Category Archives: Places

Archaeological Ruins of Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and almost everyone knows the gist of the story of this city which was buried under ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. We’ve long wanted to visit, and it was near the top of our list of things to do in Naples (after eating pizza of course). We had to wait for almost a week into our stay for a day with no forecast of rain but it was worth being patient.

Vesuvius behind Pompeii's ForumVesuvius is visible from many places in the city. Here it looms over the Forum, the main public square

Vesuvius had been rumbling for several days, maybe weeks, before it erupted violently on 24th August 79AD, and many of the townspeople (an estimated 17,000 from a total of around 20,000) had already fled to safety leaving only those too poor, sick or otherwise unable to move. A violent tremor signalled the start of the eruption, and lapilli, small pumice rocks, rained down to a depth of three metres in just a few hours. Many were crushed as houses collapsed under the weight, those who survived were killed by the blasts of toxic gas and ash which followed and completely buried the city.

Via dell'Abbondanza, PompeiiOne of Pompeii’s main streets, Via dell’Abbondanza

During the early excavations, archaeologists found some cavities containing bones and the director, Giuseppe Fiorelli, had the genius idea to pour plaster of paris into them to form the shapes of the people buried in the ash. We’d heard about this before our visit and expected them to be positioned where they had fallen but for the most part the casts were in glass cases which I suppose makes sense from a preservation point of view. One of the rare information boards had a quote from a 19th century visitor describing them as “not art, nor imitation; it is the bones and relics of the flesh and clothing mixed with plaster” and this really hit home when we saw one cast where the skull was visible.

Plaster casts of some of Pompeii's victimsCasts of thirteen bodies which were found in a garden in Pompeii, now dubbed the Garden of the Fugitives

The Muleteer castThis cast, called the ‘Muleteer’ because he was found near the skeleton of a donkey, is kept in a storage area beside the Forum

As well as plaster casts of people, archaeologists have been able to make casts of animals such as a dog, as well as wooden items which have decyaed away over the centuries including a cupboard and a door. Even more ingeniously, more modern archaeologists have made casts of the roots of plants which decomposed under the ash enabling the reconstruction of whole gardens.

Courtyard of the House of MenanderMany of the houses have peaceful courtyard gardens

Pompeii had a clever water supply system. Water was collected in the hills and carried to the city by aqueduct. Because the city is on a gentle slope, taps throughout the streets could be fed by gravity. Most of them still work and, as the water is potable, they were handy for refilling our water bottle.

Pompeii street fountainMany of the streetside taps still dispense clean water

Unfortunately the sewerage system wasn’t so advanced and so waste liquids were thrown out into the street and washed downhill meaning that residents needed high pavements and stepping stones to prevent them treading in something they’d rather not. Donkey carts passed between the stepping stones and cart ruts are worn into the cobbled streets in many places.

Stepping stones in PompeiiUs on the high stepping stones across one of Pompeii’s streets

Not all of the site’s buildings are open every day – it is dependent on archaeology work, restoration, and staff availability so it’s not possible to make an exhaustive list of what you want to see before you arrive. We found a few recommendations online but pretty much just tried to tour as many as we could of the buildings that were open on the day we visited (helpfully assisted by the lady in the information office marking them up on our map). For that reason we never knew quite what we were going to find when we went into an open door.

Pompeii frescoWe were often surprised by the vibrancy and good condition of the frescoes – it’s hard to believe that these are 2000 years old and that they were painted onto someone’s living room wall – it beats wallpaper any day!

Fountain under restorationWe liked peering through gaps into some of the closed buildings to spot sights like this fountain undergoing restoration

When we visited the Stanze al Genio museum in Palermo, our guide Claudio showed us a tile picture of a dog and told us that it was based on a famous Pompeii mosaic so we were keen to find the original. It’s situated at the entrance to the ‘House of the Tragic Poet’ and the words on it, ‘Cave Canem’ translate as ‘Beware of the Dog’. It’s a bit classier than the little plaques used nowadays!

'Beware of the dog' mosaic and tilesThe original ‘Beware of the dog’ mosaic in Pompeii (left) and the tile version at Stanze al Genio

As well as houses there are a wide variety of commercial buildings – temples, public baths, fast food joints, theatres, even brothels! The wall paintings in the brothel are pretty explicit and apparently served as either a ‘shopping list’ or as inspiration for patrons! I really liked the thermopolia or snack bars, a U-shaped counter set with a number of terracotta pots from which food was served.

