Friday, November 12, 2010 - out of Rome to the coast

Hello family and friends!
Adriano - our Italian driver that speaks very good English and picked us up from the airport - showed up yesterday morning at 6am in a very nice clean Mercedes sedan.  It was wonderful to see the sun rise and we casually drove by the forum and the Coliseum - it seems so surreal that you just "drive by" these ancient and significant ruins!
EC and I were headed to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast.  EC had read that this is the most beautiful place in Italy - and she was so anxious as we left Rome she could hardly contain herself!  I was significantly focused on NOT getting car sick - while riding in the back seat behind the driver - having taken Dramamine  before we left.  I had my finger on the window control, my ear buds and iPod in case I needed to be "teleported" away, and a bottle of water.

It was wonderful to see parts of Rome as we were leaving town that were way beyond our foot path zones - Rome is reported to be the 11th most visited city in the world, the 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.   It covers 500 square miles and has a population of 2.7M (Fairbanks Borough covers 7.5 sq miles, and has 80,000 people) - the math is that Rome has 5,400 people/sq mile, and Fairbanks has 1/10th of a person per sq mile - no wonder we feel the noise and the crowd!!  Just because inquiring minds wanted to know.

Pompeii, Italy is located about 250 miles out of Rome, on the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, in the region of Campania and the province of Napoli, on the southwest slope of Mount Vesuvius, at the mouth of the Sarno River, that is a mouthful!  We drove down on the Autostrada Napoli-Salerno (the autobahn) - the only speed signs we saw were to slow down to 90 km/hr (55 mph) and this was to go through the toll gates.  We were being driven at about 80mph, and were being passed left and right.

Pompeii, founded in 600 BC,  was a bustling port.  It was considered middle class, no rich, no poor and the streets were lined with stalls and jammed with customers.  Chariots vied with shoppers.  The streets were made as stone gutters - although wide and deep, as the rains would make rivers of the streets every day.

Large cut stones were placed in the roads in a specific pattern - a single stepping stone meant a one way street, a pair indicates a two-way or three way street. The stones also allowed people to cross the roads without getting their sandals wet!  There was not only water that flowed in the streets, dog dung, horse dung and human dung often flowed in the streets of Pompei.  The spaces between the stones allowed the chariots to pass along the streets.  These people were pretty darn smart I would say!

Pompei served an estimated 20,000 residents, 40 bakeries, 30 brothels, 130 bars, restaurants and hotels.

As we entered the ruins of Pompei

Three stones in the street = a two way street

A "Major" two way road

Pompei's true claim to fame is that at about noon on August 24, 79 AD Mount Vesuvius (originally 6,500 feet and then 4,100 feet) blew!  It sent a mushroom cloud of ash, dust, cinders and rocks 12 miles into the air.  The spewing went on for 18 continuous hours, and the winds took the cloud southward.  The fine gray ash snowed on Pompei.  Roofs and floors collapsed - but most walls remained.  Two thousand of the 20,000 residents were entombed under eight feet of ash.  Everyone thought the worst was over, but the next day, Versuvius' top collapsed, creating a cloud of ash, pumice and gas - the volcanic lava sped down the mountain at about 100 mph - 4 minutes later both Pompei and the nearby town of Herculaneum were buried in 60 feet of hot mud.

Looking toward the Temple of Justice - note random tourist on right with Mt Vesuvius in the background

Pompeii was discovered in the 17th century, buried under 75 feet of solidified ash. Pompeii has been excavated from the ashes of Mount Vesuvius, which makes it just astonishing what remained - and we had a significant appreciation for the work it took to excavate/restore this city.  

We had arrived early in the morning and there were few tourist - we saw alot of security guards and many many stray dogs.  (There was a sign that you could adopt any dog!)

A portion of the Forum where the main day to day business was done.

The barns, municipal treasury seat and place where measures were controlled are located on the left side of the Forum

Typical road in Pompeii with a view of Via dei Teatri with street fountain on left.

Further down Via dei Teatri leading into Via della Abbondanza

Old stairs leading up to the upper level of either a house or a road. 

Looking at the Temple of Jupiter in the Forum

So peaceful serene - I felt like I could see the ghosts of lives in the past

We wandered through Pompei and just marveled at the step back in time!

