Our Travels

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 - NAPLES, ITALY - The storm from the previous day was still with us as the ship tossed all night long and was unable to dock by 8 a.m. the following morning. Our carefully crafted plans for the day were at shortly after 8 a.m. to meet our guide as we stepped off the ship and board the hydrofoil to the Isle of Capri. The day included tours of the island and then a return trip through the Blue Grotto back to Naples in the early evening. Below are our first sights of Naples, Italy.

Naples is the capital of Italy's Campania Region. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its 2,800 year old existence. Naples is located halfway between two volcanic areas, the volcano Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, sitting on the coast by the Gulf of Naples.

A Waterfront Castle.

A major seaport, Naples' center houses many churches, convents, palaces, medieval buildings and an abundance of Renaissance architecture. Among the attractions in the city are the Duomo of San Gennaro (main Roman Catholic Church), the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples National Archaeological Museum), the Gesu Nuovo (Gothic style Roman Catholic Church), and the Catacombs of San Gennaro (underground paleo-Christian burial sites). By the time that the ship finally was able to dock at almost 11 a.m. our plans for the day had been cancelled it was decided by the group of 10-12 to instead visit the Naples National Archeological Museum. We hailed a large van and soon arrived at the museum. (shown below)

This museum is located at the northwest corner of the original Greek wall of the city of Neapolis. The museum contains a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. The collection includes works of the highest quality produced in Greek, Roman, and Renaissance times. It is the most important Italian archaeological museum. Charles III of Spain founded the museum in the 1750s. The building he used for it had been erected as a cavalry barracks and during its time as the seat of the University of Naples (from 1616 to 1777) was extended, in the late 18th century.

The museum hosts extensive collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. The greater part of the museum's classical sculpture collection is important since it includes Roman copies of classical Greek sculpture, which are in many cases the only surviving indications of what the lost works by the ancient Greek sculptors looked like.

And, we climbed to the next level.

and, a collection of busts of Roman emperors.

A room with a beautiful ceiling.

Our friend, Wayne Fogel, from San Jose, CA admires this bust.

The statute of Agrippina, great granddaughter of Roman emperor Augustus and wife of her uncle, Claudius, whom she murdered so that her son, Nero could become emperor. (Nero didn't trust her and murdered her).

The museum's Mosaic Collection includes a number of important mosaics recovered from the ruins of Pompeii and the other Vesuvian cities. This includes the Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia.

And finally, The Secret Cabinet or Secret Room is the name given to the private rooms in which were held a fairly extensive collection of erotic or sexual items, mostly deriving from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Until recent times, access was limited to only persons of mature age and known morals.

After that, we decided to leave the museum and stepped out into the beautiful sunshine of the city.

And walked for blocks and blocks...stopping at various churches and squares. Below,

And visited various squares.

Here, Jeff decides to leave the group and return to the ship.

We stopped at the Galleria Umberto I (shopping mall)

Sylvia poses standing on the floor decoration for the sign of the goat.

Likewise, Jim poses with the sign of the fishes.

I photographed a group picture of our crew, left to right: Wayne & Bev; Sylvia; Carol & John; Susan (Jeff had now deserted the group and returned to the ship on his own).