Category: Our Continuing Journey

Several years ago, we visited Pompeii and were so amazed to see those ruins and all the artefacts that had been recovered.  Recently there was a PBS special about an excavation which revealed another home and explored the people who might have lived there and what they did.  Truly amazing stuff actually.  Having been to Pompeii, it seemed like a reasonable thing to visit Herculaneum.

Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved nearly intact, as the solidified material from the volcano that blanketed the town protected it against looting and the elements. Although less known than Pompeii, it was the first and, for a long time, the only discovered city that had been covered after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  Unlike Pompeii, the mainly pyroclastic material that covered Herculaneum under approximately 66 feet of carbonized ash and preserved more wooden objects such as roofs, beds, and doors, as well as other organic-based materials such as food and papyrus.

According to the traditional tale, the city was rediscovered by chance in 1709, during the drilling of a well. In the years following the site’s uncovering, treasure seekers excavated tunnels and took artifacts. Regular excavations commenced in 1738 and have continued irregularly since. Today, only a fraction of the ancient site has been excavated. The focus has shifted to preserving the already-excavated portions of the city rather than exposing more.

Smaller than Pompeii with a population of circa 5,000, Herculaneum was a wealthier town. It was a seaside retreat for the Roman elite, and this was reflected by the extraordinary density of luxurious houses featuring lavish use of colored marble cladding, frescos and marble tile floors. Buildings of the ancient city include the Villa of the Papyri and the so-called “boat houses”.  These “boat houses” would have been on the beach prior to the eruption.  Afterwards, the shoreline moved over a mile away.  Within the “boat houses”, the skeletal remains of at least 300 people were found.  It has been suggested that these people were waiting for a ship to arrive and evacuate them from the city.  Unfortunately, the ship was unable to make it and they all perished together.

Also, within the boat house, was a boat that was more than 9-meters long, it was about 2.2-meters at its widest point and with a maximum height of about 1-meter from keel to gunwale. It would therefore have been much like a large modem gozzo boat which is a traditional fishing boat still seen in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Today, when visiting Herculaneum, you drive through the Italian towns of Ercolano and Portici which lie above the former site.  It is a very different feel than Pompeii as the site is so surrounded by the current city unlike Pompeii which as a lot of open space around it.  Regardless, the significance of what happened in these places is clear to see and relatively easy to understand.  All those people and the dreams they had snuffed out as a result of the volcano.

Our next stop was the Island of Sicily more specifically, the port of Catania.  Catania is the second-largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population.  The city is located on Sicily’s east coast, facing the Ionian Sea at the base of the active volcano Mount Etna. 

Founded in the 8th century BCE by Chalcidian Greeks in Magna Graecia, the city has weathered multiple geologic catastrophes: it was almost completely destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1169. A major eruption and lava flow from nearby Mount Etna nearly swamped the city in 1669 and it suffered severe devastation from the 1693 Sicily earthquake.

During the 14th century, and into the Renaissance period, Catania was one of Italy’s most important cultural, artistic and political centers.  It was the site of Sicily’s first university, founded in 1434.  

The central “old town” of Catania features exuberant late-baroque architecture, prompted after the 1693 earthquake, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There were also elephants, sculpted in lava rock, on soccer shirts, and at one time indigenous to the island. 

 Our excursion today was a Chef Led Market tour and lunch.  Walking through the historic part of town, our guide gave us insights into how the city was reconstructed after the 1693 earthquake – where it was virtually obliterated, so the city started with a blank slate.  As a result, the city has wide avenues, straight lines and buildings no taller than 4 stories.

Paths through the vegetable and fish markets, however, remain cobblestoned and narrow. The group was unable to pass up sweet treats of pistachio, but were whisked through persimmons, lemons, zucchini, and sardines.

Towering higher than the buildings is the music of Bellini, musician of Operas born in Catania and in the early 19^th century beloved for his flowing melodies. He died in mysterious circumstances, alone and far from his Sicilian home.

Several stops along the way featured delicious treats (Sicilian arancini and cannoli) to sample.  After our break, we picked up the pace and headed to our lunch spot.  Ostier Vinoteca, where had lunch with wines complementing each course. Each course was authentic Sicilian dishes using only seasonal and local ingredients from the island.  We enjoyed the hospitality of the vinoteca’s friendly owner and its chef.

After finishing lunch, we headed back to the ship to relax get ready for our next adventure.

Chef Eva Mulligan – she did cooking classes on board the ship too.

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We had two ports of call in Greece – Corfu and Katakolon.  At our first stop, Corfu, we got off the ship and boarded a coach for a panoramic drive through the interior of Corfu toward the beach-blessed village of Paleokastritsa.  Along the way we saw the historic part of town and learned about its history.  

The Island is defined by rugged mountains and a resort-studded shoreline. Its cultural heritage reflects years spent under Venetian, French and British rule before it was united with Greece in 1864. Corfu Town, flanked by 2 imposing Venetian fortresses, features winding medieval lanes, a French-style arcade and the grand Palace of St. Michael and St. George.  However, we just motored through all of this on our way to our lunch spot, the Golden Fox.

The Golden Fox is located at the top of the mountain with really nice views back to the bay.  While sitting on the veranda of the family-owned restaurant we admired the views. The menu featured homemade dishes prepared from recipes that take full advantage of the local ingredients. The offerings included classics such as pastitsada, a slow-cooked beef stew that is served over pasta, some local mussels and an interesting salad mix.  They also provided some local wines (red and white) which were just OK, nothing great.

