“And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love”

A fallen jewel, a hollow shell, a city that suffered from an untimely demise. The sentiment and melancholy is not lost on visitors as they warily edge their way through the ruins of Pompeii. Broken columns and fissured travertine floors speak of a time when the arcades overflowed with words spoken in a dozen tongues and Roman patricians filled the public Forum. A grand arch chiseled from a single stone remains as a lasting sign of worship at the Temple of Apollo where even its sacred grounds were not exempt from the rage of Mt. Vesuvius. The stone aqueducts and stands of the Amphitheater were once the first of their kind, a revolutionary construction of 80BC that seated up to 20,000 Romans in their gold finery and silk togas. Only the echoes of the shouts and cheers that must have erupted on those grounds remain.

And yet, new life returned to Pompeii even after its fall from glory. Cupolas and bell towers built brick by brick from the donations of believers all over the world add a touch of magnificence to the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary. This site continues to see millions of pilgrims each year, seeking respite at its chapels and naves.

Pompeii might have been razed but from its ashes there emerges a phoenix that continues to enrapture the world.