Pompei
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| During
their unhappy
stay in Naples,
the Shelleys
attempted
to distract
themselves
with excursions
to local
archaeological
sites. On
5 December
1818, they
visited Herculaneum
and
admired the
ruined theater
overlooking
the site. |
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| On 17 December, the party climbed Vesuvius. |
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| Shelley
and Mary
rode mules,
but Claire,
who was ill
(or possibly
pregnant
with Shelley's
child) was
carried in
a sedan chair
borne by
four men.
Although the
party would
have enjoyed
a magnificent
prospect
of the Bay
of Naples,
the
trip overall
was a disaster:
as Richard
Holmes
notes in
Shelley:
The
Pursuit, "Mary
exhausted
herself,
Claire was
practically
abandoned
by her guides
in the dark,
and Shelley
became extremely
ill during
the descent
by torchlight,
with an
agonizing
pain in
his
side,
and virtually
collapsed
at the
guides'
hermitage
in a 'state
of intense
bodily
suffering'" (463). |
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| Undaunted, however, Shelley organized another sightseeing
trip just before Christmas: a visit to Pompei Scavi. This
expedition was far less grueling, and far more enjoyable.
The party was especially impressed by the temples of Apollo
and Jupiter. (Vesuvius can be seen here in the background.) |
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