Invitation to Italy 5 of 7
extra delicious, or is it a combination of other things such as the state of our taste buds that day and/or how hungry we are? Probably just as well we never find out for sure.
The next time we were in Rome, Emmy drew a picture of what she wanted and showed it to the butcher at the Silos Market. He carefully cut what looked like a small prime rib, and it was delicious. That may be a big deal in a restaurant, but in the RV prime rib is a great meal, and easy to fix while we rest and read. Jim remembers that during our 1970 trip, the best steak he ate in all of Europe was in a restaurant on the Autostrada in Italy.
As we left Camping Roma one year, the local Silos Supermarket was celebrating Coca Cola day. If we bought two small cases of Coke we would receive a set of six glasses and a pitcher, all decorated with the Coke name and colors. (The spelling of the name and the logo, are exactly same in Italy as in the USA.) We convinced the man in charge that we had room in the RV for about half that much Coke, so he said OK. The cost of postage to the US was more than the cost of the Coke, but years later the pitcher and glasses are still a complete set, and in almost daily use.
Near the Spanish Steps we found a store that sold cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and other goodies not usually found in Italian grocery stores. A lady from Boston, who spoke Italian, tried to help when she heard Jim order one and a half kilos of white cheddar cheese. A more usual order might be for 150 milligrams (about one-third of a pound), and she thought we were going to be surprised when we received over 3 pounds of cheese. We were headed across the Adriatic Sea to Yugoslavia, and had no idea what we would find there. (We visited what was then called Yugoslavia four different years before the dreadful war in the 1990s, and found the country and the people to be just delightful.)
These days goods in the stores, and the amount and quality of the food in the markets, have improved over what we remember from our earliest trips to Italy. Until recently, in most places in Europe in both street markets and in grocery stores, the buyer was not permitted to select his own fruit and vegetables. With the advent of supermarkets that has changed. At many places (in several countries) we fill bags with fruit and vegetables, place them on the scale, push a key labeled with the picture of that item, then a bar-code label is printed. We paste the label on our purchase, and the cash register at the checkout counter reads the bar-code and supplies the price. In recent years, at several stores in Italy they supplied disposable plastic gloves that must be worn while selecting fruit and vegetables in the produce section of the supermarket.
AN EXPENSIVE LAUNDROMAT
One year we left Camping Roma by bus, looking for a Laundromat. We bought an all-day bus ticket, and with the help of a friendly Rome bus driver, managed to find ourselves going in the opposite direction from where we wanted to go. But since we had never ridden that bus on that street before, so what — relax and enjoy. Remember, a bus ride is not a one-way ride on a dead-end street, they always return to the scene of the “crime.”
Near the bus terminal we asked a man at the cash register in a men’s clothing store, for directions to the Laundromat. We found it, but almost wished we hadn’t — the $11 cost per load was almost more than the value of the clothes.
A MEN’S CLOTHING STORE ??
For the next couple of days we changed buses at this terminal, and as we passed this clothing store we noticed the cash register was right inside the front door, rather than toward the back, as was the case in other stores nearby. Then we watched as this man accepted large bundles of money in exchange for small slips of paper. Don’t know what he was doing, and we didn’t intend to find out, but he certainly wasn’t selling men’s clothes
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Chapter 17
MORE ROMA
EXPLORING ROME
Sometimes we leave the RV in the campsite and ride the bus to the city, and sometimes we like to drive and park and walk exploring as we go, then drive and park and walk again, and at times park and take a bus or subway. Sometimes we park and explore in more or less one direction as far as our bodies permit, then use a bus or a taxi to get back to our RV for a snack and a rest right there, right where we are parked.
One time we followed cars down a walking street — we saw no indication it was a walking/shopping street when we entered — but we got the same scolding the policeman gave to everyone in front and behind us, who were driving down the same street. He never thought of going down a block to make sure no one drove in there in the first place. We finally found a parking place near the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), and walked to the American Express Office nearby, for money and mail.
In 1970 we bought a one-day American Express tour to Naples and Pompeii for four, including two meals each, for the grand total of $84. We also remember spending $8 for an alarm clock to make sure we would be awake early enough to meet the tour bus at the Hotel Panama, not far from the campsite.
After we bought the tickets we rode a double-decker bus to the Coliseum, strolled the Via Corso, visited the Spanish Steps, and ate dinner. By then it was late and dark and while we knew the Hotel Panama was “out there somewhere,” no one (especially the driver) had that much confidence in the driver’s navigational skills. We hailed a taxi, convinced the driver to go slowly so we had a chance to follow in our VW van, then wended our way through a gate in the old Roman wall to the hotel, then on to the campsite. We’ve used a taxi as our guide several times, in several cities, over the years.
During a visit several years later, we knew Rome’s first (and at that time, the only) McDonald’s restaurant was near the Spanish Steps, but since the Golden Arches are small and the entrance is almost hidden, we had to ask a policeman where it was located. As we faced the Spanish Steps, about a block to our right is the American Express office, and a little further in the same direction, is McDonald’s. While the entrance is not too noticeable, once inside it's a huge place, with seating for hundreds of people. It’s very nice and is a very popular place to eat, for both tourists and locals. And perhaps even more important, the small Golden Arches are the mark of clean, available rest rooms.
A TOUR OF ROME IN THE EVENING
One evening we rode the bus from Camping Roma past St. Peter’s, then on to Piazza Venezia. We walked down Via del Corso, stopping to see the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and finally stopped for a snack at McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps. (That’s a loooonng walk.) As we were eating an ice cream sundae, we had a lively conversation (in English) with some Italian men in Army uniforms. They expressed interest in Americans and especially Californians, and among other things told us that, “Since WW II there are no Italian soldiers, only Italian uniforms.”
To the left of the Spanish Steps we boarded subway Ligne A and rode to the Stazione Termini, changed to Ligne B and went to the Colosseum. What a beautiful sight, the floodlit remains of that ancient stadium.
Next we rode the bus to Piazza Venezia, transferred to another bus, then later to another, and finally arrived at Camping Roma on Via Aurelia. We were surprised at the few buildings and monuments that were floodlit, but Rome is fascinating, day or night. Paris, not Rome, is called The City of Light, and for good reason.
ENTER ROME ON VIA FLAMINIA
One time we entered Rome from the north, on Via Flaminia and at the edge of the city found a city-bus terminal next to a large parking lot. The sign said something like “15 minutes to Roma.” Maybe at three in the morning, or maybe by helicopter, but not at rush hour in Rome’s traffic any time we have been here. Nearby, what was most likely an electrical generating experiment, consisted of a large solar installation with several hundred round mirrors pointed toward a tower.
