Gary Kirkpatrick

Pompeii

21/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Vesuvius devastated Pompeii and Herculaneum (8th century BCE) in the eruption of 79 CE. Pompeii’s 11,000 residents suffered the most. Even so most escaped, salvaging some of their belongings as pumice blanketed the town for the first 18 hours. By the end of the first day it was covered with three meters of ash, pumice and other materials. The next morning the 20 mile/33km column of ash collapsed, sending 250C/400F air and pyroclastic material through the town at high speeds, killing everyone who remained.

Amazingly we have eye witness reports. Pliny the Younger wrote two letters in response to an inquiry from the historian Tacitus. Tacticus had asked about the death of Pliny the Elder, commander of the fleet at Misenum. Pliny the Elder went to help people and to get a closer view of the eruption, and ordered the fleet to assist in evacuations.

The forum in Herculaneum, Vesuvius in the background — Vesuvius looms over Pompeii, both ancient and modern.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since: 172, 203, 222, possibly in 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500, 1631, six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century , 1906, 1929 and 1944, the last one. None have been of the scale of that of 79, one of the most powerful of all known volcanic eruptions. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted in the last 100 years. It is the most densely populated volcanic zone in the world, with 3 million in the area and 600,000 in the danger zone. It is one of a number of volcanoes in the zone. See Vesuvius on Wikipedia

Excavations began in the 16th century, well before modern methods allowed for better preservation of the discoveries and extraction of information. Of course with more modern methods we have learned more about the times.

The artwork and its state of preservation are impressive, whether in the form of frescoes, statues or mosaics andhave had tremendous influence. “Artists, architects, potters, and even furniture makers drew much inspiration from Pompeii… The stucco work popularized in England by the 18th-century architects James and Robert Adam used the same motifs. In France, the in Louis XVI style incorporated Pompeian motifs, and the apartment of Louis’s queen, Marie Antoinette, at Fontainebleau was decorated in this style, which became popular throughout Europe. Jacques-Louis David and his student Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres drew inspiration for their paintings from the excavations. Indeed, the Neoclassic style stimulated by the discoveries at Pompeii completely replaced the Rococo and became the artistic style of the French Revolution and of the Napoleonic period.” See Britannica

cart — The metal rim and the metal hub are orginal, and there were spoke stubs

Achaeologists found bakeries with grinding stones and kneading machines. They found some ovens still with loaves of bread inside. Bread at that time contained bits of stone from the grinding process. This caused teeth to wear excessively. One fast food joint, called thermopolia, where hungry ancients grabbed quick meals. See the Smithsonian. From sewage pipes we’ve learned what was in the diet. See NBC News report The pipes are in such good shape that they could still be used.

The House of the Vettii is the largeset house in Pompeii. It reopened to the public after 20 years in 2015. Once again visitors can enjoy the stunning beauty of its art and admire the skills of the artists.

italy-pompeii-visiting-top-attractions-house-of-the-vettii — House of the Vettii

HouseVettii01 — fresco in House of the Vettii

house of vetti — fresco in House of the Vettii, Wiki photo

The House of Mysteries (2nd century BCE) is newly open to the public. There are exquisite frecoes in room 5 showing the initiation of a bride into a mystery cult. These are now the most famous of the frescoes in Pompeii.

Roman_fresco_Villa_dei_Misteri_Pompeii_008 — House of Mystery, photos by Peg

Roman_fresco_Villa_dei_Misteri_Pompeii_001 — House of Mystery, , photos by Peg

Freco from the House of Mysteries, Pompeii — House of Mystery, photos by Peg

Herculaneum

20/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Herculaneum was buried on the second day of the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 CE. Most of its inhabitants escaped death by leaving on the first day, as of its 4000 residents only some 350 skeletons have been recovered and few are likely to remain. In addition, because it was spared much of the damage caused by falling stone and then covered to a depth of 20 meters from six flows, we have much more of the perishable material: lintels, furniture, doors, carts and even papyrus writings survived the volcano’s wrath. Most of these are in the The National Archaeological Museum of Naples As a result of this preservation we learned a great deal about the daily life of its residents. For more information see What Was Normal Life Like In Pompeii Before Its Destruction? | Pompeii with Mary Beard

Herculaneum was named after Hercules. The town was home to wealthy residents seeking a summer beach venue. It dates from the 7thc BCE, when it was founded by the Oscans. The Etruscans took over until the the rise Greeks took over, and then came the Romans.

