One last hurrah!

For the long Easter weekend I ventured into mainland Italy one more time - this time to Naples and the surrounding ancient cities Pompeii and Herculaneum with another girl who lives in my apartment, Jo.

I can't believe this is the only Pompeii street shot I have!

We left from Syracuse late Thursday night and arrived at Naples even later still. We managed to find our hostel without incident, though we were in a frightening section of town. The next morning we got up early and went off to Pompeii with a few other girls from our hostel. On the train there, we had some spectacular views of Vesuvius, about which I happened to have a class discussion two days before in my Volcanology course. What luck! I was well prepared for this trip.

From the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii.

Pompeii, the most famous town to be destroyed in the huge ancient eruption of Vesuvius, was better than I expected it to be. We went there in the morning, and were able to start our exploration with only a few other tourists out and about (by the time we left there were people everywhere).

The famous "Beware the dog!" mosaic from Pompeii.

It was large and well preserved, and had some spectacular graffiti on the walls in addition to its fantastic structures. We saw temples, tombs, private houses, and the theaters. I really liked skipping across the streets on ancient stepping stones.

Also from Pompeii.

I ended up giving a sort of guided tour to the other girls with me, as none of them had studied anything like Pompeii. This was a good deal of fun, and we scurried around the ruins seeing almost every major building. Like many other places I have seen on this trip, we were not able spend enough time here and I would love to go back!

Herculaneum.

After Pompeii we visited Herculaneum, destroyed by pyroclastic flows in the same eruption. The part of this town one can visit is much smaller than Pompeii, but has a very different feel to it. There were not nearly as many tourists here, and it felt like you were more able to explore the place rather than be led through it.

A house in Herculaneum.

Throughout the ruins the upper stories were relatively intact and in some places you can see preserved large pieces of wood. It was quite a treat to stroll through this archaeological area. That night we ate some of Naples' famous pizza after getting quite lost trying to find the pizza place. There were only two pizza options - both were very good.

The view from the top of Capri.

The last thing on my agenda was a visit to the Naples Archaeological Museum, but as this would not take the whole day Jo and I decided to venture to the Island of Capri and indulge in some more touristy type things.










We caught the early ferry (this required waking up around 5 and missing the free coffee provided by the hostel, quite a shame) and after about an hour and a half arrived at the harbor.

The chairlift - with Vesuvius way in the back.

The island is composed of many shear cliffs, with houses hanging on for dear life between the switch-back roads. There are two cities - Capri and Anacapri. We caught a bus from Capri to Anacapri (a hair-raising experience - most of the roads are quite narrow and right next to the edge, and the bus was standing room only to the extreme), then caught a chairlift to the top of the island. The view from there was incredible! You could see Sorrento and even Vesuvius.

Neon anyone?

Then we caught another bus down to the Blue Grotto. Because of the sunlight and the local rocks, this cave that you explore by row boats has eerie brilliant natural blue water. When the tide is high you have to lay perfectly flat in your boat to get in, which was half the sport. After this trip we tried to catch the bus back down to Capri but got off a few stops too soon and had to hike down to the port. The path was beautiful, but we were really glad we did not have to hike all the way up!

Riots in Pompeii!

After another ferry ride back to Naples, Jo and I hiked over to the Archaeological Museum. There we saw an impressive collection of pottery, glass, and metal goods from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding areas. Then we explored the mosaic and fresco collection!

The Alexander mosaic.

Then, if all that was not enough, we discovered more mosaics and the Secret Cabinet.

Weary Herakles.

The Tyrannicides.

Then there was the Farnese sculpture collection! We also saw a small Egyptian section which was cute but not as loved as the other exhibits. After an exhausting day we collapsed in our beds and quickly fell asleep.





The final morning we were in Naples was Easter Sunday. We wandered around looking for a open church, then gave up and asked a person at the hostel where one was. There happened to be one just the next block over, so Jo and I had Easter Mass at a beautiful Catholic church. Though in Italian I could actually understand most of what was going on, which was much further than I had gotten from my last mass, which was in German. Unfortunately, the musical accompaniment was an acoustic guitar even though there was a fantastic organ in the front of the church that I was looking forward to hear. After church we caught a bus from the train station to the airport and left Naples for Venice (sadly the layover was not long enough for me to explore the city at all) then finally back to Catania.