As you look into these small homes along the road you can see how small the rooms are and how important the beautiful courtyards in the middle were

One of the larger homes we saw.  They actually left many of the large containers which were found in the house.  It also looked like a small fountain or bath in the middle.

It was unbelievable to see paintings that survived not only the years of being buried in ash but to actually have some of their color left.

Another small house with a courtyard.  As you walk through you wonder about who lived there and what the house was like before the eruption.

This was on the side of a house  - the color was so vibrant - maybe an ad for something?

This could have been a picture of the owner or their ancestor

This house had brilliant colors on the wall, a courtyard inside and various rooms

This is one of my FAVORITE pictures!  - am I am getting better?  Good?

This was a house being restored on a small side street.  The picture was taken through the window of another house.  It appears this house had a courtyard with more structures on the far side.  Note the bars supporting the window openings.  Also the thickness of the walls.

Plaster casts of the corpses of the victims of the eruption.

Organic substances (like people and plants) were not preserved over the centuries in the same manner that inorganic materials were.  But when the people and plant remains disintegrated - an empty space was left behind.  When the excavations were underway and they would come upon an empty space they made a plaster cast of the space, thus ending with the shape of what was in the space.   Such important relics that could easily have been lost.

Many of the rooms had jars or the remains of jars left in them.  The pointed jars contained oils and were designed so they would pack in tighter and not cause the ship to roll during a storm at sea.   Many of them came from Greece and Eqypt.

A wagon that was found in Pompeii.  It is made to clear the stones in the road.  It is hard to believe this was made over 2000 years ago.

I think this is part of a bath house.  The colors on the walls are still beautiful.

A portrait of the poet Menander in his house.  His house was one of the finest Pompeiian houses with noble architectural proportions and a detailed plan.

Small chapel in the poet Menander's house.  This chapel was for the worship of the domestic gods.

The atrium in Menander's house. This leads to more rooms including bedrooms and a bathroom.  A silver plate found in this house testifies to the wealth of the inhabitants.

To our surprise, in this town that was buried for centuries, there was a vineyard!  Distillation was unknown in these ancient times and wine was the strongest drink of the Romans. The wine had an alcohol content of as much as fifteen or sixteen percent (at which point the yeast is killed by the alcohol it produces).  This is probably why Romans typically added water to their wine - it was considered barbaric to not add water to your wine.


History has it that some of Italy's best wines came from this region, therefore through dedicated research a recreated ancient Roman wine, called Villa dei Misteri, has been produced.  The vines are planted in a restored vineyard at the House of the Fountain near Pompeii's Forum Boarium. An ancient wine cellar was also constructed and the wine is aged 18-24 months.  The grapes are believed to be of the same type that was grown in this same vineyard over 2000 years ago.

Restored vineyards at Pompeii

Villa dei Misteri wine from Pompeii

 I think I remember having a question on a junior high history class about Pompeii - I think it was multiple choice, and I picked that Pompeii was a battle.  WOW if only they had taught this in history class - or maybe my mind was on other things then!

Note the roads :-)   The crops on the ledges are LEMONS - Amalfi Coast Italy

After walking through Pompei for two hours, the tourist groups were coming in droves, and we were anxious to see Amalfi.  So back in the car - and the winding road tour began.  Hair pin turn after hair pin turn.  The ocean on our right, EC on the right - a road that was built for one car, has cars, scooters, buses and two way traffic!  If I closed my eyes it felt like my brain was bouncing off my skull, if I opened my eyes, I was sure my life was ending.  Adriano must have looked in his rear view mirror when he said "Do you want me to slow down?  Are you ok?"  EC of course IMMEDIATELY replied "Oh, this is great, we are fine"!  I was green, all I kept thinking was "Please, please let us get there quickly", and also "MY gosh, think how bad this would be without Dramamine!" 

When Adriano proudly announced that we were at Amalfi and did we want to stop and take a picture at the pullout - it was KS that IMMEDIATELY replied "YES"!  Of course all I had heard was "You want to STOP?"  :-)

The Amalfi coast - Italy

The Amalfi coast is known for its rugged terrain, scenic beauty and picturesque towns.  For all the John Steinbeck fans, it was featured  his 1953 book Positano.  The town of Amalfi was filled with local artist shops (ceramics) and eateries.  It is said that the girlfriend of Hercules was buried here.

