Photos and the City

Tag: my big fat italian roadtrip

Salerno

I managed to arrive safe and sound in Napoli, saying goodbye to the car and make myself comfy in the same Airbnb as the year before, looking all over the city. But it was a short first night, early morning the next day I hopped on the train to Salerno for a little photo shoot.

After a lovely trainride, I was back at the Amalfi coast, less stressed than a few days before with the car and it only takes one hour by train. I also had thought about going by boat (traghetto) but the departure times didn´t quite fit my schedule.

Carola picked me up at the train station and we drove in direction of Paestum to the stunning Lido delle Sirene. The beach was completely deserted and we had every corner just for ourselves.

Afterwards, Carola drove me back to Salerno and there was enough time for a little stroll around the city.

I didn´t see that much but got a little taste for next time. I just strolled around the Old Town and the Trieste Lungomare, a wonderful promenade to the port.

Human settlement at Salerno has a rich and vibrant past, dating back to pre-historic times. The site has been one of the most important and strategic ports on the Mediterranean sea, yielding a rich Greco-Roman heritage. It was an independent Lombard principality, Principality of Salerno, in the early Middle Ages. During this time, the Schola Medica Salernitana, the first medical school in the world, was founded. In the 16th century, under the Sanseverino family, among the most powerful feudal lords in southern Italy, the city became a great centre of learning, culture and the arts,[…] (Wikipedia)

For a very brief time, February to August 1944, Salerno was the Italian capital, during the liberation after the landing of the allied armies until the liberation of Rome.

03/05/2019
Pompeii

The year before I had already visited Herculaneum so it was about time to visit Pompeii, the ancient Roman city.

The city has re-emerged from the darkness of centuries precisely as it would have been when it was unexpectedly buried in the thick layer of ash and lava which poured down from the devastating eruption of Vesuvius. It was the year 79 A.D. (Pompeii Online)

Buried in 79 A.D. and rediscovered in 1748, when a group of explorers discovered Pompeii almost intact under the layers of dust and debris.

Situated about eight kilometres from Vesuvio Pompeii was a flourishing resort for Rome’s most distinguished citizens and attracted many wealthy visitors.

Elegant houses and elaborate villas lined the paved streets. Tourists, townspeople and slaves bustled in and out of small factories and artisans’ shops, taverns and cafes, and brothels and bathhouses. People gathered in the 20,000-seat arena and lounged in the open-air squares and marketplaces. (history.com)

Pompeii remained mostly untouched until 1748, when a group of explorers looking for ancient artifacts arrived in Campania and began to dig. They found that the ashes had acted as a marvelous preservative: Underneath all that dust, Pompeii was almost exactly as it had been 2,000 years before. Its buildings were intact. Skeletons were frozen right where they’d fallen. Everyday objects and household goods littered the streets. Later archaeologists even uncovered jars of preserved fruit and loaves of bread! (history.com)

Pompeii (like Herculaneum) offers a snapshot of Roman life, frozen at the moment and shows the everyday life of its citizens.

The walls of the houses are covered with electoral propaganda messages or risque jokes aimed at particular citizens. The signs on the shop doorways indicate the activity carried out there or the name of the owner. Alongside the elegant villas belonging to the nobility and the luxurious residences of the middle class, stand modest houses where several families lived.
The peasant dwellings on the other hand are situated around vegetable gardens or small plots of land. (Pomeii Online)

The House of the Venus in a Shell.

I think I spend almost the whole day walking around Pompeii and still haven´t seen all of it, there is so much to explore and to visit. And it´s a kind of strange feeling walking around an area where so many people have died but also very interesting – very mixed feelings about this.

Even I visited Pompeii in October there were still many people around and the parking place was very full, I would recommend using public transport to visit. There are trains and buses going there. And bring sunscreen, water and comfortable shoes!

30/04/2019
Minori & la Grotta dello Smeraldo

Good morning Amalfi Coast! Early morning the traffic wasn´t that bad so I decided to stop in Minori for some caffé and cornetto. The Amalfi Coast was already loved by the old Romans, there is a more than 2000 years old Roman villa at Minori, the Villa Marittima Romana. But I only went for a little breakfast at the tiny harbour.

My second stop kind of happened by accident. I actually just wanted to take a picture and saw a free parking space. Pulled in I was greeted by a lovely man who informed that this was the parking for the Grotta dello Smeraldo and if I want to visit it. An elevator brought me down to sea level and I entered a big cave. It was a short boat trip around the cave and a nice break.

On one side the cave is flooded with brilliant blue (green) water and was discovered by a fisherman in 1932

Unlike the Blue Grotto located a few kilometres to the west on Capri, the Grotta dello Smeraldo has no natural outlet above the waterline. The only opening to the outside world is just below the water level. Refracted sunlight entering the cavern through the opening gives the water its characteristic emerald glow during daylight hours. (Wikipedia)

And again, traffic on the Amalfi Coast…. I had planned to make another stop in Sorrento to visit the Vallone dei Mulini (Valley of Mills) but just when I arrived it started raining and I just drove on in the direction of Pompeii, my next stop.

19/07/2018