We drove on Via Flaminia toward downtown Rome as far as the Roman Wall at Piazza del Popolo. The policeman stopped us and said we could go no further, and directed us to our left, through the Villa Borghese. Turning here and there, we drove up a hill and through a gate in the old city wall, and at one point passed the top of the Spanish Steps. We now found ourselves on the other side of the Roman Wall we had just left — we were now at the south side of the Piazza del Popolo.
DODGE VAN BRAKE REPAIRS
One year we wanted to have the brakes on our Dodge Camper checked before we continued our travels through many countries and over many mountains. We were sure a large city was the place to have this done, and found a Chrysler garage in Rome. With the help of a customer, a lady who had been born in Italy and now lived in Seattle, we were assured they had all the parts that might be needed, just come back on Wednesday, and it will be taken care of.
Well, Wednesday came, and so did we. It took them about an hour to remove the wheels and inspect the brakes. Then after a noisy committee meeting attended by a dozen mechanics and service managers, they assured us the brakes were just fine, so they would order the parts and if we returned in two months, they would be glad to replace them. Now it took an additional hour to replace the wheels, and this non estimate with no repairs cost 20,000L ($13). A couple of weeks later, as we left Vienna for Budapest we stopped at a garage identified with a Dodge sign. With parts available and the mechanic handy, the whole job was completed in very short order, about the same time as the inspection in Rome. But at a cost three times what it would have been in California.
ARCO DI SETTIMIO SEVERO
On our first visit, from Capitol Hill we walked down a long staircase toward the Roman Forum. At the bottom of the staircase the Arco di Settimio Severo (the Triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus — three arched passages, 75 feet high, 82 feet in breadth), marks the beginning of the Roman Forum. Built in 203 AD, an amazing amount of care and work was spent on design and on the detailed ornamentation — the underside of the arch is carved in intricate detail.
MAMERTINE PRISON
Tired from our long trek through the city, we sat on the steps and rested for a few minutes. We had to move out of the way as a group of people came out of a plain doorway in a solid, high building wall next to the stairs.
During subsequent trips to Rome we discovered that doorway was the exit from the Mamertine Prison, the State Prison, dating from 105 BC. It is recorded that both St. Peter and St. Paul were, at one time, imprisoned here. One reference states that St. Peter escaped from the Mamertine Prison, and fled the city along the Via Appia. Inside, the two-level building with ancient stone floors is an inspiring, but sad sight.
FORO DE CESARE, FORO DE AUGUSTO,
FORO DI TRAINO, THE IMPERIAL FORUMS
The Foro Romano (Roman Forum) is just one of several Forums in this part of Rome. In the Foro de Cesare (Caesar’s Forum) there remains some columns from the temple of Venus Genitrix erected by Caesar in 48 AD. A bronze statue of the emperor overlooks Foro de Augusto (Augustan Forum), and it is dominated by a few columns and vestiges of a temple stairway to the Casa di Cavalieri di Rodi (House of the Knights of Rhodes).
About all that remains in Foro di Traiano (Trajan’s Forum), the largest and finest of the Imperial Forums, is Trajan’s Column, an unequaled masterpiece that depicts over 100 scenes of a war. The Column stands 130 feet tall and is decorated with a remarkable spiral-shaped frieze that is more than 650 feet in length, and is decorated with twenty-five hundred figures.
FORO ROMANO, ROMAN FORUM
One of the more interesting ruins to visit, the Foro Romano was the administrative and corporate heart, and the center of political and religious life in ancient Roma. Located east of the Capitoline Hill and west of the Palatine Hill, vast swamps had to be drained before construction could be started in the BC days, and construction, damage, and restoration continued until many centuries AD.
It is well worth the effort and cost to obtain one of the many tourist books that depict this part of Rome as it might have been at one time. No city today even comes close to the architecture and the layout of that part of ancient Rome. Today the remains of arches, a dozen temples and other religious buildings, broken columns, and building foundations are on display. The Forum was excavated mostly within the past 100 years.
Gazing over this historic place we were able to identify several of its better known monuments — the arch of Septimius Severus, and the Arch of Titus (with a single passage) at the far end of the Via Sacra, the Forum’s major thoroughfare. Palatine Hill (settled in the 9th century BC) is just to the right, and the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum in the distance, off to the left. It’s a fascinating experience to tread this historic ground.
PALATINO, THE HILL OF PALATINE
The Palatine Hill where Romulus and Remus were discovered was the location of the Imperial Palace, built by Emperor Domitian. On the Palatine there were religious buildings, houses and gardens, imperial apartments, and a stadium for entertainment, as well as for athletic contests.
ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
Erected just past the Roman Forum, and almost in the shadow of the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the last of the great Roman triumphal arches, was erected in 315 AD, built from fragments of earlier Roman buildings. The arch was completely under scaffolding for renovation during one visit, but later the reliefs depicting scenes from the lives of Constantine, Trajan, and Marcus Aurélius, were available for our inspection.
We wonder if anyone has counted all the triumphal arches (usually a large center arch, some with smaller arches on each side), built in the world since the earliest known arch in Rome in 196 BC. The best known and most elaborate in Rome are the arches of Titus, Septimius Severus, and Constantine. There are other triumphal arches in southern France, several in Paris, London, New York City, and who knows where else. Well, we seem to remember an arch in Innsbruck, Austria, and we remember others, but don’t remember exactly where we saw them.
COLOSSEUM
The Colosseum is the popular name for the Amphiteatrum Flavium (located on the site of the Domus Aurea, Nero’s residence), between the Esquiline and Palatine hills, near the southeast end of the Forum. Construction was started by Vespasian in 69 AD (Nero had committed suicide in 68 AD), finished by Titus in 80 AD, and restored in 217 AD. The Colosseum is 1730 feet around, 180 feet high, and was designed to hold 50,000 people. Now remember, that’s as high as an 18 story building, it held more people than many of today’s professional baseball stadiums, and it was built nearly 2,000 years ago. The arena floor measured 282 by 177 feet, not quite large enough for an American football game.
Originally there had been a 120 foot high statue of Nero nearby, and perhaps the arena was named for that colossal statue. From the top of the Colosseum the view is over much of Rome, with St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance.
To supply the travertine that covered the exterior walls of the structure, a special 20 foot-wide road was built from the Colosseum to a quarry near Tivoli, a town about 20 miles east of Rome. Fifteen hundred years later that travertine was “quarried” from the Colosseum, and 2,522 cartloads of marble were taken to the Vatican, to complete St. Peter's Basilica. Although the Colosseum suffered some damage from barbarians, a dozen earthquakes (a big one in 442 AD), lightning strikes, vandalism, and was a fortress in the Middle Ages, much of it is still standing, a lot at the original height. It’s not a ruin only from the ravages of war, or years of neglect, uncounted Romans live, work and worship in buildings (including St. Peter’s) constructed during the Middle Ages with building blocks from the “Coliseum Quarry.”
