Italy

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ITALY

Piazza Umberto I, the famous “Piazzetta”, known as “the little theater of the world” with its Torre dell’Orologio or clock tower, on our most favorite island of Capri

May 1993 trip to Italy

Donna on the Campidoglio

Paul on the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square

On this our third visit to Rome, we opted for more

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moderate lodgings at the Hotel Britannia on Via Napoli close to the Termini Station which turned out to be a bit of a walk to our favorite haunts. No matter. On day one, after a hearty hotel breakfast, we were off to explore, once again, ancient Rome, with our first stop at Donna’s favorite: The Capitoline Hill. Rome’s first and most sacred temples stood here. By the middle ages,the Campidoglio, as the hill was then known, had fallen into ruin. In 1537, Pope Paul III called on Michelangelo to restore it to grandeur. The artist then designed the ramp, the buildings on three sides of the square, the convex pavement decorations and pedestal for the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. We visited the palaces flanking Palazzo Senatorio containing two museums whose collections of Roman and Greek sculpture were assembled in the 15th century. From here we descended into the extraordinary archaeological com- plex that is the Roman Forum. Making sense of all those baffling series of ruins is not easy, all you can do is stroll along, letting your imagination dwell on Julius Caesar, Cicero and Mark Antony doing their thing here. Just beyond was the Colosseum - always a must see. For lunch we headed back toward another favorite square o ours, the beautiful baroque Piazza Navona with Bernini’s splashing Fountain of the Four Rivers. Dinner that night (and many other nights) was at the festive La Rampa Ristorante close by the Spanish Steps. Most of one day was devoted to a visit to the Vatican where we concentrated on St. Peter’s, the largest church in the world and the Vatican Museum - which contains collections of staggering richness and diversity - including of course the awesome Sistine Chapel. A stroll through the vast Villa Borghese gardens in search of a certain painting in its museum and lunching on pizza became a memorable experience. Time finally came to prepare for the southern part of our Italian sojourn, which was to be by train to Naples and its bay.

At the Spanish Steps

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Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii We were told that, it is the sense of doom, living in the shadow of Vesuvius, that makes the people of

Naples so volatile, so seemingly blind to everything but the pain and pleasure of the moment. Poverty an overcrowding (noticed from our “scenic route” cab drive) are the more likely causes, whatever the rea- so Naples turned out to be a difficult place for the casual tourist to like. We did however like our accommodations at the Hotel Paradiso up in the hills overlooking the bay with a cable car transporting us up fr and down to the waterfront level. Braving the Italian train system (not for the average foreign tourist), we soon were off to visit the excavated ruins of Herculaneum, 6 miles south of Naples. Hercules himself wa said to have founded the town, which became a famous weekend retreat for the Roman elite. When the gigantic eruption of Vesuvius in AD 47 (which also destroyed Pompeii) completely buried the town under a tide of volcanic mud, all was sealed in a compact airtight tomb, making it possible for present day visitors to view the neatly laid out streets and well preserved edifices. On then to explore ancient Pompeii, which was much larger than Herculaneum, with a busy commercial center and population o 10 - 20,000. It too had been turned into a Roman colony, where wealthy patricians came to escape the turmoil of city life and relax in the sun. We spent hours looking into the luxurious lifestyle of these ancient people, so devoted to the pleasures of the flesh. On the walls of a brothel were scenes of erotic games in which clients could indulge. A violent thunder- storm marked the end of our exhausting visit. The following day saw us hail a cab that almost brought us (it got stuck in the morning traffic a block from our destination) to Naples’ Museo Archeologico Nazionale, a major attrac-tion for anyone interested in antiquity and for those wanting to view the hordes of artworks found in Pompeii and Herculaneum. We left Naples without once hearing the strains of its wonderfully melodic Neopolitan music and song and headed by boat for the romantic Isle of Capri. In Naples’ Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius at night

In ancient Pompeii

On the Isle of Capri

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After arriving by boat at Capri’s Marina Grande pier, we could have taken the funicular but opted for a cab to reach the town, which rests on top of rugged limestone cliffs, hundreds of feet above the sea. As motor vehicles were not allowed beyond the towns famous “Piazzetta”, we were left to find our own way on foot to the Hotel La Pineta, which turned out to be quite a long walk. Fortunately somebody delivered our luggage by hand drawn cart separately to the hotel, which was beautifully situated terraces following the slope of the hill overlooking gardens, sparkling swimming pools and the sea. Overrun by tourists during the day, the crowds are not enough to destroy Capri’s special charm. The town is a Moorish opera set of shiny white houses, tiny squares and narrow medieval alleyways hung with flowers. The mood is fashionable but somehow unspoiled. Society’s upper crust bake in the sun at lavish private villas. We went on a long solitary walk/ hike around the island hundreds of feet above the sea, with breathtaking views of the gigantic rock stacks known as the Faraglioni, which have become the island’s unique emblem. Legends of Roman Emperors, Saracen invaders and modern eccentrics combine to give Capri its voluptuous allure, so sensuous and intoxicating like the island’s rare and delicious white wine. We did the obligatory 90 minute boat tour of the fabled Blue Grotto and visited Anacapri, the island’s other town, where we found Swedish scientist Axel Munthe’s charming former home, Villa San Michele particularly interesting. We dined in romantic splendor at the La Pigna, one of Capri’s favorite restaurants, while surrounded by lemon trees and listening to the languid sounds of Neapolitan singing coming from a nightspot across the way. All in all, we found Capri to be a place of “sweet idleness” or, as the Italians would say: “dolce far niente”. Next stop: Positano, on the Amalfi Coast. Overlooking the Marina Grande pier

Day and nighttime view from our room at the Hotel La Pineta

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Positano on the Amalfi Coast The most popular town along the Amalfi Drive is Positano. Artists came here first, followed by the

wealthy. It is a dream place that bites deep and isn’t quite real to you until after you have gone. Its house climb a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut in it. The small curving bay of unbelievabl and green water laps gently on a beach of small pebbles. There is only one narrow street and it does no come down to the water. Everything else is stairs, some of them steep as ladders. The boat that brought here from Capri dumped us and luggage unceremoniously on the dock, with nary a sign of any public conveyance in sight. A fellow with a cart finally appeared and helped us up several flights of stairs to a taxi stand. Our hotel, the Le Agavi, turned out to be a beauty on top of the mountain. Built on various levels, it looked like a colored collection of terraces falling down to the sea in the mythic beauty of a spectacular landscape. The hotel provided us with transportation to and from town where we spent hours checking out the charming restaurants and boutiques featuring the stylish summer clothes and vivid colors that Positano is so well known for. A delightful day was spent on the hotel’s private beach and basking in the incredibly warm water. We made a deal with a hotel driver to return us in his ca via the Amalfi Coast, Italy’s most romantic drive, to a Naples train station, where Donna learned to ask: “treno, Roma?” before indeed boarding the train to Rome and the end of our 1993 Italian sojourn. View from the Hotel Agavi of its beach reached by elevator

On the balcony of our hotel room overlooking a small sheltered bay

Positano’s white Moorish type houses clinging dramatically to steep slopes