Notes of Travel

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 14, 22 April 1925, Page 23

Notes of Travel

I '■By J.K.) . ' .

| * THE BAY OF NAPLES.

i In my last letter I tried to give my readers a brief impression of the city of Naples, ' and in the present one I cannot do better than tell them a little about the wonderful Bay which is the scene of so much beauty. And once more I am confronted with an impossible task lor even the genius of a great artist cannot put on canvass an adoquate picture of all this lavishness of color 'and loveliness. The little I have already told you" about the view from Posilipo must be taken in conjunction with what follows here We have got a general idea of the coast and of the city with Vesusius in the • background Now we shall,try to describe . the headlands of the Bay and say a word .about Capri lying out there in the front of • I the picture '■-■ You ren ember that 1 referred to Avernus, l 1 the site of which is on the west shore of the ™ gulf of Pozzuoli. Now we go a little way farther west and come to the old Greek colony of Cuma, founded as far back as seven hundred years before the Christian era. In

Roman times it was a sacred city, for hence Rome received the Sibylline Books, and here the fai,lo "« Sibyl was supposed to dwelt. Of all former greatness little now remains, and s?> we leave it to go on to Bain, will, its beautiful bay under its mighty castle, just v ' ltl,in lhe headland of Misemim. Horace lovwl Baiil ' « lld Martial .speaks of it as "the K oldcn sllore of Venus." The Romans built tl!eir villas here, and it is associated witht]lo uames of many emperors, especially Nero, Caligula, and Hadrian. Later it was the pleasure resort of the Angevin kings, and ere too Boccaccio wooed and lost Fiametta, ou this lovely shore and by this same azure sea, At hist we come to the promontory of Misenum, which is supposed to get its name fjcom one of the companions of Ulysses, while the valley between its double hills was the site of the Elysian Fields, whose smiling hnvns were said to be the "homes of the Messed." Here in Roman days there was a great naval port, built by Augustus; here

the 'Elder Pliny was in command when lie lost his life during the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. Rums still mark the site of the old town, which was destroyed by the Saracens in the ninth century, but one will turn from the ruins Io gaze with delight on the view of mountain, seas, and islands beneath this tableland. Mere ... quietness, far from the noise of Naples, one may rest and look across this classic sea and towards the islands whose names are associated with the names of the heroes of our youthful classical studies. Hither came Ulysses on his adventures, and into this same sea sailed Aeneas, and here around us are the Elysian yields where the shades of the immortal dead were supposed to walk in blessedness. And now for the other side of the Pichire. Taking -the train along the shore through Torre del Greco and Torre Annum. ziata, we come to Castellamare, whence the eastern headland begins to rise until it astends to the lofty heights above Sorrento. From', Castellamare a tram takes you quickly

on to the famous Sorrento road, which is certainly not inferior to the routes corniches between Nice and Genoa and between Genoa and Spezzia. Indeed, as far as color and historical interest go, most people will claim that the Sorrento road surpasses the others. "We pass Cape Orlando, under huge cliffs, with the blue sea beneath us, and we come to

N Vico, which is set picturesquely amid olive groves’ and gardens of oranges. Then the road winds down to Meta through luxuriant verdure, passing gardens and groves and rocks and vineyards until we find ourselves in the town of Sorrento, famous for its fruit and wine and justly renowned as a winter resort. The city stands on sheer cliffs above the Bay of Naples, and three or four hundred feet below it are little white beaches where the fishermen may he seen busy at their nets all day long. The Saracen influence of the past is evident in the Oriental aspect of the town, with its white houses and cupolas and hat roofs. The whole place is a succession of lovely gardens, and under miles of foliage of orange trees one secs through the gloom of their shadows the golden gleam of millions upon millions of oranges. In pagan times Sorrento had on its headland a great temple, dedicated to Minerva; and in “the glorious Middle Ages here was born the poet Torquato Tasso. But at present Sorrento owes its charm to its position and to its beautiful surroundings, so delight/j ful that one might well spend a summer holi- . . day here without tiring of the place. From f the Cape the view of the Bay with Vesuvius ' in the background is magnificent Capri y sesms only a. stone-throw away and if you climb the hill behind the town you will see towards the east the islands of the Sirens v and the Bay of Salerno. ' But the most interesting trip from Sorrento is to Capri; to which one goes on a,

little steamer hich calls here every morning to pick up passengers. About eight miles from the town, and only throe from the Capo, lies Capri, rising sheer but- of the blue .sea to a height of several thousand feet; shaped like a saddle, with the village between its high peaks. First the steamer takes you to the famous Blue Grotto, where about fifty

little boats are waiting to take you into this cave of enchantment. Climbing into one of these little cockleshells, you are roved a short distance along the side of the island, under towering rocks, until you see a very small opening in the cliffs towards which all

the boats, converge. If the sea is at all in motion, every wave fills up the entrance, and you begin to wonder how you are going to get in. The boatman instructs you to lie flat on the bottom of his craft and to keep your hands off the sides. Then watching his chance ho shoots into the cave, like a rabbit into its burrow, and you are safe in the Grotto, but wondering how you are to get out again. At first it seems dark, but gradually your eyes become accustomed to the light,and a wonderful sight rewards your courage. The water is. like liquid sapphire and the recesses of the cavern arc filled with a wonderful shimmering pale blue light., It is indeed a fairy cave, and it would be a thou-and pities to miss seeing it. The steamer then proceeds to the little port, called the Marina; and thence a funicular railway takes you up to the town on the top of the great rock. Here again the views of the hay are glorious and indescribable. There is light and color everywhere. You look down from the heights on clear blue water- creaming on little golden beaches, and on every side are hotels and private villas nestling among the oranges and vinos. And, of course, far away, you see looming over the sea. Vesuvius, with its can of eternal smoke, like a shadow of death in all this exquisite country. No wonder the ancient Homans loved Capri, and no wonder that to-day, as you walk among its gardens, you hear people from distant lands mingling their speech with the' beautiful Italian language' of the natives. At last, and very reluctantly, you arc borne away by the steamer from this charming island, and as you sail towards Naples in the glow of the sunset now views of untold loveliness open upon your eyes.

There are men who to-day appear to us to be members of the devil, who one day shall be members of Christ. —St. Francis of Assisi.