OUR TRIP TO ITALY APRIL 2007 - CAPRI & SORRENTO

The next morning we have to take a boat ride from the pier to the famous Isle of Capri. Capri is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula. On the south side of the Gulf of Naples, it has been a celebrated beauty spot and resort since the time of the Roman Republic. Overlooking Capri harbor from the rotunda in Villa San Michele.The main features of the island are regularly portrayed on postcards: the Marina Piccola (Small Harbor), the Belvedere of Tragara, which is a high panoramic promenade lined with villas, the limestone masses that stand out of the sea (the Faraglioni), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra), and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.
Capri is in the region of Campania, Province of Naples. The City of Capri is the main centre of population on Capri. It has two adjoining harbours, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the main port of the island). The separate commune of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west.
The name of the island comes from the Italian word for goat.(capricorn for those interested in Astrology)
According to the Greek geographer Strabo, Capri was once part of the mainland. This has been recently confirmed both by geological surveys and archaeological findings.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Capri became a popular resort for European artists, writers and other celebrities such as John Singer Sargent and Frank Hyde. Sargent is best known for his series of portraits featuring the beautiful local model, Rosina Ferrara.
Gracie Fields also had a villa on the island and sang two songs, "The Isle of Capri" and "Come Back to Sorrento" about Capri. Capri is also the setting for "The Lotus Eater", a short-story by Somerset Maugham. In the story, the protagonist from Boston comes to Capri on a holiday and is so enchanted by the place he gives up his job and decides to spend the rest of his life in leisure at Capri.
From Capri we took another boat ride to Sorrento which is also a resort and famous tourist destination with shops selling all sorts of Italian food, wine, liquor, branded goods and souveniers. Sorrento is a small city in Campania, Italy, with some 16,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination. The town can be reached easily from Naples and Pompeii, as it lies at the south-eastern end of the Circumvesuviana rail line. The town overlooks the bay of Naples, as the key place of the Sorrentine Peninsula, and many viewpoints in the city allow sight of Naples itself (visible across the bay) and Vesuvius. Sorrento is famous for the production of Limoncello, an alcoholic digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. Other agricultural production includes citrus fruit, wine, nuts and olives. Wood craftsmanship is also developed.

OUR TRIP TO ITALY APRIL 2007 -POMPEII

Next we travelled towards Naples to see the ancient ruins of Pompeii well described in the movie "The Last days of Pompeii". It was a long journey and we could see many olive trees and grapes vines along the route. Nearing Naples we could see the majestic Mount Vesuvius which is apparently dormant but still a very active volcano.Finally we came to the entrance of the excavation site of Pompeii.
Pompeii is a ruined Roman city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the commune of Pompei. It, along with Herculaneum, was destroyed, and completely buried, during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning 2 days on 24 August 79 AD.
The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash, and it was lost for nearly 1600 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.
The town was founded around the 6th century BC by the Osci or Oscans.
Today, Pompeii has become a popular tourist destination; with approximately 2.5 million visitors a year, it is the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. It is now part of a larger Vesuvius National Park and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
When Pompeii was buried under the ash and rubble of Mount Vesuvius, the objects buried beneath it were remarkably well-preserved for thousands of years. The lack of air and moisture allowed for the objects to remain underground with little to no deterioration, which meant that, once excavated, the site had a wealth of sources and evidence for analysis, giving remarkable detail into the lives of the Pompeiians. Weathering, erosion, light exposure, water damage, poor methods of excavation and reconstruction, introduced plants and animals, tourism, vandalism and theft have all damaged the site in some way. Two-thirds of the city has been excavated, but the remnants of the city are rapidly deteriorating.
There is a market with walls depicted with fresco of fishes. Near this was a well preserved body of one of inhabitant of Pompeii. There were statues of some half human half animal god and remarkable well preseved pillars. There was a area which was supposed to be a brothel with rooms depicting frescos of different positions of sex. There was an arena which has converted to allow people to view modern rock concerts during certain festivals.
After a satisfying meal (the best pizza in Italy) at the restaurant outsde the entrance, we retired to our hotel for the night.