Where Would Vampires Hide Out in Italy?

 

Thursday, August 12, 2010

 

 Today we went to Baia and to two villas in Stabia: San Marco and Ariana (Ariadne). My favorite part of the day, however, was a stop at Misenum at the “Piscina Mirabile.” 

The "Piscina Mirabile" in Italian; "Piscina Mirabilis" in Latin

This is the remains of a huge cistern that was at the end of the Aqua Augusta, an aqueduct used to supply water to the Roman fleet at Misenum. Branches of it also supplied water to Pompeii and Herculaneum, but its original purpose was a military one. This isn't surprising, considering that Roman roads were originally built for military purposes, too. 

The “Piscina Mirabilis” is hauntingly beautiful. I can't explain why. Hopefully my pictures will do it some justice. Our guide said it could hold over twelve million liters of water. That's a little more than three million gallons.

Wow! 

Piscina Mirabilis: pretty? creepy? pretty creepy? YOU decide!

Even the algae and vines growing in it were beautiful in a creepy, Ann Rice kind of way. There was something about the whole place that fired the imagination. For more pictures of this and our previous day, visit this set on Flickr.

 Our group is starting to wind up its stay. One more night here after tonight, and then we will be heading back to Rome. I am hoping I will find time to get to the Pantheon so Matthew can see it before we depart for the U.S.

Want to tour Italy in the summer of 2018? Click for details.

The Climb Up Mt. Vesuvius

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The ascent up Vesuvius from the bus parking area is arduous but not impossible

 We started our morning with a climb up Mt. Vesuvius. We were lucky that the morning was a little overcast, so the hike wasn't as hot as I'd anticipated. With Matthew's help, I made it to the top! Yee-hah!! Last month I took a pain pill and worked on my physical therapy exercises while the group made the ascent. Today I made it with very little trouble. I feel great!

Matthew and I both reached the summit. Gotta work off that gelato somehow!

 The visit to Herculaneum was very productive. We saw some houses I hadn't seen before, and I was very excited to get into the Suburban Baths, which were closed on our last visit. There is evidence that the windows were glassed in. The pyroclastic flow knocked a basin into more “lava” and fragments of the glass from the window can be seen in the impression in the cooled rock. I have digital pictures of this that I've posted below.

The basin where it stood under the window

The impression in the pyroclastic flow

Close-up showing evidence of broken glass

For more pictures from this day of our trip, visit this set on Flickr. For an account of my first visit to Mt. Vesuvius in 2010, visit "The Inferno."

Paestum, ancient Poseidonia

Monday, August 9, 2010

 

Matthew enjoying the Greek temples at Paestum

Today our group of teachers on a Vergilian Society tour spent the day in Paestum, ancient Poseidonia, originally a Greek colony. 

Anne Haeckl lectures as part of our tour

 New for me this time was the Ekklesiasterion, a public assembly space for Greek-style elections and political meetings. The Romans covered it over when they took over, probably because they wanted to set up a space for more Roman-style systems of government. 

The Ekklesiasterion

Model of the Greek ekklesiasterion

It is the only Ekklesiasterion in Italy. We don't know if there were more, destroyed by the Romans or otherwise. This is the only one that has been found. It looks like a rounded amphitheater. 

Christopher Gregg, our other guide and lecturer

We also spent some time examining the tomb paintings of the Lucanians, an Italic people. There are definite interests there in blood sports and chariot racing, perhaps foreshadowing the rise in interest in arenas and circuses in Rome and the prevalence of gladiatorial training schools in Southern Italy. I purchased a small model of the lid of the Tomb of the Diver at the gift shops here for use in my classroom. 

Tomb of the Diver

 
For more pictures of Paestum, visit this set on Flickr.

Tomorrow we go to Herculaneum and climb Mt. Vesuvius. I am hoping my knee will feel good enough to allow me to reach the summit this time.

Naples, Boscoreale, and Pozzuoli's Amphitheater

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Students often ask how plaster casts of Vesuvius' victims were made

 Today we went to the National Archaeological Museum at Naples, to Boscoreale to see an example of a villa rustica, and to Pozzuoli to see its amphitheater. The amphitheater is the 3rd largest in Italy and the 10th largest in the Roman world. I got some new insights into some of the artwork and some inscriptions to share with my students back home. At the museum at Boscoreale, I got some great pictures of a boar's tusks and a good picture of a wild boar. These will help students understand part of the storyline of our Latin I text. For more pictures from this day, visit this set on Flickr.