Around the top of the arena there were brackets to hold long poles that could be used to stretch an awning over part of the Colosseum, to protect “important” spectators from the sun and rain. The Roman Navy had the responsibility to install the canvas and ropes that made up the awning, since they had experience with sailing ships. We have seen Roman theaters (Orange, France for example), with this same feature, but it’s not yet available at the Hollywood Bowl. Sometimes the heavy wooden flooring was removed and the entire arena was flooded for naumachiae, or mock naval battles.
Gladiators, some slaves and prisoners, others who entered this dangerous competition for fun and profit, often participated in games that were a form of electoral propaganda by candidates for high office, who promised continued Panem et Circenses (Bread and Circuses), if they were elected. Women fought and died from as early as the year 63, until a decree by Emperor Septimius Severus in the year 200, prohibited further combat between women gladiators. Battles to the death were finally suppressed in 404 AD.
For the “games” that involved animals, a system of ramps and hoists were used to bring the ravenous beasts from the cages in the basement. A special fence protected the spectators in the front rows from the wild animals, and to neutralize the smell, incense-burners were set up, and clouds of perfume were sprayed for the notables in the front seats. Five thousand animals were killed during the 100 days of the opening celebration, and other tens of thousands of animals, and thousands of men and women were killed in “games” over the next 600 years.
During our first visit in 1970 the street around the Colosseum was so crowded with traffic it was almost impossible to cross the street for a visit. We’ve been told that in past years people would hire a taxi to take them across the street, to the Colosseum entrance. When we arrived a few years later the street was dug up, the subject of an archaeological excavation. Years later during another stay in Rome, the excavation was complete, but the traffic pattern had been changed so tourists could visit in safety.
SCAFFOLDING AND TOURISTS
Tourists we met during our travels often complained because so many treasures in Europe were covered by scaffolding. That’s true, but we find it amazing that so many of these ancient curiosities still exist, and are usually open and available for public visits. With the thousands and thousands of exciting old monuments and ruins of buildings dating from hundreds, and even thousands of years ago, it’s marvelous that all these European countries will spend the money it takes to keep these ruins, buildings, and monuments safe and available for travelers to visit. Of course it’s the money spent by travelers that keeps the whole thing working in the first place. We’ve been lucky enough to travel with the idea that if we don’t see IT this trip, we will see IT the next trip. It’s amazing how many times we have been able to make that dream come true.
DRINKING WATER
As we walked toward the Colosseum one afternoon, we were so thirsty we paid a street vendor an outrageous price for a small carton of rather cool water. We walked on for a few blocks and while Emmy rested in the shade of the Colosseum, Jim walked on and found a store on the far side of the Colosseum where he bought a large bottle of cold, cold water for less than we just paid for the tiny, almost cool carton. At many spots along Rome’s streets, fountains offer cool running water. Several tourists have told us they are almost afraid to wash their hands in this water, but we often drink the water from Rome’s street fountains, and have never had a problem. That’s not a recommendation, just a fact.
ISOLA TIBERINA
Just to the west of Piazza Venezia, Ponte Cestio and Ponte Fabricio (built in the days of Julius Caesar) are the bridges that connect the boat shaped island, Isola Tiberina, to the left and right banks of the Tiber River. Now occupied largely by a hospital, during ancient times it was surrounded by massive travertine walls. On the east bank the most visible and plentiful remains of classical Rome are located south of Piazza Venezia. To the northwest and along the Tiber, medieval Rome centers on the area between the Via del Corso and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
TEATRO DI MARCELLO
In this part of Rome, the street name is identical to the name of the ancient theater, circus, and bath that we wanted to visit.
From Piazza Venezia, we headed southwest on Via del Teatro di Marcello at the base of Capitoline Hill, and found the remains of the Teatro di Marcello, started by Caesar and completed by Augustus in 13 BC, built to hold up to 22,000 spectators.
CIRO MASSIMO, CIRCUS MAXIMUS
Continuing southeast on Via del Ciro Massimo, we found the Museo of Roma, then the Ciro Massimo (Circus Maximus), the largest arena built during the years of the Roman Empire. It was 650 yards long and 150 wide, allowing as many as 300,000 spectators to watch shows, races and even mock battles. Caesar once staged a battle with a thousand infantry, six-hundred cavalry, and forty elephants. It remained in use until 549 AD, then during the Middle Ages it was looted for its marble.
Just for the moment stop and think about that crowd of 300,000 spectators, plus participants and attendants. Where did they come from, how did they get here, what about food, sanitation and medical care, and how did they get home when the game was over? There were no commuter trains, no subways, no city buses. Perhaps the wealthiest spectators had a horse-drawn carriage of some kind, but most people had to walk.
Consider that to fill the Circus Maximus the entire population, each and every person of any age or health condition, of a city the size of Bologna, Italy, or Wichita, Kansas, would have to attend that performance, that day. A city of 300,000 population spreads for miles in either direction, so even if the members of the audience all lived in Rome, those spectators must have walked many miles, and even many days, to get to the circus, then get home again.
Not to belabor the point, but we wonder how the show was advertised, how were people many miles away notified of the date of the performance and what acts were to be on display. Over several centuries the Romans built seventy amphitheaters and dozens of theaters in several countries, somehow they kept them filled with spectators, participants and players.
A few miles further on Via Appia are the remains of the best-preserved Roman circus in the world, the Circus of Maxentius.
TERME DI CARACALLA, CARACALLA BATHS
Continue on Via del Terme de Caracalla, to the Terme di Caracalla (Caracalla Baths). Built in 206 BC, the baths covered 27 acres, had no fewer than 1,600 marble seats for bathers, and at one time could hold many more. Around the central building, which measured 722 by 374 feet, stood gymnasiums, broad porticos and a stadium. The baths were used until 537 AD when the aqueducts flowing into the city were interrupted by the Ostrogoths. In an official register of 354 AD, no fewer than 952 public baths, that used 300,000,000 gallons of water each day, were listed in the city of Rome.
A few miles further in this direction brings us to the Via Appia Antica, the Appia Way.
CATACOMBS
The Via Appia is lined with several catacombs, including the Catacombs of St. Callistus, St. Sebastian, Domitilla, and the Jewish catacombs, called Vigna Randanini. The existence of the catacombs, which were dug during the first 800 years AD, remained unknown until they were rediscovered in the late 1500s. No less than 50 catacombs were located in and near Rome, and the total length of the subterranean galleries approximates 550 miles. Rome’s catacombs provided accommodation, in their labyrinthine depths, for approximately 6 million bodies!
To construct a tomb they would dig a three-foot wide tunnel and cut a niche about two-feet by two-feet by five-feet long in both tunnel walls, as places to bury the dead. Then they would dig deeper, and cut more niches in the newly exposed wall of the catacomb. Some tunnels are very deep, with tombs along the walls from floor to ceiling. The Catacomb of Callistus has as many as 6 different levels of corridors, each with its maze of intersecting corridors.
