Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives
On Gingerguide's self-guided Pompeii audio tour, Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives is a stop worth about ~20 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type ruins
- Suggested visit ~20 min
- Pompeii Pompeii guide
About Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives
The most emotionally powerful site in Pompeii, a garden where 13 victims were found together in the positions where they fell, overwhelmed by the pyroclastic surge as they tried to escape the eruption.
The Orto dei Fuggiaschi, the Garden of the Fugitives, is the most concentrated and most affecting single display of eruption victims anywhere in Pompeii. In this vineyard garden near the Amphitheatre, excavators found the remains of 13 people who had died together: a group who had apparently been trying to escape the city through the southern district and had been overwhelmed by a pyroclastic surge in this open garden space. Their plaster casts, created using the Fiorelli technique, are displayed in the garden in the positions in which they died: huddled together, some covering their faces, some attempting to protect others, some lying face-down as if they had simply collapsed. The group includes adults and children, which adds to the particular emotional weight of the site. The casts lie in the garden today under a covered walkway that allows visitors to see them close up without disturbing them. It is impossible to stand here without feeling the full weight of what happened at Pompeii on August 24-25, 79 AD.
Did you know? The vineyard in the Orto dei Fuggiaschi has been replanted with the same variety of grape that archaeobotanists identified from carbonised grape seeds found at Pompeii, the wine these vines produce is sold to fund conservation of the site.
How much time do you need at Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives?
Around ~20 min works well for Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives?
Yes — Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives made the cut as one of 15 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Pompeii. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Pompeii
Hear the story of Orto dei Fuggiaschi: Garden of the Fugitives
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