Anyhow, no trip to the Bay of Naples or the Amalfi Coast would be complete with a trek through some archaeological ruins. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the famous ones and they are located pretty close to one another, tucked into the congested wonder that is greater Naples. If you find yourself anywhere near this part of the world, you owe it to yourself to see both of them. Pompeii is as massive as Herculaneum is compact and each has its own, though  different charms.

However, situated just north of Naples is the Roman archaeological site that's the least-known least seen. I'm talking about the Stabian Villas, and they are located just outside of Castellammare della Stabia. The Romans called the town Stabiae and just like it's more famous sister cities, it too was wiped out when Vesuvius blew in the year 79. Vesuvius' eruption in 79 was a natural disaster the likes of which the modern world has never seen. A major, productive region of the world's sole super power was wiped off the face of the earth. It would be the equivalent the US of losing greater Los Angeles today. Though Pompeii and Herculaneum get all the attention, the modern city of Naples and its expansive suburbs are all built on top of many smaller cities and towns, none of which will ever see the light of day. But every once in a while someone finds something that can be excavated.

So in 1950, a high school teacher in Castellamare della Stabia found what's now known as the Villa San Marco. The Villa San Marco is a 36,000 square foot single family home and it sat on what was then the shoreline of the Bay of Naples. The Villa San Marco was but one of what are believed to be 150 similar villas that lined that stretch of coastline. Think about it though. A 36,000 square foot single family home. That's enormous by any standard, let alone an ancient one.

The villas of Stabiae were the Roman world's equivalent of Malibu or Aspen. These homes were vacation homes mostly and they belonged to a who's who of the ancient world. Julius Caesar, Cicero, Augustus and the rest of the Classical smart set spent their summers wallowing in the sweet excesses accorded the elites of the Roman world.

Three villas have been excavated since 1950 and the dig is now run as a cooperative effort between the University of Maryland and the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei. It's also open to the public if you know where to find it and who to ask.

Pompeii is a thrill as I mentioned earlier, but it's been so picked over and so many people walk through it every year that it's hard to get a real feel for what life must have been like in Pompeii. Herculaneum's a little less grand and a little less trammeled so the Aha moments are easier to come by. But in Stabiae, the Villa San Marco, the Villa Arianna and the Villa del Pastore and nothing but Aha moments. These villas are remarkably intact and as you walk from room to room you can get a real sense of who these people were.

The Roman elites lived lives that are at once so much the same as ours yet so distant it makes me scratch my head. These people had disposable income, they took vacations, they sent their kids to college, etc. Walking through these massive, luxurious homes is like holding up a 2,000 year-old mirror in a lot of ways.

There's a bedroom in the Villa San Marco that belonged to an adolescent boy. The walls are richly painted and fresco-ed, but on the wall near where his bed was, you can make out where he scratched the names of his favorite gladiators right into the wall. It's the same way a 13-year-old boy would write the names of Evan Longoria or Michael Phelps today. Experiences like that allow a visitor to hold the hands of the ancients and realize that we're not so different after all.

The Stabian Villas are an active archaeological dig and it's not unusual to see the excavations happening before your eyes. The archaeologists doing the digging are passionate about their work to say the least. If you see someone with an ecstatic look on his face who's also covered in dust, ask what he or she's doing. You'll be treated to one of the most remarkable experiences there is; meeting someone with real passion for the work they do and a re-enactment so vivid and true you'll swear it's the year 79 all over again.

This is part of the fresco-ed wall of the boy's bedroom in the Villa San Marco.

This is where the young man's bed would have been. In life, you can see where he scratched the names of his favorite athletes into the wall. Talk about an Aha moment. Geez!

This is Perseus holding the head of Medusa from the Villa San Marco.

So that wraps up my last remembrance of good times and cool stuff in southern Italy. I've been around quite a bit, but no where looms as large for me as Campagnia does. Thanks again to Franki for giving me the chance to write down some of these stories and remember to come find me on my regular blog, Kitchen and Residential Design. Maybe some time down the road Franki and I will do some joint posts on Positano, it seems to hold the same place in our imaginations. Ciao! 

Oh! If you'd like to read more about the Stabian Villas, here's a site in English dedicated to them. Restoring Ancient Stabiae