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Published: December 14th 2018
We are finding out very quickly that our decision to over-winter Tsamaya in Gaeta was an excellent one. Not only is the marina a wonderfully run one with excellent staff that make you feel very welcome, but the town itself is just steps away from the marina so every day you can just step off the boat and start exploring this area. The added bonus is that there is a bus stop just outside the gate of the marina so you can travel to other areas from here easily.
Gaeta is not that large a town so it is easy to get around on foot which we find is the best way to explore a place. There are always welcoming alleyways that beacon us to wander down as you never know what you may find.
We were very fortunate to have met Kelly and Stelvio while on a tour in one of the champagne houses when traveling through the French canals. Kelly is an American in the military based in Naples and Stelvio is a native to the area. When we met up with them and told them where we were over-wintering they told us to be sure to
touch base with them so they could show us around. What a wonderful offer which we took them up on. We had a lovely day with them and learned the wonderful news that they had since gotten engaged since we last saw them. They decided to take us to a nearby village, Sperlonga for the day. What a wonderful outing it was with checking out more of the area, a lovely lunch and just catching up with two wonderful people. This is what makes travel so enjoyable – the people you meet along the way!
We have been fortunate to have found a few couples that are also cruising on their boats here in the marina and have done numerous things together – both couples are from the UK so we have been able to resurrect our “British English” that we learned years ago while in Botswana. We still have to laugh at some of the terms that we hadn’t learned. As Bob always likes to refer to the quote that George Bernard Shaw may or may not have written – “England and America are 2 countries divided by a common language”. It seems that there isn’t a clear
answer to who said this, but no matter, it is definitely true! We have enjoyed getting together with both couples, Carole and Paul from SV Swallow and John and Val from SV Scarlett for a variety of events, dinners or just a drink onboard. We find it is always nice to have a few others in the marina that you can communicate easily with when over-wintering. We also share ideas of places to go, ports to visit and overall have a good time. They also helped us celebrate our birthdays. Unfortunately Bob was sick for his, but fortunately for me he “forced” me to go out to dinner with them one night which was very enjoyable. We have been lucky to have found a few good restaurants here in town for those nights when neither of us feels like cooking. We have also enjoyed meeting a few other couples as well – some from Sweden, a couple from Germany and another from the Netherlands that had us over on their boat one night to visit. It is always nice to land in a place that has other liveaboards so we can share ideas and socialize using a common language.
One of the events we had heard about from the marina was an opening of an art exhibit, so decided to take advantage of that. Bob was sick with a very bad cold so went with friends and one of the owners of the marina, Anna. I was glad Anna was there as she was able to translate what was happening as there were numerous speeches given before we had time to wander around. The venue for the exhibit was the Palazzo De Vio which had belonged to Cardinal DeVio who was born in Gaeta in 1469. It now houses the Diocesan Museum and with Anna’s assistance we were able to get permission to view the exhibit upstairs in the museum. It contained numerous spectacular religious pieces of artwork, books and fabric used in their ceremonies. It was a wonderful opportunity again provided to us by the marina here in Gaeta. They do an excellent job of passing on information of events occurring here in town.
The “old” part of Gaeta is a short walk from the marina and well worth exploring. There are remnants of the old fortified city wall. The first settlement in this area dates back
to the 8
th C. BC and then in 345 BC the Romans conquered this area and with its wonderful seafront made it a resort area. Gaeta was developed as a seaport in the 7
th C. AD on the slope of a hill located here. It like numerous other locations here in Europe has a long history of fighting and being held by various peoples over the years. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was being attacked by numerous forces so a castle was built for defense. In the 1400’s Alfonso of Aragon defeated the last ruler of Anjou and during this time a new castle was built joining the older castle. Under Spanish rule Gaeta became even more important due to its strategic location. In 1848 Pope Pius IX took refuge in Gaeta under the protection of the Bourbons with the proclamation of the Roman Empire. The city wall was strengthened in the 15
th C. and there are numerous sections remaining that remind you of the history here.
In wandering around Gaeta you notice that there are a number of churches so took in a few of them. One that stands out is the Cathedral of
St. Erasmo and Marciano which was built in the 10-11
th C. What attracts you to it is the 57 meter tall (187 ft) bell tower next to it which was built in the 12
th C. It was built in the Arabic and Roman style and used remnants of ancient Roman structures which can be viewed today if you look at the various building blocks and details used. Recycling at its finest!
The Church itself is also a reuse of parts of an older church that was at this same location. Over the years numerous renovations have occurred and fortunately for us during recent work done between 2008-2014 they uncovered parts of the older structure and left some of the columns and details exposed for all to see. Over the years it has had major changes and in 1848 was designated a minor basilica by Pope Piux IX in 1848. There are numerous artworks that have thankfully been preserved over the years to enjoy while wandering through the Cathedral. There are also some beautiful mosaics located on a screen separating the sanctuary from the nave. Thankfully there was some signage explaining that these are from the 13
th C. and represent
Doorways That Caught Our Eye
notice the one doorway isn't in use anymore!both mythological and evangelical figures. In all there were 8 tiles but 4 of them are now located in the permanent collection at the Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It didn’t explain why in particular they are in that location. The ones in Boston are of a deer, a winged lion representing St. Mark, a bull representing St. Luke and the last is a legendary reptile believed to be able to kill with a single glance. The four that are still in Gaeta are of a griffon, an angel with an open book representing St. Matthew, an eagle representing St. John and the last being a twin-tailed mermaid. We found it to be an interesting combination of both religious and mythological symbols. This Cathedral must receive quite a few foreign visitors as there was signage throughout the Church with explanations in both Italian and English which was of definite use to us allowing us to appreciate what we saw even more.
