Etna Eruption at Night - Catania in the Foreground  During the Holy Year in 2025, I had the chance to walk through all four Holy Doors in Rome. Was also invited to a private visit of the Sistine Chapel. For 20 minutes, we silently admired Michelangelo’s frescos where cardinals appoint their Popes. Having seen the ceiling during previous visits - sandwiched between dozens of other visitors - I focused on the artist’s “Last Judgement”. At the bottom, there are demons and devil

The Castle of Populonia stands on the Acropolis of Fufluna, the ancient Etruscan Port During years of sailing along ancient trade routes, we dropped anchor in many old Greek ports. There was usually a port basin for the ships, a rocky outcrop with an acropolis, somewhere temples for major deities and dual use buildings which lined the quays. Marseille, Knidos, Miletus and Rhodes are good examples. The Etruscan Federation at its Peak in the 7th Century When Greek explorers

Outcrop of Obsidian Glass on the Eastern Tip of Lipari, the largest Aeolian Island Over the last few years, obsidian made an interesting come-back. Once material for cutting edge tools for our neolithic ancestors, it now adorns the necks and ears of modern women. Obsidian, a volcanic glass, acts like a mirror when carefully polished. Look at an “Alhambra” ear ring and you look at yourself. An Obsidian Pendant from the Alhambra Collection (Van Cleef & Arpel

Pointed Arches in the Duomo di Sant Andrea, Amalfi We will visit Amalfi and its Duomo in Week 3 this summer A good year ago, Notre Dame in Paris opened its doors again. It was closed for five years for refurbishment after it burnt down in spring 2019. I vividly remember the TV pictures of the flames licking up the roof and how the spire collapsed. Next to the Duomo of Milan, Notre Dame is the world's most famous Gothic church. My favorite though is the smaller Cathedral o

Etruscan Buccheri (simple pottery) exported to Sardinia, now in the National Archeology Museum in Calgari At times, I stumble on fascinating facts which stare into my face for years without me noticing. Happened again last week when I wrote about Campi Flegrei , the large cauldron west of Naples. As I was searching for craters, I came across the Greek colony of Cumae, a settlement with acropolis, port and long town walls. In 474 BC, 6 years after the Athenians destroyed the P

View over the "Phlegarean Fields" east of Pozzuoli towards Sorrento (l.) and Capri (r.) The “Phlegarean Fields” or Campi Flegrei were in the news last week. During one single night, local Emergency Services received more than 800 reports of new gas vents opening up in the middle of villages, streets, parks and open fields. The “Campi Flegrei”, the often overlooked twin to the Vesuvius volcano, seem to be wakening up. Under upward pressure and volcanic steam one road i

Perception of the Garden of Eden by an unknown Artist in the 18th Century We do not know whether Apostle Paul had any luggage for his journey as prisoner to Rome. Possibly he carried the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Thora in his bag. In his teaching, he often referred to it. This way the Book of Genesis, the biblical story of the beginning of the world, reached Rome. Alternatively, wealthy Jewish merchants who already lived for decades in the capital obtain

Segmented Plate Armor (Lorica Segmentata) weighted about 15 kilograms per Legionnaire Global trade is made possible by maritime transport. These days, there are a good 107’000 merchant ships plowing the waves. Oil tankers account for about 12’000 ships, bulk carriers (ore, coal, grain) make up 13’000. There are 21’000 large cargo and 6’000 container vessels. The other 50% are smaller, primarily coastal merchant ships. A Roman Grain Freighter leaving a Port - possibly Leptis M

Mount Etna in the Evening seen from the North - His standard Plume stronger than normal When Apostle Paul sailed along Sicily’s east coast on his way to Rome in 60 AD, he must have noticed Mount Etna and possibly the many vineyards on the slopes. The mountain is huffing and puffing since people remember. Wine was planted on its slopes after Greek settlers arrived in the 8 th century BC. The colonist cleared slopes, built terraces and introduced irrigation. For them, wine was

The Roman Naval Base of Misenum 200 AD - the Italian Port of Miseno in 2022 AD Over the last ten years, we visited many ancient ports. Some were silted like Miletus , Kaunos , Andriake or Patara . Others lost their purpose and were abandoned - Knidos , Fréjus , Kelenderis or Caesarea come to my mind. A few are still in use – such as Piraeus, Messina, Pozzuoli and Miseno. All these ports were part of Rome’s far-flung network that comprised 200 major and 3’000 minor

Love the quiet festive season with its family dinners, long out-door walks and the occasional fresh snow. Time to restart my blog and finish the travel planning for this summer. This year we pushed sailing to September. The last three years we sailed during peak season when all major ports and towns were busy. Let's see how we do when most of the holiday goers have returned. We are on the 3rd and final leg of our project to follow the route of Apostle Paul who was brought as

Am often asked “what was the highlight" of the 2025 trip? Most people expect an answer like the "Turquoise Beach of Kasos", or the...

Our Boat, the MYRA, this morning at Sunrise at 06.59 am (in Rhodes it was 06.25 am) This morning, after breakfast, it was time to say...

Staying in the Bay of Navarino last night was a good choice. The sea was calm. We were well protected from the westerlies. This morning,...

Sunrise over the location of the Navarino Battle today What a rocky start this morning. Swell from the west hit us hard after leaving...

Methoni at Quarter to Eight - the Town's 17th Century Bastions in the Middle of the Photo The South of the Peloponnese is a fabulous...

Koroni - View from the East on the Venetian Bastions and the Modern Town Our choice of Porto Kagio for last night was excellent. Whilst...

Turkish Sailors surrender to the Greek Privateer Katsionis - Painting from his Crimean Villa Greek folklore is full of tales of heroic...

On the horizon to the west, in the hazy afternoon, the small island of Antikythira comes into view. We are on the way to Kythira but will...

Chania's Venetian Light House is still standing strong Turnover day today - again. As of 6 am, the deck hands started washing and...