Pompeii Sites Reviews 7

The ticket system is a joke even if you have booked on the internet. Only italiens can organize things as stupid as done. Waiting time to get in was about 1.5 hour out of season.....take a virtual tour on youtube and save money and time.....never again......and when you leave there is 40 min waiting time to get a train ticket.......

I strongly encourage the venue to get its bag policy in order, so that it applies to EVERYONE or NO ONE - and especially so that visitors are clearly informed in advance of any new rules.

In this context, I would like to emphasize that as an art historian, I fully understand if the decision is made to not allow backpacks on the premises as a way to protect our shared cultural heritage. If that's the case, then so be it.

On April 4, 2023 at around 11:00am, I visited Pompeii with my travel group. We all brought backpacks with us, mostly for day trip purposes. As one of two people out of a total of 18 in our group, I had my backpack confiscated at the entrance to sector eight on the pretext that it was too big, while several other visitors with identical sized backpacks were allowed in without any issues. When we went to retrieve our bags hours later, only our two confiscated backpacks were there - no one else's.

Initially, my backpack also contained my lined bag with my DSLR camera, which I naturally took out at the entrance. Therefore, my backpack was neither bigger nor smaller than the rest of the group's, or the other tourists' for that matter. Yet, I had to leave it in the museum shop - so that the guard at the entrance could save face, was my clear impression. This is not okay.

As a result, because the confiscation had to be done in a hurry so that my group could start the tour, I ended up walking around Pompeii for several hours without a hat, without food, and without my indoor glasses. The latter was especially missed by a nearsighted art historian, who can at most hope to visit the excavation twice in her life.

This is not an acceptable way to treat your visitors. Therefore - please be clear about the rules and have consistent regulations for everyone 😊

På dansk:

Jeg vil meget opfordre til, at stedet får styr på sin taskepolitik, så den enten gælder ALLE eller INGEN – og ikke mindst så besøgende på forhånd oplyses klart og tydeligt om eventuelle nye regler.

I den forbindelse vil jeg gerne understrege, at jeg som kunsthistoriker har fuld forståelse for, hvis man som led i at passe på vores fælles kulturarv træffer beslutning om, at rygsække slet ikke må medbringes på stedet. Så er det naturligvis sådan, det er.

Den 4. april 2023 omkring kl. 11.00 besøgte jeg Pompeji sammen med min rejsegruppe. Vi medbragte alle stort set enspakkede rygsække til dagstursbrug. Som den ene ud af to i et selskab på i alt 18 fik jeg i al hast konfiskeret min rygsæk ved indgangen i sektor otte under påskud om, at den var alt for stor, samtidig med at jeg kunne stå og se adskillige besøgende med fuldstændig ens størrelser rygsække gå direkte ind. Ved afhentningen timer senere stod der da også kun vores to konfiskerede rygsække – ingen andres.

I min rygsæk var indledningsvis også min forede taske med mit spejlreflekskamera, og begge dele tog jeg naturligvis op i forbindelse med indgangen. Dermed var min rygsæk hverken større eller mindre end resten af selskabets, eller de øvrige turisters for den sags skyld. Alligevel skulle den efterlades i museumsbutikken – så vagten ved indgangen undgik at tabe ansigt, var mit klare indtryk. Det er ikke i orden.

Resultatet var – fordi konfiskationen skulle foregå i al hast, så mit selskab kunne komme i gang med rundvisningen – at jeg kom til at gå rundt i flere timer i Pompeji uden hat, uden mad og uden mine briller til indendørsbrug. Især sidstnævnte var noget af et savn for en nærsynet kunsthistoriker, som nok højst kan påregne at komme forbi udgravningen to gange i sit liv.

Det er ikke en ok måde at behandle sine besøgende på. Derfor - meld klart ud, og hav ens regler for alle 😊