Public buildings, PompeiiSome of Pompeii’s public buildings (clockwise from top left): Temple of Apollo; lavishly decorated entrance to the men’s section of the Stabian baths; I joked to Andrew that these were giant spaghetti measurers and then we found out that it was actually the weights and measures house; us in the smaller of Pompeii’s two theatres

ThermopoliumThermopolium snack bar counter

For us one of the unexpected features of the site was the cemetery. Somehow we hadn’t thought about the fact that people had lived and died there before it was buried in ash. Roman law stated that burials should always be outside the city limits and so the grand tombs line the road outside the Nocera Gate. This also ensured that there would be plenty of passers-by to make offerings and pay tribute as they passed.

Tomb in Pompeii's cemeteryThis tomb was for freed slaves. Each niche contains either a bust of the deceased or a stone representation of a head

We rented audioguides to help us understand what we were seeing as we wandered around Pompeii and found them very useful as there are few information boards around the site. However it became a running joke that the explanation would say something along the lines of “The item displayed here is a replica, and the original can be found in the Archaeological Museum in Naples” and so to get the full story we thought that we should visit there as well…

On the first floor were several rooms with frescoes from Pompeii. The painted plaster has been cut out of the wall and put into frames for display. We thought they looked to be much brighter and of even better quality than most of the ones that we saw at Pompeii itself although we weren’t sure whether that was because the best examples were the ones chosen to be removed or because the museum’s environment was better for their preservation.

The Sacrifice of Iphigenia fresco‘The Sacrifice of Iphigenia’ comes from ‘The House of the Tragic Poet’ where we saw the ‘Beware of the Dog’ mosaic

FrescoesSometimes the look of a whole room could be reconstructed from its frescoes

I really enjoyed looking at the exhibit containing smaller items unearthed from Pompeii including pots and pans, door knockers, oil lamps, pottery and even glassware. Some of the glasses had been distorted into strange shapes by the heat but I was surprised that any at all had survived intact.

Artefacts from PompeiiClockwise from left: metal moulds and cookware; vitrines containing pottery items; a glass perfume flask

Apart from the ‘Beware of the Dog’ mosaic the only other one that we remembered was a replica in the ‘House of the Faun’. We sought out the original in the museum and were surprised to find lots of mosaics on display and of breathtaking detail. Even after seeing the floors at Villa Romana del Casale I’m still amazed at how good the Roman craftsmen were.

Mosaic of travelling musiciansThe mosaic of travelling musicians from the Villa of Cicerone was one of our favourites

After looking through the exhibits containing items from Pompeii we returned to the ground floor for a look around the collection of antique marble statuary acquired by the Farnese family in the 16th century and a whirlwind five minutes checking out the exquisitely carved semi-precious stones called the Farnese Gems (the guard was about to lock up for the day when we arrived but he let us in for a peak).

Farnese BullAndrew admiring the Farnese Bull. It was originally carved from a single piece of marble although it has needed a fair amount of sticking back together and replacement pieces over the centuries

We’re really pleased that we visited the Archaeology Museum as well and definitely think that we did them in the right order. Going to Pompeii first gave us an overview of the setting and context of the artefacts so that we could better appreciate the museum, and I think if we’d done them the other way round it might have given us an unrealistic expectation of what we would find at the archaeological site in terms of quality of artwork.

The best pizza is in Naples, Italy

A bold statement I know, but I love pizza. That means I’ve eaten a lot of pizza. I took up running and yoga so I didn’t have to restrict my consumption of it. Before we arrived in Naples we’d heard that the Italians make the best pizza in the world and we thought, “yeah, OK, it’s going to be good, but we enjoy the pizza back home so how good can it be?” Then when we got to Sicily we thought the pizza there was the best we’d ever had, only to find out that Italians consider the best pizza to be in Naples, and we thought “what, better than this? that’s gotta be some amazing pizza!

Pizza, DiMatteo, Naples, Italy

Our first taste of the real thing, courtesy of Di Matteo’s on Via de Tribunali (i.e. ‘Pizza Street’) in Naples. Former USA President Bill Clinton ate here when he visited Italy in 1994

Well, we’ve been here just over a week and after 5 pizzas and a calzone, they were absolutely right. Naples is the home of pizza, and there’s no better pizza than the Neapolitan hand-made pizza.

