Come back to Sorrento

Look at the sea, how beautiful it is,

it inspires so many emotions,

like you do with the people you have at heart.

You make them dream while they are still awake.

Look at this garden

and the scent of these oranges,

such a fine perfume,

it goes straight into your heart,

And you say: "I am leaving, goodbye."

You go away from my heart,

away from this land of love,

And you have the heart not to come back.

But do not go away,

do not give me this pain.

Come back to Surriento,

let me live!

Look at the sea of Surriento,

what a treasure it is!

Even who has travelled all over the world,

Look at these mermaids

that stare, amazed, at you,

that love you so much.

They would like to kiss you,

And you say: "I am leaving, goodbye."

You go away from my heart,

away from the land of love,

And you have the heart not to come back.

But please do not go away,

do not give me this pain.

Come back to Surriento,

let me live!

Capri versus Anacapri?

The most famous town on the Isle of Capri is called Capri. This image shows Capri from the higher town of Anacapri. Historically, people of these two towns were at odds with each other. Each controlled about half of the island. Since Capri is closer to the largest harbor, which faces to population centers of the Amalfi Coast, it is much easier to reach and has evolved into a tourist haven. Anacapri is now also quite popular, but its history of tourism is more recent, having only exploded since the road to it was built in the mid-twentieth century. So Capri became more famous.

When first arriving in Capri, you come to the Piazzetta...the main plaza with an iconic clock tower. The Cathedral of Santo Stefano stands adjacent to the plaza.

We made our way through the narrow walkways of the city center...

past elegant villas and hotels....

and fascinating gateways that tickled our imagination!!

 We came to an elegant hotel where we were served a delicious meal.

 We then had time to wander around the town.

I feel quite privileged to have visited Capri...where Emperor Tiberius retreated to avoid the mania of ancient Rome...where artists and writers have created great works...where the rich and famous recharge their energy. It was an unforgettable experience.

Naples: City of History

As the ferry from Palermo approached Naples the city lights called through the pre-dawn atmosphere like the siren Parthenope singing her magnetic song to Ulysses. Parthenope became so distraught when she was unsuccessful in seducing Ulysses, (a monumental failure for a siren) that she flung herself into the sea and her body washed ashore in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Her name was given to the settlement at that site, and later the settlement became Neopolis, then Napoli.

This city that had once been the largest and grandest in Europe now has a gritty external appearance in places...


yet the elegance is all around. I understand that the interiors of some of the gritty buildings are quite nice, but the tax laws and city rules make it advantageous for the property owners to leave the exteriors as they are...so the apartments inside are like little jewels encased in a rough hewn wooden box for protection.

The vibrant fabric that is the modern Naples reflects the mingling of the grit and elegance...a fusion created by the richness and diversity of her long history.

• STROPHE α. I.
• Naples! thou Heart of men which ever pantest
• Naked, beneath the lidless eye of heaven!
• Elysian City which to calm enchantest
• The mutinous air and sea: they round thee, even
• As sleep round Love, are driven!
• Metropolis of a ruined Paradise
• Long lost, late won, and yet but half regained!
• Bright Altar of the bloodless sacrifice,
• Which armed Victory offers up unstained
• To Love, the flower-enchained!
• Thou which wert once, and then didst cease to be,
• Now art, and henceforth ever shalt be, free,
• If Hope, and Truth, and Justice can avail,
• Hail, hail, all hail!
• ...Percy Bysshe Shelley

We stopped for breakfast at a lovely hotel, then rode around the city briefly to look at some of the historic buildings.

As we rode around the Gulf of Naples to get to Pompeii and Sorrento, we could see the city basking in the shadow of her volcano.

Positano, John Steinbeck, and North Carolina Turkey

In 1953, Positano was a fishing village of about 2000 people when John Steinbeck wrote an essay about it in Harper's Bazaar magazine. Tourism immediately increased, but Positano is still small in population because of its location on the side of a mountain next to the sea.

Steinbeck describes what he found as follows:
"Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are
there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. Its houses climb
a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut in it. I believe that whereas most house foundations are vertical, in Positano they are horizontal. The small curving bay of unbelievably blue and green water
laps gently on a beach of small pebbles. There is only one narrow street and it does not come down to the water. Everything else is stairs, some of them as steep as ladders. You do not walk to visit a friend, you either climb or slide."

This is what is is talking about...buildings stacked almost on top of each other...marching up the hill with stairs as the only access to them. However, today the town is quite different from the town of 1953. Shops line the main street and business seems golden!

Food is abundant and fresh...

And even the dogs are content.

In the late 19th century however, times were not so good for Positano. Formerly a prosperous fishing and trading community, the advent of larger steam ships left Positano behind as commerce moved to larger ports. The population of Positano decreased from about 8000 to about 2000 (its population in 1953)...with more people who were born in Positano living in New York City than were living in Positano! Now the population is up to about 4000, and tourism has brought affluence back to the people.

Steinbeck was in Positano for a respite from the suffocating heat of Rome. He encountered another writer from North Carolina who had been in Positano for a year with his wife while he was writing a book.

When Thanksgiving arrived, the North Carolinians were homesick, so they had a live turkey sent to them in Positano. They had learned in North Carolina that the turkey tastes best if it dies a peaceful death. If the turkey is frightened just before dying, the meat will taste bitter and tough.

Therefore, the they decided to give the turkey Grand Marnier to calm it down. When they went to get the turkey, the turkey flew out to sea.

Positano has people on top of the hills watching the sea at all times to spot schools of fish for the fishermen. The watcher radioed the fishermen who saw the turkey plunge into the sea. They retrieved the turkey and brought it back to the North Carolinians who promptly cooked it and discovered that they could taste the seawater in the meat of the bird. They had a lot to be thankful for that Thanksgiving, especially the kindness of the Positanese.

When Steinbeck says that Positano "bites deep," he is not kidding. I will always carry the charm and beauty of Positano in my soul now that I have discovered its riches!!!