Sorrento, day 6 - Sorrento itself

On Saturday, we took the train into Sorrento itself.

There were various horse-and-cab contraptions in the main square, and we saw one horse being groomed.

Then there were squeaks for gelati. This time, I didn't join them - my eye was caught by certain pastries. Sfogliatelle are crisp puff pastry filled with a ricotta and lemon mixture, and they're very, very, VERY nice.

The main streets were very crowded (not to mention full of shops selling limoncello, coral beads and wooden boxes to tourists).

But it only takes a moment to find quieter streets.

And, of course, the sea. If you look out over the bay, a certain feature looms - especially if the clouds are hovering over the volcano.

The children spotted a lizard sunning himself.

There are two marinas at Sorrento, and it's ironic that the 'marina piccola' (i.e. small marina) is the one with the port, whereas the 'marina grande' is the small, older one. This is where we stopped for lunch.

The stage was still there at St Agnello when we returned, so after dinner (and another glorious sunset)

we had a wander up to the main square with the fountains to see what was happening.

There seemed to be a local fashion show going on - then it turned into the regional heat of Miss Italia.

Which meant 15 very pretty girls in sparkly, skimpy dresses...

... and then in skimpy beachwear!

We didn't stay for the end because it did go on a bit; the presenter was kind of an Italian Bruce Forsyth at his cheesiest. Chlo was tired, so we went back to the hotel and then sat chatting at the bar for a bit.

Sorrento, day 5 - 7000 steps in Herculaneum, part 2

The House of Neptune and Amphitrite has absolutely stunning decorations, as well as a glass paste mosaic with shells and lava foam.

Next was the House of the Beautiful Courtyard – which also had a display of bodies dug out of mud.

Then it was the Lanarius (fabric merchant’s) shop. This contains the only known example of a wooden screw press, which was used to iron clothes.

The House of the Bronze Helm took its name from the portrait of the owner’s home found here.

It’s easy to see where the Trellis House got its name. It was a boarding house, made from opus cracticium (wooden frames filled with crushed rocks, then bound together with lime and mud). Apparently it was an experimental building technique in Herculaneum (it’s not used for supporting walls in Pompeii).

Again, the name of the House of the Wooden Partition speaks for itself.

The partition is a folding gate used for privacy. And it’s amazing that it’s been so well preserved.

There’s another signinum opus floor (see Samnite House above).

The Palestra is absolutely huge, and was built for sporting activities. It’s only partly been uncovered.

There was a fish-breeding pond here, later replaced by another tub with a bronze fountain showing the hydra.

And I was fascinated to see how the columns here were constructed. (Sorry. Another nerdy moment.)

In the House of the Skeleton (named after the skeleton found in the upper floor in 1830 by C. Bonucci), there was an interesting nymphaeum (monument consecrated to nymphs).

Then we explored the original shoreline (the eruption in AD 79 added 400m to the shoreline), which involved coming out of the main complex and going down a tunnel.

We discovered the terrace of M. Nonius Balbus – he was a local senator and restored or built many of the public buildings.

From there, we went to the House of the Relief of Telephus – which may have belonged to M. Nonius Balbus.

And then the House of the Deer, named after the statues found here. Archaeologists found a loaf of bread here with the stamp on it of Celer, a slave freed just before the AD 79 eruption, so can say with certainty who lived here. The mosaic floor here was gorgeous.

We noticed on the way back from the train station that a stage had been built in the middle of the square in St Agnello, so we decided to be nosey in the evening. There was meant to be a concert, but it started to rain heavily, and when the lightning started we decided to go back to the hotel.

Most of the lightning was sheet (and it took me AGES to get a pic of it – not brilliant, but better than not) and we watched it for hour or so; also tried limoncello. (Quite nice but a little sweet for my taste.)

Sorrento, day 5 - 7000 steps in Herculaneum, part 1

On Friday, we caught the train to Ercolano. Given that we’d already visited Pompeii, there were mutterings of ‘it’s going to be the same thing but smaller’. However, as Herculaneum was covered by a pyroclastic flow and was better preserved, I thought that it would be worth the visit – and it certainly was!

It was a lot smaller than Pompeii – you could see the whole town from the top – but it was better preserved, and it turned out there were lots more frescoes and mosaics.

A lot has been removed from Pompeii to preserve it (in the museum at Naples, which we didn’t have time to visit) and I can understand that, but it would’ve been nice to see some reproductions in their place to put things in context. At Herculaneum, you had a much better idea of what the layout of the town and houses were like and what it was like to live there. According to the brief guide book, Herculaneum was seen as more ‘advanced’ than Pompeii.

As at Pompeii, there were raised pavements, but without the stepping-stones to cross the street. And I loved it.

The first place we visited was the House of Aristedes – so-called from a statue found there that was identified as Aristedes, an Athenian politician (though it was actually of an Athenian emperor, Aeschines).

Next was the Thermopolium (i.e. caupona where you could buy hot food and drinks).

Here, the dolia (jars) where the hot food was kept were very well preserved.

You could also see just what the archaeologists had to dig through to reach them.

Then we visited the Hall of the Augustals – the freed slaves (or liberta) became ‘Augustals’ (worshippers of the emperor Augustus) when they were trying to move upwards in society.

The frescoes show Hercules, Juno and Minerva. Apparently, in the caretaker’s room, a skeleton was found on the bed.

There was a fair bit of carbonised wood here, which I thought at first was lava used as bricks - then I spotted the tree rings and realised what it was. Here’s a close-up of a bit by the door – the wood was carbonised in the heat rather than burned, because the pyroclastic flow took out all the oxygen so the fire couldn’t take hold.

Next was the Cucumas shop, where the fresco showed four different coloured pitchers (cucumae) and listed the price of wine.

You really could see how things were laid out and imagine the delicate porticoes.

Next we saw the House of the Corinthian Atrium, which is one of the oldest buildings in the town.

I was very taken by the mosaic floor.

And it was amazing to see just how big the storage jars were (Chris is about 5 feet 8 here, possibly a little taller).

Because there were no stepping stones, there were crossing places where the stone had been worn away by people stepping on them (or maybe it had been carved - though it felt more as if it had been worn away).

This is the House of the Large Portal (i.e. door) – it was built just after the earthquake in AD 62.

Then we visited the Samnite House, which was built in the 2nd century BC and originally occupied the whole of the south side of the road.

I was particularly taken by the floor here – it’s made of signinum opus (or powdered terracotta mixed with lime and sand, to keep out the damp) and decorated with tiny white tiles.

The men’s baths were closed off during our visit, but we did get to visit the women’s baths. You go through the changing room (which has a barrel vault and a mosaic floor of Triton)

then into the tepidarium (warm room) which has shelves for storing clothes, and then the caldarium (hot room), which has marble benches.

The water was taken from a well behind the baths that was 8.25m deep, and heated by the furnace.