Today I woke up to cannon fire! This was not from my apartment falling down (or another building firebombed, like the store a few weeks ago that was burned down by the mafia one street over), but an announcement that today is a day in honor of Saint Lucy, Syracuse's patron saint. There was processions, ships sailing into the harbor, and special masses, but one of the most exciting events was when they released hundreds of pigeons (though traditionally doves) as St. Lucy's silver statue was carried into the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia (the church with the Caravaggio inside). After the excitement was over and the marching band dispersed, I made my way home and had a large plate of Sicilian style pasta in honor of the festivities.

St. Lucy is directly in the middle, facing the pigeon cages at the end of the line made by the garden fence.

At this point I am done with all my classes and will have final exams starting tomorrow. I am bittersweet about this particular semester drawing to a close, more so than usual because my experience abroad, so long planned for and thought over, is coming to an end. I am already starting to think of places in Italy I would like to visit were I able to return. A week from today I will be in Rome about to fly home again and getting ready for a summer of archaeology, German, Ancient Greek, and family, and starting to prepare for another round of applications and all the things involved with my final year at Rhodes. Ciao, Italy, life here has been beautiful.

To Etna

Last Friday we finally made it to Etna! However, the weather didn't cooperate at all. We hiked up the mountain only to see a huge wall of fog! It was difficult to see even the person a few feet ahead.

A HUGE Lava bomb (person sized).

This made it too dangerous to hike around the eruptive cones as we planned, but we did make it to the top of one of them - and saw more fog.

Lower down the mountain, the fog cleared enough for us to walk up a large lava flow (from the 1970s) and see a house that had been surrounded by lava. Then it started to pour and we left Etna to visit a vineyard for a wonderful, but rather soggy, wine tasting.

Saturday I gave English tours for visitors to the Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum as part of the Settimana della Cultura (Culture week). I had a blast showing off the highlights of the museum and sharing my interest in Prehistoric and Classical Sicily with others. 

Atop a crater.

On Sunday, a few friends and I went to the beach in Fontane Bianche and tried to enjoy the sun (which stubbornly refused to come out from behind the clouds). Nevertheless, I built extensive beach fortifications and practiced beach baseball with seaweed balls, and played in the water.

This weekend, my friend Jo and I are off to Naples to see Herculaneum and Pompeii!
Happy Easter, everyone!

Palermo and Rome (2x)

Back in Rome.

Our trek through a nature reserve in Palermo.

These past two weeks have been very busy, especially as the semester is starting to wind down. Next week I will finally receive my official permit to live for the semester in Italy (about 20 days before I fly home!), then the last week of classes, then final exams, then home! It seems impossible to be leaving so soon.

Palermo Cathedral.

On April Fool's day we had a trip to Palermo. From Syracuse it takes about four hours to get there by bus, so we didn't have long to explore when we finally made it over there.

Monreale!

We wandered around a beautiful nature reserve by the sea and then saw some highlights of the old city including a huge marble fountain and some churches. Our last stop was Monreale where we saw the stunning and quite well-known Normal cathedral.

The view.

Goofing off in the papyrus farm.

Michelle, my fellow Buckman scholar from Rhodes, came down from Rome to visit Syracuse that weekend. She had already seen much of Syracuse when her study abroad program toured Syracuse, so we had a chance to explore some of the lesser known spots. We visited a papyrus farm and a papyrus museum, seeing not only papyrus paper but also papyrus baskets, sandals, and boats! Then we explored St. Giovanni's catacombs, put our feet in the Mediterranean, and spent a bit of time shopping. The whole weekend was pretty low key and relaxing - a great break for both of us!



The following week was pretty hectic! I journeyed up to the Orsi Museum two days in a row, the first to get a very involved tour in preparation for this coming weekend, and the second time to work on some Latin epigraphy. Then I left early Thursday afternoon to catch a flight for my last visit to Rome.

A huuuge statue!

I really liked my hostel this time around because the neighborhood was much better than the last.










 

With the Capitoline wolf.

Friday morning I woke up and dashed to the Capitoline museum, toured the place.












I promptly decided I would spend the whole day there if I could, but there were more things to see!







After lunch, I hopped on the train to Ostia and wandered around the huge archaeological park until it closed at 7.

 Ostia was the ancient port of Rome and the whole ancient city is now preserved and open for people to explore.



