Amalfi's medieval Townwall towards the East - Just beyond the Walls is the Village of Atrani, where Amalfi's Wealthy had their Villas and where its Doge was "crowned" Writing about the Amalfi coast – the former Duchy of Amalfi – is challenging. Everybody knows it, has been there or has it on the bucket list. About 5 million tourists visit Amalfi every year – a town of 4’600 inhabitants. The Amalfi coast was discovered by English nobility in the 19 th century. Without railway

Roman Nobles loved to dress in Silk. It was a Status Symbol like no other and astronomically expensive Amongst the precious goods Roman cargo ships brought from the Levant to the port of Pozzuoli was silk. Like today, silk was shipped in bales. 100 yards of a 45 inches wide fabric (1.15 meters) rolled up on a long stick. At a density of 8 momme (silk quality standard measure), one square yard of silk weights one ounce or 28.35 grams. Our 45 inches wide silk band thus weights

Roman Alter Dedicated to Hermes at the Mines in Munigua in Spain It is common knowledge that the Roman Empire did not collapse because of the invasion of German tribes. It was undone by inflation which ruined its economy and tax base. The Roman state spent too much. 70% of its expenditures were related to military spending. The budget shortfall prevented the Empire from paying the mercenaries it had hired. We tend to forget that since Constantine the Great, 60’000 Gothic sold

The well preserved Greek Temples in Paestum attract every summer Thousands of Tourists The piece I wrote two days ago showed a photo of the Castello Aragonese di Agropoli . A few kilometers north of it lies Paestum, a town founded by Greek colonists from Sybaris in 600 BC. Its original name was Poseidonia. Pictures of Paestum made me wonder why the town had such big temples. Three of them are well preserved and attract thousands of tourists every summer. They are almost as la

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

Fresco of a young, dancing Minoan Noble Woman from Knossos Seven miles north of Heraklion lies the island of Dia. Four of its bays...

Arrived in Rhodes - one day from boarding the MYRA! The Ports in Rhodes are still the same as in ancient Times - Open Port (left), Big...

Tar has a high Viscosity and flows slowly but is still liquid at Room Termperature There are many unsung innovations in history. One of...

Felucas on the Nile, sailing upriver with the prevailing Desert Wind A few months ago I wrote a blog about ropes. Always wanted to follow...

Francesco de Pinedo and Ernesto Campanellin in the Savoia in 1925 Exactly 100 years ago, Francesco de Pinedo, a pioneering Italian...

The 2004 completed Rion Antirion Bridge in Patras links A5 and A8 and cost EUR 670 Million At the end of this summer’s sailing, we will...