This morning, we arrived in Naples, the second most populated region of Italy and another UNESCO site. I think the UNESCO sites are similar to our historic registry sites or maybe the national parks.
We drove through Naples and headed to Sorrento for our first stop of the day. Augustino, the “Clairvoyant” was our bus driver. Our tour guide was Enzo, and, to me, he looked just like the guy who starred opposite Natalie Portman in the Specialist:
That’s Enzo….
That’s a pic from the specialist. Lol.
Anyway, Naples is home to a medieval fortress and the Royal Bourbon Palace, with Mount Vesuvius as its backdrop. It’s name comes from the Greek word, Neapolis, which means new town or city.
Under Mussolini, they did a lot of work to fortify Naples, including constructing an expansive underground system for bomb shelters. When they were building the underground shelters, they found ancient Roman ruins. (More dirt…) 🤔
Our first look at Sorrento
From there, we headed to an Italian farm for a cheese making demonstration. Here’s a clip:
Somehow, she molded the fresh mozzarella into a flower shape.
Sorrento is famous for its lemons and related products (especially limoncello).
Most farmers originally produced oranges, but they weren’t as good for the economy as lemons. The farmers all eventually switched to lemon groves using a grafting technique, which magically transformed their orange trees into lemon trees. Some trees are still undergoing this process, so you can see both oranges and lemons growing on the same tree! Crazy…
After touring the farm, they gave us a plate of treats, including the three cheeses we saw in the demo - ricotta, mozzarella, and…um…no clue what the third cheese was (but it tasted suspiciously like provolone).
Clean plate club!
Clean wine bottle club too!
This was the view from the little farm restaurant where we ate. It had a pergola that was covered in olive vines for shade (at least, I think they were olive vines…??).
Second demo of the day - decorative wooden inlay. These were so cool, but super expensive. A basic lazy Susan was $250. 😳
Making the decorative portion
Gaming table. Lol.
Cornholio!! Lol.
I don’t know who this statue represents. I just liked it and took a pic.
We walked just a couple of blocks from the Sorrento city center to the coast. The view was stunning!
Selfie at the coast!
We worked up an appetite shopping in Sorrento, so we finished the trip with a slice of Neopolitan pizza, which was amazing!
Next stop: Pompei, an ancient city destroyed in 79 AD by….
Actually…
Mount Vesuvius!
Known as an explosive, super volcano, Vesuvius has erupted multiple times and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Fortunately for us, it’s been in a quiet period since 1944, but it’s still considered an active volcano.
About 700,000 people currently live at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, despite the past destruction it’s caused. The city government even offered to pay residents in that area to relocate for their own safety, as well as to help preserve it as an historic area. Nearly all of the residents declined the offer.
Third demo of the day - Laocoön shell carving. The guy in this pic is carving on a tiny shell - a closeup of his work is shown on the screen (top right). You have to train for 7 years to become a master carver.
Example of a finished product.
Our first view of Pompei. Prior to the eruption, it was a marketplace city with a beautiful coastline (similar to a city like Sorrento today). Pompei is an ancient word for “five” — due to its origins as five distinct villages that came together to create the larger marketplace. Portions of the city date back to 3000 BC.
In the 79 AD eruption, about 40% of the deaths occurred indoors. The early stages of the eruption showered the city with small pumice stones and pebbles, and most people ran for cover to their homes. These are some of the original homes (the doors and balconies were obviously built recently to give people a sense of what it might have looked like).
So, it rained pebbles for hours and they stacked up as high as ten feet. By the time people realized the severity of the eruption, their doorways were blocked by all of the stones. Those without a second floor exit were trapped.
Of those who were able to escape their homes, some went to the beach to wait for rescue boats from across the Bay of Naples. (Pliny the Elder died leading one of those rescue missions.) Many died on the beach in a subsequent tsunami. \240The remainder of people died in the pyroclastic surges and were buried under ash. Up to 75 feet of ash fell in some areas.
We were all surprised by the size of Pompei. I’m not sure why, but I guess I expected to see a few ruins and maybe a couple of intact structures. However, they’ve actually uncovered a small city’s worth of structures - miles of roads and hundreds of shops, homes, theaters, etc. You would need to spend at least a full day walking through the streets if you wanted to see all of the Pompei ruins.
The original roads - these raised stones are crosswalks - because…um… shit flows down…
Fast food stand - Archeologists have found hundreds of these street-side oven shops.
This was a bakery.
Amazingly, some of the original art work is still visible.
Since the ash hardened, but organic materials decomposed over time, archeologists were able to create castes of people, furniture, and animals. This caste is known as the “Sleeper.”
Earlier in the tour, I was excited to see the castes, but after this one, I didn’t want to see any more of them. It made me feel awful. \240I mean, millions of people lining up to see someone’s last, horrifying moments on earth.
Pipes used for water and heating the floors at the public bath house. These ancient people sure loved their baths.
Mosaic floors
A well
There are still a lot of archeologists working on the site and uncovering new parts of the city on a daily basis. This guy was from Oxford.
Selfie at Pompei!
After returning to the ship, we had some great views of Mount Vesuvius…
…and Capri.
I also stopped to meet the Ship Captains. I asked them if we’d pass Stromboli— they said yes, but at 3am, so it’d be too dark to see more than the shadow of its volcano. 😞
I’m proud of myself for this one - both the moon and sun in the same pic.
We ended the evening with trivia and a game of Majority Rules. Winners get “prize cards” to cash in at the end of the cruise…for….something….? We have no idea. Supposedly it’s similar to the trade-in bar at Chuck E. Cheese. If that’s the case, I’m gunning for a Hello Kitty pencil.
