J + 17 : Oldest Greek Town - Oldest Naval Base

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 the 8th century BC by settlers from Euboea, the colony was an immediate success. Within less than 100 years it controlled the entire Phlegrean area and expanded east by establishing Neapolis (new town) further inside the Gulf.

Sailing towards Cumae - the small Hill on the left is the location of Cumae's Acropolis

Cumae's success did not go unnoticed. For the Etruscans, it was a major obstacle in their southward expansion. Their forces clashed three times. In 524 BC before Cumae, in 505 BC before Aricia and finally in 474 on the sea before Cumae again. The Etrusans lost all three battles. Their expansion came to a full stop. Cumae became one of Rome's early allies in the South. It was unsuccessfully besieged by Hannibal in 215 BC. After the Punic Wars it became a favorite area for rich Romans. They built many splendid villas here. During the civil war, Cumae supported from the very beginning Octavian (later called Augustus). The first Roman Emperor would never forget their loyalty.

Cumae's Acripolis with the White Cliffs is right about My Lotty's blue Lifeboat. Since we could not land on the Beach, we had lunch on the open Sea. We visit the town tomorrow.

Having free time at hand, we set course to Mesino, Rome's oldest and biggest naval base, in the Gulf of Naples. It was built by Agrippa, Augustus' loyal friend and general. It served as naval base from 27 BC until the 5th century AD and is probably the world's longest serving naval base. During these years it was the home base for Rome's Classis Minsenensis, the professional fleet tasked with patrolling the Western Mediterranean and keep it pirate free. The Classis Minsenensis usually comprised 10 heavy ships (Quadriemes), 50 Triremes and 10 Liburnians, light patrol craft to chase down pirates. Its most famous commander was Plinius the Elder who deployed the fleet to rescue Pompeians during the eruption of Monte Vesuvius in 79 AD and was killed during this mission.

The Naval Base of Miseno during Roman Time

The naval base was a masterpiece of Roman engineering. The port was devided into an inner harbour and an outer port. The inner port was used to build and maintain ships and was surrounded by arsenals and workships. The outer harbor, well protected by artificial breakwaters, was used to accommodate the active fleet. Miseno housed about 10'000 Roman mariners, provided fresh water with its large cistern (Piscina Mirabilis), had a big theatre, barracks for the orderly and luxury villas for the commanding officers.

Hundreds of Leisure Boats anchor today in Rome's ancient Naval Base

Towards the end of the Western Roman Empire, the naval base lost its purpose. The Vandals and the Goths had occupied France, Spain and Northern Africa. There was no point to maintain it. The base simply decayed. During one of the Arab raids in the 9th century, the few remaining bits were burnt to the ground. The base never recovered. Today it harbours many leisure boats of people from Naples and serves as background for scenic weddings.

A freshly married Couple approaches the Port Hotel by Boat for the Wedding Party

We walked around it for a little while and had to admit, if we did not know that this was the most important naval base of the Roman Empirre, you would never guess. Reminds me of the Red Army military bases in Germany, which were abandoned in 1994. If you do not know that they were there - only 32 years later - you'd struggle to find tem. Nature takes back everything quickly!

The Red Army HQ in Vogelsang, 70 km north of Berlin, was abandoned in 1994. It once housed 15'000 Military Personel and an unknown Number of Tactical Nuclear Weapons