Friday 14 to Thursday 20 April – The final countdown, by way of Singapore of course.

 On the day that we were due to catch the 10.30am train to Milan, we awoke to the news that there was yet another train strike across Italy, so John rushed to Napoli Centrale to secure seats on the first available train, departing Naples 4.20pm and arriving Milan 9.15pm.

We checked out of our palace accommodation, secured our suitcases with the lady who lives downstairs, and then set out to make best use of our unscheduled additional time in Napoli.  Straight to the Pio Monte della Misericordia.  Initially a small church, built at the behest of seven young nobles who spent much of their time ministering to the sick and the poor, and  consecrated in 1606, it was enlarged several decades later.  The nobles sought out artworks for permanent display that “would give permanent visual expression to their sense of charitable mission”.  The most significant painting, hung over the high altar, is Caravaggio’s “Seven Works of Mercy” (1st photo below).  Our personal favourite of the seven large paintings on permanent display is Battistello’s 1615 portrayal of the “Liberation of St Peter” (2nd photo.).

We then spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering through the adjacent annex viewing the permanent and temporary exhibitions of renaissance and more modern art and furnishings, then to a nearby restaurant for a delicious pasta lunch, a slow walk back through the narrow streets and alleyways of the old town, bedecked with bunting, cardboard cut-outs and figurines of the Napoli football team and its players, a stop for afternoon tea, retrieved our luggage and back to Napoli Centrale to board our 4.15pm for an uneventful trip to Milan,  Then a scramble to find the local train for the 50-minute journey to the airport and from there to our hotel for the night.

On Saturday we boarded our plane for the 12-hour flight to Singapore, arriving at 7am Sunday.  We were able to book into our hotel, the Village Hotel Bugis, so we rested for much of the day in our room on the 19th floor, then a walk through the Bugis Markets and past the street stalls, noting that there were nowhere near the number of street stalls that we were used to seeing pre-Covid (one stall-holder simply told us “not so much money now”). Dinner at our favourite hawker centre then back to the hotel, shower and bed.

Over the next couple of days we generally took it easy, visiting the nearby mosque, doing a bit of shopping, catching the MRT to Chinatown, having a cold drink in the magnificent art-deco Park View Building – just enjoying Singapore.

Wednesday morning a very early start to the airport for our flight back to Sydney, overnight in the Great Southern Hotel then back home on the train Thursday morning.

And that’s it (for this time).

Thursday 13 April – A herculean effort – the uncovering of Herculaneum

 Off to Napoli Garibaldi Station this morning for the 30 minute journey on a graffitied rattler to Ercolano, then the one kilometre downhill walk to the historic site of Herculaneum, with glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea on the way.

There is some controversy over the origins of Herculaneum, but what is known is that it was built on a volcanic plateau, on a sheer cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.  Although it is no doubt Greek in origin, there was profound construction during the Augustinian period (the reign of Emperor Augustus - late 1^st century BCE/early 1^st century CE), but an earthquake in 62CE made many buildings unsafe.

The city of Herculaneum, enclosed by walls, was spread over approximately twenty hectares and probably had a population of about 4,000 at its peak.  Today only 4.5 hectares has been excavated and are visible; so much of the original city is still to be uncovered.

In 79CE, Vesuvius erupted, covering Herculaneum in volcanic ash and pyroclastic rock that solidified.  This led to the preservation of much of the city and its contents, a unique phenomenon that resulted in fabrics, furniture, wood, plants and even the upper floors of some buildings being preserved in their form at the time of the eruption.  Approximately 300 human skeletons have been found so far, with evidence that some of the inhabitants attempted to escape to the beach but were killed by the high temperature caused by the blazing clouds exploding from the volcano.  A well-preserved 9-metre Roman boat containing skeletons and a bag of coins was found.

We found Herculaneum a much easier site to navigate than Pompeii and so much better preserved. Many houses with a central courtyard pool – some of two storeys, many shops, bars, mosaics, frescoes are to be seen. Even carbonized timber beams are still visible.  And to think that only about 20% has so far been uncovered. However it seems that much of the original city is now buried under the current town of Ercolano, and it was found that there was 16 metres of ash covering the area following the volcanic eruption, so it is doubtful that the city of Herculaneum will ever be fully revealed.

We had a late lunch then a slow walk back up the hill to the station and another journey on the well-packed rattler back into Garibaldi Station and home for our last night in Naples.

Tomorrow morning we board the train to Milan and stay overnight at an airport hotel, then an afternoon flight Saturday, arriving In Singapore early Sunday morning.  So no blogs for a couple of days.

Wednesday 12 April – Paestum – perfectly preserved, proudly presented.

This is the reason we came all the way from Lyon to Naples, from France to southern Italy – to see the Greek temples at Paestum.

We headed out on the one hour plus train trip, then a gentle 15-minute walk to the Paestum archaeological site and WOW!!! Double WOW!!!  Three enormous temples, built by the Greeks around 600BCE, and the ruins of the ancient Greek/Lucanian/Roman town of Poseidonia, established by the Greeks and later renamed Paestum by the Romans.  After the Greeks built the town and the temples, in 400BCE the Lucanians, a large southern Italian tribe, forced them out and remained there until 273BCE when the Romans took over and renamed it Paestum.  With the fall of the western Roman Empire and with deforestation in the Paestum area leading to silting of the river and marshes, with consequent outbreaks of Malaria, the population gradually left.

Fortunately it was the marshes that preserved the city from rampage and destruction and Paestum was not rediscovered until 1752 when major roadworks were planned for the area.  It is perhaps the best preserved of any Greek ruins in Italy and perhaps the world. 

It is not known with any certainty who the three temples are dedicated to, although it is thought that the largest may be to Neptune, the adjacent (slightly smaller) to Thesauros and the smallest, some distance away, to Ceres or Athena.

We enjoyed hours wandering in the sunshine, through the mostly well-preserved temples and ruins of the town – the agora, the forums, baths, amphitheatre, houses, shops, paved streets and even found some well-preserved mosaic floors.  Visited the museum, saw the ‘tomb of the diver’, with all sides bearing frescoes.  This is the first frescoed tomb to have been found dating to before 480BCE. Also saw skeletal remains that suggest that people from Asia-Minor populated this area in prehistoric times (2400BCE-1900BCE).

We reluctantly left Paestum and caught the train back to Naples. Mission accomplished!