Days 5,6 - Capri-Sorrento-Pompeii

Off to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii!


After several days of experiencing not only the hustle and bustle of two modern cities, Florence and Rome, we feel the deep sense of history in both of those places. We head on next to the sunny South and experience some of the beauty of the Mediterranean.

There is history here too. Just as we "Northerners" like to get away to the beaches and palm trees of our South for vacation, so too did the Ancient Romans. The Naples area is where they headed. Actually, Naples (Napoli in Italian) is a large, hectic city full of life and noise. We will basically drive past it and visit some exciting places just to the south of it.

First will be the ruggedly beautiful rocky island of Capri. (la isola de Capri) Make sure you pronounce it with an accent on the FIRST syllable in Italian - KAH-pree. This gem of an island has been a mecca for the rich since Roman times and it's easy to see why. It's villages sit above steep rocky cliffs with gorgeous views of the sea. It's tranquil and breathtaking.
We will take a ferry boat out to the island.

The views from high up on Capri can be awe-inspiring.






Basically, there are two villages on Capri - the village of Capri, which is up hill from the little port, and Anacapri, which is higher up and a bit more budget-minded. We can take the funicular (inclined railway) up the steep hill from the Marina Grande to the village of Capri. Many of the shops may be pricey, (unless you just prefer window shopping) but we will have time for lunch and to walk around and check out the views. This might be a place you would want to splurge and have lunch in a place with a view.

Another big attraction of the Isle of Capri is the Blue Grotto. (la Grotta Azzura) a large cave at sea-level on the uninhabited northwest corner of the island. Tourists go in boats from the marina to go into this cave (unless the waves are too strong and make it unsafe). Inside there is a beautifully eerie blue light from the sunlight entering the entrance through the watrer. We will do this (weather permitting) at some time during our visit to Capri.

After Capri, we will head to the seaside city where our hotel is - Sorrento. Sorrento is a lovely port on the northern side of the Amalfi Peninsula. It has an old town with narrow medieval alleyways and is a nice place to walk around the port area. It is popular with tourists and so there is an abundance of shopping and eating establishments. Most of it sits on a rocky shelf with cliffs plunging down to the sea. Hopefully our hotel will have a view. In any case, there are views to be had walking around Sorrento.
Here is a photo of the marina grande in the old town.

After a good night's rest, we will travel back up around the curved Bay of Naples. The imposing shape of Mount Vesuvius can be seen. Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Its most famous eruption was in August of 79 A.D. when it destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it has erupted 28 times since then. Not to worry - scientists monitor its seismic rumblings pretty carefully and local governments have elaborate evacuation plans. It was not so on the morning of August 24 , in 79 A.D.

Vesuvius blew its top, spewing a cloud of volcanic ash high into the air. Lava flowed down one side, burying the city of Herculaneum (Ercolano in Italian) thus making it pretty hard to excavate. Pompeii had a bit more time to escape and a number of people did get away. Many, however, did not, and we can still see their fossilized remains as they choked on hot ash raining down.

Because a well-known Roman writer, Pliny the Younger, was in the area, we have a very detailed eyewitness account (in Latin) of what he saw that morning.

Pliny the Younger was able to observe the great ash cloud and later talk with those who escaped. His account gives frightening detail of what happened to this beautiful city, which had just experienced an earthquake 17 years earlier and had rebuilt lavishly.

What we will see is perhaps the best-excavated city from antiquity. People started digging up Pompeii in 1748, and it was here that many techniques for the new science of archeology were developed. We will get a street map and have a guided tour, but also get some time to walk about. Take a bottle of water; it may be hot and there isn't water available in Pompeii.

From this map, you can see the relative size of Pompeii. At the lower right corner is the amphitheater and palestra, where wrestling was practiced. Right in the middle of town were the Stabian bath houses. These were privately owned and fancier than the Forum baths. There is a women's and a men's side. As with most Roman baths there was a hot steam bath (caldarie), warm baths (tepidarie) and cold baths (frigidarie). (Note: even in modern Italian, don't get confused by "C" and "F" on the water faucets - "C"=HOT. Caldo - Freddo.) Near the baths is another popular place that tourists visit, the brothel, the Lupanare (literally: dwelling of the she-wolves). Pompeii was rather a "sin city" at that time, with more than a few prostitutes working there. The brothel has rather graphic frescos painted by each bedstall, apparently advertising the specialties of the ladies. Throughout Pompeii there are frescos and mosaics that showed something of the inhabitants' lives, "Beware of dog" or political slogans. The House of the Vetti was owned by two brothers, whose rivalry is apparent on every wall.

As you walk these haunted streets, you can only imagine the panic as people left shops and meals and sought to escape.

Many did not. You can see many such plaster casts that archeologists have made of the impression that fallen Pompeiians made as they succumbed to the hot ash.

That these were real people comes home as you see such portraits as those below.

One can still see the amphitheater, where gladiators fought. (There is a rather large gladiators' barracks near the brothel.)

After Pompeii, we will have lunch and get on the bus and head across the peninsula to the province of Brindisi, on the "heel" of the boot. (in red on the map)

Here is a view of the ancient port of Brindisi. It has always been a gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean. The Roman general Pompey fled the armies of Julius Caesar here in the first century B.C. Medieval Crusaders used its port to sail to the Holy Land.

The shipping and ferry port dominates the waterfront of Brindisi.

Here we will board a large ferry for the overnight cruise through the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian islands, including the touristy island of Corfu and Ithaca, home of Ulysses.

We will arrive in a rather different land the next morning, Greece. The port of Patras awaits us!