Early Travel Impressions

In Sorrento, on the road to my B & B, here is one example of Italian rock.

Italy is essentially an enormous rock thrust up from the bottom of the ocean when the tectonic plates of Europe and Africa collided. Rock is everywhere and comes in varieties of pink, yellow, green, white, black, and grey. Human habitation of the rocky cliffs is pretty amazing – a tradition begun by ancient cave dwellers. Some areas are cultivated - made fertile by volcanic ash. Wheat and grain are grown in Umbria while further south greenhouses of vegetables are more evident; Olive groves are everywhere and Sicily has it all.

I loved this diorama of the cave dwellers who occupied Italy in pre-Roman times.

Italians love their shoes/boots, bags, cigarettes, and cellphones. I have seen hundreds of variations on the canvas shoe (essentially dressed up tennis shoes) – bangles, platforms, high heels, bright yellow/green/pink. I could do without the cigarette smoke!

My first stop after completing my artist residency was Sorrento, a small community southwest of Naples. I felt that in order to slow down after all of the work of the residency I needed to stay away from the frenzy of big cities. Sorrento is right on the Tyrrhenian Sea and abuts the Amalfi coast. From Sorrento I could explore Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii and indeed I did. I walked to the top of the inside of the crater of Mount Vesuvius, left by the eruption in 79AD.

Inside crater of Mount Vesuvius.

Then I went to the ruins of Herculaneum, a small agricultural community destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. 

Ruins of Herculaneum below the current town of Ercolano.

Herculaneum gave me an overwhelming sense of death. Perhaps because you could see the current town of Ercolano right above the excavation. Perhaps because the small spaces reminded me of graves. The town of Ercolano felt like the US in the 1950s – people struggling to make a living.

One of many streets in the ruins of Pompeii.

The urban grandeur of Pompeii was evident even though it had been stripped of all its priceless art and artifacts which reside in the archeological museum in Naples. It’s too much to absorb in one day.

I attempted to go to Amalfi but was stopped within five kilometers because of a landslide. The rainy season has hit southern Italy. A brief stop in Positano – spectacularly positioned on the cliff side – showed the influence of wealthy American tourists; overweight Italians who cater to them have adopted American bad eating habits.

Back Packing at 75
In my attempt to keep things simple, I decided to travel with just my backpack and a foldable fabric bag that serves as my daypack when on location. I am carrying few clothes, a small handheld digital camera, and a Surface Tablet to which I can download my photos and connect to the Internet. Most useful so far have been my bar of laundry soap and First-Aid kit.

Feasting My Eyes
I am a pilgrim, not a tourist. That means I am not trying to see everything, but to select those things that can best inform my work on the Mediterranean section of Eve's Imprint. As a visual learner, what I see and feel sticks with me. For this reason, I am traveling by train and bus. When most people think of Italy they think of food and wine, but for me the primary thing is to "feast my eyes" upon the landscape, people, architecture, cultural nuances, and subtle regional differences.