Pompeii

 

May 9th, 2014

Up early and out the door, we're off to the place that until today we have known only in the movies. The train ride is only about a half hour long through little Italian towns that undoubtedly have their own history in this land that is so rich in history. We arrive at the Pompeii Scavi station and head towards the reception area of this archeological site. After paying our entry fee of 11 euro each, we head up the hill to the ancient city gates. As we walk we see what's left of what was once a thriving city whose life was snuffed out on an August afternoon in 79 AD under 30 feet of volcanic ash and stone.

At the time of the eruption Pompeii was undergoing reconstruction after having been nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 67AD. Many of the columns were being constructed for the important buildings and temples. The columns themselves were made by constructing brick pieces around a solid core then covering the surface with plaster.

Pompeii as a city was founded in 600 BC and was a bustling city of 20,000 people. From its Greek and Estrucan roots, Pompeii became a very important Roman city. Streets were carefully maintained and laid out much like any modern city, they even imbedded little pieces of marble in the street so that when the marble reflected the moon light or the light of a lantern, a person could see where they were headed. They built a 100 mile long aqueduct to bring water from the hills to supply their homes, baths and the fountains which were on many corners to quench a persons thirst. The city featured shops like any other, there were the snack bars of the day where Pompeian's could go  before their evening meal at home and have a snack while visiting with friends. There was the central market place selling goods and groceries. The forum was the center of the city, resplendent with statutes and 2 story buildings where government and business was conducted.

And of course there were the brothels the biggest of which is known as the Lupanare. Prostitutes were called lupe (she wolves) alluding to the call they made when trying to attract customers.  A stone bed and stone pillow with a mattress on top was where business was conducted. Frescoe wall paintings above the beds probably alluded to the menu of services that were available for customers.

Gerri and I walked for hours to discover much of this ancient city. As with most places in Italy, there is so much to see and learn that you can never fit it all in on the limited time that is available. We finally called it quits and after a 6 hour visit we headed back to the train station for the trip back to Sorrento.

 

This is a plaster cast of one of the victims caught in his final moments.

A Jaunt to Capri

May 8th, 2014

Across the Bay of Naples lies the Island of Capri. Having heard it mentioned in the past and being so close, we decided to hop on the jet boat from Sorrento to take a look at what people talk about. The trip takes about a half hour on a boat that is basically  hydro jet powered, instead of a propellor, you will see a big plume of water as the boat slices through the sea.

Capri was once the summer home for Roman emperors who would travel there every summer to escape the heat in Rome. Emperor Tiberius in fact found that the political heat was easily avoided the longer he stayed in Capri. 

We had heard that Capri is favored by the group led tourists with name tags on and travelling like a ravenous pack. Unfortunately what we heard was right. Immediately upon landing at Marina Grande, there were no less than 8 buses waiting to pick up tour groups to take them up the mountain to central Capri. We waited for a city bus and spent our 1.80 euro for a quieter ride up streets that were barely wide enough for the bus. Once we reached our destination we traipsed around to see what we could find. To us the most interesting thing was the church, a beautiful one, that was built in the 1600's. Everything that we saw spoke of money. Capri seems to have always appealed to the jet setting type of people who go there to be noticed. There are shops galore that beg you to spend your money on high end clothes and accessories. We stopped at a restaurant looking for a light lunch, the ham and cheese sandwich that Gerri had, and the basic lettuce and tomato sandwich that I had, along with 2 soft drinks, set me back 28.00 euro. Not a bargain at all.

To be fair, had we allowed more time to take a road tour around the island, we probably would have more to say about it. But having been spoiled by Sorrento, we just wanted to take an early boat back, and so we did.

Arriverderci Roma! Ciao Sorrento!

May 6th and 7th

We left Rome yesterday on the Italian raiilways Frecciarosa. The train is a high speed connection that rolls through the Italian countryside so that we arrived in Naples after a 1 hour ride. We then took a local commuter train to Sorrento which was another hour away but in no way as comfortable a ride as the train from Rome. Nevertheless we arrived in Sorrento, walked a few blocks to our apartment and instantly fell in love with Sorrento. The apartment is in an old but upgraded building which is no surprise in a lot of Italy. We were met by the landlady who led us past the massive front doors and up to the 3rd level where she checked us into our apartment. The apartment is a great little place with a nice outside terrace which we have made use of for our morning latte and our evening wine down. 

Our initial plans were to see a little of Sorrento then take a day trip to Naples, but after reading of the bad service on the hop on hop off bus and all the warnings about pick pockets, the dirt and grime and everything, we decided to stay put in this little jewel of Sorrento. We spent today exploring the town and finding shops with all kinds of goods ranging from the typical souvenir items to fine leather goods and clothing. A thing that I like is that all the shops proudly proclaim their goods to be Made In Italy. The porcelin plates, the knick knack refrigerator magnets and as well as inlaid wood and other art pieces are proudly hand made in Italy. A pleasant relief from what is usually sold in other places.

