Naples - December 31, 2011 - Centro Direzionale

Looking north-west in the Centro Direzionale. The north
Enel Tower can be seen on the far left.

Just to the north of the train station is “Modern Naples”, in actuality known as the Centro Direzionale.

Funnily enough it covers a smaller area than the train station and rises out of the center of Naples like a phoenix from the ashes of a million burger wrappers.




To be perfectly frank, I think it looks like one of those western American cities, the ones built on the plains in the shadows of mountains. Like Denver or Calgary, where all of the tall buildings are huddled together, clinging close as if they are afraid of their surrounding suburbs. In the case of Naples this just might be true.

The Centro Direzionale is the administrative hub of Naples, and many of the buildings are local or national government organizations. National Italian corporations also make their southern home here, with Telecom Italia occupying the tallest building in southern Italy.

Stark, clean-ish (just don’t look at the escalators) and modern (but a little dated) the area lacks any and all of the enchantment of Naples proper. It makes up for this by being in a high crime area and bordered on the north by the largest prison in Italy and on the south by the train station. The prison is rather fascinating, being of the nineteenth century type with the addition of brushed metal gun turrets. It also seems appropriate to build the new city hall, law and government offices so close to the prison, considering that is usually where Italian (and other nations too) politicians tend to live when they are not in office.

Looking east into the Centro Direzionale from the Enel Towers

The district starts with a dramatic entrance from the old city framed by the twin Enel towers, each 400 feet tall which form a gateway into this strange and alien landscape (at least strange and alien compared to the rest of Campania). It’s all very shiny.

Enel Towers looking west with old Naples beyond

 We visited on a Saturday so the district was understandably empty. this had the effect of upping the creepiness factor from abandoned Victorian house to "Collection of headless manikins dressed in bloodstained formal wear...in an unfinished basement...lit by one bare flickering light bulb...swinging back and forth...". Actually the quiet was kind of nice.

View from eastern end of the Centro Direzionale looking north toward modern church and prison

The whole area is designed on a pair of axis very much like the nave of a church and the transepts.  The vistas are impressive with their little "Leonardo trees" poking up all over the landscape.

In another reference to Leonardo da Vinci there is a large spherical sculpture made out of a sort of 3D mosaic of various marbles. In the center is a rendering of da Vinci's famous "Man in His Perfect Proportions", it was quite worth the trip into the district for that alone.

3D mosaic sphere with rendering of "Man in His Perfect Proportions"

Naples - December 31, 2011 - Albergo Dei Poveri

We were thwarted on our attempt to go to the Palace of Caserta by the Italian train system, but no matter, I had built in fail-safes for this very eventuality. Our first stop that day was the Albergo dei Poveri a poor/work house begun by King Charles II (Bourbon) in 1749, while he was actually building the Palace of Caserta.

The walk from the train station took about twenty minutes and passed through not the best neighborhoods of Naples. Each street and piazza had it's own charm or character. The area closer to the Albergo and further from the Centro Direzionale and Centro Historico had a little more character than might normally be desired. In fact if it were a character in a movie (say circa 1920) it would have been hiding behind a tree twiddling it's mustache waiting to tie Mary Pickford to the train tracks.  Believe me I know that I am very privileged to be able to visit Naples and I can't complain, but I have never seen that much canine fecal matter on a single stretch sidewalk, ever, not even in Paris. I eventually stopped looking at the sidewalk realizing that stepping in some was inevitable.

The Albergo dei Poveri (also known as the Bourbon Hospice for the Poor) immediately impresses with its tremendous size and brilliant whiteness.  The thing that impresses the most is that only one side of the building was actually built. The original plans called for a gigantic building with five courtyards, a chapel and a facade of 1,900 feet (about 600 meters). As it is the building stretches for 1,000 feet down the Via Foria with its large portal and pediment centered on the Piazza Carlos II. Which is not a delightful square, but is very much part of Naples as lived in by Neopolitans.  There was a little hole in the wall market, a couple of cafes and a bar or two, plus plenty of palm trees.

The building has been restored in recent years and is now used for various exhibitions (most recently Gunther von Hagens Body Worlds. I saw his Body World & The Brain in Portland, Oregon earlier this year, still not sure, I thought it was a little "artistic" and working in a medical university I was expecting something a little more clinical.). 

Albergo dei Poveri looking North along the Via Fiori. The Orange letters are the sign for the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia
Yes it is supposed to look like that...

