Naples, Italy

Today started with thunderstorms and intermittently heavy rain. Fortunately, our plans today could accommodate some rains, which hasn’t been the case the rest of our time on Capri. We headed out with our umbrellas to catch the ferry to Sorrento where we met up with the same guide we had yesterday. Today we headed in the opposite direction towards Naples.

Our first stop was Herculaneum. This city was destroyed by the same eruption that buried Pompeii in 79AD. It was hit more with hot gasses and thinner layers of ash so it is somewhat better preserved than Pompeii…there are still 2-3 story buildings here. There are a number of areas that still have paintings and mosaic floors. It’s quite a bit smaller than Pompeii and without all of the instructions on how to get to the brothels. At the base of the town is the ancient shoreline. Hundreds of residents of Herculaneum died in caves along here as they were trying to escape the eruption.

We did drive up Vesuvius. The clouds had cleared some, but it was still sprinkling. It is quite a walk up to the crater and the path was very muddy from the rain, so we decided to not go to the very top.

After pizza from a little street side cafe in Naples we went to the Archaeological Museum of Naples. When visiting Naples you must have pizza as it is the birthplace of pizza. There was a huge line to get in because the admission was free today, but it was well with the wait. This is where the larger, intact frescoes and mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum are displayed and they are amazing. They also have statues, vases, lamps, plates, etc. It is a stunning collection.

After the museum, we were driven around Naples to see different areas. We still were having intermittent rain, so we weren’t too motivated to get out and see minor sites. Eventually we took the ferry back to Capri and had dinner near the main square at the top of the funicular.