"Eros with a Dolphin" at the Naples Museum

 

Pompeii Revisited

Saturday, August 7, 2010

 

The goddess Venus with attendants. Her presence would have been felt in the Lupinarium!

 I was back at Pompeii for the third time this summer. This was the best visit of all. We got to see the Lupinarium, a brothel. Chris wrote his dissertation on Pompeii's prostitution, so he was very knowledgeable about the site and about the topic. The Lupinarium was well lit, and we didn't have to bribe a guard to get in. Things have certainly changed since I first visited the site in 1988. I bought a cute reproduction black-figure Greek vase to use for a classroom project. It shows a centaur dancing with a deer. It was fun to take Matthew around and share a little about what I'd learned this summer. For more pictures from this day, visit this set on Flickr.  Tomorrow we go to Naples for the Naples' Museum and to Boscoreale for a look at a villa rustica.

A wine press at the Villa of the Mysteries

An Emperor's Outdoor Dining Cave: Sperlonga, Italy

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Cave at Sperlonga. The fish pond and remains of the imperial dining room in the foreground

 

Matthew and I successfully met up with the group from the Vergilian Society program at 9 AM. The group made stops at Terracina and at Sperlonga on the way to Cumae. I especially liked the museum at Sperlonga, which is suspected to be the site of one of the Emperor Tiberius' villas. There are some Hellenistic-style statures there on the theme of Odysseus, including a nice reproduction of a statue group of Odysseus and his men blinding the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The statues were originally in a triclinium set in a cave, or spelunca in Latin. The name, Sperlonga, might actually be a corruption of the Latin word for cave. Sperlonga has a beautiful beach within sight of the museum and cave, but we didn't have time to go there. Sigh!

Exploring the interior of the cave, the original location of the museum's statues

Upper-class Romans liked to grow fish in ponds on their estates

A view of the dining area from inside the cave. Tourists on the right give an idea of the scale.

We can tell from these holes on the dining platform that the Romans raised lampreys, a delicacy, here

Another exterior view of the cave at Sperlonga

Oplontis

Tuesday 7/13/10

View of Oplontis

 Sr. Therese and Sr. Theresa seem to realize they are running the participants ragged. Today we cut back on activities. We spent the morning in Oplontis visiting the villa there, perhaps the villa of Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of the Emperor Nero, or of one of her relatives. It is an example, like Pompeii's Villa of the Mysteries, of a Villa Suburbana. Not a working farmhouse, but a showcase of luxury, located outside of town. This villa was convenient to Pompeii, about 3 Roman miles outside of the more famous town. Its remains are luxurious enough that one could imagine a member of the imperial family owning it. Different parts of the house are decorated with frescoes in different styles, and the slaves' section is decorated with humble black and white stripes. It is easy to tell where the servants and where their masters were expected to hang out. The piscina or swimming pool is huge.  

Famous Frescoes

Slaves' Quarters

The Piscina or Swimming Pool

We have a translation session tonight. We will stay here for more sessions and lectures tomorrow. Thursday we head to the island of Ischia, where we will visit the Greek remains of the settlement beneath the church of St. Restituta. Ischia has nice hot springs and gardens, so we plan to bring our bathing suits for our free time there in the afternoon.

 On a personal note, I managed to get through all of my PT exercises today without any painkillers. It hurt, but I could do them, and got some good bend in the knee. My ankles are still swollen. It seems impossible to avoid salt and sugar in the diet around here; perhaps Rome will be better. I still have a rash on my legs, but it looks better than the rashes on the legs of the other women who mysteriously developed a skin condition around the same time I did. I honestly suspect the improvement is from the aqua s. ferrata I've been applying from the spring at Terme di Stabia. I may decide to go back and get more. I need a haircut and still can't figure out how to get one.

 I also have decided I want to order a pamphlet on graffiti from the American Classical League Teaching Materials and Resource Center to use with my students. Also, if I assign students to research houses, they may want to do it after their favorite television show home-show, like “Cribs”  or “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. Myths and graffiti could be tied in with the houses as well as architecture and figures from Roman history.

My eternal thanks go to the National Endowment for the Humanities for funding this portion of our trip.

