Arco Felice

Another two train rides took us to Arco Felice, a beach side suburb of Pozzuoli.  Once again we found that the summer crowds had left and many of the restaurants and shops were closed for the coming winter.  Michael had chosen this destination, as he had wanted to dive the ancient ruins of Baia.  We took a walk to the dive centre and booked Michael’s dive for the following morning.

Michael awoke the next morning with a thumping cold and quickly worked out that he couldn’t risk diving with his blocked sinuses.  The dive was cancelled and so we decided to head into Naples to have a look around.  I was reluctant to visit Naples, as I really hadn’t heard anything nice about the city.  The tone was set when we arrived and an elderly gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and indicated that I should carry my backpack on my front to thwart the many pickpockets that frequent the area. 

Our first stop was the National Archaeological Museum.  We had wanted to visit there as it housed many of the artefacts discovered at Herculaneum and Pompeii.  The museum itself was built as a cavalry barracks in 1585 and has undergone many changes over the years although it looks a little run down now.  There were a number of beautiful statues on display, including the massive Farnese Bull as well as the Herculaneum papyri, which were found in 1752.  The highlight for me though, was the museum’s mosaic collection.  They were absolutely stunning and we were able to see the original Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii. 
 




There were other mosaics, which depicted fish, octopus and ducks and a beautiful Cave Canem (beware of the dog) one.  They were in remarkable condition and it was well worth the visit to the museum just to see these alone.

We spent the next couple of hours walking the streets of Naples but neither Michael nor I really warmed to the city.  It was very dirty, with litter all over the streets and pavements and there was graffiti, primarily tagging, everywhere you looked.  We have visited so many beautiful cities and towns in Italy, all in various stages of restoration and renewal, however Naples just seemed like a city forgotten.  It was with relief that we returned to our hotel in Arco Felice, glad that we had decided to stay there and not in Naples.

Michael felt a little better the next day, however the dive centre did not have any scheduled dives. We decided instead to take a short train ride to Torregaveta to see the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It was a beautiful seaside town and it was nice to walk along the bay, watching the fishermen go about their daily business.  We then caught the train to Pozzuoli, Sophia Loren’s hometown, and spent some time wandering around the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and piazza.  
 



 The town is a very pretty fishing village and is famous for its habit of slowly rising and sinking again which is caused by volcanic activity (the city has risen over 11 feet in the past 30 years).  We had lunch in the town square and spent a relaxing time just watching the world go by.

Michael’s cold had finally abated enough for him to consider diving and it was with great anticipation that he headed off to dive the ruins of Baia.  I will turn the blog over to him once again. 

To be able to dive an archaeological site was a real treat and seeing we had read the series I Claudius by Robert Graves it was even more surreal, realising that the villa I was diving on was owned by Claudius when he was emperor.

The area had sunk by 5 metres over time due to other lake and bay subsidence so the diving was really pleasant at 5 metres with the average depth 3 metres looking at the remains of the villas and thermal baths that still had their piping in place.

Thermal pipes

The villa had the mosaic floor for the entrance and then the garden area with statues that had been replaced looking into the centre. The remaining walls were only a metre high, but provided a good layout of the buildings and surrounds.

I ended up doing 3 days of diving on the site and enjoyed each dive in a different area.

What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?

A very quick trip on a high speed train and we were once again in the Eternal City (I knew that tossing that coin into the Trevi Fountain would be worth it).  Our hotel was conveniently located only three stops from the main station in an area called Bologna.  It was a very lively area with many fabulous bars, restaurants and shops – a perfect place for our two-night stay.

There were many reasons to return to Rome and one of them was that I wanted to walk part of the Appian Way, the queen of the long roads.  The Appian Way was one of the most important roads of ancient Roman times and connected Rome to Brindisi.  We had been lucky enough to see the Brindisi end of the road and now I wanted to see the Rome part.  It seems incredible to me that parts of this ancient road are still in use today. Indeed, it is a very busy thoroughfare and we shared our walk with cars and buses hurtling down the street and unfortunately, there were no pavements (I guess the ancient Romans didn’t foresee the need for them).  Nevertheless I really enjoyed walking along the route that so many have walked before me. 



There were many interesting things to see along the way including the Aurelian Walls and the Church of Domine Quo Vadis, where Saint Peter met Jesus and uttered those famous words.  We entered the small church and saw the copy of the footprints in the marble, which are said to be those of Jesus Christ (we saw the original footprints later on our walk).

We also visited the basilica, Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs.  Michael wanted us to visit the catacombs however I noticed a large sign warning that the tour was not suitable for claustrophobics.  I still had the memory of Otranto fresh in my mind, so I passed on the opportunity and Michael went ahead without me.  He enjoyed the tour and found it very interesting.  The church itself is dedicated to St Sebastian and we saw the martyr’s altar and one of the arrows which struck him as well as part of the column to which he was tied.  It was here that we also saw the original stone imprinted with Jesus’ footprints.

We saw a number of other ruins along the way including the Circus of Maxentius and the Tomb of Caecilia Metella.  We lunched in the garden of a lovely family-run restaurant and enjoyed the sunshine and surroundings before catching the bus back into the city centre.

Our final day in Rome was spent wandering the streets following a Rick Steves podcast, which Michael had downloaded.  Our walk covered many of the places that we had seen on our previous visit however the podcast delivered many different facts and pointed out features that we had missed.  We made sure that we visited the Trevi Fountain to once more toss our coins, so we are sure to return to this wonderful city again.