Day 13 - I love you MANN

Having survived a rather disappointing visit to Herculaneum, with more closures than I had expected,  I was crossing my fingers as I made my way to the National Archeological Museum in Naples (aka MANN), since I had run into inexplicable closures there in the past. I particularly wanted to see the Farnese collection of sculptures, which we missed last time. 

Entry to the museum (from last visit, with Marianne)

I came into town on the Circumvesiana, the local train system for the Bay of Naples, which pretty closely resembles the Disneyland train, with open windows, rattly cars, and excitable youths hanging from the bars and out the windows. Arriving in Naples' main station, it was nice to see that they had finished the big (enormous) mall project out in front of the station, and they had also given the Metro line a total facelift, which really improved the feeling of not being in the Bronx. Hopped up to the museum without a snag, got my ticket, and was glad to hear that all the galleries were open today.

New subway station in Napoli- a vast improvement!

Started out in the Farnese collection, passing through sections of architectural stonework that impressed me just as much as the meticulous painting I've seen all over this area. How they achieved such a high level of craftsmanship (and at times even why; explain that later) draws me deeper and deeper into the puzzle of the Roman Civilization. 

Section of entablature from the Domus Flaviana on the Palatine. Incredible craftsmanship that goes way beyond "necessary"

The Farnese were a rich and powerful family that reached the papacy with Alessandro (1468-1549) who became Pope Paul III and was partly responsible the Palazzo Farnese in Campo Dei Fiori, and the amazing Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola. They collected Roman statuary from a variety of places, including the Baths of Caracalla, and their garden on the Palatine Hill overlooking the Roman Forum. They acquired other pieces by purchase, marriage, and occasionally by pilfering. Most of the collection was originally displayed in Rome, at the Palazzo Farnese or in the Garden, but it was then moved to Napoli by the last of the Farnese line, who was King Charles III of the Bourbon dynasty, who ruled from there. I'm going to imagine there's still more than a few Romans who are kind of pissed off about that!

Scooby Who? I'm a Leopard, you dummy!

The collection included architectural fragments from the Domus Flavia on the Palatine, some amusing animals from different spots, and then a hall with numerous gigantic statues that came from the Baths of Caracalla, where they must have looked quite fitting in the enormous vaulted hallways that housed the baths, playing fields, libraries and social rooms. The largest is the so-called Farnese Bull, which tells the story of Dirce, tied to a bull for her mistreatment of Antiope. The scale of this piece is stunning, especially considering it was carved from a single block of marble. It's had numerous repairs and restorations over the years since it's unearthing, but it, like the Laöcoon statue at the Vatican, give some idea of the grand gesture sculptures at that time. In other words, it's really big!

The Farnese Bull sculpture, carved from a single block of marble!

After the sculpture hall I went up to the rooms that house the artifacts excavated from the Villa di Papiri in Herculaneum, which is directly below me in my hotel right now. It was the villa the Getty museum used as a model for their building in Pacific Palisades. The sheer bulk of things that came out of there is pretty mind blowing, especially considering that it's really only fractionally excavated, with tunnels dug in the 18th century and refilled (because it's under my hotel!) It always gets me how much is known but undug here- at least one quarter of Pompeii is still under the dirt- they just don't have enough funds to dig it out properly, and the conservation of what has already been uncovered is the highest priority right now, so things just have to wait.

One of about 20 ranks of statues and busts that came from the Villa di Papiri. It must have been stunning!

Had fun running into an Italian family that were staying at the place I'm staying in Herculaneum- they seemed very nice that morning when we talked, and it turned out the only American artist they knew is a guy I recently met after being aware of his work for quite some time- D. Jeffery Mims. Small world indeed. I've met a lot of nice people traveling on my own for a bit while Marianne finishes up at work. The couple in the flat are both chemists- she's Polish, he's Brazilian, both working with the university in Portici, next to Ercolano. They were heading to a conference in Korea, and then Japan. And a British couple here on holiday, who came sort of on a whim, and don't seem to know anything about it other than that it's warm. Spoke with a Mexican guy who was working in Germany and had taken a cheap room in Naples, only to find it was actually about 15 miles away and was spending a lot on taxis. And finally last night as I finished up the day in Naples, I saw a young woman lugging TWO of those enormous hard case suitcases down the stairs to the Circumvesiana, so I offered to help with one. She was from Chile, though she spoke very good English, and her friend was from Holland- they had both just returned from a food convention in Turkey, and were heading down to Sorrento for a weekend before returning home to work. I don't know how she was going to manage the two bags, and they had no reservation in Sorrento, but they seemed very undaunted. Fun to meet adventurous people!

