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...

Aerial View of Rhodes - at the Back the Ancient Acropollis with Stadion & Temple of Apollo Never underestimate the power of a Map. In...

Ala Littoria's Flight Schedule 1939 - you can see Rhodes A good 2 months to go until we set foot on the Myra, our sail boat from 19 of...

Cypresses line the Road to my House in the South of France A row of Cypress trees lines the road to my property in the South of France....

Mainstreet of the Dorian City of Camirus, 40 km SW of Rhodes, with the Fountain Square Was trying for months to find out more about the...

The lush Mountains in the Peloponnese with their fertile Valleys receive a lot of Rain Mosf of my High School class mates hated history....

A typical small, family owned Hotel Resort east of Heraklion probably built in the 1980s Don’t have GDP numbers for the time when Crete...