Herculaneum- view fom above — View from the top of the ash that covered Herculaneum. Quite the heap!

Herculaneum, two figures — Superbly preserved fresco in Herculaneum

Herculaneum statute — Proconsul Marcus Nonius Balbus

skeletons in Herculaneum — Remains at what was then the beach

The Villa of the Papyri is the luxurious dwelling on the seashore. It may have belonged to consul Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. The library that survived nearly intact, and has been digitized.

Herculaneum, one of 1800 paprus books found, Tesoro_letterario_di_Ercolano_p27 — One of the papyrus from the library.

Gallipoli and Taranto

22/04/202312/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Gallipoli

We stopped for a short visit in Gallipoli, a peninsula jutting into the sea, known for its old town, sandy beaches, The founding history is not clear, but suggests occupation by Cretes and Gauls, preceded by native peoples. The earliest written records show it was a city in ancient Greek times; they still speak a Greek dialect alongside Italian. Sacked by the Vandals and Goths, it later became part of the Byzantine Empire, then following the same general occupation history as the rest of the area, from Naples to Sicily.

gallipolii street — On the streets of the old town in Gallipoli

Taranto

After driving to the very tip of the heel of the boot, we headed north to Taranto, still on the Ionic Sea, through areas laden with vineyards, the grapes leaves just sprouting into the crisp early spring air. In earlier times workers in these vineyards, when stung by the Wolf spider, hopped about with the pain. From this developed a dance called the Tarantella, the Italian word for ‘tarantula,’ performed to this day. I could see them doing the dance in these lush fields, prancing about the short, gnarly grape plants.

Taranto was founded by the 8th century Spartans. It came to be a powerful city, home to philosophers, writers and athletes. By circa 500 BCE it was populated by some half million people, a huge number for that epoch. It is served by a large natural port that the Italian navy made its home in both WWI and WWII.

We have been staying in private apartments during this trip. This is quite a bit less expensive than hotels and there are kitchens. Or so they say. Here the apartment was divided in two. Although in the description it said there was kitchen access, in this otherwise lovely apartment the kitchen was not accessible to us. It is in a separate area which consisted of the kitchen with a bed in it. Not knowing it was occupied, one of us opened the door, to the surprise of another set of guests. Another oddity- in our area there were two bedrooms. The bathroom was accessible only from one of the bedrooms.

The lovely dining/living room area was shared with the kitchen occupants, though they never came there. The staff brought breakfast to us there: an excellent croissant, orange juice from those bright red oranges, and espresso, cafe latte or cappuccino. Here cappuccino seldom has anything to do with chocolate shavings, just steamed milk. Being too milky for my taste, I stick with the espresso. In Italy the espresso has very little water so it is quite strong. The other variations, cafe latte and cappucino, have the same amount of coffee, and thus the same amount of caffeine, contrary to what many believe and counter intuitive, given the strong flavor of espresso.

The best thing about our place is its location. It is about 10-15 minutes to the port and about the same to the modern center, where the Semana Santa processions take place starting the next day, Friday, and ending on Sunday.

Taranto old town — Walking through the old town

Taranto statue to mariners — Statue to Mariners, Tartano

Along the port in the old town the buildings are decrepit and mostly unoccupied. Many buildings are closed entirely, their windows and doors concreted shut. Others have occupants in buildings whose facades have not been kept up for decades if not centuries. Many businesses have long since moved elsewhere. One of the locals told us that the area is up for a complete face lift.