My Brit friends Simon and Liz were good company at the place in Herculaneum

After the museum, I went to the Piazza Dante and walked down the "SpaccaNapoli", an alley that runs in a straight line right through the middle of the old section of Naples, with shops, vendors, pizzerias, scooters, and even the occasional car all weaving and ducking and yelling and waving their way up and down this chaotic but vibrant city. Back at the hotel, they finally had a real room for me, so I moved all my stuff across the street (after saying good bye to the chemists!) and went to bed. 

Pic o' the Day #1328- TGIF!

Ever have one of those weeks? Imagine these poor stiffs- can't even go home and take a shower to wash whatever that accumulated stuff is. From Naples.

Atlantes supporting a Doric entablature on a commercial building in Naples

Day 31-Manly MAN.

(originally posted on facebook July 12, 2013)

Ok- this is it! We're only going to stay one more week. I promise. 

The MAN I'm referring to above is the Museo Archeologico di Napoli, where all the choicest bits of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia, Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, and several other Roman era sites from the Bay of Naples ended up. Just like us. Seriously though, this is one major collection of antique art, including sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, and bits of architecture. I had to limit myself to the frescoes and mosaics or we would have been there a whole other day! As it was I took 600 photos, including a shot of every piece of fresco that was on display (a few weren't- just to make sure I come back next time. There's also a ton of architectural fragments I'd like to shoot some day.)

Entry to the MAN is in the traditional combination of red stucco and gray tufa stone ornament. You see this combo all over Napoli.

Our last minute train station hotel was actually rather nice (and cheap- 60 Euros- Thanks Rick Steves!) (I'm planning to do a wrap up report with all the travel details so I don't forget, and so others can use the info too.) Used the metro system to go up the hill and went up to the museum for the second time on this trip- the first time the fresco collection was closed and we left in a huff.

Don't know who he is, but I like his attitude!

We first went to the hall of mosaics, culled from many famous houses of the area- the House of the Faun in Pompeii has a whole room to itself. The fineness of these pieces is incredible! The Alexander the Great Battle scene, which was on the floor in the House of the Faun, is about 8 feet tall and maybe 16 feet across, and it's done with tiles that are no larger that 1/4 inch, if that! Some of the other large pieces verge on micro-mosaic technique. The coolest thing about mosaic is how the colors don't change over time, and they can be cleaned very well, so you get an "as new" impression except for where the tesserae are missing. It also informs ones view of how good the painting must have been then.

Mosaic from Pompeii

Tucked behind the mosaic collection is the infamous "Gabinetto Segreto" the (formerly) secret room full of erotic art that until the 1960s was only viewable by special appointment, and only to men- no women or children. The presence of phalli and other erotica is now open to all, and the meaning and mythology is pretty well explained by numerous placards in Italian and English. Good stuff!

"Is that really how you feel?"

Enough with the antipasti, it's time for the main course. Had a minor moment of panic when we went through the hall of objects to where I had gone in to the frescoes last time, only to find a barricade and people doing some kind of photo work behind it. Before I completely melted on the floor, a nice museum docent explained that the bulk of the frescos were open- just go in a different door! Whew!

Even the hallways in between the galleries are pretty spectacular!

I'm not sure whether it was better to have visited the sites first and finished up with dessert or to have had this in mind as we looked at all the more weathered bits; in any case it was a treat to see all these well preserved and well documented fragments in one place. Again the fineness of the work is astonishing- there are faces that look as if they were painted with a five-ought brush, and the range of treatments from highly ornamental to accomplished figurative and landscape painting, tragic to comic, shows a complete mastery of technique and rhetoric. 

Look at how finely painted this is- it only measures about 5 inches across!

I literally took at least one photo of every piece in the frescoes section- sometimes 5 or 6! Not only is it technically very interesting, it's also work that has been highly influential throughout the history of art until this century, when most artists seem to have deliberately forgotten it. You know what they say about forgetting history, don't you?

I love the frieze supported by figures motif. I hope to use it at the Villa Tramonto if it gets back on track.

After fine tooth combing that section we perused more leisurely through the hall with household objects. This is the other aspect of Pompeii and Vesuvius' other victims. There are so many pristine 2,000 year old objects here- it really shows the level of sophistication the Romans had gotten to. All kinds of kitchen utensils and tools, drawing instruments, ceramics and glassware of incredible variety, bathroom things, they even have a couple of specula for giving gynecological exams- they look remarkably like their modern counterparts. 