Margherita con Melanzane pizza,, Di Matteo, Naples, Italy

Mouth-watering close up of Julie’s Margheria con Melanzane (tomato, cheese, basil leaf and aubergine) pizza at Di Matteo’s restaurant. The dough is proved for about 24 hours and is so thin that we easily put away these dustbin-lid sized beauties and seriously considered seconds.

Pizza oven in L'Antica Pizzeria de Michele, Naples, Italy

Pizza Margherita piping hot from a typical wood-fired oven. The thin base, simple, succulent and rich tomato sauce and a sprinkling of toppings mean the pizza cooks very quickly and has a charred, black-spotted underside. This is L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, the pizzeria that “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert visited

Legend has it that Pizza Margherita was invented in 1889, named after Queen Margherita of Italy, and consists of a tomato base, white mozzarella cheese and topped with a basil leaf. Green, white and red – the colours of the Italian flag!

Ham and Ricotta Calzone, Starita, Naples, Italy

My Ham and Ricotta Calzone at our local Pizzeria Starita. Fantastic..

Pizza Romana, Starita, Naples, Italy

Julie’s Pizza Romana at Pizzeria Starita. We agreed that while the bar had been set high by Di Matteo, Starita excelled at the art of the pizza. Obviously we need to apply the scientific method and repeat our tests before deliberating, cogitating and coming to our conclusions

I think I may truly be spoiled once we leave Naples. *sniff*

Sicily Round Up

What photo takes you right back to Sicily?

Temple of Concord

There are many, many layers of history in Sicily. One of the oldest sites that we visited was the Valley of Temples in Agrigento.

Summarise Sicily in three words.

  • Theatrical – Not only is the island littered with old Greek and Roman teatros, but the people are pretty dramatic too – we had to laugh on our first day when we saw a guy having a loud, flamboyant conversation waving both arms around while driving his car!
  • Melting pot – Sicily’s location in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea means that it has been occupied by many different peoples and their influences are still visibly mixed together – from Greek temples in Agrigento, to Arab geometric patterns on the tiles in the Stanze al Genio, to Byzantine decoration in the Norman cathedral at Monreale and Roman mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale
  • Patriotic – Sicilians are proud of their island, its history and its delicious produce. Fortunately they love sharing it with visitors too – we were constantly offered free samples of food and advice on places to visit.

You really know you’re in Sicily when…

…you have to watch your step to make sure your shoes stay clean. Unfortunately the streets are full of litter and, even worse, dog poo.

What one item should you definitely pack when going to Sicily?

An empty stomach. The food is fantastic, whether in fancy restaurants, on the streets or from the markets.

Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina, Sicily

Villa Romana del Casale was a large Roman villa almost in the centre of Sicily whose remains include the best collection of Roman mosaics in the world.

Masters bedroom, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The mosaic floors of the Villa Romana de Casale are breathtakingly intricate. This central design in the master’s bedroom represents love and immortality, and features Cupid and Psyche

We’d originally planned to visit the volcanic island of Stromboli on our way to the Italian mainland, but when we found out the hiking tours were cancelled because it was likely to erupt again after the spectacular eruption 5 months ago in August, we changed plans and jumped on a bus to Piazza Armerina, a small town near Villa Romana de Casale. And we’re so glad we did instead of heading straight to Naples..

Porticoed entrance court, Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily

The former porticoed entrance court of the Villa Romana del Casale. The wall would have been Just beyond the row of pillars with a marble fountain in the centre

Originally built in the 4th century on the site of an existing villa, it was expanded a number of times before possibly being damaged or destroyed by invaders. Parts remained in use throughout the Byzantine and Arab periods until a massive landslide in the 12th century almost completely covered it. Forgotten, the area was turned over for cropland for nearly 700 years until the 19th century, when bits of mosaic and columns where found, leading to the first professional archaeological excavations in 1929.

The great hall of the frigidarium, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The walking route starts at the villa’s Roman bathhouse, which was open to the public and staying guests. This is the great hall of the frigidarium, an octagonal room with cold baths in the corners and corridors to the hot baths, massage rooms and the house. It reminded us of the Turkish baths we had in Istanbul but the decoration here is more impressive than the plain marble flooring of the hamams

There are many nice things about travelling off-season: generally the transport is cheaper (if it’s running); accommodation is easier to find (if it’s open); but our favourite benefit is the reduced crowds at tourist attractions (if they too are open). We’ve stayed with some lovely hosts in Sicily and Piazza Armerina was no exception, but the shorter winter days meant the shuttle busses for the 3km trip out of the town to the villa weren’t running. Having risen early intending to hike our host was having none of it and insisted he take us in his car!

