Castello di Fiuzzi with the Isola di Dino on the Tyrrhenian Shores of Calabria Calabria is known for many things. The beautiful beaches. The pictoresque villages. The steep mountains. The high frequency of earthquakes (see later blog). Its upcoming and promising wines (also covered in a later blog). And the Ndrangheta, its Mafia. View from the Castello Longobardo Normanno di Malvito towards Calabria's Mountains According to Wikipedia, the Ndrangheta is today a highly sophist

The Seicento (Fiat 600) was Italy's answer to the VW Beetle and the Renault 2CV. From 1957 to 1960, 2.7 million Seicento were produced in Turin. It was an Italian Pop Item Anybody who once spent a winter in Milan knows the longing for sun, warm air and blue skies. Milan, actually most of the Po Valley, are from October to March covered by a layer of dense fog. The days are short, grey, wet and cold. Nearly 20 million people live in the Provinces of Piedmont, Lombardia and Ven

In Spring 60 AD, Apostle Paul arrived in Rome, his final destination. Here, he wanted to be judged by Emperor Nero for his alleged crimes of bringing non-jewish people to the Temple in Jerusalem. After more than 6 months on sea, he walked the last 240 km from Pozzuoli to the Empire's capital. It took him ten days. Formally under house arrest but - as a matter of fact - free to do whatever he pleased, he waited for his meeting with Nero - the Roman Emperor had no time though.

Borgo Vecchio in Amantea - the Wall to the Left was built by the Muslim Rulers Tourists visiting Spain learn during their holidays that the country was once ruled by Muslims. The cathedrals in Cordoba and Seville and the Alhambra Palace in Grenada are living testimony. The Muslim rulers stayed long enough – for centuries actually – to influence the country’s architecture. Few visitors to Calabria though know that Muslims ruled here for a few decades as well. There were three

One of the many beautiful Baroque Fountains in Noto at the Piazza San Francesco Whether you walk through Syracuse, Catania, Noto, Modica or Ragusa, you are surrounded by churches and palaces in Spanish Baroque Sicilian Style or simply Sicilian Baroque. What distinguishes these buildings from their European cousins is the exuberance, the lavish use of decorations and local materials. In Sicily's south, they are made from honey-coloured tufa. Further north, in Catania, dark sto

The Straits of Messina with a typical big Swirl at the Entrance In 2021, five years ago, we crossed the Straits of Messina twice. First on our way to the Aeolian Islands. Then on the way back to Calabria. At one point of the return crossing, the AFAET, our boat in 2021, was caught by a giant swirl. Within seconds it was 45 degrees off course - no problem for a modern sailer with a strong engine. The autopilat put us back on track. For ancient sail ships or galleys the problem

Conca di Marini - Half Way between Amalfi and Positano Between June and September, around 5 million tourists visit the Amalfi. More than three quarter come from abroad. Visitors from the United States lead the pack followed by English and German people. The Amalfi coast has become the ultimate bucket list destination. The dramatic scenery with steep cliffs, turquois waters and idyllic villages is the perfect back-ground for the mandatory instagram selfie. Half of the 5.6 mill

The Castello Normanno - Svevo di Aci a few Kilometers north of Catania in Sicily For almost eight hundred years, precisely from 1071 to 1861, Italy was split in two. To the north was Venice, Milan, Savoy, Tuscany, Siena and tha Papal State. To the south the Kingdom of Sicily. The north was fractured. The south unified. How was this possible? The population in the north was homogeneous. In the south there were Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Arabic Jews and Normans. You would assume th

1678 was not a good year for Messina. The town where the Christian Fleet assembled in 1571 to defeat the Ottomans at Lepanto and famous Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes ("Don Quichotte") recovered from his wounds, was sacked by Spanish troops. Four years before, Messina had revolted against the Spanish King and allied itself with Louis XIV, only to find out that his support went up in the air once the Peace of Nijmegen was signed. The conflict had started when the Spanish Cro

The Straits of Messina with Messina Town in the Foreground and Calabria at the Back The United Kingdom consists of five parts: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland ... and Sicily. Sounds weird but almost happened in 1812. Several members of the British government argued that the same Normans who conquered England in 1066 (Battle of Hasting) also conquered Sicily (1061 - 1091). It is easy to dismiss this idea as crazy today. In 1812 however, Napoleon controlled Europe except Port