Pompeii and Pliny II

Monday 7/12/10

With friends near the entrance to Pompeii

 We went for a second visit to Pompeii today. It was just a few stops away on the train but we were gone for a full day. Two highlights for me were seeing the house of L. Caecilius Iucundus, whose family is featured in the Cambridge Latin Course my classes use, and  seeing the Villa of the Mysteries again. We also saw the house of Julius Publius. That was cute: you needed a special ticket to get in, and there were sound effects and Disney-style ghosts of the residents who came and told the crowd about their final days. Their corpses were found in the house: an old man, supposedly Julius Publius, embracing a pregnant younger woman, perhaps his daughter. Her fetus lived for 7 seconds longer than the mother, and they all suffocated, according to the drama. I got most of the mother's story on video, but, unfortunately, the English version wasn't working, so it's in Italian. For more pictures from this trip, visit this set on Flickr.

 

At the house of Caecilius Iucundus from our Latin texts, the Cambridge Latin Course

Thermopolium with a lararium at the back of the room

 We had a rather long translation session when we got back, but we read both of Pliny's letters about the eruption, and that was rather fun. Teri also gave a great presentation about the bodies found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. I find I am a rather strong reader of Latin compared to some of the middle school teachers who do not regularly have to read as challenging a text. I guess that makes sense.

 Tomorrow we spend a half day in Oplontis and then either more Herculaneum or rest. I plan to rest. It looks like the pace will be less frantic the rest of the week. My swollen feet and ankles will be happy to slow down. My knee is feeling  better for the exercise, though.

I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for funding this portion of our trip.

Taking the Waters

Sunday, 7/11/10

The Fountain at the Terme di Stabia

 

It's hard to believe we've already been here a week. Most of the group decided to travel to the beaches in Sorrrento. Leigh and I walked to the Terme di Stabia, the Baths of Stabia, which turned out to be easy to find, about two or three blocks from where we are staying. The main baths were closed. If we have read the Italian right, the main bath complex offers mud treatments, breathing treatments, various types of soaks and physical therapy.

The complex across the street was open, however, to take the waters. After paying a modest entrance fee, we entered a pleasant little park with shady trees, a moss-grown fountain, and a couple of shops selling spices or trinkets. There was a view of the bay from under the trees and a little museum exhibit and aquarium showcasing local sea-life. The restrooms were clean and well-stocked. 

Cool Shade and Beautiful Gardens at the Terme di Stabia

The highlight was a row of spigots over a trough. The different kinds of mineral waters were labeled with things like “Madonna,” “Stabia,” “Ferrata,” etc. An elderly Italian man explained to us patiently and enthusiastically in Italian that the different waters are good for different things. We mostly understood his pantomime, but we got by. Some of the waters are meant to be drunk, others to smear on the body. His favorite for drinking was the “Madonna,” which tastes much like the bottled mineral water served at the local restaurants. Another man liked a water that he said was good for the stomach, but Leigh tried it and said it tasted awful, sort of salty with a strong sulfur taste, so I skipped that one. 

My favorite was the “S. Ferrata,” a type meant for topical application. Our first guide claimed it is good for the skin. I smeared some on my rash, and it immediately felt soothed, and felt even better as the water evaporated. We had not thought to bring cups or bottles, so we'd had to purchase little cups at the entrance for an extra 10 cents (or the equivalent in Euros). I filled my cup with the “S. Ferrata” and managed to bring some home without spilling it too badly. I have applied more to my rash liberally and frequently. I wish I'd brought a bottle and will definitely bring some to fill if I go back. 

Upon my return I walked into town for lunch and bought a few postage stamps. I was surprised you can buy them on Sunday. I managed to do most of my PT exercises upon return. Now I plan to rest and to finish up my postcards, and maybe even take a little nap. It's well-deserved. 

My thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for providing funding for this portion of our trip.

Herculaneum

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Former waterfront area where Vesuvius' victims found

  We took the train to Herculaneum today and saw the place along what used to be its waterfront where the human remains were found in that 1988 National Geographic video, “In the Shadow of Vesuvius.” Group members presented three houses: the House of the Deer, of the Mosaics, and of the Telephos Relief. I rented an audio-guide and did a little more on my own. Then I took the train back by early afternoon after eating lunch. My legs have a rash, my feet and ankles are swollen, my knee hurts, and I was too tired to spend more time at the site. It is time to rest.

