Tempting Fate, Staying Downhill from an Active Volcano

Our first stop in Naples was very brief.......we decided not to stay overnight there based on reviews we had read and advice from friends, so we got off the train from Orvieto and walked underground to get on the commuter train to Ercolano, home of the Herculaneum ruins and nearby Mt. Vesuvius which was responsible for burying Herculaneum in A.D. 79. Fortunately, relatively speaking in current times, the ancient city was buried by 16 metres of volcanic mud (vs. ash which damaged Pompeii even more) and left it better preserved for us.....not for the original inhabitants, to observe it as it once was. While all the roof-tops and many of the walls no longer exist, there are still wall murals and floor tile patterns that have survived, and who knows how much more under the current city which was built on top of the eruption damage (archaeological work continues). Our stay also included a visit to the culprit itself, Mt. Vesuvius, which involved a 30 minute bus ride up the mountain and a one kilometre walk up a black volcanic sand path to the current summit at 4200 feet, which is half of the original height of the mountain before the major eruption. It was also interesting to learn that the song 'Funiculi, Funicula' was written in 1880 to commemorate the completion of a funicular to the summit. The most recent eruption (1944) however, buried the funicular; so now a steep walk is required to view the crater and several steaming spots inside. The views of the Bay of Naples and nearby Pompeii were also very good when the occasional cloud wasn't in the way. It was possible to walk half way around the crater so that presented a good time to walk further when the views were not optimum.

Yesterday we had the first rain-filled day of our trip.......not bad after more than a month travelling in Italy. We decided that would be a good day to visit Naples, with a 20 minute commuter train trip back to the big city. We were amazingly lucky to dodge some heavy downpours by being close to places we wanted to see when the off-and-on rain started (and popped in for a beverage during another spell). The Naples churches (600+) were something to behold with their size, design and artistry, and often less than 100 metres apart from one another. We had a late lunch at the famous Sorbillo pizza restaurant, after participating in the normal 15 minute line-up, which has survived an alleged Camora mafia burning (and probably risks another for their outspoken owner). After that we took a 2 hour tour of the Naples underground tunnels which only covered a fraction of the 400+ km's that exist. The Greeks originally built the tunnels when excavating the rock for their buildings. Then the Romans came along, and with buildings in place they decided to use the tunnels for a water delivery system allowing for easy well access to the entire city. In later times when modern water distribution systems were put n place, the residents started using the unnecessary wells as garbage dumps......which continued until WWII when the bombs started dropping and everyone decided the tunnels would be a good place to seek safety....as long as you plugged your nose. The garbage has now been removed. It was an interesting, incredibly inexpensive tour ($15 pp) to learn about the history.....and escape the rain!

Tomorrow we will depart Ercolano and take the commuter train a bit further along the coast to Sorrento at the far tip of the Bay of Naples and just before the start of the Amalfi Coast.

Inside of Gesu Nuovo (New Jesus) church in Naples. It wasn't designated as the Cathedral or even one of several Basilicas in a city adorned with magnificent churches. There was also another church in the same square. Now all they need is enough people to attend mass each Sunday.

Waiting in line with my new friends to get a table at Gino Sorbillo's restaurant. We knew the Neapolitan pizza (Naples specialty) had to be as good as advertised if people were prepared to wait in the rain to get in.

Our guide describing the tunnels which were very wide and high in most places, deep down under the city, because the ancient Greeks needed lots of rock for building purposes.

First look at the Mt. Vesuvius crater. It was possible to walk around the right hand side to the dark rock side of the crater at the opposite end....which wasn't a great risk with not a lot of steam rising out of the crater and no eruptions since 1944.

Rising steam is a bit more visible from this angle.

The Herculaneum ruins with Mt Vesuvius in the background, the summit covered by cloud which is often the case.

Remnants of wall murals from ancient times.

This mosaic tiled wall was one of the best preserved ones we observed.