Excursions from Sorrento: Herculaneum

We took a guided tour to Herculaneum, partly because I did not know the site as well and it is a far smaller site. Plus, the costings were not too bad.
Now, Herculaneum is in what is now one of the poorer parts of Naples. In the 18th century, it was the glitzy part -- the so called Golden Mile where neo classical palaces were built and furnished, mainly with items from the various digs. In fact, it was when in 1709 Prince D'Elboeuf, an Austrian purchased some land for a villa and had an artisan well dug. The digging of the well uncovered some fragments of the theatre and thus, Herculaneum was rediscovered.
On the way out, we saw the bags and bags of garbage lying in the street. Naples still has its rubbish collection problem...But the site itself is clean.
Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was covered in volcanic mud. This means it is far harder to excavate, but certain things like wood were preserved. Also, Pompeii's covering was far less. Herculaneum lies under something like 25 -30 metres of tufa. In some places, white hot lava from the 1644 eruption also lie on top. There are no plaster casts from Herculaneum as such things only happen when people/animals are covered in ash. There are bones (mostly discovered in the boathouses) and some other organic matter survived in the sewers. Thus, a clearer picture of what life was actually has appeared.
No one is quite sure how big Herculaneum is. They know the south boundary was the sea and they have found the western wall, but the north and east lie under a built up area. And while tunnels have been dug, not all is revealed.
One of the most famous early excavations -- The Villa of the Papryii still lies underground. After initial investigations, the tunnels were sealed in 1765. They were reopen and the are was re-excavated in the late 1980's. Among the finds are the carbonised remains of one of the greatest libraries in the ancient world. The Hewlett Packard foundation is working with the Italian government and it is hoped that some day, some more of the scrolls will be able to be read. The whole thing intrigues me -- what is there there? Why were the tunnels sealed? The Getty Museum in LA is a reconstruction of the villa.
Anyway, what is there is magnificent. Staircases remain intact. Roofs have been reconstructed. Many more frescoes are there. The mosaics glitter with brilliant colours. The photo to the right is a mosaic.
You can tell a shop, rather than a dwelling as there were grooves in the stone where the sliding doors were shut at night. Good ideas stand the test of time. The left photo is of a fast food shop, Roman style.
Again, like Pompeii, Herculaneum surpassed my expectations. I would not like to have to make a choice between which of the two to visit, but suspect that Herculaneum is more digestible.

Excursions from Sorrento:Vesuvius and Pompeii

Rather than taking a guided tour, or going on the train and hiring a taxi to get to Vesuvius, we hired a private car for the day. Given the number of people in the family, it made sense, particularly as I do know a little bit about Pompeii. It does not make sense to drive in Southern Italy -- opportunities for fender benders abound. The roads are narrow and the driving appears to be controlled anarchy.
We chose to go to Vesuvius first. Most of the tour companies, I believe do Pompeii in the morning. The other problem with the tour companies is that they do not always give you enough time to do Pompeii...
In any case, given the narrow windingness of the road up to Vesuvius, I was pleased the road was quiet. The road built after the 1944 eruption snakes through lava fields where waves of lava rest, bend and twisted. Foments forever frozen. Here and there bits of green have colonised.
The road stops, and you are forced to continue the journey on foot. A few metres in, a man shouts -- no charge, no charge as he hands out walking sticks. He does expect a tip on the way back down.
The steep climb snakes up and up until you reach a kiosk selling carved lava, wine from Vesuvius, drinks and guidebooks. Beyond lies the crater. Various guides mill about, but you are not forced to join a tour. You can simply walk to see the crater. And what a crater it is.
The power that created the huge hole is staggering, but there is comfort in thinking that the volcano has been quiet....However rounding the next bend, steam pours from the ground and a distinct sulphur smell hangs in the air. Vesuvius is most definitely only resting.
Vesuvius is well monitored for any increase in activity. Given that the most densely populated part of Europe lies well within its path, this is good. BUT if anything should happen, the evacuation is going to be chaos. It should be noted that although Sorrento is built on tufa (volcanic mud), it is far enough away from Vesuvius.
After coming down, we were driven to Pompeii. I had just admonished my youngest to put on his seat belt when we were involved in a very minor crash outside the entrance to Pompeii. The car in front of us suddenly stopped and our driver hit the rear bumper. It was quickly sorted.
We did not stop for lunch but went straight in, ignoring all offers for guides.
I have been to many Roman sites before but nothing like Pompeii. The forum was built so that Mount Vesuvius dominates the axis. Just off from the forum, a large shed hold amphora as well as several plaster casts of people who perished. The vast majority of things are now in museums.
This is just as well as it is quite obvious that they still have problems with theft.
The streets are all laid out, and it feels a bit like walking in a silent town.
The new excavations are done to show how the town might have looked and have preserved the graffiti and the various shop front frescoes. Several of the roofs have been reconstructed.
There is a lot of EU restoration work going on and so some of the houses like the House of the Vettii which I had wanted to see were closed. But there is more than enough to see in any case.
The main problem with Pompeii is that you can not see everything on one visit. You can get a taste, but not much more. It is a large town, far larger than say the Williamsburg historic district.
We simply looked around Pompeii proper, rather than tramping out to the Villa of Mysteries, for example. After three hours in the heat, the children was starting to flag. There is only so much you can take in.
However, it more than lived up to my expectations and it is somewhere I have wanted to go since I was about 7. Totally enthralling.

Where to eat in Sorrento...

I will get to the excursions in later posts but I wanted to mention the food. I adore Italian food and going to Sorrento was a chance to indulge.
The restaurant at the hotel was lovely. The set menu is good value and does include wine. It is overseen by Don Alphonso who also runs a Michelin starred restaurant at little ways away, but there are a ton of other choices.