We eventually found a trattoria open for lunch. Attractively decorated and just a few meters from the sea, over-populated with staff who hover about, they served up some mighty fine seafood dishes.

mussels with pasta — Mussels with short tube pastas in a soupy but flavorful tomato based sauce

mussles orchiette — Mussels with orecchiette

They had a number of contorni (vegetable side dishes) on offer. They had this agro-dulce (sweet and sour) red onion dish so we gave it a try. A bit too agro-dulce for my taste.

They served a lovely dry white wine made from the Falangina, an ancient grape (5€). The wine in this region is very good. Puglia currently has 33 regulated wine regions, mostly concentrated in Salento, at the very heel of Italy’s boot. Most are red, encouraged by the hot dry climate, but there are some good whites as well, somewhat surprising as whites generally do better in cooler climates. This is why Germany, Belgium and the Alsace region of France produce far more white than red.

We are in Taranto during Holy Week celebrations. The night before the events started on the Friday we watched as two men in robes walked in the cold night without shoes. The next day they carried heavy crosses along with others, normally clad, accompanied by good brass bands playing dirges.

hooded characters — Semana Santa procession on Sunday evening

I have been to much more somber such events in Spain, though the shoe-less bit and the face covers are an interesting touch. It is quite cold so it can not be fun walking like this. The point is to suffer, in the imitation of Christ. Among Catholics there are still known instances of even more extreme self-inflicted pain, to this day. See this BBC report on Opus Dei http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8375174.stm

The crowd paid little attention to the procession, despite the gory statues, the somber shoe-less figures and the booming dirges. With the exception of the comparative few lining the path, the rest of the crowd was there to meet friends, have a drink and something to eat. I was not sure what to expect, given the holiday, but not given the 25% observance rate (they remain Catholics but do not pay much attention to religion) you find among the otherwise predominantly Roman Catholic country. See extensive statistics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Italy

For a light dinner we twice visited a neat little bar called Don Crudo on Via XX Settembre. Our first choice for this evening was full. Don Crudo and staff were happy to see us. They make an excellent pinsa with a wide selection and piadini, thin hot sandwiches with much the same choice of ingredients. Pinsa, if you are not already familiar with it, it is a pizza dough that rises for 24 hours. This creates a very airy and crusty result.

piadino — Piadino (singular), piadini (plural)

pinsa — Pinsa (singular), pinse (plural)

T’was a fine ending to another chilly outing. We weaved our way through the crowd for the ten minute walk home in the chilly night air.

Lecce: A Baroque city with a long past

12/04/202308/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Dating from the time of Jesus, Lecce features extensive baroque architecture, uniformly made with Lecce stone. Lecce stone is a kind if limestone, still a main export because it is easily worked.

Like so many locations in Italy, Lecce sits on a treasure trove of artifacts, which Museo Faggiano clearly illustrates. The museum is located in a house owned by the Faggiano family. We were met at the door by the oldest son Andrea. His father Luciano bought it in 2000 for the purpose of opening a trattoria. Following reports of a leak he looked for a broken sewer line. Down he dug until he began to unearth pottery, coins, toys, a bishop’s ring and other artifacts from the middle ages back to prehistoric times.

He hid his activity from his wife, not wanting her to know that he was lowering his then 12 year old son deep into pits to dig. The dirty clothes eventually gave him away. They carted off the dirt by surreptitiously putting it in their car and hauling it to their farm. Neighbors eventually noticed, and reported the activity to the city government. The family spent the next 10 years uncovering artifacts and structures under the supervision of the town’s archaeologists, whom they’d been unable to avoid, humorously portrayed a Andrea as “you work, you pay, we just watch and take what you find.” The discoveries are now in the local museum, largely still in boxes.

We learned from that in the 14th to the 15th centuries the building was a Franciscan convent, inhabited in the middle of the 12th century by a Templar community as they prepared to invade the Middle East. The structures we see to this day were built on foundations from the Messapic (pre-Roman) era. We know little about these presumably indigenous peoples.

