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

Moses leading his People thru the Red Sea. Fresco from Dura-Europos Synagogue 250 AD Everybody knows the story. After his 3rd mission to Asia Minor and Greece, Apostle Paul returned in 58 AD to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In his company were a few gentiles, Romans who converted to Christianity without following the Jewish purity rules (for men = being circumcised). He triggered a riot when he brought these “impure” to the temple. Only the presence of Roman soldiers prev

Lake Avernus in 2022 during the Blossoming of Cyano-Bacterium Planktothrix Rubescens A good 25 kilometer west of Naples, on the volcanic Campi Flegrei, is Lago Averno, a crater lake with a radius of ½ km. Its name tells a story. “Áornos” in Greek means bird-less lake. Birds flying over it were said to fall dead. This must have been true 2’000 years ago, when toxic fumes still evaporated. Today, the lake is dormant. From time to time though, it turns pink due to the blooming o

Stone Pine Trees dominate the Italian Peninsula - I planted 20 of them in my Garden This year’s journey from Malta to Pozzuoli will take us along mountainous coasts, many covered by large forest. Some are ancient. Others planted during reforestations over the last 100 years. During summer time, there are often forest fires attracting international media attention. Was it always like this? Were forests in Roman time also frequently on fire? Were they actually the same forests?

Horatio Nelson (1758 - 1805) portraited in 1799 As someone with a keen interest in military history, I know quite a bit about Horatio Nelson. The British Admiral defeated Napoleon’s joint French - Spanish Fleet at Trafalgar in 1805 which prevented the invasion of England. One of London’s largest squares is named after his triumph. His column stands tall in the middle of Trafalgar Square. An uncounted number of English pubs carry Nelson's name. His victory paved the way for a

Garibaldi's Entrance into Naples on 7 September 1860 - the Bourbon King fled the same day This summer, we sail from Malta to Pozzuoli, following the coast of Sicily, Calabria and Campania. There is significant Mafia presence in these regions. Whilst the Mafia made few headlines lately, it is there. Influential, powerful, wealthy and silent. In 2020 we sailed along these coasts on our way from Malta to Athens. I talked about the Mafia’s sad usefulness in one of my blogs : how

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

The 1.5 sqkm Island of Ventotene with the Villa Julia in the Foreground A good two hours by ferry from Gaeta lies the small island of Ventotene. The little spot in the Tyrrhenian has a surface of 1.54 square kilometers. During wintertime, 18 people live here. On a nice summer day, tourists bring the number to above 100. The island is just 1/14 the size of Saint Barth. No cars. A pedestrian paradise. Had Julia, Emperor Augustus’ only daughter, not lived here for five years, no