There was one church that we would walk by often and see numerous tour buses stop at. One day (when there wasn’t a tour bus there) we stopped in to see the Church of Annuniziata which was built
in 1321 outside the city walls at the request of the University of Gaeta. We found out that the major draw for the tourists here is the Golden Chapel that is tucked away inside. You follow the signs and we came across a large room with a meeting of numerous people so we planned on turning around, but were told we could continue through. The Chapel gets its name from the golden wooden carvings located on the barrel vaulted ceiling. It is a small chapel that has 18 pictures displayed on the walls with a painting at the altar of the Immaculate Conception. We have been told that this is the chapel that Pope Pius IX meditated in before he issued the dogma of the Immaculate Conception therefore the significance of this site here in Gaeta.
We enjoy walking around Gaeta and exploring what it has to offer, but we also wanted to check out the neighboring town of Formia so took a bus ride there one day. We weren’t sure when we’d do this, but saw a sign advertising a Chocolate Festival so figured that was the perfect day to pick! The festival was quite small with a
number of vendors from as far away as Sicily selling all types of chocolate confections. We felt sorry for them as it turned out to be quite a warm day and they were trying very hard to keep the sun off their displays. We of course walked around to each of the vendors with many of them explaining what they had to offer and some gave out free samples. That tactic definitely worked as we had to purchase some to take back to the boat – fortunately for us, not too many! As the festival did not take up too much time we took the rest of the day to do so wandering around Formia. Formia, like many towns was built high on the hills around here for defensive purposes so of course the more historic areas were reached by climbing “UP”.
One place we stumbled upon was an old Roman amphitheatre built in the 1
st C. BC that has now been turned in to a residential area. The information we read stated that in the 18
th C. the building with the arches was built on to the Roman theatre to be used for residents. An excellent use of
this space and it is still in use today as apartments. Further up the hill the medieval village of Castellone was located. It had 12 defensive towers surrounding it with one still remaining. The numerous small meandering alleyways of the medieval village still attract those of us that enjoy wandering. We past numerous small chapels and poked our heads into some of them. These were truly neighborhood chapels with many only able to handle a few parishioners. One of the sights that are listed to see here in Formia is the Roman cistern, one of the many Roman hydraulic engineering feats allowing the movement of water for use by the citizens here. We did get to see the entrance, but unfortunately for us it was closed so could not see the extent of the network of tunnels here. A castle was built here in the 14
th C. and is located further up the hill, but our day was running out and we decided to head back down the hill in order to catch a bus back into Gaeta. A lovely day outing and hopefully we will get back to explore more.
Gaeta is also the base for the NATO
The Roman Amphitheatre in Formia
transformed into residential living space operations here with the USS Mount Whitney based here. When it is in port it definitely takes in much of your view as it is 620 feet long and 108 feet wide. It is the flagship and command ship of the US 6
th Fleet as well as the Afloat Command Platform for NATO. In looking up some facts about it we found out that it has 150 enlisted, 14 officers and 150 civil service mariners on board. One fact that we found interesting was that it carries enough fuel to be able to do a round trip from Norfolk, VA to Mozambique in the Indian Ocean – sure wouldn’t want to fill that tank! One thing about having Gaeta as a home port, you definitely knew when it was away and when it was home. Our British friends definitely teased us about it as they wondered why reveille couldn’t be a little later in the morning as it sure was quite the walk up call for us all with the marina being so close by. We also got a chance to hear taps each evening. That didn’t bother people and we found it quite pleasant to hear, but could easily
Formia - New and Old
The remaining tower in upper left photo have done with a little later wake up call. Fortunately after a while we got used to it and didn’t really notice it, but it definitely was a point that they Brits liked to tease us about (as if we had any power to change it!)
With the NATO base here there are numerous people that they employ locally as well as the crew from the ship. Fortunately for those of us in town there is one restaurant (Herme’s) in particular that specializes in having “American” food. We had heard about it with raves from others so had to try it out as everyone said the burgers were the best. We can now vouch for that fact as well as great fries and onion rings! Never realized we would get hungry for a burger, but it does get to the point at times that you are tired of eating the local cuisine and just want something from “back home”.
Another thing we learned was that Gaeta definitely likes to decorate for Christmas – they do it in a big way with fabulous installations all around town. Some were the typical winter ornamental designs while others were geared for
the kids which included a wonderful scene with igloos and penguins and even a King Kong. An outdoor ice skating rink was also put up here in Gaeta and an outdoor Christmas market so there is plenty to see here during the holidays.
When researching places to leave the boat for the winter there are numerous things to consider – the location with its ease of being able to explore other areas as well as getting to an airport for flights back to the US, the services of the marina itself, the price (of course!) and recommendations of others. When we had first been in contact with this marina asking for quotes we were provided with a wonderful booklet that was created by them telling us more about Gaeta. It was another selling point of coming here, but as with other things you never know if it is just “slick” advertising or if it is a realistic description. Fortunately for us, Gaeta has been living up to our expectations and beyond as a wonderful place to leave the boat for the winter with excellent facilities and staffing, but has been a great place to enjoy a wonderful Italian town
and feel “at home” here.
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