The catacombs of Rome are found mainly along the original Roman Roads, and bear names that identify the martyrs believed to have been buried in them. Besides the Via Appia, catacombs can be found at The Church of St. Agnese Outside The Walls, on Via Nomentana, and Catacombe di Priscilla on Via Salaria, in the northeast portion of Rome.
In addition to tourist visitors, Romans are well aware that the Catacombs can provide cool relief from the summer sun. Since pollen doesn’t penetrate these damp homes of the dead, hay fever sufferers also find comfort in the galleries and chambers well below ground. Vineyards, villas, used-car lots and other businesses thrive above ground, and quietly coexist with corridors of graves and memorials far below.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME
Starting several hundred years BC, and continuing until 476 AD when the Roman Empire fell, a network of roads crisscrossed Italy for more than 13,000 miles, with 1,362 on Sicily, and 200 miles in Sardinia. Overall the Romans constructed about 50,000 miles of highways through more than 30 modern nations. (That’s nearly enough miles to build ten highways from coast to coast in the USA, and nearly a dozen more, north to south, from border to border.)
The network remained in use during the Middle Ages, and remnants of it are still in existence. Even today signposts and maps identify many of these roads with the ancient names, and modern highways follow the path of those original Roman roads. Many of the bridges, such as Ponte Milvio built in Rome in 109 BC, are still in use. The four middle arches are antique, the triumphal arch and other decorations were added when the bridge was restored in 1805. We’ve seen ancient Roman bridge foundations, in both France and Germany.
The Via Appia (Appian Way) for example, begun in 312 BC, joined Rome with Brandisi in Italy’s “heel,” three hundred and fifty miles away. In 241 BC Via Aurelia was completed to Rome from Pisa, Genoa and southern France. Via Flaminia came from Spoleto; Via Cassia came from Florence; salt arrived in Rome on Via Salaria. Scholars cannot agree, but there were about 20 to 25 different roads that radiated from Rome.
These days a ring road circles Rome outside the city, and is connected to Rome by roads like spokes of a wheel or the hands of a clock. Via Appia heads south at “6 o’clock,” Via Aurelia arrives from the west at “9 o’clock.”
A WATCHFUL ROMAN
One year we arrived in Rome from the south, and stopped at the tourist office and asked the lady in charge for a map and some information. We noticed a man (she said it was her husband, who had come to take her home after work) standing near the door, watching our camper. Then we found that an hour earlier someone had broken into a car in this parking lot, and he was just making sure no one broke into our RV. Italians are especially helpful and friendly. (Our RV has been broken into twice, both times in the French Alsace, but that’s a story for a different book.)
ANCIENT CAMPER IN ANCIENT ROME
RV travel through Italy is not something new. Over 20 centuries ago, when the Via Appia made travel possible, one of the largest vehicles on the road was the “carruca dormitoria,” a primitive version of today’s camper. Big enough to accommodate a bed inside, it could be used for transporting the sick, the wounded or the sleepy. Since the “motel” of the day was often crowded, quite often was a house of prostitution, and at best was dirty, the dormitoria provided a guaranteed place to sleep. (Sounds like a great idea.) Notice that in spite of, or because of the centuries of language development, the antecedent of the word “dormitory” was used all those years ago, to describe a place to sleep.
Emperor Claudius was not happy with the “motels” and restaurants on Via Appia, so to pass the time he had his favorite traveling carriage outfitted with a gaming table. Another emperor had specially built swivel seats installed in his travel vehicle, so he could shift his position comfortably and alter his view of the passing scenery.
ESPOSIZIONE UNIVERSALE DI ROMA, E. U. R.
The “Esposizione Universale di Roma” usually identified by the initials, identifies a modern quarter spreading to the south of Rome, reached by Ligne B of the subway system. Its origin goes back to 1937 when the government adopted the grandiose plan of a universal exhibition, a World’s Fair set for 1942. Inspired by an obsession with grandeur and comprising massive buildings in white marble, it conforms to the plans laid down under Fascist rule. Work was stopped as a result of the war, but resumed on the occasion of the Holy Year of 1950, and for the Olympics of 1960. The Museo della Civilta Romano presents documentation and a 3-D model of ancient Rome, from its origins to the end of the Empire.
%THE VATICAN
In 1309, the increasing civic and national troubles in Rome and in Italy, caused the Pope to relocate to Avignon, France, not to return until 1377. The 1929 Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See, recognized its sovereignty and defined its boundaries. The State of Vatican City, the world’s smallest at 108 1/2 acres, with a population of less than 1,000, was established as the official home of the Pope and the center of the Roman Catholic Church. And being the papal city, Rome escaped severe damage during World War II.
The best approach to the Vatican is to walk across the Fiume Tevere (the Tiber River), on Ponte Umberto or Ponte San Angelo, and walk past (or even walk into, which we have yet to do), Castel S. Angelo (Hadrian's Tomb), an imposing monument on the right bank of the Tiber. It was originally constructed (130 AD) as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian, later served as a papal stronghold, and was once connected to the Vatican by a secret underground passageway.
Prior to the mid-1930s a labyrinth of narrow streets and picturesque houses filled the space between Hadrian's Tomb, and the Piazza San Pietro. To celebrate the signing of the Lateran Treaty, Mussolini demolished the neighborhood, at that time called Borgo, and created Via Conciliazione as a spectacular entrance to the Vatican. Raphael’s studio, which had survived for four hundred years, was among the historical buildings lost by this reconstruction.
PIAZZA SAN PIETRO
The approach to Piazza San Pietro is awesome. Our eyes are busy as we walk the Via Conciliazione toward St. Peter’s, trying to take in the most striking features of the Piazza San Pietro — St. Peter’s Basilica with Michelangelo’s dome, and Giovanni Bernini’s colonnade.
From the cobble-stone Piazza sometimes Michelangelo’s great dome seems to float against the blue sky, and when lit, it glows like a vast candle illuminating the sky. Bernini’s semicircular portico of 284 travertine marble columns partially encircle the Piazza San Pietro, and like a pair of parentheses they enclose a fountain on each side of the Piazza, and the obelisk in the center. This 350 ton granite obelisk was brought to Rome nearly 2,000 years ago and in 1586 was erected in Piazza San Pietro. It took forty-four windlasses, 140 horses, and 900 laborers to accomplish that task. (Or it took 75 horses, 800 men, and four months, another reference says!) Of the (at least) seventeen obelisks in Rome, some were “liberated” from Egypt thousands of years ago, others were built in Rome hundreds of years ago, and a few date from rather recent times.
Above the colonnade of 52 foot high columns, arranged in four rows, are 140 larger-than-life (10 feet) statues of saints. As noted earlier, Giovanni Bernini’s father, Pietro Bernini, designed the fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps.
