I am hoping to make it to Napoli in time for the New Year!!
This post comes just ahead of another action-packed adventure across the Atlantic.
I will be traveling instagram-ing and adding images and text - and editing as I go :)
To see images as slide show click any image..
you can read the narrative later...
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TK atop Mt Vesuvius December 2014 (photo by Gelsomina Squitieri)
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VESUVIUS:
Mount Vesuvius (
Italian: Monte Vesuvio,
Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a
stratovolcano in the
Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of
Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the
Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large
cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit
caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.
Mount Vesuvius is best known for its
eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the
Roman cities of
Pompeii and
Herculaneum. That eruption ejected a cloud of stones,
ash and fumes to a height of 33 km (20.5 mi),
spewing molten rock and pulverized
pumice at the rate of 1.5
million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the
thermal energyreleased by the
Hiroshima bombing.
[1] An estimated 16,000 people died due to
hydrothermal pyroclastic flows.
[2] The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by
Pliny the Younger to the historian
Tacitus.
[3] (wikipedia)
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| Road enroute to Vesuvius |
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| View from base of Vesuvius |
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| Scene from base of Vesuvius |
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| Scene from Vesuvius ascent |
The Vesuvius was formed as the result of the collision of two tectonic plates: The African and the Eurasian. (wikipedia)
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The former was subducted beneath the latter, deeper into the earth. As the water-saturated sediments of the oceanic African plate were pushed to hotter depths in the earth, the water boiled off and caused the melting point of the upper mantle to drop enough to create partial melting of the rocks. Because magma is less dense than the solid rock around it, it was pushed upward. Finding a weak place at the Earth's surface it broke through, producing the volcano. (wikipedia)
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| Vesuvius crater |
PORTICI:
We stopped over at Portici to meet a friend after our descent from Vesuvius:
Portici lies at the foot of
Mount Vesuvius on the
Bay of Naples, about 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast of Naples itself. There is a small
port. To the south east is
Ercolano, formerly Resina, which occupies the site of ancient
Herculaneum.
San Giorgio a Cremano is another town nearby. (wikipedia)
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| Portici: The local station |
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| Portici: local train enters town |
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| Portici: fishing boats at the seaport |
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| Portico: Seagull over the port |
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Ah Italia!
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BOSCOTRECASE:
Boscotrecase is a commune in the Province of Naples in the region of Italy known as Campania. The town is about 20 km southeast of Naples is situated virtually at the foot of the Vesuvio volcano.
its name comes from the italian word 'Bosco' meaning forest and 'trecase' referring to three houses which were said to occupy the forest during the medieval period of Naples' rich history. I was able to get the a full dose of Italian hospitality while visiting the family home of my (then) fiancée now wife.
Here in Boscotrecase, I tasted the undeniable spirit of the South. The all-encompassing rhythm of family - ( in the kitchen) - Here - it is the center of 'everything'. This is no place for dietary modesty.
No stone was left upturned in trying to fatten me up with every dish and delicacy imaginable. Needless to say I did not protest the conspiracy and may have actually put on a pound or two.
A barbecue on the spacious roof of the house was just one of many tasting and eating rituals that I would partake in during my time here. The food is fresh. The Vegetables are from the family garden; Planted and harvested with pride and there is no Whole Foods or Trader Joe's produce section that can compete with the wonderful tastes that they bring to the table.
The delights of this humble family garden is a another story within itself
I will revisit this wonderful topic of course with more images in an upcoming post..
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| Add caLocal road sign directing to the 'Paesi Vesuviani' |
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| Seafood grill preparations at family gathering |
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| Mr 'G' s Preparations ready for the barbecue! |
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| Mr 'S' Master of the grill |
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| home prepared 'melanzane sott'olio': (eggplant marinated in sunflower oil) |
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| view of Boscotrecase |
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| family members taking in the panoramic view from the roof deck |
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| Boscotrecase Hospitality: at sunset with La Famiglia Squitieri |
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Neapolitan specialty 'Baba' by Mamma 'S'
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NAPOLI:
Naples at this time of year (July 2012).. is hot!
One can feel that it is an old city with deep roots. History
speaks in the faces of the people. The people of Naples are alive.
They have their own dialect. It can actually be said to be a language
within and unto itself. Just as with standard Italian, physical gestures
are intrinsic to everyday communication and it is definitely helpful
to get accustomed to the basics.. (TK)
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| Napoli: local road signs |
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Napoli: The Neapolitan cityscape
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| Napoli: Gateway to the Neapolitan underworld |
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| Napoli: Political Graffiti on a side street |
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| Napoli: A young street vendor hawking his wares |
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| Napoli: Grafitti-art in the inner city |
AMALFI:
Amalfi is a town and
comune in the
province of Salerno, in the region of
Campania,
Italy, on the
Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep
ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic
cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of the
maritime republic known as the
Duchy of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200In the 1920s and 1930s, Amalfi was a popular holiday destination for the British
upper class and
aristocracy.
Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named
Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast), and is today an important tourist destination together with other towns on the same coast, such as
Positano,
Ravello and others. Amalfi is included in the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
This coastal village town is reminiscent of scenes from James Bond movies.
it's a Mediterranean 'mountainside get away' that overlooks the sea and is full of
colorful hillside villas and shops abuzz with tourists from all over the world.
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| Amalfi: Mountain side residences near the coastal road |
Limoncello is the liqueur delicacy of the Southern region made with
locally-grown lemons.
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Fresh regional lemons at the entrance to the Granita shoppe in Amalfi
'Granita' is iced lemon.. another seasonal delicacy.
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| Amalfi: Tourists gather outside of the granita shoppe |
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| Amalfi: Locally grown lemons at Granita stand |
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| Amalfi: 'pepperoncino' aka "Natural Viagra" |
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| Amalfi: Street window view to Mountain |
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| Amalfi: Mediterranean Sea view from coast |
POMPEII:
To walk through the streets of modern day Pompeii a once-doomed metropolis and see the people bustling past you and chilling in the cafés and restaurants.. tapping away on cell phones and doing what normal city people do is fascinating..
The vibrance of local life is amazing,, TK
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| tourism signage in modern pompei |
To then walk through the ruins in the ancient section of Pompeii that was a once thriving metropolis, obliterated by an eruption of the Vesuvius volcano was truly a humbling experience:
The Pompei ruins by Day:
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| A view of Mt Vesuvius from within the grounds of the Pompeii ruins |
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| Ancient thoroughfare: the streets still have indentation from horse-carriage wheels |
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| Pompei: ancient window to sky view |
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| Pompei: Greco-Roman pillars |
The Pompei ruins by Night:
An informative guided tour of the site revealed the history of the metropolis and the lifestyle of its citizens before the eruption:
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| Pompeian thoroughfare. indentations of horse carriage wheels can still be seen in the cobble stoned streets |
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| Pompeii: dwellers' supine remains at scene of the eruption's aftermath |
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| Standing on grounds of the ruins lit for guided night time tour | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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(Photo by Gelsomina Squitieri)
ROMA
Rome (/ˈroʊm/, Italian: Roma [ˈroːma] (
listen), Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune (named "Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and also of the Province of Rome and of the region of Lazio. With 2.9 million residents in 1,285.3 km2(496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The urban area of Rome extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 3.8 million.[2] Between 3.2 and 4.2 million people live in Rome metropolitan area.[3][4][5][6][7] The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of Tiber river. Vatican City is an independent country within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.[8][9] (wikipedia)
Two nights in the City of Rome was hardly sufficient time for me to explore beyond the city's central zone, I focused mostly then on scenes of the city that gave expression to the city's less cliché elements.. of course I got some of the historic sites as well. (TK)
'Gateways to the underground'.. I shoot the utility grates in most cities
because they identify the city in a certain way. always having a unique signature and being a kind of door to the underworld.
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| Rome: Vendor in the metropolis |
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| Rome: street corner scene |
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| Rome: Residential door |
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| Rome: Antique Residential door Medieval lock |
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| Rome: Post game ceebration |
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| Rome: Corner by-stander |
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| Tagged residential door |
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Rome: popular coffee stop
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| Rome: street moment |
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| Rome: residential door |
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| Rome: Barber shop door |
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| Rome: Coliseum |
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| Rome: A n italian classic: All-purpose 3 wheeled utility vehicle |
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| PASTA! |
FIRENZE:
Florence (
/ˈflɒrəns/;
Italian: Firenze
[fiˈrɛntse] (
listen), alternative obsolete form: Fiorenza;
Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the
Italian region of
Tuscany and of the
province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 380,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.520.000 in the metropolitan area.
[2]
Florence is famous for its history: a centre of
medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time,
[3] it is considered the birthplace of the
Renaissance, and has been called "the
Athens of the
Middle Ages".
[4] A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful
Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions.
[5] From 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established
Kingdom of Italy. (wikipedia)
We were invited to stay at the home of a long time friend of
mine from Sierra Leone and her family. We spent our two days
walking and enjoying the florentine cityscape..
Away form the well-known sites the residential streets of Florence are a feast for any camera. The Florentine vibe is in essence, one of refinement and a bounty of artisan qualities in everyday things that escape time . I was drawn to the picturesque residential intercoms
in brass. They had notable artisan qualities: TK
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| Classic |
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| Residential street by night |
Italian Hospitality continues at the home of a dear friend and family who I hadn't seen for some 25 years:
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| Scene at the home of our hosts.. |
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| Hospitality continues: At dinner with Bundu family .. |
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Gelsomina with Florentine Mothers whose children all attend the same kindergarten.. gathered at a local outdoor bistro for some festivity in the sun.
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Me and Gelso having a Florentine moment in the sun
We passed through
Leonard Bundu's training session :
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| Leonard Bundu: EU welterweight champion in training |
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| with Leonard Bundu at his training session |
We did actually take time to see the more cherished views of Firenze !:
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| The Florentine cityscape |
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| Florence at dusk |
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| TK Posting In the city :) (photo by Gelsomina Squitieri) |