The Theatre of Tindari dates back to the 4th century BC and overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea One of the true pleasures of sailing along old trade routes is finding ancient Greek theatres. In Greece and Turkey we found one at almost every stop. They are obiquos. Now working on the details of this summer's trip from Malta to Pozzuoli (near Naples), I was looking forward to put them on our diary - researching their history and origin. Except - there are surprisingly few. Why are the

Looking out to the island of Ischia, located right between scenic Pozzuoli and vibrant Naples, there is a big empty plot of deserted industrial land - the old Ivla Steel Mill of Bagnoli. Closed in 2020, after decades of failed rescue attempts, the mill was closed, the workers sent home and most of the buildings dismantled. From the air, the space looks like a big dental gap - and probably is. The mill that employed once thousands is now guarded by a few security guards. The f

The US 6th Fleet during a Visit in Istanbul in March 1950. Visible is an Iowa Class Battleship, the Aircraft Carrier USS Midway and several Destroyers As an active officer during the Cold War, I always knew that NATO's Southern Command was located in Naples. Though I never visited and never bothered to ask why it was situated there. The threat by the Red Fleet was understood after 1973's Yom Kippur War between Israel on the one side and Egypt and Syria on the other. As office

Shipyard Drawing of the Fernandino I from 1817 in Naples Only 100 days to the start of our summer trip! It will take us from Malta to Pozzuoli, the journey Apostle Paul made in Spring 60 AD on his way to Rome. His voyage took place at a time when it was inconceivable that anything else than wind could power naval transport. Today, every sailboat has an engine to motor into the harbour when there is too little or too much wind. Times have changed. Robert Fulton's Clermont esta

Exactly eight weeks ago, I talked about food in Campania. Time to honor my promise to come back after I run out of time and space. With approximately 500 km of Tyrrhenian Sea coast line, seafood is prominently present on Campania's menus. Since there are so many Campania dishes, am going to focus on "mare". I will cover "terra" in another blog. Fishermen sell their Catch of the Day every morning on the Piers - we will be happy Buyers! People in Campania are very proud of thei

From left to right: Monte Nuovo, Pozzuoli, Miseno (the Roman Naval Base), the Island of Procida and Monte Vesuvio by Peter Fabris, 1776 - 1779 In the 18th and 19th century, at the end of their formal education, many young English men embarked on a "Grand Tour" to Greece, to see first hand the country which gave birth to the classical humanities. It was a rite of passage before these youngsters embarked on their professional careers in business, the forces or the Church of En

Naples is often in the news for the wrong reasons - be it a bank robbery when thieves kept 25 people hostage before escaping through the sewer system, large scale tax fraud in real estate, the permant presence of the Mafia or uncollected garbage in the streets for months. Wondered how I could introduce the brighter side of Naples since our sailing this summer ends near the town. I will try to do it through history and a few photos. Naples from Sant' Elmo Castle with the Caste

Pallagrello Nero from Caserta Province is rich in Tannins, deeply colored and ages well When planning this blog a few weeks ago I wondered how much research I had to do. I knew so little about wines from Campania. Turns out that one of my old favorites is from here. Always believed that Greco di Tufo was from Puglia. As a student, I loved it. Not only for its golden, sunny color but for its attractive value. Greco di Tufo is a dry, quite bold wine with nice fruity notes. You

Aerial View of Monte Nuovo - Pozzuoli to the left, Capri on the Horizon, Baiae to the right On 29 September 1538, shortly after sunset, the ground 4 km to the east of Pozzuoli opened expelling flames and toxic fumes. A bulge formed followed by a strong earthquake. Within hours, the bulge exploded expelling white and black smoke, pumice, basalt stones and water drenched ash. During the night, the plume rose to 5 km hight showering the surrounding lands with wet ash and pumice.

Rhodes Pavillon in the Mostra d'Oltramare - Remember the Deer from Rhodes Harbour? When you ask young Italians about Italy’s colonial past or which African countries Italy ruled, you get a blank stare. Whilst the British Empire made it into common knowhow, the Italian Empire never got that far. Italy’s colonial ambitions started with Eritrea in 1882, followed by Somalia in 1889, Libya in 1911, the Dodecanese in 1912, the brutal conquest of Ethiopia in 1935 and finally the ann