The main square coming into Amalfi

Amalfi lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (4,314 feet),  and is surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery.  In the 11th and 12th century it was a trading power that rivaled Venice.  It was the Amalfi cross that gave way to the Maltese cross.  They minted their own coins and established the "rules of the sea"  many that are still followed today. 

Paper had also been a vital industry since the middle ages, they pounded rags into pulp in a big vat, pulled it up through a screen, and air-dried it to produce paper.

The waterfront at Amalfi

 In 1343, Amalfi was destroyed by a tidal wave, which was then compounded by the plague.  Today, the 7,000 residents live off of tourism primarily. 

Amalfi is built into the cliffs overlooking the sea.

The town of Amalfi with the main beach.  They were swimming on November 12th.

The water was a beautiful blue green. 

As you can imagine the roads are very steep and there are long stairways leading everywhere.  The sun just bounced off the white villas!

It is unbelievable how the houses just appear to hang on the side of the cliff.

 

These huge concrete forms are all along the coast - Italian "rip rap"!

When we left Amalfi we continued  down the coast to another small town where they make most of the ceramics sold in Amalfi and along the coast.

We didn't get tired of taking pictures of Amalfi.  It was beautiful.  I imagine it is even more beautiful in the summer when all the flowers are in full bloom.

St. Andrew is the patron saint of Amalfi, the Cathedral of St. Andrew was built in the early 1200's.  It has such a dramatic location at the top of a very steep flight of stairs in the center of town.  The relics of St. Andrew the Apostle are said to in the crypt here. 

St. Andrew statue in the Piazza

The stair did not deter BOTH of us from seeing the cathedral - and it was worth the climb.  A wonderful church, pews, holy water, alter, collection box (no votive candles to light though).  Loved it

The Cathedral of Amalfi

The view DOWN the stairs - see random tourist at bottom :-)

Small garden

Love the sun shining through the row of white columns

This is called "The Way to Salvation"

A random bell ?

A very small pope might have sat in here

Beautiful ceilings and paintings everywhere

The main front alter

Ceiling painting

Lemons and peppers!

Looking up the street

We left Amalfi and continued down the coast with the Tyrrenhian Sea on our right to the town of Vietri sul Mare - the town by the sea.    This town has been producing ceramics since the 15th century.  The decorations they use are typical colors of the coast. 

Part of the "town square" of Vietri

Ceramic shops on town square.

Had to take the picture so we would know how to spell the name of the town:)

EC wanted to take all the orange tiles home - whew - they were closed!

Our favorite ceramic picture!

 Beautiful old buildings ~  If only "walls could talk".

A three dimension ceramic picture - mounted on the outside of a building on the street

Ceramic pictures on the entry to shops

Wouldn't this look beautiful on any patio?

If only they didn't weigh so much.

Bankomat = ATM, isn't that cute!

You can almost feel the fun and excitement while they make the wine.

It would make sense that their bubbler is ceramic too :-)

The view of the water and the hillside

Part of the winding road and the strangest trees we have ever seen.

The steep slope behind and above Vietri

Vietri sul Mare as the sun began to set

Adriano reminded us that we had a four hour ride back to Rome - so we loaded back up in the car to head back.  Adriano said "You want to go back on the winding road?"  - When he got a glare from me he said "We can take the highway back - that was a joke"!  I told him funny he was NOT :-)  As we headed back to Rome, the traffic was light, and the sun was setting - it really was a beautiful ride - a great ending to a wonderful day!  Italy is beautiful!

Thanks for waiting the extra day for this - we were too tired last night.  We went across the street to a wonderful restaurant called Ciccia Bomba - we got there early (7:30 pm - remember this is Italy) and the place was packed New York style before we left.  Our flat was buttoned up tight by 9pm!

We had plans to go to the Colosseum today  (Saturday) but decided to go on Sunday.  Mass tonight at 7:30pm at our cathedral at Piazza Navona. 

Buona notte, la nostra famiglia e gli amici - saremo presto a casa
K and E