The "Telephos Relief:" an ancient doctor at work

 Sort of. I caught up on some of the stretches I have been skipping on my knee for lack of time. I had laundry to wash out by hand and hang from the window. I also have a presentation on Cicero, Ad. Att. 13.52, due Monday, so I took some time to read that. It has words in ancient Greek, and I don't quite understand the context of the letter, so I spent time on Perseus Project trying to figure it out. I made a little progress. Then our group had a discussion and translation session from 6 until 7:30 with a brief break before dinner. Tonight I am uploading my pictures and finishing up typing this while I prop my throbbing feet and knees up on my bed. Tomorrow others in the group are going to travel to the beach. I will not leave Castellammare di Stabia, although I plan to walk around downtown and find lunch here. The place we are staying serves vegetarians cheese for three meals a day, and I fear I am turning into a big fat mouse! Maybe even a constipated one.

My friend, Leigh, is a geologist by training but teaches now

 Leigh, one of our group members, is tentatively planning a  trip to a local bath complex that has supposedly been in operation here since antiquity. If she can find it and it's open, I might go with her to soak my sore feet in a tub there. We'll see.

My eternal thanks go to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible, despite the sore feet. :)

The Inferno

Friday, July 9, 2010

 Today our group toured Hell.

  

Well, OK, I am exaggerating slightly, but not by much. We took a tour of the Phlegraean (or Fiery) Fields, which was the region that the ancient Romans thought was the entrance to the Underworld. Aeneas goes there with the Golden Bough to go to Hell and back in the Aeneid. He does this partly to meet with his father to get further prophecies about the bright future of the Trojans' descendants in Rome, partly because he's as great a hero as Odysseus or Hercules or anyone else who went to Hell and made it back alive. 

Sibyl's assistant: our guide to the Underworld and back!

We stopped at the site near Lake Avernus that Vergil thought was the grotto of the Sibyl, a different site from the last one we attended. Probably these tunnels were hollowed out for military purposes. The same family has taken tourists for tours of this site for generations. Members of the group went down a side passage to dip their hands in an underground river, the “Styx,” according to our guide. Just past there is another spot where the Sibyl allegedly bathed, but our guide was talkative so we didn't have time to see that one. The guide speaks only Italian, but Tom gave us the gist of what he was saying. The entrance of the cave overlooks Lake Avernus. The descent to Hell is easy, says Vergil: it's the way back that is the tough part. Luckily for us, our guide and his dog led us safely back into the light. The dog's name in Italian is Junior but our group nick-named him Cerberus.

My colleague touched the "River Styx" and LIVED!

Other sites visited today included Pozzuoli or ancient Puteoli, well known for its Macellum and its bradyseism or slow earthquakes. The highlight there, besides the ancient latrine at the Macellum, was the amphitheater, the third largest in the Roman world. The carcere, the space under the floor of the arena, is in great shape for viewing, and tourists can still walk on the floor of the arena, which helps us visualize what the floor of the Colosseum must have looked like. We visited Solfatara and walked on the floor of a live volcano, located just past a campground. People come from all over to take in the fumes from the fumaroles for health purposes. A few of our group got adventurous enough to do the same. I took video of the volcanic activity that was visible there. The Romans knew that this area was volcanic whereas they did not apparently know that Vesuvius was. 

 

Near Mt. Vesuvius; ginestra to the right

Then the bus took the group up Mt. Vesuvius itself. Sadly, I did not hike up to the top this time due to my knee trouble. It is hot and strenuous, with no shade and no places to rest. I have hiked it before or I would have made the attempt. Instead I did some shopping around the tourist entrance area. The shopkeepers seemed to enjoy the business. The economy has slowed down sales, one of them told me. I also got some scenic pictures of the area. The ginestra, a yellow flower, is blooming right now. It is not only beautiful but also sweet-smelling, rather like honeysuckle back home but a little more subtle. 

I very much admired the skills of the bus-driver who took us up and down Vesuvius on narrow, twisty, mountainside roads past other tour buses on a route that I could swear it was impossible for two buses to pass on. The route is full of hairpin turns. I was sitting in the back of the bus so I could prop up my leg, and the effect from the back was rather like one of the better Disney rides. Somehow the drivers do it, although sometimes they need to pull over or even back up to make room for each other. Our driver seemed to get a kick out my admiration for his skills and my genuine gratitude when we got off the bus at the end of this route. He is as skilled in my estimation as a pilot.

 

When I last visited these sites in 1988 there was no such thing as an inexpensive digital camera. I can't believe what great images I got. I also got video of our guide in the underworld and of Solfatara. I can share my experiences so much better with my students with these new tools. I can't wait to have a chance to do so.

