Castello Aragonese d'Ischia was first built by Hieron, the Ruler of Syracuse, in 474 BC When sailing around the Golf of Naples, you may notice the many Aragon (it merged in 1479 with Castile and became Spanish) castles sitting prominently on rocky outcrops high above the waves. Why are they there and what was their purpose? We will have the chance to visit many of them during our third week of sailing this September. More surprisingly is that many of them were modernized duri

Scuba Divers are allowed to explore the Submarine Archeology Park in Baiae Despite fumes, frequent tremors and occasional eruptions, Greeks loved to live in and around the Bay of Naples. Nea Polis (Naples), Kumai (Cumae), Pithekousai (Ischia), Dicaearchia (Pozzuoli) and Poseidonia (Paestum) are the best known ancient Greek settlements which still exist today. The Romans loved loved living there too as did the Etruscans (founders of Capua) and the Samnites (founders of Pompeii

View over Salerno towards the 32 km long Beach to the South of the town A good 50 km southeast of Naples lies the town of Salerno, once the Norman capital for their lands in Southern Italy (11 th century). The town is known for the world’s first medical school established in the 9 th century and the landings of British and American forces on 9 th of September 1943 during Operation Avalanche. The day before, the Italian Government had announced its capitulation and declared

Villa Jovis behind Capri as seen from Monte Solaro, the Island's highest Elevation High above the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the island of Capri, stand the ruins of the Imperial Villa Jovis. For ten years (27 – 37 AD), the second Roman Emperor lived and ruled from here. Tiberius’ old palace towers 334 m or 1066 feet above sea level. It was placed on Capri’s second highest mountain. To our ears, Villa Jovis does not sound like anything special – just "Jupiter House". For the Romans th

The Isola Ferdinandea appeared in 1831 a few Miles northwest of Pantelleria Growing up in the Swiss mountains, my understanding of the sea was limited. For the longest time I believed tsunamis – as depicted in Japanese paintings – were a myth, or an exaggeration at best. It took the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in July 2006 killing thousands in Sri Lanka, Java and Thailand to make me understand that such rare events were real. Geology of the Marsili Sea Mount and the Aeolian I

There is no polished Amber on the Baltic Shores - it is a Fake Photo - but I still like it At times, I come across topics I have not heard about for decades. Happened to me a week ago when talking about the Etruscan trade with Northern Europe. The Etruscans exported high quality iron weapons and brought back amber from the Baltics. Not being entirely sure what amber was I looked it up on Google. Bernstein of course! German for amber. And back came the images of my geography c

The contemporary Umbrian Cuisine is more diversified than Etruscan Food who consisted mainly of Stews, Pot au Feu, Soups and all types of Porridges Putting menu plans and wine lists together for our summer sailing is one of my preferred activities. Fabulous Italian dishes come to my mind like Spaghetti Vongole, Parmigiano Melanzzane, Safran Risotto, Tomato Salade with Basil, Verdure Grigliate, Bruschetta, all sorts of sea food and delicious cold cuts. Italy’s mediterranean cu

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