The ferry is rather fast and delivers you into Marina Grande on Capri about 25 minutes after leaving Sorrento. Happy to escape the diesel fumes of the ferries and chattering college students I took the Funicular up to the town of Capri, high above the harbour. My plan of action for the day was to get to Villa Jovis and the Blue Grotto and have a wander around the towns of Capri and Anacapri in between.
Villa Jovis (the House of Jupiter) was the party place of Emperor Tiberius during his years of self imposed exile on the Island. Stories of debauchery surround the site as do rumours that he used to cast those who displeased him from the cliff tops into the blue waters far below. It certainly seems a good place for a party. I was happy just to celebrate the achievement of actually making the walk up the hill! The Villa sits on the very top of the north-eastern point of the island and commands a panoramic view. The ruins are quite well preserved, but unfortunately lacked some decent information. There was the odd signboard telling you where you were, but unfortunately very little about what you were looking at… the view was very nice though…
The walk up and back to the Villa from Capri is delightful. It takes you along walled lanes between, what must be ridiculously expensive, white washed villas, lined with flowering trees framing views to the sea. As you descend back into Capri shops start to appear along side the lane with things or sale that were far beyond the means of my wallet… until eventually you end up in the piazza surrounded by people, watching people, watching people watch themselves. As all those people were in spectacular abundance I boarded a bus and headed for Anacapri.The bus trip was an experience in itself… if you happen to take a bus on Capri; a tip from me… when travelling along the cliff top roads, don’t look down!
I clambered out in the middle of a piazza in Anacapri with 2 goals; to find lunch and to get to the Blue Grotto. Lunch I found in a local trattoria. I have a rather good Caprese Pizza (when on Rome so to speak…) and a beer and then made my way to the bus stop. From here things went a tiny bit pear shaped - Italian transport being what it is. The bus arrived on time, however the driver then got out, locked the bus and disappeared for what I can only guess was a lunch break. My fellow commuters and I looked around bemused as the timetable clearly said the bus was due to leave there and then. 25 minutes later the driver ambled back, unlocked the bus, we climbed aboard and we were off (Again… don’t look down!). So I was now running a tad late - I was booked on the 4:30 boat back to Sorrento and only had an hour. Alas it left me with too little time to join the queue to enter the Grotto.
A quick change of strategy and a look at the boats going in and out of the Grotto, I was on the bus back to Anacapri. My idea was to walk from Anacapri down to Marina Grande via the Pheonician Steps (better down than up I figured). I was right, it was better to go down the stairs, and yet… it still hurt!I have no idea what the height of the stairs is and don’t really want to think about it…. but by the time I hit bottom my knees were a wreck. (If you
look carefully at the picture you can see them zig zagging up the mountainside and the road structure cuts around about half way up). It was a pleasure to collapse into a seat on the ferry (again immersed in the inane babble of college students - this time with sun burn, which amused me no end) and dose until I was dumped back on the wharf in Sorrento.The following morning lady at the station was very kind… she told me the last train from Naples to Sorrento was at 12:38pm - a little earlier than I had anticipated, but as it was Easter Sunday and a festival day there was not a lot I could do. I had a full day planned… a morning walk up Vesuvius and then the afternoon at Herculaneum. Well, the volcano would have to wait. Thankfully I had started early so the morning would be enough time to see my next lot of ruins.
The modern town of Ercolano is not place to loiter. It’s a working class town (to be polite about it) and I walked swiftly between the train station and the entrance to the excavations. The morning air was punctuated with explosions and fireworks, all part of the remarkable Italian Easter celebrations, and they gave the town a distinctly unsettled feel. I don’t think this is somewhere I would venture at night.
The ruins are worthy of the challenge though. Herculaneum is located in a large hole in the ground with the modern (and modern is a relative thing in Italy of course) town of Ercolano sitting precipitously around the rim. It’s a long way down - some 16 metres from the current street level to the lowest of the ancient streets below. Only a small portion of the site has been excavated. The proximity of the current town and the cost of digging has kept this site much more discreet than Pompei.Herculaneum is a different prospect to Pompei which was buried by ash and pumice. Herculaneum was buried by pyroclastic flow which preserved the upper levels of many of the buildings.
I had a couple of hours to cover the site, and looking at the map… it should be about right. So, off I set with map and audio-guide. The audio-guides for Pompei and Herculaneum were great. I would recommend them. Both sites had proper walking, talking guides available for hire, but I wanted to see everything, not just a highlights tour and, listening in on some of the guides, I definitely got the better deal.
Architecturally, Herculaneum is probably the more interesting site. A lot more of the original detail is still in tact. Timber doors, walls and floors are present in many buildings and help bring the town to life and, as it is also much smaller than Pompei, it is a bit easier to digest and understand.I managed to make it back up the road through Ercolano to the train station and onto the last train back…
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