O Parrucchiano was started in 1868 by a man who fell in love and therefore failed to become a priest. He opened a wineshop and restaurant instead. The restaurant is still a family business and a number of the staff have worked there for over 50 years. They invented cannelloni in the early 19th century. And I must say their version is excellent. The restaurant is huge and stretches back and back in a variety of glass houses.

L'Antica Taverna is next to Il Davide (Davide does excellent ice cream -- over 100 flavours.When I only wanted limone, the proprietor put an extra scoop of orange free so I could taste the difference). The food is a bit more sophisticated and the service is excellent. They have a strolling mandolin player, a tasting menu and several set menus. It is melt in the mouth.

La Basilica is a pizzeria and restaurant near Piazza S'Antionio. They do a wide selection of tradition Italian dishes with generous proportions. The mussels in a marinara sauce was particularly good. They have a strolling guitar player who has a lovely voice.

L'Abate which is on the Piazza S'Antionio had some of the best pizza made in proper wood burning oven. If you sit inside, you can watch them make it. They also do a selection of handmade pasta. Portions are generous and the staff friendly.

Da Emidia is over in the Marina Grande. They belong to the slow food association and do not take credit cards. They specialise in fish -- freshly caught. The wine comes from barrels and is served in decanters. Very cheerful. Huge portions. Inexpensive.

Museum Caruso Restaurant is where we went for our final meal. It has a certain reputation for good food in a special place and more than lived up to it. The walls are hung with photos and memorabilia from the tenor's life so it is also a museum as well as a place to eat. The food has an added twist. For example, my eldest had black squid pasta. The wine list goes on and on and the waiters are very knowledgeable about what will and will not work with your menu choice. We ended up with a delicious bottle of Taurausi and there is a reason why it is considered the best wine of the region. The desserts are pure fantasies of spun sugar. They employ the same guitar player as La Basilica but here he is a bit more attentive and gives you a list to choose from. I chose Turrno a Sorrentio. My dh bought the cd and it is a lovely compilation album and a fitting memory of a glorious place.

The photo is from Capo di Sorrento where we walked out to the ruined Roman villa on the Sunday. I unfortunately made a wrong turning and the walk took longer than planned. We did however eventually walk through olive groves with nets stretched over our heads as the olive harvest was not yet complete. In the nets like strange bird nests, collections of olives hung. Totally peaceful.

Back from Sorrento

The next few posts are going to be about my magical holiday to Sorrento Italy. I make no apologies. It is somewhere where I have wanted to go for a very long time and I managed to visit some of my all time wish list -- Pompeii and Herculaneum.
We travelled with Citalia (part of the Thomson Group) and stayed at the Imperial Hotel Tramontano. The hotel first open its doors in 1812 and has had such illustrious visitors as Goethe, Byron, Scott, Shelley, Keats, Longfellow, James Fenimore Cooper, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henrik Ibsen who finished Ghosts. Turrna a Surrento was composed on the hotel's terrace. The poet Tasso was born in the earliest part of the hotel in the 1500's.
We had a sea view French balcony rooms with a perfect view of Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. The piccolo marina where the ferries goes to Capri and Naples is located to the right. It is also where the cruise ship dock and occasionally very large yachts. The rooms were well appointed.
The restaurant ( I will go on more about food in another post -- you have been warned) is also located overlooking the sea with panoramic views. The waiters are attentive and they have been there for years. On the first evening we were there, the head waiter made a point to personally greet returning guests. In subsequent days, he made apoint of greeting us, and making sure that the children wanted hot chocolate for breakfast and that we wanted coffee. The waiters also exhibited the same amount courteous care. The reception staff were effieicnt and well trained. Nothing appeared to make them flustered, not even several well oiled guests from a very posh wedding.
The public rooms of the hotel are splendid -- inlaid wood, tiled floors and comfortable seating.
The private beach closes in September but there is a fantastic pool in the garden. The garden is full of rare and exotic plants -- bananas tower over your head and a wide variety of blooms tantalise your nostrils. There is also a terrace bar where you can order light snacks and drinks.
The hotel is often used for wedding receptions as the Cloisters of San Francisco are next door. Apparently they do up to 6 civil wedding per day at the Cloisters. Many wedding photographs show the unforgettable view over the Bay of Naples from Sorrento's public park. This is the same view that we had out our window...
The weather was warm, and for the most part sunny. There was some rain but mostly at night. In any case, we were never bothered by it. It was simply a wonderful wonderful holiday. And I would say -- go, go to the Imperial Hotel Tramontano if you like old fashioned comfort and surroundings to die for.
...I returned to yet more revisions for the third Viking, but these are tweaks.

Lacryma Christi

Because we are getting ready to go to Sorrento, my dh brought home a bottle of Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco by Terredora. It was a lovely bottle of white wine with a smooth honeyed citrus taste.
The grapes used include an ancient varietal -- coda di volpe, named by Pliny the Elder -- Cauda vulpium (fox tail) because of the way it grows in clusters.
The grapes are grown in the cinder soil of Vesuvius, and Lacryma Christi is one of the more imitated wines of the region.
The legend is that when God found a little piece of heaven that Lucifer had stolen at the Bay of Naples, God wept with joy and from God's tears sprang the vines.
The Campania region reached the height of its fame back in the Greco-Roman times when Falernian wine grew along the north coast. Even in the 16th century the wines were famous with Pop Paul III raving about the wines of the Kingdom of Naples. However, they began to decline with the fall of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies in 1860.
However, if the bottle of Lacryma Christi we had is anything to go by, they should be rediscovered. Truly nectar.

I leave tomorrow morning for Sorrento, Italy and this blog will get back to normal service on 1 Nov.