When you arrive in Sorrento you arrive in a city that has many modern attributes yet preserves its history with Italian pride. Piazza Tasso is the main square where everyone meets to be where the action is. The piazza spans a gorge that until the 19th century divided the town but some of its Greek heritage is preserved in the "old" part of town. The name Sorrento came from the Greek word "siren" the mythical half bird, half woman. The sirens who were said to have lived on an nearby island and would sing their enchanting lullaby that would lure passing sailors to their death. The Greek hero, Ulysses bound and determined to hear the sirens song put wax in his oarsmans ears, tied himself to the the forward mast of his ship and sailed towards the sirens. Thinking that they had lost all their powers the sirens then threw themselves into the sea making this a safe place for man. And so the story of Greece's westward expansion was told.

Gerri and I spent Wednesday just exploring the town. At the gorge we climbed down the stairway, carved in the 5th century b.c., to get to the Marina Piccola where we intended to scout out details for going to Capri the next day. We then found our way back up to the top (foregoing the mordern elevator that we could have taken) by taking an ancient walkway that climbed up the sheer cliff in a serpentine way. After many picture/catch your breath stops, we were finally at the top. After all that exertion we still had energy to visit more shops and then we came across a chocoholics paradise. A chocolate shop that created all kinds of specialties including a limoncello filled delight! After sampling our way through the store we got out of there and went off to look for the perfect gelato again.

We finally headed back to our apartment. As the bells in the cathedral tower pealed their evening call, we are again reminded of ancient traditions that forged this country and the birth of modern civilization.

Buonanotte!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

May 4th and 5th

Yesterday and today were basically kick back days for Gerri and I. By that I mean we had no schedules to keep and we didn't walk our usual 10 miles a day. We made plans to get on the hop on hop off bus so that we could rest up and ride around the city. That was a first for us as we had not done that in our previous visit to Rome.

We caught the bus by the Colosseum and headed out to see the sights from the upper level of the double decker bus. It was a relief to kick back, enjoy the sights and drive through some areas that we hadn't been through before. I highly recommend the hop on hop off buses for any city you might visit.Using  the buses gives you a good lay of the land so that you can map out things for further exploration.

We had 2 main objectives for the day and the first was to visit Castel Sant Angelo. The castel is a short distance from the Vatican and was built by Emperor Hadrian (117-39 a.d.) as his residence and sepulchre. The castel was originally in an area of aristocratic villas, sort of like the high rent district of its time. Hadrian eventually had his mausoleum built on the uppermost level. We hadn't visited it before and were only made aware of it because of a program that we saw on television. Walking into this massive structure we were impressed with the thickness of the walls which appeared to be about 5 feet thick. You walk up winding ramps which lead to each of the 3 levels with the 3rd level being the site of Hadrian's mausoleum built there because Hadrian wanted it to be higher than anything in the city. From this level you have a magnificent view of the city and of the Vatican. In the 6th century work began to turn the castel into a fortress. The outer wall was built with pentagon shaped outposts at each of its 4 corners to allow for an obstructed all around view. The outer wall also housed the prison and chapels one of which was in St. Clemente Courtyard. That chapel was known depending on which side of the political spectrum you leaned towards as either the Chapel of St. Clemente or the Chapel of The Condemned for those who were allowed to pray there before being led out to be executed in the courtyard. We left the castel to attend to another objective, dinner time!

After dinner we went back to our apartment to rest up before our next objective, which was to be at Trevi Fountain at night time. Trevi fountain is so popular that no matter what time of day you go there, you will always find throngs of people. My goal was to take a nighttime picture of the fountain to add to the day light ones that I had taken on our last trip to Rome. On the way to Trevi Fountain from our apartment, we passed through Piazza Quirinale or the Presidential Palace. The sentries there last night looked more ceremonial than anything else even though they did have a rifle with them. Today the sentries looked a lot more than ceremonial as they stood there at attention with a machine gun held at the ready.

Ever since we arrived in Rome we have been on the hunt for the perfect gelato. When we were in Florence 2 years ago we learned that the best gelato is one where the containers are kept in covered refrigeration to maintain its temperature and thereby its flavor and consistency.  We were also told that you never wanted the gelato that was heaped up into a big mound because the flavor and consistency was  compromised from being exposed like that. Since we arrived here we had looked but could not find the perfect gelato place. We finally gave up because we figured that the Romans just did not know gelato as they do in Florence which is the birthplace of gelato. We tried a couple of places that were ok, but just not that great. Until last night when we found nirvana! While wandering around the nearby streets of Trevi Fountain we by chance came upon a store that made and served gelato in the Florentine tradition. We each had a serving and knew that we had found the real thing! The flavor and consistency was what we had come to know in Florence. It was so good that after tonights superb dinner, we walked all the back to Trevi Fountain so could get some more!

