The beautifully restored Atrium in one of the wealthy Households in Pompeii Herculaneum was - compared to Pompeii - an intimate experience. The crowd - not only from cruise ships - discovered Pompeii. I guess the site made it on several "bucket lists". More visitors contribute to longer queues. But there is more. "Smart" Italian bureaucrats installed a ticketing system that requires first and family name for each visitor (sic!). Wonder what purpose this serves. Security - not

Herculaneum's Seafront - 300 People were killed in the Shipyards where they took Shelter It is more than 20 years ago that I visited the two places. Was on the way to a risk conference in Capri and arrived early in Naples. Given that Pompeii was just 25 km away, I squeezed both into an afternoon. It was too much though for the short time available. The experience was overwhelming - I forgot most of what I saw. What I remember are the few visitors in Sept 2002, Pompeii's fast

Pozzuoli's Amphitheatre id huge and has 2/3 the Capacity of the Roman Colliseum After three weeks of sailing, we finally arrived in Pozzuoli, where Apostle Paul ended the sea leg of his journey. After a few days rest, he walked for three weeks on the famous Via Appia to the Roman capital where he was to be tried for his alleged crime of bringing gentiles to the Temple in Jerusalem. On the way, he was welcomed by many Christian followers. They had heard of his arrival. The emp

A Fishermen from Ischia going out to fetch his daily catch - sadly he returned empty handed Our Captain Marco found the perfect bay to stay for the night. There was no swell. We had a good night's rest. The bay was also shielded from any radio signal - no messaging in this "Funkloch" as we said in ths Swiss Army. A southerly picked up shortely after 8 am - time to set sails and move around the island to visit Cumae, the oldest Greek colony on the Italian mainland. Founded in

South Coast of Capri Island with the Main Town on the Ridge After a quiet night before Amalfi, we set sail for Capri today. During the summer months, the island is visited by up to 50’000 people a day. 90% of them day trippers. They arrive by 10 am and leave by 4 pm. Not surprisingly, the restaurants and bars in Centro Capri have no tables available, the queue for the cable car is three hundred meters long, noisy leisure boats ferrying people to the Blue Grotto leave the port

The Neighbourhood between our Marina and Catania's Town Center was once wealthy but is now a bit run down Walking from Catania's Yacht Harbour to the town center is quite an experience. We passed through a decommissioned, old customs building, walked through an ugly car park, crossed under the battrered arches of Sicily's Ionian Railway Line and finally ended in a rough, but once wealthy neighbourhood. The contrast between the beauty of the buildings and how badly they a

A traditional Ferryboat crossing from La Valetta to Birgu, where "My Lotty" is anchored. At the back the impressive Fort Sant' Angelo, former Headquarter of the Knights of Saint-John After months of waiting and planning, J - Day has arrived. As I write, we are loading our luggage and get our cabins ready. So exciting to be finally on board of "My Lotty". Mario, our Italian Captain, Antonio, his Number 2, Martina, our host, and Jose, our Portugese Chef will look after us for

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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