SAN PIETRO BASILICA
The center of attraction in the Vatican is San Pietro Basilica. At 693 feet long by 434 feet high, it is the largest church ever built. The great size of the Basilica is exemplified by markers placed in the floor of the nave, that show the length of other great churches throughout the world. St. Peter’s is a Basilica (accorded certain privileges by the pope) not a cathedral (containing a bishop's throne). The Pope as bishop of Rome derives his title from San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Latern), Rome’s cathedral.
Originally a circus for chariot racing, early Christians constructed a great basilica on the site of what is thought to be St. Peter’s Tomb. The current St. Peter’s, begun in 1506 and completed 120 years later, replaced that basilica. Several things stand out: its size; its incredibly ornate decoration; and most of all, the light that bathes every corner of the church. The central and side naves are filled with altars, statues, monuments to the Popes, and intricate mosaics.
The surface area of the great Basilica is 473,000 square feet, and covers more than 10 acres. It can house 60,000 people and is decorated with 450 statues, 800 columns of marble, bronze or stucco, 50 altars, and other works of art. In addition there are tombs of popes and emperors.
Bernini sculpted a series of grotesque sarcophagi (a decorated stone coffin) for the bodies of the popes, and his most bizarre creations are in St. Peter’s. They include the tortuously twisted 95 feet tall baldachin, a bronze structure holding a highly theatrical gild canopy over the monumental Baroque papal altar of St. Peter in Glory. (Clad with bronze scavenged from the Pantheon’s portico.) Two-hundred feet above, is the spectacular interior of Michelangelo’s cupola. Construction was complicated by the need to support the dome on four piers, rather than on a circular wall like the dome at the Pantheon, and many others.
The magnificent dome (200 feet in diameter, 630 feet around) of St. Peter’s rises 308 feet above the roof. Two different years we climbed the 305 steps of the almost endless, interleaved, precarious one-way staircase, to the lantern at the very tip of St. Peter’s dome. The steps are built between the outer and inner domes, and since the dome curves, we must lean at that same angle — but don’t miss it. The view from the very apex of the dome is spectacular, with a panoramic view of Vatican City, the curves of the Tiber river, and across the city of Rome to the Coliseum.
The highlight of any visit to St. Peter’s, Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” was sculpted in 1499 when he was 25 years old. One of the most beautiful sculptures anywhere, it is located in the first chapel on the right, just beyond the entrance to the church. During our first visit we could enjoy the statue close up, but a couple of years later, after some nut attacked the Pieta with a hammer, a transparent protective shield was put in place.
AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE, ALMOST
In 1980 we drove to S. Agnese Outside The Wall, on Via Nomentana, then walked down, down under the church to visit the catacombs. There we met three young ladies from the US, and they rode with us across the city, back to St. Peter’s Square in The Vatican, so we could see Pope John Paul II’s Wednesday afternoon audience. Parking was almost unavailable, but we managed to drive up over the sidewalk, with the front bumper in the park, the RV sitting over the sidewalk, the back bumper in the street, just like everyone else who had parked on this street.
As we stood a long distance from where the Pope would be, an English speaking priest from Czechoslovakia offered us tickets so we could get closer to the pulpit. In 1981 Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded right here, during this ceremony, several months after our visit.
VATICAN MUSEUM
The gargantuan Vatican Museums complex is composed of more than two dozen distinct collections and the huge Vatican Library, in a maze of rooms, stairways and courtyards. A long vacation can be spent here, but if time is short, as it usually is, we recommend the Raphael Rooms and Loggias. The visitor may choose one or more of four color-coded itineraries, each of which culminates in the Sistine Chapel.
SISTINE CHAPEL
The Sistine Chapel is the official papal chapel, where conclaves for the election of popes are traditionally held. Built from 1473 to 1481, the Chapel is rectangular in shape and measures about 135 feet long by 45 feet wide, the dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as described in the Old Testament. It is 68 feet high and is roofed by a flattened barrel vault, with little side vaults over the centered windows.
Its decoration involved several generations of artists working for a number of popes. Starting in the 1480s, with Pietro di Cristoforo Perugino in charge, several artists, including Cosimo Rosselli, Sandro Botticelli, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted the Sistine Chapel’s side-walls.
Starting 25 years later, in 1508 Michelangelo spent about ten of the next 33 years creating the extraordinary frescos that cover the great vaulted ceiling (1508-1512), and his sweeping fresco (1535-1541), “The Last Judgment” (66 feet by 33 feet), on the wall behind the altar. Michelangelo insisted he was a sculptor, but he learned the art of fresco as he created his masterpiece on a ceiling that had previously been painted as a starry sky. It’s also noteworthy that Michelangelo’s self-portrait appears twice in The Last Judgment.
We knew immediately when we had reached the Sistine Chapel — everyone in the room was standing, with eyes turned toward the ceiling. When we visited here in 1980 there was scaffolding in one corner of the room, they were experimenting with a new method of cleaning the art on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel. A rail was then installed on each side of the Chapel near the ceiling, and a platform was mounted on the rail so it could roll to and fro, sixty feet above the floor. Ceiling renovation was carried on from the platform while tourists continued to gaze and gasp from below.
By the time of our visit in 1989 the ceiling and the top part of the wall were perhaps 80% renewed, and we could see part of the aged ceiling, the rolling platform, and the beautifully restored, brightly colored and fully detailed, renovated ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Ceiling restoration was completed in 1990.
The painting on the altar wall, Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment,” had suffered from lack of proper care (smoke from candles) and badly executed restorations. Its most recent restoration began in 1990, and was completed in April 1994.
Starting in the mid-1990s, it took five more years of careful scraping and wiping to clean centuries of dust, soot and grit off the frescoes created by nine 15th century artists. Only in the Sistine Chapel could biblical scenes by masters such as Botticelli, Perugino, Rosselli, and Ghirlandaio be so easily overshadowed, even by Michelangelo’s masterpieces. (When he was 13 years old, Michelangelo was apprenticed to Ghirlandaio. Perugino’s apprentice, Raphael, later painted walls in the Vatican Palace, and even later was the chief architect of Saint Peter's Basilica.)
The Chapel walls and ceiling have been restored to their forgotten splendor, and must be visited by even the most hurried tourist. The final stage of the restoration was the installation of a system to filter the air and eliminate the need to apply any protective coating to the surface of the paintings.
After 20 years of painstaking craftsmanship, on December 11, 1999 the Pope presided at the ceremony to celebrate the full restoration of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals gather to elect a new pope. Michelangelo’s ceiling, his Last Judgment, and both Chapel side-walls are now uniformly bright, glittering with vivid blues, rich crimson and gold, and long-forgotten details.
