The Ferrovia Tirrenia on the Coast of Calabria during bad Weather near Lamezia Terme When doing the contingency planing for sailing this summer, the.title of the book"The Importance of Being Idle" came to my mind. I read it a good 30 years ago. These days, most people are in a rush and always on the go. Stephen Robins, the book's author, makes the case that being idle allows you to contemplate everything a bit longer and focus on the essential. For him, being idle is a tool t

Ara Pacis Augustae - Alter of the Peace of Augustus to Honor the Return of Augustus from Campaigning in Spain in 9 BC Preparing for this year's sailing from Malta to Pozzuoli made me cover many ancient cultures and empires. Articles on Etruscans followed pieces about Carthage. Notes on the Greek by stories on the Phoenicians. Reviewing my blogs I noticed that I barely talked about Rome. And when I did, mostly about its Imperial Time. Made me wonder why I did so until I realiz

Hippocrates (Father of modern Medicin), Socrates (Philosopher), Leonidas (Spartan King who fought the Persians with his famous 300 at the Thermophylae) and Pericles (Leader of Athens who defeated the Persian Fleet at Salamis) all had Beards This summer, on our way from Malta to Pozzuoli, we will visit several ancient Greek and Roman sites. Thanks to EU funding, most of them now have their own on-site museum - though many suffer from the "Oggi Chiuso" syndrome. But occasionall

Some Calabrian Wine Estates are located spectacularly on the Mediterranean Coast Learning about wines is a bit time consuming but not too difficult. For most wines, knowing the location and type of grape gets you far. Until you arrive in Calabria. Here, every grape seems to be "Greco" - from Greece. Even though none are actually planted in Greece. The wine brochures are full of references to Magna Graecia, when Greek settlers came over in the 7th century BC and settled most o

The Bridge over the Messina Straits as approved by the Meloni Government on 6 Aug 2025 A good year ago, the Italian Government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni approved the latest iteration of the Messina Straits Bridge project. It is now before Italy's Audit Commission which will or will not approve the project. Wonder how Italy managed to give itself a political structure where a project approved by Government and Parliament can be challenged... But that is beside this p

Several Tons of Steel now provide Structural Integrity to the Protine Project One of the many things I learnt when refurbishing Protine in Tuscany is how comprehensive Italy's structural integrity requirements are. All new buildings or homes under refurbishment are subject to these laws. Geologists analyse the ground on which a house is built and perform stress analysis on how quake waves hit the building. The results are then forwarded to structural engineers. They identify

Misenium in Roman Time 2'000 Years ago - modern Miseno looks still bery much the same In 49 BC, Julius Caesar built a giant new naval base in Fréjus (Forum Julium). 23 years later, his adopted son Augustus moved the fleet to a new base in Misenium (Miseno) near Naples. What happened? What made Caesar's huge investment suddenly so irrelevant? After the fleet moved away, Frejus slowed down, silted and eventually decayed. This old Roman Port is now a good 1'000 meters inland fro

The Roman Theatre in Fréjus is partially restored & sits 1'000 people - 7'500 in Roman Time Since I was a student, I planned to visit - never got around it. Last time I tried was in 2023 but a 2-day Mistral forced us to skip Fréjus and shelter in Porquerolles - a good 70 miles to the west. But now it was time. Caesar's harbour fascinated me for the longest time. Why would Julius Caesar build his main naval base here in France? The answer is twofold: The upcoming civil war and

The Abbey de Saint - Honorat was established in 406 AD at the End of the Roman Empire Three years ago, almost to the day, we planned to visit Europe's oldest Abbey on the island of Saint-Honorat. The island is an oasis of peace. Difficult to imagine for a place only 15 min by shuttle boat from busy Cannes, Few holiday makers make it to the island though. There were only a dozen people on the first ferry - surgery enhanced Cannes visitors have different priorities. At least th

Every August, the shores of the Tyrrhenain and Adriatic sea are a place of joy and happiness. Whilst the country's biggest towns like Milan and Rome are largely shut down and taken over by international tourists, Italy's population moves to the sea and the mountains. Business comes to a stand still. An estimated 90% close for August. There are no workers on construction sites. The pace of industrial production slows to a trickle. With the exception of fashion and food, most s

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