After lunch we headed out to visit a shop where various souvenirs were available.  On the whole this was not one of the better excursions we have had.

The next day, after sailing down the coast of Greece, we docked in Katakolon.  No excursions planned and Janeen stayed aboard while I wandered along the three streets of town.  Big purchase – an espresso and a couple of post cards.

The major take away for the last two days, besides the beautiful weather,  is that we can say we have been to Greece and that’s about it.

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We left Croatia and crossed over the Adriatic Sea to the coast of Italy – Bari.  Several years ago, we had driven along the Adriatic coast of Italy and about when we got to Bari, we turned right and headed to the other side.  Not sure if we actually made it to Bari or not, but no matter we weren’t going to go there anyway as our trip today was to the city of Matera.  Comprised of two districts – Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano is well known for the ancient cave dwellings which have been habited since the Paleolithic period.

To describe Sassi as “one of the most unique landscapes in Europe” would be an understatement.  The coach dropped us off in the more industrial section of the city and we began our walk passing by the more traditional shops and local markets.  However, once through the more modern section of town we came upon the spectacular view of the cave dwellings.

The Sassi originate from a prehistoric troglodyte settlement and are suspected to be among the first human settlements in Italy. There is evidence that people were living here as early as the year 7000 BCE.  These homes were dug into the calcarenitic rock (a type of limestone) itself. The streets in some parts of the Sassi often run on top of other houses. The ancient town grew up on one slope of the ravine created by the Gravina river. 

Beset by extreme poverty and riddled with malaria, the unhealthy living conditions were considered inhuman and an affront to the modern new Italian Republic.   In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city.  However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and Matera is the only place in the world where people can boast to be still living in the same houses of their ancestors of 9,000 years ago.

Until the late 1980s this was considered an area of poverty, since many of these houses were, and in some cases still are, uninhabitable. The current local administration, however, has become more tourism-oriented, and it has promoted the regeneration of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, and UNESCO. 

We visited one of the cave homes which is showcasing how the inhabitant’s lives would have been, complete with fixtures and fitting. The entire family (on average six members) including animals like donkeys, chicken, and pigs lived together in the cave and it has been furnished as it would have been in those days. 

Materans also worshipped in cave churches, many of which are adorned with frescoes painted directly on the rock.

The entire area is really quite amazing and certainly not at all what we had expected to see.  After our walking tour we reboarded our bus and headed back to the ship.

In the fall of 2017, we visited some Greek and Roman Ruins at Paestum on the western side of Italy.  Today we are visiting Salona, an ancient city and capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.  This too is a architectural site (now) of classic ruins from so long ago.  Salona was once the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and is now largest archaeological park in Croatia. Its size is evidenced by the imposing walls with towers and gates.

The forum with temples, the amphitheater, and the cemetery with the Salonitan martyrs.  This was a  city with over 60,000 inhabitants, and according to legend, the birthplace of Emperor Diocletian. 

Salona is first mentioned as an Illyrian city in 119 BCE and the city had already constructed walls by then. The Romans took this place in 78 BCE, and under Augustus’s rule expanded the walls and city. It became the administrative seat of the Dalmatian province of the empire. When the emperor Diocletian built his palace in Split at the end of the 3rd century CE, he was attracted by the proximity of Salona. This great history all broke down in the 7th century when the city was razed by the invading Avars and then the Slavs. The inhabitants fled to take refuge within Diocletian’s old palace walls and to the neighboring islands, leaving Salona to perish.

Wandering through this empire of ruins is an evocative journey into the age of emperors, gladiators and Christian martyrs. Although many ancient treasures in Salona are now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Split, there are a surprising amount still on site. Numerous sarcophagi are scattered throughout the area.

After our tour of the ruins, we reboarded the bus and headed for our walking tour of Split.

Split historically known as Spalato is the second-largest city of Croatia, after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings

The city was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos, named for the profusion of the flowering shrub known as “broom”. In the 3rd or 2nd century BCE and in 305 CE, it became the site of the Palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian. It became a prominent settlement around 650 when it succeeded the ancient capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, Salona. After the sack of Salona by the Avars and Slavs, the fortified Palace of Diocletian was settled by Roman refugees. 

Diocletian’s Palace was built at the end of the third century AD as a residence for the Roman emperor Diocletian, and today forms about half of the old town of Split, Croatia. While it is referred to as a “palace” because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more closely resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian’s personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison.

Split became a Byzantine city while later it drifted into the sphere of the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia, with the Byzantines retaining nominal control. 

For much of the High and Late Middle Ages, Split enjoyed autonomy as a free city of the Dalmatian city-states, caught in the middle of a struggle between Venice and Croatia for control over the Dalmatian cities.  With various rulers taking control including Napoleon, Habsburg, Austrian Empire, Yugoslavia and finally as the independent country Croatia. 

The Temple of Jupiter is an ancient Roman temple located to the west from the Peristyle Square, the centerpiece of Diocletian’s Palace. Like the rest of the palace complex, it was built between 295 and 305. The ancient temple was afterwards converted into a Christian baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist, which might have happened as early as the sixth century.

It really seems as if we are on a Games of Thrones tour as once again, we are visiting a city where they filmed a portion of the action.  A part of season four was filmed, in part, in the palace basements as they were used as the setting for where Daenerys keeps her dragons.  

So, if you have enjoyed following along on our travels, leave a comment!