 
There were fascinating mosaics, bits of frescoes, a street of tombs, and a few statues.























Friday seemed to be a good day to tour the place - there were very few people there.

Orvieto's Duomo.

Overall, I did not spend too much time during this visit in the actual city! The next day, after a quick visit to the Trevi fountain searching for a gelato place that was closed, I met up with Michelle again and a few of her friends from the Centro and we caught a train to Orvieto. Orvieto is a charming walled medieval town situated on a high cliff. We checked out the very famous Duomo, a few caves from the underground labyrinth, some confusing museums, and I tried some granita (Italian shaved ice) for the first time. Granita is supposed to be a Sicilian specialty, but I haven't found much so far here in Syracuse - perhaps it is not the right season for it!

Sunday morning I had time for one more museum, part of the National Museum of Rome.
















Then I caught my flight back to Syracuse, which took the rest of the day.

This week so far has been full of papers and projects (hence this post is so late - sorry!), but I am looking forward to the end of the week - Friday is our big field trip to Etna! I can't wait (see below for my account of the recent excitement surrounding "Mamma Etna"!)

A sighting of Etna!

Picture from INGV

My first view of sorts of an erupting Volcano!


I was hanging out happily in Rome for the most of this weekend (more on this to come), and learned once I got into Volcanology class this Wednesday that I missed most of Etna's latest eruptions Saturday and early Sunday!



However, on the plane back to Catania I had an awesome window seat and got an almost 360 view of Etna as we circled to land. I saw some pretty awesome clouds built up over the volcano, and later realized that I had been flying over it right at the end of the excitement! How cool!

For a short report on the activity:
http://www.ct.ingv.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348

A walk in the park (Vendicari and Pantalica)

The end of this week was accompanied by a time change (we lost an hour), a rock concert (I could hear it from my house), and two splendid field trips.

The small dots on the right side are bullet holes.

On Friday, instead of zooming off to an Archaeological site, students from my Volocanology class along with an Enviormental Studies class took the bus to the Vendicari Nature Reserve.










There I learned about different plants, and how they adapt to the environment. I saw wild almonds, olive trees, cacti, and many wildflowers including one that had a very sour taste if you chew the stem (it was quite addicting!),

This patch was not very large.

The whole beach was covered in fluffy ball-like things. They were sea grasses rolled into perfect spheres by the wind. In spots there were so many that they completely covered the sand! Upon discovering that they floated in the water, we played catch with them in the ocean.














We explored an old tuna fishery and also saw a salt water marsh, a giant lake covered in flamingos, and played in the sea for a while. Too bad no one had  their swimming suits!









 On Sunday I woke up early and met my ride at the train station. After about an hour of beautiful winding roads, we arrived at Pantalica.

This was what was waiting for us at the top of the plateau. This area is very different from the flat coastal areas around Syracuse.

Here is what remains of a defensive trench (once there was also a wall) built by Syracusans against the Athenians. They trapped the Athenians in the narrow isthmus in front of the wall and destroyed them.

 Rock cut tombs (two here) on the side of the hill.

 More tombs here - in these you can clearly see double lines framing the opening.

Pantalica is still inhabited today - by a group of hippies! In some caves near the bottom of the river gorge you can see their own rock art, self-portraits and names. Some visitors to Pantalica have stumbled upon them dancing in the woods or swimming naked in the river. However, because they never stay in one place we didn't happen to find them on this trip.

 A Byzantine fresco on the wall of a cave. Many of the tombs and natural caves were reused during this period. Also the inhabitants carved paths in the rocks leading down the cliffs for easier access - the same ones we used to explore Pantalica.

 Above the large bat-filled cave, all the black holes on the cliff face are actually tombs. Look for rows of openings - you can see a good spot just above and a bit to the right of the cave mouth, in the center of this shot. Another good area to spot the tombs is on the top left.

 

We made it to the bottom and saw the river. Then we had to climb back up! This was my favorite trip so far, partly because it is off the beaten path. The bridge on the most direct path to Pantalica is out and there are no bus routes nearby, so not very many people visit it (though local Italian families love to picnic there!). We went with an Italian archaeological group, and had almost the whole place to ourselves.


This weekend I will visit Palermo and then show my fellow Buckman Scholar, Michelle, around Syracuse.