17

ITALY

Piazza Umberto I, the famous “Piazzetta”,

known as “the little theater of the world”
with its Torre dell’Orologio or clock tower,
on our most favorite island of Capri
 May 1993 On this our third visit to Rome, we opted for more
moderate lodgings at the Hotel Britannia on Via Napoli
18

trip to Italy close to the Termini Station which turned out to be a bit of
a walk to our favorite haunts. No matter. On day one,
after a hearty hotel breakfast, we were off to explore,
once again, ancient Rome, with our first stop at Donna’s
favorite: The Capitoline Hill. Rome’s first and most sac-
red temples stood here. By the middle ages,the Cam-
pidoglio, as the hill was then known, had fallen into ruin.
In 1537, Pope Paul III called on Michelangelo to re-
store it to grandeur. The artist then designed the ramp,
the buildings on three sides of the square, the convex
pavement decorations and pedestal for the bronze
equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. We visited the
palaces flanking Palazzo Senatorio containing two mu-
seums whose collections of Roman and Greek sculp-
ture were assembled in the 15th century. From here we
descended into the extraordinary archaeological com- plex
that is the Roman Forum. Making sense of all those
baffling series of ruins is not easy, all you can do is stroll
along, letting your imagination dwell on Julius Caesar,
Cicero and Mark Antony doing their thing here. Just be-
yond was the Colosseum - always a must see.
For lunch we headed back toward another favorite square o
ours, the beautiful baroque Piazza Navona with
Bernini’s splashing Fountain of the Four Rivers. Dinner
that night (and many other nights) was at the festive La
Rampa Ristorante close by the Spanish Steps. Most of
one day was devoted to a visit to the Vatican where we
concentrated on St. Peter’s, the largest church in the world
and the Vatican Museum - which contains collections of
staggering richness and diversity - including of course the
awesome Sistine Chapel. A stroll through the vast Villa
Borghese gardens in search of a certain painting in its
museum and lunching on pizza became a memorable
experience. Time finally came to prepare for the southern
part of our Italian sojourn, which was to be by train to
Donna on the Campidoglio Naples and its bay.

Paul on the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square At the Spanish Steps

 19

Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii

We were told that, it is the sense of doom, living in the shadow of Vesuvius, that makes the people of
Naples so volatile, so seemingly blind to everything but the pain and pleasure of the moment. Poverty an
overcrowding (noticed from our “scenic route” cab drive) are the more likely causes, whatever the rea- so
Naples turned out to be a difficult place for the casual tourist to like. We did however like our accom-
modations at the Hotel Paradiso up in the hills overlooking the bay with a cable car transporting us up fr
and down to the waterfront level. Braving the Italian train system (not for the average foreign tourist), we
soon were off to visit the excavated ruins of Herculaneum, 6 miles south of Naples. Hercules himself wa
said to have founded the town, which became a famous weekend retreat for the Roman elite.
When the gigantic eruption of Vesuvius in AD 47 (which also
destroyed Pompeii) completely buried the town under a tide
of volcanic mud, all was sealed in a compact airtight tomb,
making it possible for present day visitors to view the neatly
laid out streets and well preserved edifices. On then to ex-
plore ancient Pompeii, which was much larger than
Herculaneum, with a busy commercial center and population o
10 - 20,000. It too had been turned into a Roman colony,
where wealthy patricians came to escape the turmoil of city life
and relax in the sun. We spent hours looking into the luxurious
lifestyle of these ancient people, so devoted to the pleasures
of the flesh. On the walls of a brothel were scenes of erotic
games in which clients could indulge. A violent thunder- storm
marked the end of our exhausting visit.
The following day saw us hail a cab that almost brought us (it
got stuck in the morning traffic a block from our destination) to
Naples’ Museo Archeologico Nazionale, a major attrac-tion
for anyone interested in antiquity and for those wanting to view
the hordes of artworks found in Pompeii and Herculaneum. We
left Naples without once hearing the strains of its wonderfully
melodic Neopolitan music and song and headed by boat for
the romantic Isle of Capri.
In Naples’ Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius at night In ancient Pompeii

 On the Isle of Capri 20

After arriving by boat at Capri’s Marina Grande pier, we could have taken the funicular but opted for a
cab to reach the town, which rests on top of rugged limestone cliffs, hundreds of feet above the sea.
As motor vehicles were not allowed beyond the towns famous “Piazzetta”, we were left to find our
own way on foot to the Hotel La Pineta, which turned out to be quite a long walk. Fortunately some-
body delivered our luggage by hand drawn cart separately to the hotel, which was beautifully situated
terraces following the slope of the hill overlooking gardens, sparkling swimming pools and the sea.
Overrun by tourists during the day, the crowds are
not enough to destroy Capri’s special charm. The
town is a Moorish opera set of shiny white houses,
tiny squares and narrow medieval alleyways hung
with flowers. The mood is fashionable but somehow
unspoiled. Society’s upper crust bake in the sun at
lavish private villas. We went on a long solitary walk/
hike around the island hundreds of feet above the
sea, with breathtaking views of the gigantic rock stacks
known as the Faraglioni, which have become the
island’s unique emblem.
Legends of Roman Emperors, Saracen invaders
and modern eccentrics combine to give Capri its
voluptuous allure, so sensuous and intoxicating -
like the island’s rare and delicious white wine.
We did the obligatory 90 minute boat tour of the
fabled Blue Grotto and visited Anacapri, the
island’s other town, where we found Swedish scientist
Axel Munthe’s charming former home, Villa San
Michele particularly interesting. We dined in romantic
splendor at the La Pigna, one of Capri’s favorite
restaurants, while surrounded by lemon trees and
listening to the languid sounds of Neapolitan singing
coming from a nightspot across the way.
All in all, we found Capri to be a place of “sweet idle-
ness” or, as the Italians would say: “dolce far niente”.
Overlooking the Marina Grande pier Next stop: Positano, on the Amalfi Coast.

Day and nighttime view from our room at the Hotel La Pineta
 21

Positano on the Amalfi Coast

The most popular town along the Amalfi Drive is Positano. Artists came here first, followed by the
wealthy. It is a dream place that bites deep and isn’t quite real to you until after you have gone. Its house
climb a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut in it. The small curving bay of unbelievabl
and green water laps gently on a beach of small pebbles. There is only one narrow street and it does no
come down to the water. Everything else is stairs, some of them steep as ladders. The boat that brought
here from Capri dumped us and luggage unceremoniously on the dock, with nary a sign of any public
conveyance in sight. A fellow with a cart finally appeared and helped us up several flights of stairs to
a taxi stand. Our hotel, the Le Agavi, turned out to be a beauty on top of the mountain. Built on various
levels, it looked like a colored
collection of terraces falling
down to the sea in the mythic
beauty of a spectacular land-
scape. The hotel provided us
with transportation to and from
town where we spent hours
checking out the charming re-
staurants and boutiques fea-
turing the stylish summer clo-
thes and vivid colors that Po-
sitano is so well known for.
A delightful day was spent on
the hotel’s private beach and
basking in the incredibly warm
water. We made a deal with a
hotel driver to return us in his ca
via the Amalfi Coast, Italy’s
most romantic drive, to a Nap-
les train station, where Donna
learned to ask: “treno, Roma?”
before indeed boarding the
train to Rome and the end of
View from the Hotel Agavi of its beach reached by elevator our 1993 Italian sojourn.

On the balcony of our hotel room Positano’s white Moorish type houses
overlooking a small sheltered bay clinging dramatically to steep slopes