79 AD and all that....

Looking down on Herculaneum from the entrance walkway

Herculaneum

Having our friend "6" to stay galvanised us into doing some sightseeing further afield. We had already visited Pompeii when we passed through Italy on our journey east a few years back but we still had the smaller and better preserved Herculaneum to visit. We picked a sunny day and a small group of us set off on the train to Naples. We then had to negotiate the busy commuter Circumvesuviana line and finally alighted at Ercolano Scavi. The site was a short walk down the main street in the middle of the built up town of modern Ercolano. The entrance road crosses a bridge over part of the site and gave us a great view from above of the once wealthy port town with many fine houses and made all the more dramatic with Vesuvius brooding on the horizon. 

Herculaneum with Vesuvius brooding in the background

                                          Fresco and mosaic panels, Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Charred remains of a bed, Herculaneum

Detail of floor mosaic, Herculaneum

Herculaneum is an ancient Roman town which, like Pompeii, was destroyed by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Unlike Pompeii, which was buried by only a few metres of volcanic material, Herculaneum was buried 20m beneath the surface by successive surges and flows of volcanic material and clouds of hot gas which arrived at speeds of over 70km per hour. This caused little structural damage and preserved buildings, objects and victims almost intact. Herculaneum was originally discovered when a well was being dug in the early 18th century. We had the site almost to ourselves and spent a wonderful few hours exploring every nook and cranny including the ancient shoreline where in 1980 archeologists discovered some 300 skeletons. These were the remains of a crowd that had fled to the beach only to be overcome by the intense 500°C heat sweeping down from Vesuvius. Back in present time we needed reviving and set off in search of food. The ubiquitous pizza came to our rescue as did the local vino rosso and happily rejuvenated we set off on our journey home.

                                           Casts of skeletons as they were found

View north west from Sperlonga old town

View south east from Sperlonga old town towards Tiberius' villa

View back from Tiberius' villa to Sperlonga old town

Remains of Tiberius' villa

Remains of Tiberius' villa

Our next journey back in time took us to the beautiful seaside town of Sperlonga which lies about halfway between Rome and Naples. It was a twenty minute bus journey away from Gaeta. The charming old town is comprised of whitewashed houses that are clustered together on a steep headland. We started with a coffee and admired the views out to sea. We then wandered through the warren like stairways down to the small harbour and set off along the deserted beach in search of the remains of the Roman Emperor Tiberius' villa. The Emperor Tiberius chose this beautiful natural setting right next to the sea for his summer residence and the site also included a grotto which was used for dining. Archeologists have found fragments of huge sculptures which once adorned the grotto and man-made fishponds at the cave mouth. These marble statues dating from around the 1st century BC depicted scenes from Homer's "Adventures of Odysseus" and some are now on display in the great little archeological museum adjacent to the site. We made our way back to town and clambered up to the top for a sandwich before catching our bus home.

View out of Tiberius' grotto

Inside Tiberius' grotto

Remains of Roman fish ponds

Marble bust of Tiberius, Naples archeological museum

Theatrical masks, Sperlonga archeological museum

Marble busts found in the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum
Naples archeological museum

Marble bust of a philosopher, Herculaneum

Marble bust of a poet, Herculaneum

Fresco, Pompeii

Fresco, Pompeii

Having visited two wonderful sites it was now

Mosaic, Pompeii

time to seek out some more of the treasures the archeologists have unearthed. We hopped on the train back to Naples and spent the good part of a day exploring the wonderful Naples National Archeological museum which houses an extensive collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. Their core exhibits are from the hugely impressive Farnese collection, one of the premier collections of Greco-Roman art, as well as a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Moscaic, Pompeii

Local jaunts

USS Mount Whitney

We had trips planned further afield but there was still plenty to see on our doorstep. We managed to arrange a tour of our huge 189m neighbour the USS Mount Whitney. She is the command and control ship for both the US navy Sixth Fleet and the commander and striking force NATO. A group of marina cruisers, including our friend "6" who was visiting from London, were all vetted in advance and with passports in hand we crossed the border into American territory. As per naval protocol we were told to halt at the gangway, stand at attention and face aft. After yet more security checks we were finally given our visitor and foreign national badges and were ushered into the bowels of this huge military monster.

View from the Bridge

On guard!

and the Bridge

The Captain's cabin

Inside the USS Mount Whitney

We were led along a maze of surprisingly narrow corridors and up steep ladders and finally emerged outside again on the Quarterdeck. We were then taken up to the Bridge and met the armed guard who was on her 5 hour shift. We took a peek inside the Commanding Officer's cabin and introduced ourselves to Captain Sardiello who welcomed us inside. It was surprisingly large and with an open coal fireplace! Our next stop was the dark inner sanctum where no cameras or phones were allowed. A room with a lot of computer screens and a large table. No doubt the scene of many big decisions.

Gaeta old town harbour front

Following the fascinating tour a few of us went for a coffee and warm up at Bar Bazzanti rumoured to serve the best coffees in the gulf. Not only good but also a great price at 1 euro each. Rejuvenated we continued on our wander round the picturesque old town.

Gaeta's 13th century cathedral bell tower

SS Annunziata church, Gaeta

View from Monte Orlando down to Serapo beach

Rather him than me!

Another local jaunt took us back up Monte Orlando but this time on the "cliff" walk. We started by entering the Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, a monastery complex, and carried on through to the extraordinary Montagna Spacatta (split mountain). Legend has it that the mountain split at the exact moment Jesus died on the cross. We continued on up enjoying fabulous views out to sea and of the vertical cliffs. We spotted some adrenaline seeking rock climbers attempting to ascend the sheer rock face. The walk took us up to the Carolina gunpowder magazine which was built by the Bourbon family in the 18th century and was in use up until the end of the Second World War.

Spot the climbers!

Montagna Spacatta

Carolina gunpowder magazine

Fortified walls on Monte Orlando

Serapo beach with Monte Orlando in the distance

Fontania beach with the ruins of a Roman villa just visible

The Little Bar Café, Gaeta

We also managed a long walk along Serapo beach and on round to the smaller Fontania beach where the remains of a grand Roman villa are just visible under the gently lapping waters. We discovered a lovely street bar just behind Serapo beach. At weekends the road is closed to traffic and if the sun is shining the locals descend in their hordes to the Little Bar Café. It's a real sun trap and we joined in the fun sipping our bright orange Aperol Spritz's watching the world go by. Aperol is an Italian aperitif made of bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb and cinchona among other ingredients. It is also currently Manchester United football club's Official Global Spirits Partner! Cheers!

Aperol on the rocks!