Chapter 18
TIVOLI, TO PESCARA
%TIVOLI, THE CITY
The city of Tivoli, in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, is 20 miles east of, and 400 years older than Rome. This is the location of the quarry where they mined the travertine that covered the outside of the Colosseum for fifteen-hundred years, then was moved to St. Peter’s Basilica. According to guide books, there are picturesque cascades and waterfalls on the hills surrounding the city.
VILLA D’ESTE
As we drove through the town of Tivoli we noticed water gates that diverted the Aniene River into a canal. The water was then directed to the double tunnel through the hill, to supply the fountains and miniature waterfalls in the gardens of Villa d’Este. The hundreds of fountains and waterfalls use gravity, natural water pressure — no pumps are involved.
Once a Benedictine convent, Villa d’Este, built in the 1500s, has a rather plain exterior, but on the hillside below, the splendid gardens are adorned with fountains and statues that create a graceful decor typical of the High Renaissance art called Mannerism, art that tended to idealize nature. The terraced gardens, alive with gushing fountains, waterfalls and fish ponds, are something we will never forget. The gardens extend over seven acres, and it would take pages to describe the seven hundred fountains and cascades that remain, let alone the two thousand that were built a few hundred years ago.
Some Villa d’Este fountains send water very high, some are water falls, and at one place one hundred small fountains line a walkway. Someone was able to design and build a fountain that played an organ. The falling water forced air to escape through organ pipes, and a jet of water played the keys. Years ago, after someone tried to repair the organ, it suffered from the TLC (Terrible Loving Care), and has not worked since.
VILLA ADRIANA, HADRIAN’S VILLA
The Villa Adriana was one of the most magnificent creations of the imperial age. The largest and finest of the many Roman villas built in this area, Hadrian's Villa overlooks Rome and the sea, far to the west. During the twenty years he was Emperor (117 AD to 138 AD), Hadrian spent about half the time traveling throughout his vast empire, and the Villa was constructed with realistic architectural replicas of the buildings and places that had interested him most. Several parts of the complex are patterned after architectural features Hadrian had admired during his extensive travels in Greece.
The Villa, covering an area of 600 acres, includes pavilions, an imperial palace, baths, libraries, theaters, large gardens dotted with statues, fountains and waterworks. Hadrian used curved walls, colonnades, and vaults to increase the complexity of his design. Excavations that began in the 1500s have yielded many of the chief treasures in the Roman museums, but archaeologists have not been able to identify all the buildings, and they still haven’t determined how each and every part of Villa Adriana was used.
Centuries later, as was the custom throughout antiquity and into the middle ages, many of the architectural features were lost when people plundered the Villa and used the bricks and stones to build other buildings, including the Villa d’Este just a couple of miles away.
What an impressive beautiful summer palace it must have been. Something like this is difficult to describe, and the words we could use, wouldn’t do it justice. We consulted a variety of guide books before, during, and after our visit to Villa Adriana, and what we saw was far more spectacular than what we read.
TIVOLI CAMPSITE
During one of our trips the campsite in Tivoli was difficult to find; was run by a grumpy old lady; and none of our eight or ten electric plugs would fit in their electrical receptacles. Finally the friendly Italian next door gave us a plug that would help. Now we plugged the RV’s German extension cord into the special plug we had bought in San Marino, that would now connect into the Tivoli plug, that would fit the Tivoli receptacle, and now we had electricity for the night.
These days electric connections within each country are usually standard, but the German plug won’t work in France, and neither of those will work in Italy. In the early years of our travels there were many different electrical plugs in European campsites, sometimes different plugs were needed in different parts of the same campsite. It wasn’t unusual to see a half-dozen RVs or trailers plugged into the same group of receptacles, each with a “Christmas Tree” of two or three plugs and extensions to solve the electrical puzzles.
If we didn’t have the right connection, the campsite would loan, rent, or sell us one. There are times when our electric cord had to be rewired before we could hook up for the night, then it had to be rewired before the next night. At one place in France a few years ago, nothing would work except to twist our bare wires with theirs, but that worked.
EAST TO PESCARA
The drive east on the Autostrada (which follows the route of ancient Via Tiburt) was easy, the weather was sunny, and the view was scenic. We saw little towns and castles on the hilltops, and on the steep hillsides as far as the eye could see. As is usual in Italy, as we crossed (went through) the Apennine Mountains, the Autostrada went through many tunnels. As we came out of one tunnel (three miles long), we looked over a huge valley sprinkled with little villages and a larger town, Suloma (we think). We fixed lunch in a shady rest stop, with a beautiful view of the mountains and valleys, farmland and hill-side villages.
%PESCARA
Pescara was locked tight on a Saturday afternoon, except for the several fruit stands that had blocks of ice covered with cooling watermelon. As we enjoyed our share it was reminiscent of our snack in another year, in Piazzale Roma in Monteriggioni, the little town north of Siena. Unusual and delicious. We’ve seen this only twice in all of Europe.
Throughout Europe the police make random spot checks of vehicles, insurance papers, passports and identity papers. There appears to be no specific reason, they just set up roadblocks and stop this vehicle and that. The policeman on the street in Pescara was talking to his partner and did not see the German license plate on our vehicle before he reached out and put up his little stop sign. He smiled and said something in Italian, so Jim smiled and said something in English, then handed him our Italian/English dictionary. The policeman leafed through a few pages, then smiled and handed it back and waved us on. He didn’t think it was worth the effort.
The campsite owner at Pescara was a member of the Italian Army, and he and his wife had just opened this campsite. They hope it will make them a good living when he retires in a few years. Emmy fixed baked potatoes and the prime rib we had purchased at the Silos Supermarket in Rome. What a feast, delicious and plenty.
The homes that line Pescara’s beach are very nice; the water is clean and cool; the wide sandy beach is spotless; and there were no crowds. We spent a couple of hours that Sunday afternoon on the beautiful beach lying on rented lounges, shaded by a rented umbrella. As might have been determined by now, that is not a standard part of a Humberd vacation. We are mainly sightseers. We spend almost no time lying on a beach or eating in a restaurant, and spend no time at all sitting in a movie, a play, or a nightclub.
THE SHIP TO YUGOSLAVIA
Our plan was to board a ship in Pescara and sail across the Adriatic Sea to (former) Yugoslavia. At the shipping company’s office in both Venice and in Rome we were told they were sold out for the summer, and most likely we could not find a space for our RV. It didn’t matter, we had no schedule, we had no itinerary, if we couldn’t go to Yugoslavia, we would just turn and go somewhere else. (Yes, we make major travel decisions that easily.) We visited the office at the dock in Pescara and found several automobiles that could not get on the Friday boat, waiting for a chance to sail to Yugoslavia on Monday.