Two-apse room, or palestra, Villa Romana de Casale

The two-apse room or ‘palestra’ is the grand entrance hall to the spa or Roman bathhouse for the villa. We’re viewing it from the ‘common’ entrance, the family and important guest entrance is on the right and the baths are to the left. The mosaic depicts a race of quadrigae (4-horse chariot) at the Circus Maximus in Rome

We arrived just a few minutes after it opened and we saw 2 other couples as we walked around, then a group of 6 or so just as we were leaving, so we had the whole place to ourselves and really took our time to study the stunning variety of mosaics and read the excellent information boards.

The central portico, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The central portico of the villa separates the service rooms, flats and halls for administration, from the boardrooms and the basilica

Floor of the central portico, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

Closeup of the central portico floor, showing the geometric patterns that surround wild animals

3rd service room floor, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

Most of the service rooms are decorated with elaborate geometric patterns, like this one in the 3rd service room, believed to have been for the domestic attendants to the adjacent rooms

The ambulatory of the great hunt, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

At the opposite end of the portico from the main entrance is one of the most famous pieces in the villa – the “great hunt”. It actually depicts the capturing of ferocious and exotic wild animals for exhibition in Rome, and is about 60 metres long

Closeup of the great hunt, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

Closeup of the “great hunt” mosaic where the captured animals are led onto a transport ship

Diaeta of Orpheus, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

One of the boardrooms opposite the service rooms and apartments, this is the Diaeta of Orpheus, a splendid room whose walls were faced with marble. It is thought to have been used for summer banquets and musical entertainment. Orpheus is a mythical singer and poet surrounded by 50 species of animals arranged by size, with the smallest at the top in the alcove

2nd service room of the masters southern apartment, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

Probably the most famous of the mosaics in the villa – that of the nicknamed “bikini girls”. They’re actually athletes dressed in a light outfit for competition consisting of a strophium and subligar. The almost fully-clothed figure in the bottom left is handing the winner a crown of roses and a palm branch.
In the top-left is an earlier geometric pattern which was replaced, probably due to a change of function or use, but check out the vivid, vibrant colours – we tried to then imagine the entire villa like this. Wow!

Triapsidal triclinium, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The route took us outside giving us a chance to warm our fingers a little. Next up was the triapsidal triclinium and as you already know that means, I need only talk about the mosaic floor which depicts the enemies of Hercules during his 12 labours. We think this area is currently being restored or improved for viewing as there were ropes over the entrance stairs and everything was covered in dust (yes, we hopped over ropes!)

Apsidal hall, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The route then took us through the most important rooms of the villa – those of the master’s apartment. This apsidal hall is believed to be the bedroom or study and features young musicians, actors, poets and mimes in theatrical competition

Semi-circular portico, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

Just next to the master’s bedroom or study is the aquatically themed semi-circular portico which served to join the rooms of the master’s apartment, providing cool air and water from a fountain in the middle. The scenes are of pairs of fishermen using all the tools and techniques of the day – nets, creel, trident and rod and line

Cubiculum with alcove, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

This is the other bedroom of the master’s private apartment. This time the flooring depicts children trying to capture barnyard animals, though not as successfully as their elders in the “great hunt” – one is bitten by a rat and another falls to the ground after being chased by a giant rooster!

Basilica, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The second to last section is the mighty hall of the basilica, which was the most richly decorated in the villa – the walls and floor were lined with polychrome marble sourced from all over the Mediterranean. Excavations discovered glass mosaic in the apse vault which would have looked amazing from the entrance hall right through the courtyard

Antechamber of the masters northern apartment, Villa Romana de Casale, Sicily

The final 3 rooms of the route comprise the master’s northern apartment. The antechamber depicts the famous mythological scene of Ulysses escaping from Polyphemus. Many of the rooms are of mythological tales that have moral lessons. The lesson here is Ulysses represents human rationality succeeding against the brutality and unmoderated greed of the giant Polyphemus. I imagine that walking through each room is to be reminded of the intended moral behaviour

We were very fortunate with the weather, but although it was a bright, clear day, most of the mosaics are inside the villa and the protective roof meant that we got a little chilly. After a good 3½ hours following the route, we warmed up with a spot of lunch on a bench in the car park in the sun before hiking the 5km back into town.

