first time on the trip! Afterwards I walked with some of the girls who hadn’t bought a bus ticket back. We made it back to the hotel safely (after walking through some sketchy areas) and I am now heading to bed to get some rest before exploring Rome tomorrow!

Farnese Hercules at Naples Archaeological Museum
Paestum
Amphitheatrum Flavium (The Colosseum)
Paestum
Paestum