Volcanic Southern Italy and the Temples of the Gods

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

 

Here I am with my "Fund for Teachers" bag in front of the entrance to "Sibyl's Cave" in Cumae

  

Today the group spent time in Cumae (modern Cuma) itself. It was originally a Greek colony that was later taken over by the Romans as they expanded through Italy. We took a good look at the remains of two temples there, one allegedly built by the mythical character Daedalus, Icarus' father and the inventor of the Labyrinth on Crete and of human-powered flight. This was a temple to Apollo. We also visited Sibyl's Cave, the place of Apollo's Oracle at Cumae. We had a rare opportunity to visit its forum and spend some time in its bath complex. After lunch the group traveled to see the Macellum at Pozzuoli, modern-day Puteoli, and then went on to Solfatara. The day was great fun. 

Matthew in front of one of the volcanic vents at Solfatara

Tomorrow we will visit the Villa at Oplontis in the morning and then head to the island of Capri for two days. Capri is beautiful, and I've never spent the night there, so I am looking forward to the night in the hotel. 

The accommodations at the Villa Vergiliana are very basic. There is no air conditioning, although the evening breezes are pleasant, and the group of 30 must share showers. My room is the smallest I have had so far. I like my new roommate, though, and am quickly adjusting to the changes. At least there are some lines outside for the laundry I do in the sink in our small room, so I have a place for my things to dry.

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.

Baiae or Baia on the Bay of Naples

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 

View of the Bay from the Baia Museum

 

Our group visited the ancient luxury resort of Baia on the Bay of Naples today. In its day it was a resort for the exceedingly well connected and wealthy Roman elite. Its reputation was a little shady at times, but the Romans seemed to have loved its pleasures. They practically made the bay a lake both for purposes of making the bay sheltered and secured and to extend the land on which to build their luxury homes. The whole area is extremely volcanic and dotted with natural caves as well as the aqueducts and tunnels that the Romans built. Some of the latter were used by German troops during World War II. Nature's process of slow earthquakes or “bradyseism” causes the floor of the bay to rise and lower, so over time ancient cities have lowered beneath the sea or places under the sea have come up. More information is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradyseism and other sites. 

 

Tom Hayes told us that one can rent a glass-bottomed boat, and the water is so clear that you can see remains of the ancient city of Puteoli, near modern Pozzuoli, on the floor of the harbor below. Besides the lovely, well preserved statues and inscriptions at the museum, we saw many other sights today: The Acropolis of Cumae and the Cave of the Sibyl with a presentation by participant Anne Glenn, which was excellent. On the way we also saw the Villa of Vedius Pollio, a friend of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. This site has been open to the public for less than two years, so the guides were very eager to show us around. The views and the theaters were spectacular. The guides spoke Italian and no English, but Tom translated for us beautifully. These guides showed us evidence of the German soldiers.

Private Bay for the Homes of the Roman Elite

  

Vedius is famous for his cruelty. A slave once dropped an expensive goblet while Augustus was visiting for dinner. Vedius ordered him thrown to his pet lampreys (like eels). Augustus stopped him by asking to see the rest of the set of goblets, and then deliberately breaking them all himself. It's a good story. 

We stopped at the Tomb of Vergil or Virgil, a Roman poet who wrote in Latin in the first century B.C. There were Latin inscriptions all over. We had a chance to pay our tributes to the bard.

Another View of the Private Bay

The guides also pointed out an allegedly haunted house, not Roman but fascinating all the same. We had another discussion and translation session focused on Roman houses. Tomorrow we will visit the National Archeological Museum at Naples. There will be a discussion session at 6:30 but very little else planned for the day. I am glad we have been promised a slightly slower pace.

More pictures from this day of our trip are posted on Flickr.

Vedius Pollio's Theater and Odeon

Haunted House on its Own Island

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