Bowls of powdered pigments found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, in some cases right next to the frescos that were being worked on.

Finished up there with a spin through the wing devoted to nothing but things gleaned from the Villa dei Papiri- the mansion on the edge of Herculaneum that was copied more or less for the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. Besides the trove of papyrus scrolls that it is named for (and which they think may soon be decipherable through modern technological means without unrolling) there is a huge assortment of sculptures both marble and bronze. 

There are several rooms that have nothing but items from the Villa di Papiri in Herculaneum. It must have been a veritable museum itself.

We've now made it back to Rome and have found a wonderful replacement for the Casa Stinky; a very nice apartment in Trastevere with a real kitchen, a washing machine, and a good internet connection. We're all set for one more week of adventures!

Day 30- Back'a Napoli

(originally posted to my facebook page July 11, 2013)

Headed to Herculaneum this morning after a quick stop at the sanctuary church in Pompeii, which is actually a very nice late 19th to early 20th century interior clad in mosaics, beautiful marbles, and painted murals. It's quite rich. Many guide books will steer you away from the modern town of Pompeii. I say they're nuts! Very pleasant place to stay in my opinion.

19th century interior of the Sanctuary Church of Pompeii

Herculaneum was easy to get to from the train, and as soon as we got in I knew I was going to like it. It was so much more relaxed than Pompeii, and it's like Stabia in that a lot of it has roofs and walls that have been completed to their original height. Because Herculaneum was covered in hot mud flows rather than the volcanic ash that hit Pompeii, it's roofs were left more intact, and wood beams (and furniture, and even some loaves of bread!) were carbonized but left in place, so you can see exactly what was there. 

Buildings on the left were facing the sea in Roman times. The wall at right is the depth of the mud and ash that covered over the town and entombed it for almost 1700 years!

There are a lot of good frescoes and mosaics, as well as gardens and other details. 3 or 4 of the best houses were having restoration work, but it was nowhere near as devastating as at Pompeii. You really get a sense of how the houses were perched on a ledge above the sea (as at Stabia) even though they are now facing a large wall of the mud deposits that covered them (the total thickness is something like 70 feet!) I would recommend this over Pompeii, at least until Pompeii reopens more of the site.

the Atrium of the House of the Wooden Screen gives an idea of  the size and enclosure of the preserved houses in Herculaneum. The house is named for the screen seen in the middle of the room as it was found- the wood is carbonized but intact, with bronze bosses still in place.

We had stashed our bags in a very friendly Tourist Info office up by the train station, and on our way back we checked email to find that our place in Rome would not be available for another day. We decided to spend a night in Naples so that we could visit the Archeological Museum early, then head back up to Rome. Got in and found a place pretty easily and then spent the next 3 hours dealing with the damn bank, who managed to screw up our accounts royally, despite all the prep work Marianne had done to avoid this before hand. Very frustrating, but I think she prevailed in the end.

Atlantes on a building in downtown Napoli. 

So we set out kind of later than expected to do a little exploring and find something to eat. 

Naples is purest anarchy. If you have never been here it's hard to describe. It's dirty to be sure, and danger is lurking around train stations and dark alleys (I got pick pocketed here on our last trip) yet it also has an allure and a spirit that is still going strong after 2500 years of continuous occupation. Most of the cliches of New York Italians come either from here or from Sicily. Waving hands while talking loudly, disrespect for authority, but also very public signs of affection- everything is happening in the streets in Naples. There's pretty good street food here too- even though I can't eat the pizza (wheat allergy), it sure smells good. I did eat fried zucchini flowers and rice balls (arancini) from a street stall, and they were great. The street bars near the Piazza Dante were overflowing with young faces drinking and chatting, and we both remarked how this is something America could really use. It's almost like the high school quad continued through life. You can check in with friends without the pressure of having to make some event- it's just there every night.  

Bustling street bars are all over Napoli- great town to visit,  just don't dangle your wealth in hands reach.

I think Naples has some kind of informal contest to see who can get the most people and objects onto a scooter. We saw young teens driving three at a time, couples with young kids wedged in between, or the kid in front standing and holding on the bars, dogs, five gallon paint buckets, and of course talking on the phone. While zipping down these narrow alleys that pass for streets. Two way streets! Got back to our hotel fine after getting a bit turned around near the station. You never want to pull out your map when you need it worst!

Day 27- To Oplontis...and beyond!