Monday morning Jim got in “line” to buy tickets, and what a line it was. Everyone was just jam packed next to each other, jam packed together from “tosies” to “nosies.” Where is Gina Lollobridgia when she is needed most! Jim got the impression some of these Italians weren’t going anywhere, they just liked to “participate” in this kind of line. No one was pushy or unhappy if someone got ahead of them, or behind them, or next to them, or perhaps on top of them, everyone just pushed and pulled until they had a chance to buy a ferryboat ticket to Split. What fun. Jim hadn’t been in a line like this since he tried to buy nylon stockings for his sister, near the end of WW II.
We were almost the last vehicle to board the ship in Pescara, and the way it is constructed, we will be about the first off in Yugoslavia. As in most places we visit, the people on the ship were quite interesting. Rita was born in Italy, lived in Canada 16 years, and again lives in her home country. Radames had lived very near his work, and his boss expected him to be available at all hours, at a moment’s notice. He now has a new job, he works for the Fiat Auto company. Nino, born in Italy, has lived in New Jersey for years and had been visiting his former hometown. It’s always like this — to learn about the people and their country, just ask. They are happy to talk, all that’s needed is a common language.
The large room with dozens of seats, including the two we had rented, was crowded, hot and stuffy. The cafe was also crowded, hot and stuffy, the food was expensive, and not too appetizing. All in all, not a very nice boat trip from Italy to Yugoslavia, but the weather was nice, and the sea was smooth. And what a contrast from ships of a similar size that we have sailed between northern Germany or Denmark, to Norway, Sweden and Finland — air-conditioning, buffet meals, grocery stores, movie theaters, live band music; there is a difference.
WE SEE A LOT , BUT NOT ALL OF ITALY
We must reiterate: Mentioned here are only places we’ve visited and there’s no reason to believe the neighborhoods we haven’t mentioned (or have yet to visit), aren’t just as interesting or beautiful as what is discussed here. For reasons we don’t always understand, we feel compelled to “keep on the move” after we spend some time in an area.
Sometimes we rationalize our actions by saying, for example, “If we had spent more time in Venice, in Rome, and in Pescara, maybe we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to visit Dubrovnik, or Amsterdam, or Stockholm, or Tangiers, or Yalta.” Would we give up seeing Poland, or Scotland, or Norway, or Ireland, just to spend more time in some part of Italy? After we arrive home we can’t understand how we could have spent such a small amount of time in any of these fascinating places. But that’s one of the most delightful dilemmas we can imagine.
Chapter 19
OSTIA ANTICA, ANZIO,
TO POZZUOLI
%OSTIA, WEST OF ROME
In the summer time Romans flock to the vast beaches of the Lido di Ostia, a few miles west of the city of Roma. Of most interest to us were the ruins of Ostia Antica, founded about 400 BC. It was originally the trading port for Rome, and later was a naval base. Over the years, what had originally been the harbor has been filled in by silt from the river, and now the coast is a few miles away. At the time of its glory, Ostia had a population of over 100,000 inhabitants.
Excavation started about a hundred years ago, and the western quarters were uncovered in the late 1930s. Ostia is an impressive place, with huge cypress trees growing among the uncovered destruction. The ruins, extending for maybe a mile in each direction, are mostly of building foundations. While some structures, especially the theater, were in rather good condition, it’s hard to tell what was the originally excavated portions, and what has been restored.
One of the joys of RV travel is that we were able to park among the ancient houses, markets, baths, and temples of Ostia, and have lunch overlooking what was once a bustling city, the harbor of ancient Rome.
SOUTH ALONG THE COAST
As we drove south from Ostia we passed miles of gray sand beaches sometimes almost hidden by high weeds. We wondered at the difference between this beach area and the lovely beaches north of here on the Italian Riviera from Pisa north past Genoa, and on to the French border. We also remember beautiful beaches along the Adriatic, on the east coast of Italy.
Farther south the sand was more golden, but it doesn’t look like a beach many Romans would find suitable for sunbathing or swimming. Unattractive shrubs are visible for miles on both sides of the road, but when they are low enough, we can see the beach and water.
Several of the little towns along here appear almost deserted, store-front shutters are closed, and few cars are parked or traveling on the road. It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, we’re not very far from Rome, but still there are few people. Most likely the Italian children are in school on Saturday morning, as they are in Germany and France.
%ANZIO
The birthplace of Caligula (August 31, 12 AD) and Nero (December 15, 37 AD), Anzio is also the site of major battles during WW II, and was almost totally destroyed during that war. Nearby are the Anzio invasion beaches where the US Army landed on January 22, 1944, then advanced toward Rome. A few miles from Anzio’s invasion beach, near Nettuno, we visited a US Military cemetery where over 8,000 Americans are buried. One thousand British soldiers are buried in another cemetery nearby.
Because of its proximity to Rome and Naples, frequent and fast trains bring thousands of visitors for the beach, night-clubs, tennis courts, hotels, boarding houses and the more than 4,000 villas and apartments. Boat and Hydrofoil service is available to the nearby Island of Ponza. In typical Italian style, pictures show dozens of colorful beach umbrellas installed in straight lines, as if by an Army drill sergeant.
Near Anzio there’s a large prison with many guard towers, with chips of broken glass on top of the high stone walls.
%TERRACINA
From Ostia the road had been level and next to the coast, but suddenly as we neared Terracina the mountains meet the sea, and the road continues near high rocky cliffs of unusual formations. While we were stopped near a gas station to take a picture of the cliffs and the castle on top of the mountain, a woman who spoke English told us it was possible to drive to the top and visit the castle. She said we must be sure to see Sperlonga and Gaeta further down the coast (she sure was right about that). Her home was near Pozzuoli, not far from Naples. We thanked her for the information, and said we would arrive in the Naples area in a day or two.
Terracina is just about one hour from either Rome to the north, or Naples to the south, and is noted for the miles of golden sand and the hours of sunshine. One brochure says Terracina enjoys 290 more hours of sunshine than Rome, 530 more than Venice, and 84 more hours than San Remo on the Italian Riviera. And that’s important information, needed to attract potential visitors to a beach resort.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
The Mediterranean Sea is beautiful today, with row after row of small waves and miles of white caps. There’s a lot of cactus growing along the road and on terraced areas on the nearby hillside.
An explanation: Generally when talking about the huge body of water between Europe and Africa, we think of the Mediterranean Sea. But it’s doubtful if the coast of Italy is actually touched by a body of water called the Mediterranean. Along the Italian shore uncounted bays, coves, lagoons and inlets are each identified with a name. All of these are encompassed by Golfo di Génova, Golfo di Gaeta, Golfo di Nápoli, Golfo di Salerno, Golfo di Venezia, and perhaps by other Golfos by the dozens. The Golfos are in turn embraced by additional large bodies of water called the Mare (Sea) Ligure, Mare Tirreno, Mare Ionio, and the Mare Adratico. Geographers have a way with words.