Well it's been a tiring few days. We've seen a lot that we hadn't seen here 2 years ago. This city is so amazing when you consider that this is really the birthplace of western civilization. The imperial greatness of Rome left its mark on all of mankind. As normal building projects turn up even more of its ancient history you come to realize that with all you think you know, there is still more to learn.

We head out to Sorrento tomorrow. Let's see what we find there. Arriverderchi!

Stories of Old

Saturday, May 4th.

Rome is a city of fountains fed by aqueducts from long ago. Each fountain has a story behind it and was usually commissioned by a powerful family to impress upon others their power and wealth and to demonstrate their fealty to the church. After the fall of the Roman Empire and through the Dark Ages, Italy was invaded by countless enemies such as the French and the Barbarians giving rise to powerful families as rulers. From the Medici's of Florence to the Barberini's of Rome, each family ruled with absolute power and in many cases with abject cruelty. The Barberini's were so ruthless it's said that "what the Barbarians didn't do, the Barberini's did."

 Gerri and I got a late start as we had until 2:00 pm to meet with our next tour, which turned out to be a real eye opener. We met at Piazza Barberini under a statute sculpted by a very well known sculptor named Bernini. Again our group was small and engaging which was to prove to be fortunate considering what we were about to see.

From the Piazza we took a short walk to the Church of Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione or commonly known as the Capuchin Crypt. The church was founded by the Capuchin order, known for their adherence to their vow of poverty. Today the order can be found in many countries tending to the poor and disadvantaged. Perhaps through their simple life and within their introspection they somehow came up with the idea of what to do with the remains of 4,000 of their predecessors that had died of natural causes. 

Each body was taken from it's final resting place and the bones of each were used to make distinct chapels. The bones are carefully arranged as an integral part of each chapel according to the part of the body that the bone served. For instance there is a chapel of arms, one of femurs and one of pelvic bones. Each chapel is unique and rather than being macabre it tends to remind one not only of their mortality but also the respect that one should give their own life.

Our next stop was a completely different story. We hopped onto a bus and drove to the Catacombs of Priscilla. Ancient Rome being  small and overcrowded would not allow dead bodies to be buried in the city limits. In order to dispose of dead bodies the Romans built catacombs outside of the city. From the recption area we descended into an experience that you just don't find every day. In it's day the catacombs were used not only as the final resting place of Romans but also as secret meeting places for Christians. Niches were dug out in which bodies were placed for burial after being wrapped in no more than oil soaked cloths, families would then create memorials at the resting place of their loved one. You can still see areas where a type of plaster material would be spread on the wall and ceiling of each burial niche and then decorated with early Christian symbols and pictures depicting a Christian teaching.  As you walk through the maze you can't help but feel closed in. You look above and around yourself as the walls and ceiling of these crudely built tunnels seem to swallow you up. As you walk, just inches above your head you can see the roots of the plant life above you as if to taunt you as you descend lower and lower into what for most had become an abyss of death. You look past the modern lights installed to give visitors like yourself some reassurance that there is a way out, but you realize that you don't want to stray too far away from your group lest you find yourself lost in the maze of endless tunnels all the while hoping that those lights do not fail. To this day there are parts of the catacombs that have not been discovered or explored owing to the vastness of this ancient burial ground. At one point we could look down into an area that was closed off to visitors and we got a feeling for the depths of these chambers and realized that we were only seeing a very small portion of what is there. When the barbarians plundered Italy after the fall of the Roman Empire they ransacked the catacombs believing that bodies were buried with treasures only to find the remains of these cloth covered boldies later on souvenir hunters would take bones away. Finally what was left of the bones were removed by authorities for proper preservation. What was interesting to note was the graffiti that we saw in some areas. From the early explorers of the 1800's to the scrawling of an American GI from Oklahoma in 1944 there were countless people who had to explore the chambers whether for a scientific perspective or for idle curiosity. At one point our guide, Amy, got separated from us looking for a the way back to the reception area, even she  was momentarily lost.We did find our way out and were relieved to be back in daylight and among the living.

Our final stop was just a few blocks away from the Colosseum. It was the Basilica of St Clemente which in itself was very interesting in that it gives you an idea of how deep the history of Rome runs. At this site you not only find one church but three! There are actually 3 churches that are right on top of each other each having been covered as time and the elements covered all of Rome, so at this site  there is actually 1200 years of history. The basilica itself was named for Pope St. Clement who died around 100 A.D., being the third successor to St. Peter. Throughout the basilica there are mosaics and frescoes depicting the stories of defense of Christianity. 

I know there is so much that I have left out. Rome being 2,765 years old has millions of stories to be told. Stories that can not be learned in a trip or two, the tradition of throwing coins over your left shoulder into the waters of Trevi fountain insures that you will return to Rome if only to savor the richness of Roman life. Arrevederci!