 

Tomorrow we leave for a full day at Herculaneum. In case it seems to you like our group is traveling at a breakneck pace.... we are! Everyone says it feels like we've seen and studied a month's worth of sites, and we've been here less than a week.

I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for making possible this portion of my trip.

Castellammare di Stabia

A typical hairpin turn in Castellammare di Stabia

Here is the poem I mentioned in my last post:

Castellammare di Stabia

 

by Mary Lou Burke

 

Steep streets, too narrow,

gray stone pavers, worn smooth by shoes, and donkeys,

now little cars with banged-up sides and

motor-scooters of all sorts, some shiny and new,

taking hairpin turns with a honk of a horn, so tight

most cars must back up to make it round them.

 

Laundry hangs off balconies from apartment buildings

that provide sweet shade from the hot Italian sun and

the people are friendly, neighbors chatter with neighbors,

and the owner of the orologeria is not unhappy to see

an American whose cellphone won't tell time here. She

speaks a little broken Italian to be met (sometimes) with

a little broken English and a sale (mi fa uno sconto??)

 

Good food, friendly greetings, strong hearts,

and fireworks light up the rarely-quiet nights

celebrating a birthday, perhaps a wedding, like

a mini-private Fourth of July; and music and singing

make me smile, not leaving me with an urge to call

for the police, or a new ordinance, but to

join the party.

Naples, Italy

Wednesday, July 7, 2010:

The Farnese Bull

  

I have so many ideas and reflections I want to share, and not enough time in my day. It is 10  PM here, and I need to complete this entry, do my physical therapy stretches, do some minimal labeling of the pictures from the Naples Museum I am uploading while I type this, and get some sleep. I'm also hoping that my wonderful boyfriend, Don Burke, will give me a call. I decided since my Italian cellphone is supposed to work for free incoming calls and emergency outgoing calls, I'll just hold onto it. Of course, the fact that I have no idea how to make an emergency call in Italy is something that bothers me, but not enough to ask-- I feel too busy!

This morning our group took the train and metro system to the National Archeological Museum at nearby Naples. Members of the group who'd lived in busy and sometimes unsafe metropolitan areas were more comfortable with this whole process than I was. I am from an area of North Carolina that has a public transportation (bus) system, but you call for it 24 to 48 hours in advance to schedule your ride, and it takes you to your destination anywhere in the county. I don't even know if the $4.00 fare is one way or round trip, because I've never used it. Also, Naples is known for having pickpockets and purse cutters and purse and jewelry snatchers who particularly prey upon tourists, so I was nervous about that.

The museum was well worth the trip. I got pictures of marble busts of Roman emperors from the Farnese Gallery, which feels like the seeds of a student project. I saw and photographed the magnificent Farnese Bull. I saw and photographed a slew of frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum, mostly focusing on mythology for another potential student project, but I also took pictures of scenes that struck my own interest. Another participant, Susan,, a teacher from Chicago Public Schools, and I found we enjoyed each others' company as we walked through the gallery. She looked at the work from a technical perspective while I was looking at the culture the art reflected. I bought a reproduction Herculanean bracelet and a statuette of a faun for a class project.

  Our group was given directions on how to get home. Susan and I got on a slightly wrong train and went  seven stops out of our way. We realized this when we came to the end of the line and our train shut down. The kindly conductor spoke some broken English, and I some broken Italian, and he managed to get us on the right train to where we could get a connection back to Stabia. There we poked around, got some snacks (gelato for me!) and shopping done, and made our way up to the Villa. I took some video that tried to get some feel for the old-style European feel of the streets on our walk from the downtown area up to our hotel, but I'm not sure how good a job I did. I was going to look at the video tonight and label pictures, but I think I only have time to do my stretches and go to bed. I wish I had an easy way to ask a physical therapist or doctor if I am doing any harm by skipping my full exercise regimen. I hope all the walking up and down stairs is doing me enough good as far as strengthening the leg and knee.

 Oh, our evening discussion session was fantastic. Jessica Tang and Jill Howard gave a great presentation on Roman slavery. There seem to be some frightening parallels between the changes in the economy and farming due to the Roman latifundia system and the government-supported farming system today, as outlined in the documentary Food, Inc. and elsewhere. I have a million more reflections but this is all I can manage for now. Tomorrow we are visiting more villas, going to Boscoreale, and hearing a visiting lecturer on I-wish-I-could-remember-what.

 Postscript: I couldn't sleep and wrote a draft of a little poem about Stabia, the little city where we're staying. But that's fodder for another post.

I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my studies possible.