We’ve added Stromboli to our ever-increasing list of places to come back to, but we’re so pleased we decided to visit Villa Romana del Casale. Not only are the mosaics simply amazing – and that’s saying something after Monreale Cathedral and The Church on Spilled Blood – but I think that means we’ve been to every UNESCO World Heritage site on Sicily!

Corleone, Sicily

Warning: this post contains images of violent death

If the name Corleone sounds familiar it might be because it’s the name of the Mafia family in the trilogy of Godfather films (and the book that they were based on). In real life, Corleone is a small town with a population of about 12,000 situated in the hills of north western Sicily. It has long been associated with the Sicilian Mafia, with many of the most notorious ‘bosses’ of past years having their roots in the town, but now it is trying to break free of its reputation, spearheading a campaign to rid Sicily of organised crime and corruption.

CorleoneA typical narrow street in Corleone

It’s about a 90 minute bus ride up into the hills from Palermo. We arrived just after lunch and found a sleepy place with all of its shops closed for the afternoon. We wandered the narrow streets following the ‘Justice and Legality’ route past some of the places associated with the anti-mafia movement, for example, the spot where Bernardino Verro, an early 20th century Socialist mayor and peasant leader, was assassinated by the Mafia, and the ‘People’s House’ founded by Verro to house the ‘Cooperative Agricultural Union’ a symbol of the local peasants’ struggles against the rich landowners and organised crime.

Casa del PopoloThe rather unassuming ‘Casa del Popolo’ (People’s House) is now home to a number of cultural associations

At 3pm we arrived for our tour of the International Centre for Documentation on the Mafia and Anti-Mafia Movement (CIDMA). CIDMA was founded in 2000 to raise awareness about and fight against the Mafia in Italy and worldwide by pursuing legality.

CIDMA receptionWall mural in CIDMA reception

There was no response to the doorbell and we were just checking our email to find a phone number when our guide bustled up and ushered us inside. After explaining the aims of CIDMA, she showed us the first room which is dedicated to the memory of two Sicilian judges, Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone. In February 1986 they began the Maxi-trial to try 475 mafiosi. The room contains copies of all the trial’s documentation, shelf after shelf of binders which ultimately led to the conviction of 360 of the accused.

Files from th 'Maxi-trial'Andrew with the files from the Maxi-trial

CIDMA is only possible because of the actions of brave people like Borsellino and Falcone who opened up the Mafia’s secrecy and allowed it to be spoken about publicly. But they paid for their bravery, both were murdered, along with their police bodyguards, for their stance and as a warning to others considering speaking out.

Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni FalconeBusts of Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone

The following rooms contained some shocking and brutal images taken by Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia during the 1970s and 80s of Mafia killings, as well as photographs by her daughter Shobha showing the effects of the killings on the victims’ families. Our guide used these to explain the reality of a life lived in fear of organised crime as well as the messages sent by the mafiosi in the way the bodies were left.

Mafia killingsSome of Letizia Battaglia’s images of Mafia killings

Grief of survivorsShobha Battaglia’s photographs of the grief of those left behind

We were particularly struck by the image of a man who was killed while on his way to collect his car from an underground garage, and the symbolism of how his murderers arranged his body. He was dragged down the slope below street level (he was unimportant), he was placed with his face down (to show he had seen something that he shouldn’t have but wouldn’t again) and his hands were in his pockets (he wasn’t active in the Mafia, just an innocent in the wrong place at the wrong time).

Photograph of Mafia killingOne of Letizia Battaglia’s photographs of a Mafia killing

Our guide was keen to stress that the majority of Sicilians were and are good, honest people, and several times during the tour, while explaining the needless deaths, she finished by saying:

We are killed because we are alone

Meaning that because of a lack of support from the state, and the power of the Mafia, people died. We were shocked that the Mafia is still active, sure there isn’t the same level of violence and fear that there used to be but ‘silent’ mafiosi are still running organised crime reliant on corruption within the authorities.

Paolo Borsellino quoteIn the CIDMA reception is a quote from Paolo Borsellino exhorting visitors to “Talk about Mafia. Talk about it on the radio, on television, in the newspapers. But talk about it”