Museo-Archeologico-Faggiano-–-Lecce-02-769513583

The house is now attractively arranged with multiple livable rooms. On the roof there are views of the surrounding buildings, flat roofs with sharp angles, tubes for this and that, and jutting trees.

Afterwards we had lunch at a delightful by the slice place. You pay by the weight, not yours, but that of the pizza. There is a price list on the wall. You pay more for more expensive toppings. There is beer and wine. The crust is light and crunchy., a real pleasure of a place in a hole in the wall joint with wooden chairs and tables, and a pleasant woman deftly slicing pizza with scissors.

As you walk from one area in town to another you find art treasures as well as more architectural gems. These metal sculptures are among my favorites.

That night we found another trattoria, sampling more local specialties, the best of this place being the bread crumb stuffed mussels.

Puglia: Italian cuisine you’ve never met

06/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

After a visit to the grotte (caves) in Castellana Grotte we wiggled the car through the narrow narrow streets of the town to find Trattoria Arco Persi. https://www.trattoriaarcopersio.it/men%C3%B9 A trattoria is so named because it’s supposed to feature local cuisine. This place lived up to its title.

We ordered antipasto. Out came seafood risotto, a baked breaded mozzarella slice with parmigiano in a sauce, seafood in a vinaigrette, bruschetta with tomato and basil, buratta (like a fresh mozzarella but with cream), breaded cheese croquettes, roasted artichoke halves, shrimp vinaigrette, breaded zucchini, octopus salad and more. It was enough for lunch and everything was tasty and well presented.

baked-mozzarella-1295911701 — Baked mozzarella

Not knowing how much food would be coming as antipasto, I’d ordered fave e cicorie, white beans and cicoria, a bitter green. When we lived in Rome I learned a Roman dish called pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) so I assumed fave e cicore would be a pasta dish. It is not. I also assumed the beans would be whole. They are not, as you can see. Not just the beans are blended, the cicorie is as well.

It’s not all that pretty but I think it’s a great combination. See a recipe at https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/fave-e-cicoria-recipe-fava-bean-dip. The people at this website label the dish as a dip. It is not. It is included among the primi piati, “first plates” literally, but “first course” is a better translation. All pasta dishes are listed in this section of Italian menus, called ‘cartas’ in Italian (and thence we get the term “a la carte.”) The cicorie they use for this dish is a wild form. This leaf is not jagged while the Roman is, and it does not seem to be as bitter, unless the chef changed the cooking water several times before adding the greens to the beans.

I could not eat it all so they made a to go package. We’d stopped earlier in Alberobello. There we ordered a panino de porchetta (panini is the plural of panino). Porchetta is a roast baby pig stuffed with garlic and herbs. I’d only had it previously in and around Rome, it being a specialty of Aricia, a small town in the Albani Hills just outside the city. I was thinking I was about to try a Puglian variation. I asked the guy behind the counter if it was a local version. No, he said, it is not different from the one you find in Aricia, in fact, he said, what he serves comes from there. I was disappointed in not finding a new version, but it was excellent, and we are while looking at the Trulli houses lining the piazza. Even though I only ate half of the bread of the panino I was still not terribly hungry for lunch three hours later.

I’ll report on more of the local cuisine as we proceed. I can tell you right now, however, that orecchiette (little ears) is THE pasta shape of the region.

Alberobello, Ostuni, Polignano a Mare, and Volare

05/04/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

From the airport in Bari, in the heel of the boot of Italy in the region called Puglia, we zoomed in our rented hybrid to Ostuni. We stopped in Polignano a Mare, whose gorgeous cliffs look across the Adriatic at an Albania lost in the curvature of the earth. It is the beginning of our 10 day jaunt through a region inhabited since a time long lost in the mist of epochs, but new to us, and much less visited by tourists, foreign and domestic alike.

Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy, watercolor

Polignano a Mare was an important city in Roman times, remaining in the Eastern Roman Empire – the Byzantine – until circa 1050. Today it’s known for its beautiful cliffs and as the birth place of the famous “Volare” recorded by Domenico Modugno and written by him and Franco Migliacci, but not for its ancient past. The song I heard endlessly as a child was also recorded by Bobby Rydell, Dean Martin, Al Martino, Jerry Vale, David Bowie, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Dalida, Gipsy Kings, Chico & the Gypsies, Deana Martin and Barry White. Near us a group of teenagers sang it, and did so rather well in the breezy air of the sea.

The lyrics of Volare

I think, that dream does not come back ever again.

I painted my face and hands blue.

Then suddenly I was being kidnapped by the wind.

And I began to fly in the endless sky.4

Flying, oh, oh!

Singing, oh, oh, oh, oh!

In the blue painted blue.

Happy to be up there.

And I flew, I flew happily to the heights of the sun.

As the world slowly disappeared out there,

A soft music was playing just for me.

Flying, oh, oh!

Singing, oh, oh, oh, oh!

In the blue painted blue.

Happy to be up there.

In the blue painted blue.

Happy to be up there.

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/volare-fly.html

You walk along the cliffs. On the pleasant Saturday that we happen to be here the crowds fill the bars and line up at the gelato shops. Less famous warblers stroll about hoping for coins, others are set up to draw in customers who might sip an Aperol, an orange flavored alcohol that has flown to popularity over the last decade.

We’d easily and surprisingly so found a place for the car, and even found it when we were ready to leave so we drove to Ostini, having to skip a visit to Monopoli, another coastal village, as we could not find parking after driving around in search of one. We are staying two nights there, a town with narrow streets and alleys along the steep hillsides. We had dinner at a Tavola Calda, literally Hot Table. These eateries feature displayed dishes. Typically you go to the counter to make your choices. This place also had table service and served pizza as well, hot from the oven. We all ordered one though most people could share.

The next day, our first full day of 10 in this region, we set out for Alberobello, famous for its mortar free stone houses with cone shaped stone roofs, a World Heritage site since 1996. It was first occupied early in the sixteenth century so of recent origin by comparison. Count Giangirolamo II (1600–1665) bulit these houses, called Trulli. They did not use mortar to allow easy disassembly in case the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples discovered them and then applied the taxes due on dwellings. Near the end of the 18th century Alberobello became a city, no longer controlled by feudal regime. It is the only place on earth whose housing is entirely of the Trulli style.

Mascleta 2023

28/03/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

The Mascleta is a daily fireworks event during Fallas, starting on March 1 and ending on March 19. These occur at 2 PM. You can not see fireworks very well during the day so what’s the deal? These fireworks are made to be felt and heard rather than seen. The percussion from the explosions makes a strong impression. You have to be close enough for the explosions to have their intended impact.

The event is initiated by the Fallera Mayor and the Fallera Infantil. These two are dressed in their traditional outfits. Each day they signal the people in charge of the display that it’s time to begin.

Mona + X

28/03/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

My take on two famous portraits. I gave Mona a gaunt look with a square jaw. I interpreted the profile of Sargeant’s fabulous Madam X.

mona + x sm — Mona + X, acrylics on Canson 300# paper, 70 x 50 cm, 28 x 20″

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Woman with a Pearl Earing

07/04/202324/03/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring inspired this painting. My reference reminded me of his fabulous and famous piece. However there are major differences. He bathed her face in light, but here it is gently swathed in shadow with highlights produced by the light coming from the side. The background is lighter and more varied than Vermeer’s traditionally dark surface.

Woman with pearl earring final sm — Woman With Pearl Earring, acrylics on Canson 300# paper, 70 x 50 cm, 28 x 20″

The Fallas at Ayuntamiento (City Hall), close to completion

13/03/2023 by Gary Kirkpatrick

The Beating Heart at the center of Valencia.