DOLCE VITA

ITALY - JULY 2002

Profiting from a stay at Metaponto, some incursions were made in Puglia, Basilicata, and in the Costiera Amalfitana!


"MATERA - Starting from the South. Matera - actually its ancient town, called I Sassi - is the most incredible example of a prehistorical - troglodyte - settlement in the Mediterranean region. The "Sassi" are houses dug into the tuff rock, many of which are actually only caverns.
It was inscribed in the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1993, and deserves to be seen!"


"ALBEROBELLO - TERRA DEI TRULLI! Another UNESCO World Heritage Site! The Trulli - made of roughly worked limestone boulders, with pyramidal, domed or conical roofs - are typical of this region, but unknown in the rest of the world. Another Must see, and furthermore there was a very good restaurant in Alberobello - Il Poeta Contadino"


"TRULLI SOVRANO - Located at Piazza Sacramento, it is a unique example among the Trulli, as it is the only two-storey trullo. You may visit as a museum!"


"RAVELLO - At the top of a promontory well above the sea, Ravello has probably the most beautiful view of the the Costiera Amalfitana. It also has a touch of culture, as is visited by many artists and intelectualls. It has fabulous gardens and magnificent villas, including Villa Rufolo, which inspired D.H. Lawrence for "Lady Chatterley's Lover", and provided Richard Wagner with the setting for "Parsifal"


"COSTIERA AMALFITANA - Beautiful views. The only problem are the users of the "lambretta", as well as all other Italian drivers. It's even worse than you can imagine! Avoid week-ends, if you do not want to run the risk of heart attack. At every turn of the road - and it has hundreds, if not thousands - you'll most probably face one of those guys running entirely on his left side of the road, i.e., occupying your space... UFF!"


"SORRENTO HILTON - After such an experience, the salvation was the beautiful view from the small swimming pool at the top floor of the Hilton Sorrento"


"SORRENTO - Probably best known from the Ernesto de Curtis 1904 "Torna a Surriento" song, sang by Mario Lanza, Pavarotti, and others, Sorrento has its own merits, and deserves a stop, not only to get to Capri!"


"CAPRI - BLUE GROTTO. Revealed by the German writer August Kopisch in 1826, it became the symbol of the island of Capri. The sunlight enters the Grotto, as you do when the sea is not too rough, through the cavity in the picture and creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern"


"BLUE GROTTO - Familly picture"


"I FARAGLONI from sea - Another well known Capri spot. The term Faraglioni describes a geological formation in which high cliffs have been eroded by the sea and the wind so that sections are now entirely isolated from mainland"


"I FARAGLONI from land - Seen from the Tragara - the most famous and best liked walking passage in Capri. The Tragara has many beautiful villas along its side, and ends with a panoramic terrace facing the Faraglioni, probably the best known view of Capri all over the world"


"POMPEII - destroyed during the catastrophic volcanic eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 AD, and lost for sixteen centuries, it's an amazing experience after all these years. Here, the Villa of the Faun, so called because it contained Pompeii's most famous statue, the dancing faun. It was the largest house in town"


"POMPEII - BAKER'S HOUSE - An oven in which you could still cook pizza!"


"POMPEII - FORUM - The centre of the city's political, economic, religious and administrative life. So large, it must have been magnificent, but it looks a bit empty today, and seen from here the Vesuvio still threatens!"


"POMPEII - THEATER. The big theater could sit 5,000 people, and is beautifully preserved"


"VESUVIUS - Up the hill, on the way to the crater!"


"VESUVIUS - The crater: it's huge!"


"BAY OF NAPLES - The view of the Bay from the top of Mount Vesuvius is awesome!"


"VESUVIUS FROM SORRENTO - But the view to the volcano from Sorrento is unbeatable"