(originally posted on my facebook page on July 8th 2013)

Well, we're finally out of the the Hovel, aka Casa de Stinche, aka the Termini Turd. Adios muchachos! Trading the orderly (by comparison) chaos that is Rome for the complete anarchy that rules the south. As the graffiti on the wall in Napoli said, "This is an Anti-Fascist City!" Indeed, anarchy is the rule of law here, where twelve year olds drive their scooters down the sidewalk, and everyone ignores the signs that say "Crossing the tracks is strictly forbidden!" The only thing we were truly lamenting was the absence of public water fountains, which are mercifully plenty in Rome and most towns north of there. 

Naples is a dense crush of humanity in its purest form. 

 Took the cheap train down to Naples with the intention of seeing the excellent Archeological Museum there, which has many of Pompeii and Herculaneum's best articles. As I said before, the train system in Italy is pretty darn great- runs on time, has AC, and doesn't cost much, unless you want to ride on the bullet trains. Our ticket to Naples cost 11 Euros. The Freccia Rossa (fast train) was 43 Euros. No brainer. Time we got.

Smart and cheap (if you know how to pick 'em)

I did however, regret it somewhat after we made the climb up to the museum in Naples only to find that we had missed the fresco collection by 10 minutes! Museum is open until 7 pm, but because they don't have any money to pay the guards, they close the frescoes and mosaics (which is of course the only reason I go there) at 2. Bummer!! Lost an hour going there and back, plus we paid 10 Euros to stash our luggage at the train station and bought two Metro tickets to get up to the museum. Didn't pay on the way back down. Take that Naples!

Graffiti is much more prevalent in the south of Italy than up north.

Oh well, back to the station and got tickets for the Circumvesiana, the train that goes around the base of Mt. Vesuvius. Due to some confusion on the platform (Naples is nothing if not confusing) we ended up on the wrong train, which I recognized after we started to head up the wrong side of Vesuvius. The difference between Roma and Napoli is immediately noticeable on the train. Neapolitans are a noisy and boisterous bunch! So much yelling, gesticulating, waving, crying, laughing, poking, etc, etc. They're also pretty friendly, as we learned from a guy who helped us to determine we were indeed on the wrong train. We quickly got off to turn around, but of course the next train in the other direction didn't come for half an hour, during which time we watched a growing thunderstorm on the flank of Vesuvius and looked down at a beautiful tomato garden growing between apricot trees.

Vesuvius lurking in the background of most vistas in the Bay of Naples. Makes a nice navigational device if you get lost on the train (like we did!)

We finally got turned back around to the right direction (lost another hour there) and decided to short stop at Oplontis, where there is a remarkable Roman era villa that might have belonged to Poppaea, the wife of Nero. Whoever owned it was definitely wealthy- the place is huge! Not huge by Renaissance standards, but huge if you've been to Pompeii before. It has at least 3 large peristyles (courtyards) and an olympic size pool. And they haven't even uncovered all of it. It had begun to rain when we arrived, so we pretty much had the run of the place, and I think the darkness kind of gave some approximation of what it was like back then. 

Olympic sized swimming pool at the Villa of Poppaea (Nero's wife) in Oplontis.

Spent a good hour wandering there, taking in some very fine decorations, and then hopped back on the train to finish our trip to Pompeii, where we'll be for a couple of days. Got into Pompeii around 8, found our hotel, which DOESN'T STINK, downed a whole bunch of water, and then headed out to find some food. We love this town! Everyone here loves to party! They do the passegiata here with vigor- everyone one is out in the street for food, drink, gelati, and more. Fireworks have been going off pretty much since the thunder stopped this afternoon. When I asked the waiter at our restaurant if it was a holiday he just shrugged and said, "no, they do this every Saturday and Sunday." I mean, this is the strong stuff- the big kind you see on 4th of July! Loud reverberating booms, not little firecracker bangs. Fortunately, now at 11, it seems to have let up. Last time we were here as a family (6 years ago) we were in a hostel that was very close to the piazza, on a Saturday night. It also happened to be extremely hot, and the hostel had no AC. So the windows were open to the noise all night, and it still didn't seem to help with the heat. This place is way better!!

Passegiata in the town of Pompeii is very pleasant!

No idea, but it was half off at only 39 euros. Tempting, but....

So we'll be heading over to the site tomorrow early and I better finish this up before I end up doing my usual stay up late get up early thing. Uh oh- might have spoken too soon on the fireworks thing- a big boomer just went off! Now we're having another incredible show right out our hotel window. Hope it doesn't go all night!