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Published: April 26th 2013
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Wednesday April 24th, 2013. Naples, Campagnia, Italy
We had a quick breakfast in the Lido Restaurant and then disembarked the ship and made our way to the railway station where we purchased our tickets and boarded a train to Sorrento. Neither of us had visited before and as we had been to Pompeii fairly recently we decided to visit this famous coastal town (Seagulls over Sorrento) and to take in Herculaneum (the other famous ruins near Naples) on the way back. The journey to Sorrento took approximately an hour and a half. Located on the Penisola Sorrentina, over steep white cliffs, the town has been a favourite tourist destination for centuries. Very little of the ancient town has survived to the present day. Many excavations have revealed that the city was once totally surrounded by walls made of the local tufa rock. Today, part of the walls and remains of some of the gates can still be visited. We called in at the information office outside the station and obtained a map and return train timetable.
We headed down the main street stopping off for some throat lozenges for M who has developed a nasty cough and sore throat
(we already procured cough mixture in Ajaccio!). We walked along Corso Italia to Piazza Tasso (dedicated to the poet of the same name) where there is a statue of St Atonino the patron saint of Sorrento. This was where the main gate to the town (demolished in 1866) was originally positioned. We made our way to the Villa Comunale which stands high on the cliff and overlooks the Marina San Francisco, the port and the Marina Piccola. We had a fantastic view of Mount Vesuvius, the only active volcano on the European mainland. We made our way down the steep steps to the San Francesco Marina where there were two enclosed pools for swimming, a small beach and hundreds of brightly coloured beach huts for bathers. We continued to the port and to Marina Piccola where we turned towards the Excelsior Vittoria hotel and made our way up the incised valley where one of the city gates used to stand. The building next to the hotel sported a bright white down-pipe that travelled from the top of the cliff to the bottom! We made our way back up by means of steps (formerly the only access to the port) and
the road. On the way back to the station we passed the Church and Convent of the Madonna del Carmine whose origins are linked to the first Christians of Sorrento. We had a quick beer before catching the return train.
We alighted the train at the Herculaneum Scavi (Excavations) stop and made our way to the ruins. This was a result as D got in free because he is of a certain age. We picked up an audio guide and map for an extra 6 euros. The guy at the audio desk was very good. We explained that we had limited time so he marked off all the "must see" buildings. He also suggested that we do the route in reverse as all the good stuff is near the end of the tour.
Herculaneum was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 but in a different way to Pompeii. Volcanic material and gases travelled down the volcano and hit the ancient city at high speeds and at very high temperatures. The city was covered by meters of volcanic material and this sealed and preserved it so that even organic materials survive. Our first stop was the largest
house in Hurculaneum which is presumed to be a hotel. As with many other structures in the city, doors, window frames, shutters and furniture survive because they were encased in volcanic ash and lava. We continued on to the male and female bath houses where the black and white mosaics survive with intricate patterns and dolphin images. Neptune's house is the site of some wonderfully preserved wall frescoes and reliefs. There were remains of shops, bars, blacksmiths as well as numerous villas of up to 3 storeys which would have been occupied by the merchant classes of the time. Many of the beams survive to this day. We ended our tour at the Terrace of Nonia Balbo before climbing back to the site entrance. After returning the audio guide we made our way back to the station.
We caught a train immediately (had to run for it in fact) and returned to Naples. We had two hours left before we had to board the ship. We meandered around the narrow Neapolitan streets soaking up the vibrant atmosphere. The city was a little skanky compared to others we had visited and was a bit smelly too (see Naples and die!).
We made our way to the Duomo (Cathedral) and walked around the cool interior. We did not go to the Archaeological museum as M had been archaeologyed out! We made our way back to the cruise terminal where we enjoyed a cool beer before re-boarding the ship.
We enjoyed another good dinner with good company. Tonight it was 3 Indonesian/Americans from LA and New Jersey who were brother and sisters. The show was a Scottish illusionist/comedian and was quite good.
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linda thornley
non-member comment
Hi you two, looks like you\'re having a good time, seeing lots of places of interest. Enjoy!.....hope you are feeling better soon D.....xx