%SPERLONGA
Sperlonga’s a special place, but it would have been easier to enjoy if the wind wasn’t blowing so hard. We must have looked like the “Leaning Tower of Humberds,” as we tilted into the wind and struggled through this fascinating village. A beautiful labyrinth of pedestrian passages, stairs and tunnels wrap around three sides of the promontory and curl their way among the houses and rocks of Sperlonga’s precipitous site. The lady in Terracina was right, this is a special place.
The town stands on a spur of the Aurunci Mountains where many caves can be seen, one of which is an archaeological museum. Roman Emperor Tiberius (from 14 to 37 AD) narrowly escaped death when some blocks of stone fell from the roof of a large cave below the Gaeta-Terracina road. Now how do they know that? They must keep very detailed records.
Sperlonga is a truly attractive town, much like other hill towns we have visited on the Italian and the French Riviera. With the addition of adequate electricity and modern plumbing, Sperlonga has become a fashionable weekend retreat for wealthy Romans and Neapolitans. The Italian government has taken the town under its protection to ensure that it is not “improved” out of existence, and these days automobiles are permitted only as far as the little town square at the top of the hill.
Homes in Sperlonga are covered with stucco, and had been recently whitewashed about as high as the painter could reach. It’s funny, it appeared they have no sense of neatness, and no attempt was made to keep the whitewash off the stone steps — or maybe that was on purpose. We also saw similar “paint jobs” in some small villages in Greece. Can’t imagine painters in both countries would make the same “mistake.” We have a book with pictures taken years ago, that show whitewash splashed on the steps and pathways of Sperlonga. It must have been done on purpose, perhaps a tradition of some kind.
%GAETA
Gaeta is a beach town situated on a promontory with a magnificent view over the bay. Inland a couple of miles, steep rocky mountains reminded us of the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, and the photographic vista included little hill towns in the distance.
There is still part of a wall around this former fortress, and Serapo Beach, a lovely sandy beach, faces south at the neck of the promontory. The Romanesque Duomo (Cathedral) is located near the picturesque mediaeval quarter of Gaeta. There’s a castle on the hill, and Torre d’Orlando marks the tomb of a friend of Julius Caesar.
Along this beach area, at a place where the mountains met the sea, we passed a ruin of a Roman aqueduct on our left and, soon after, an ancient theater of some kind was on our right. From Terracina through Gaeta and a few miles beyond, we traveled on the original route of the Via Appia. That ancient road is not always identified, but here, since the mountains come to the shore, both the ancient and the modern road were built along the water line.
As we continued down the coast, on both sides of the road we saw herds of what looked like water buffalo. Animals we would expect to see in Africa. Can’t imagine what they are doing in Italy. They are not wild animals, they are in herds, within a fenced area. (Stay tuned.)
At several market stands along the road, people were selling handmade baskets and fruit and vegetables. Artichokes, which were grown in roadside fields, were very much in season with abundant supplies at the market stands.
%POZZUOLI
There seemed to be a lot of police in this part of the country. They weren’t bothering anyone, but were just driving here and there as if to make sure no one needs to be bothered. The view along the coast is very enjoyable on this sunny day, so we drove down the coast to the end of the peninsula, past Bacoli, and on to Miseno, as far to the west of Naples as one can get.
As a result of a bad earthquake in 1980, when we visited in 1989 we were told many people still do not live full-time in their homes in Pozzuoli. The mother and small children come home during the day, and only the men, who must get up early to go out and fish, stayed here at night. Many of the old buildings in Pozzuoli were still in bad shape and might collapse if there is another quake.
Don’t know how much is a result of propaganda, and how much is based on what we see, but the Pozzuoli/Naples area is a little scary. The drivers, the roads, and things in general appear to justify the reputation. We were eager to stop and visit the flea market, but since we couldn’t find a parking place close to all the activity, and close to the ever-present Pozzuoli police, we went on our way. We didn’t want to park on a side street a half mile away, with all the seedy looking characters wandering the streets this morning. We’ve had few problems anywhere in Europe, but maybe that’s because we are very careful.
The Tempio de Serapide, originally a Flavian marketplace lined with shops, stands near the sea. The ruins consist of a circular edifice that had been supported by 16 columns. Pozzuoli’s Roman Amphitheater, 625 feet long by 475 feet wide, was one of the largest in ancient Italy, and could seat 40,000. There are three tiers of seats, and at one place we could look down into the basement of the Amphitheater where they kept the wild animals. An aqueduct brought water needed to flood the Amphitheater so they could stage naumachiae or naval battles. For the first time in Europe, gray hair paid off, there was no admission charge for senior citizens.
There was a large US Navy base near Naples, and in the campsite at Pozzuoli we spoke with family members of US Navy officers, who were living in the small cottages that were for rent on a day to day basis. Some had been there for several weeks, and all were very eager to move into quarters on the Navy base, as soon as possible. The officers were not the least bit pleased with the living condition for their wives and children. Believe it, our RV was a palace compared to the small two-room apartments where they were billeted.
Chapter 20
NAPLES
%NAPLES
We read somewhere that, “Built like a great amphitheater around her beautiful bay, Naples is an eternally unfolding play acted by a million of the best actors in the world. The comedy is broad, the tragedy violent. The curtain never rings down.”
Under the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, Naples combines the staggering extremes of magnificence and misery. The opalescent splendor of the Bay of Naples has been a subject of interest to painters and poets for centuries. Guarded by two islands, Capri and Ischia, and dominated by the lavender majesty of Mt. Vesuvius, Naples gives an impression of utter enchantment. This city is different, almost bizarre, and it appears that in spite of all her problems, not much has been done in the recent century to improve the living standards of her people. The story told by Charles Dickens in “Pictures from Italy” a hundred and fifty years ago would still describe much of what we saw. While the poverty, the crowds, the debris on the streets are much the same, the traffic jams of autos, trucks, and buses are an added attraction.
Three different years we have been to Naples, and each time we have been warned not to walk on the sidewalks, and not even drive on the streets. Our first visit, an American Express tour in 1970, we rode through the city in the bus (on our way to Pompeii) without a chance to get out and walk. We remember crowds of people, heavy traffic, and a funeral procession with a huge, heavily decorated, flower bedecked, glass-enclosed hearse, topped with golden wooden angels. It was drawn by horses with harness decorated with silver ornaments and black plumes.
As we looked up and down the streets as we passed, Naples looked like an interesting place to visit, but it did look different from other cities we visited in Italy that year. There’s just something different about Naples.
The next time, we arrived in Naples from Pompeii by train on a Sunday morning. We walked the deserted streets in the heart of the city, making sure we stayed on wide main streets, intending to visit the National Museum. After a while we asked a man, who was walking his dog, for directions to make sure we were still on the right street. He could speak enough English (he had visited his sister who lives in North Carolina) to warn us to be careful. We walked on from there, and stopped to talk to some men of the US Navy Shore Patrol who were stationed at the nearby US Naval Base. They weren’t at all happy that we were walking the streets
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