Snapshots from Italy...
- Part 2
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| Polignano a Mare |
Naples, Sorrento and Pompeii
After we left the port of Civitavecchia, we headed south along the western coast of Italy stopping in Naples, the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. We arrived in the port of Naples which was right at the edge of the city.
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| View of the city of Naples from the ship |
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| Overlooking Naples from our ship |
From Naples we visited the city of Sorrento in the morning and had lunch there. Sadly, visiting Sorrento is the closest we got to the Amalfi Coast in the daylight.
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| Sorrento |
After spending the morning in Sorrento, we drove to Pompeii! I was so interested to see Pompeii. If you don't know the history of this ancient city, let me give you some history. It was an ancient Roman city which was buried under feet of ash when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. Pompeii was a wealthy and bustling city of up to 20,000 inhabitants at that time. It was still recovering from a devastating earthquake what occurred in 62 A.D., Pompeii. The inhabitants spent years rebuilding the city, only for it to be covered in feet of ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted just 17 years later.
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| Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance |
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| Pompeii Amphitheater |
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| Pompeii Amphitheater |
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| Pompeii street |
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| Pompeii buildings |
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| Pompeii residence |
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius lasted for two days and is thought to have begun slowly allowing for the majority of the inhabitants to escape. However, at some point early in the second day, it is thought the pyroclastic flows began composed of fast moving hot ash, gases and volcanic materials, covering and destroying everything in its wake. The remaining inhabitants in the city were suffocated and died where they fell.
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| Large central square of the city of Pompeii |
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| Statue uncovered within the large central square of Pompeii |
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| Remains of the inhabitants of the city of Pompeii. |
The remains of approximately 1100 people have been found. The flesh of the people that perished in the city have long since decayed, but what remains are voids within the ash which represent where the remaining inhabitants perished. Archeologists were able to take casts of those voids in the ash to reveal representations of how these doomed remaining inhabitants would have appeared at the time.
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| Preserved floor murals in Pompeii |
The city was largely forgotten until the 16th century. Sometime in the 18th century, excavation of the city began in earnest. The remains of the city are remarkable and offer a unique perspective showing the well preserved remnants of an entire roman city. As we wandered through the streets of Pompeii, we noticed the stone and brick walls are preserved but the ceilings, upper levels and roofs were gone. This is because anything made of wood were burned by the superheated ash and gases that flowed into the town with the pyroclastic flows. However, many of the murals on the walls and floors were preserved and painstakingly uncovered.
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| Preserved floor murals in Pompeii |
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| Preserved murals on walls and tile flooring |
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| Remaining walls of structures in Pompeii |
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| Ongoing archeological excavation of Pompeii |
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Sicily and Mt. EtnaThe next morning was a scenic sailing through the Straits of Messina at sunrise on our way to Sicily and Mt. Etna.
  Our excursion for the day was a visit to Mt. Etna. This volcano is one of the most active volcanos in Europe and is located on the Island of Sicily. The highest peak is roughly 11,000 feet.  We took a bus ride up part of the way, then took a cable car up further.  Then finally took a four-wheel drive vehicle the rest of the way up.    Above you can see the peak of Mt. Etna with steam and vapor rising off the peak.  Mt. Etna's eruptions in 2001-2002, resulted in two major craters. The first eruption crater from 2001-2 eruption is seen in the photo above.  Mt. Etna crater (above) from second eruption in 2001-2002. As we ascended Mt. Etna, we found ourselves above the clouds and it was a very surreal feeling to be standing on the ground, but above the clouds.  CrotoneWe had a lovely day on Mt. Etna, but it was time to move on. Once we pulled out of port in Messina, we sailed around the southern tip of Italy to our next port of call, Crotone. I had never heard of Crotone until we saw this itinerary. It is the capital of this region and is known for its natural beauty and its historical roots and two famous fortifications, the Castle of St. Charles V and Le Castella. We chose to explore Le Castella and it was very photogenic!  Le Castella was built on a small peninsula south of the city. The fortress dates back to the 3rd or 4th century BC. It lies on a strip of land with great strategic importance. There is evidence that the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and other cultures used and/or modified this fortress over the centuries.     The fortress is located on a very picturesque stretch of land with a charming seaside town with many outdoor cafes. It was also a very nice change as there were not throngs of foreign tourists here at every turn. The news has definitely carried many stories of overcrowding and over tourism in many cities in Spain, Italy and Greece. We definitely can attest to the over tourism in Barcelona and in parts of Italy especially Pisa, Pompeii, and Sorrento, even when visiting in the extreme shoulder season. So bear that in mind if you choose to visit these lovely cities, but also perhaps consider going to smaller cities like Crotone and Bari. Polignano a Mare (Bari)Bari is on the eastern coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. This was probably my second favorite stop on the whole cruise. We went to see the Castellana Caves, but on the way we stopped at the most beautiful town I have ever seen!! The village was called Polignano a Mare and wow are the views spectacular.           Below is a photo from the ship as the sun was setting behind the city of Bari.  VeniceOur last port of call in Italy was Venice. Venice is actually over 120 islands connected with more than 400 bridges. [I included a few photos of iconic views of Venice from our 2016 visit to Venice as we didn't actually go into Venice on this visit.] Below is photo of the Grand Canal, then St. Marks Square and Doge's Palace and the last two are from cute streets/canals as we strolled through the city.     Having been to Venice in 2016, we chose to visit the islands of Murano and Burano instead. So below are a few pictures I took of Venice as our water taxi made its way to Murano.    The above photo is called Building Bridges Monument built by Lorenzo Quinn. His monument depicts 6 sets of hands bridging the basin of Arsenale as a way to both express commonality and our human uniqueness. The island of Murano is well known as the Island of glass makers. The craft of glass making was moved to the island of Murano to reduce the risk of burning down Venice, as the extreme heat of the furnaces needed to melt glass posed a very high risk of fire. So in the 13th century, the glass making artisans were moved to Murano to protect the city of Venice. Burano is an island known for its lace makers and brightly colored houses.  Lace artisans create beautiful patterns by hand. It unfortunately is definitely a dying art with very few young people learning the craft. Fun Fact... Polignano a Mare was my second favorite stop on the whole trip, but what was my number one favorite stop on our two week Mediterranean cruise? Croatia and Krka National Park, check back soon for some amazing photos and see if you agree... I hope you have enjoyed the photos I have shared from the cities and villages we visited in Italy. Coming soon... |
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