October 22 - Napoli

A magnificent mosaic in a villa in Herculaneum. Can you believe it was buried in mud for more than 1700 years?
One of the breath-taking vistas along the Amalfi Coast road
A 2000 year old street in Herculaneum

This morning we arrived bright and early in Napoli. Despite the weather forecast for cloudy and periodic rain we had a spectacular day. We met our friends ashore and our driver Biagio was waiting to take us on our tour for the day.

First stop was Herculaneum. This is a town which was destroyed during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. While Pompeii was a working class city, Herculaneum was a more upper class resort town by the sea. While Pompeii was covered in ash and pumice and other pyroclastic material, Herculaneum was buried in a tremendous mudslide which occurred after the volcano erupted and subsequently there was tremendous rain. The city remained buried and forgotten until the 18^th century when it was accidentally rediscovered. Serious excavation didn’t begin until the late 19^th century. Because it didn’t succumb to tremendous heat, many things remained intact. Some of the houses still have beautiful murals and mosaic floors from which one can discern the beauty that must have existed. We learned a couple of interesting statistics from our guide. The average life expectancy of a Roman of the era was 41 years. The average life expectancy of a person after becoming a slave was 14 years.

After an interesting and educational visit we proceeded through Sorrento and on to the Amalfi Coast road. The drive is spectacular and not for the faint of heart. I know we could never make the drive ourselves. Around each turn the vistas of the tremendous cliffs with the sparkling blue sea below can take your breath away. Our first stop was Positano, one of my personal favorites. Our driver recommended a restaurant at the bottom near the beach. The walk down was steep with some steps but the payoff at the end was worth it. We ate at a place called La Campusa. The restaurant was open to the delightful sea breeze. I think we all agreed that each of our selections were very good, and the house wine was pretty good too!

The walk back up the hill helped to work off our lunch. Next stop was Amalfi, home to one of my favorite ceramic shops. Along the way Biagio told us a little about the history of the coast. From 700 to 1100 AD (roughly) the area was the Amalfi Republic and was one of the wealthiest states in the Mediterranean because of its extensive trade. Its wealth attracted the attention of Saracen invaders. As the towns were attacked, the people moved their towns further and further up the sides of the mountains. They also built a series of watchtowers both for defensive purposes and to act as signal towers to warn the populace of attack. One can see the remnants of some of them on rocky promontories along the way.

After wandering around Amalfi for awhile we followed Biagio’s recommendation and had a lemon gelato with limoncello in the middle of the bowl. What can I say? Yummy!!

Then it was time to head back to Naples to reboard our ship. It was a splendid day in Naples.