The most awesome building ever! On the VIa Fiori and Piazza Carlos II across the street from the Albergo dei Poveri

Naples - December 30, 2011 - Dumpster on Fire

Why yes indeed.

On the way back from Pompeii darkness had descended upon us and the walk from the train station in Naples to the hotel took on a slightly more sinister spin.

The days rain had washed the sidewalks clear of most of the filth and grime that usually be-speckled them in the manner of a Jackson Pollock painting. The air was think and humid, and fugged with the chunky smells of Naples; the sea, car exhaust, hot bread, decomposition (of many-many things), old fish and new rubber, occasionally just a hint of burnt hair/plastic/tin.

Halfway up the Corso Umberto I we found a dumpster on fire. The odd thing about it was the simple fact that people were trying to ignore it, like one tries to ignore a screaming child on an airplane.  Finally a gentleman (I use the term loosely) very casually sauntered out of his store with a bucket of water and poured it in the dumpster. When this failed to put out the fire he walked back into his store with a look of complete disinterest.

Eventually we moved on. the next day we found the burnt out dumpster and the charred tree above it looking rather sad.

As they say, when you tire of Naples you can get shanked by the docks.

Pompeii - December 30, 2011 - Villa of the Mysteries

Inside Villa of the Mysteries

Villa of the Mysteries

A short walk from the tombs and the Herculaneum gate lies the Villa of the Mysteries. Framed by a wall of trailing rosemary the building is well preserved and has been very carefully reconstructed. So much so that it looks like with a few trips to IKEA and some updated plumbing, one could move right in.

This villa appears in almost every book on Roman art because of a fresco that flows around one of the rooms in an immense and impressive cycle. The painting is thought to represent the rites of the cult of Dionysius, a cult whose wild abandon and ecstasies during celebrations were shunned and eventually banned by the earlier more conservative Rome of the republic.

The room of the mysteries in the Villa of the Mysteries

Once inside the villa getting to the fresco was not as easy as one would think. The floor plan is rather maze like and we ended up in the same peristyle three times going around in circles until I finally spotted a German tourist who was also in search of this room. It’s funny I have looked at the floor plan of this house for decades, I know where the room is, however translating that knowledge into 3-D is rather difficult.

We did eventually find the room and I was taken aback by how vibrant and clear the paintings still are after nearly two thousand years buried in ash.

I read somewhere that the villa had been abandoned after the earthquake of 62 AD, though I am not sure where I read that and it seems somewhat unlikely if the house was in relatively good condition.

The exit from here leads out of the Pompeii archeological site and onto a rather pleasant road that winded and twisted and wound its way down to the train station....eventually. It was about a twenty-five or thirty minute walk and there were a number of times that I thought we were lost. As a delightful post script a driver deliberately drove through a puddle of mud that splashed us from head to toe. YAY! Italy in December.

Small Atrium in the Villa of the Mysteries

Pompeii - December 30, 2011 - Forum Baths

Frigidarium, cold bath

Ceiling of the tepidarium, warm bath

The forum baths are near, you guessed it, the forum.  It really easy to miss as it lacks the grandeur and size of the late second century baths in Rome. The entrance is actually down a small passageway from a normal looking door in the wall.

The interior is remarkably well preserved with the tepidarium and the caldarium being the most incredible.

There was a crowd of people at the entrance to the frigidarium and I almost didn't go over and look. Glad I did though, the interplay of the circles and arches is quite lovely. 

Cold water fountain in the caldarium

Barrel vaulted caldarium

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Detail of the plasterwork in the tepidarium

 

Pompeii - December 30, 2011 - Tombs

Tomb of M. Porcius

Unnamed tomb

Heading north out of Pompeii by the Herculaneum gate one can visit dozens of tombs along the ancient road.

There are also the distractions of the villas of Cicero and Diomedes, both were closed to the public when we passed through, though I did scramble up an embankment off the side of the road an take a quick snapshot through the gates.

There also are quite a number of shops and workshops along this road. It’s almost like a shopping mall; outside the main city gates (suburban), all together in a couple of giant uniform looking buildings. I have a friend that says there is nothing new to be found in the world (rather a pessimist really) but seeing this sort of thing makes it seem true.

Tomb or public bench?

On the west side of the road are some impressive remains.  The tomb of M. Porcius rises in the rear with its three reconstructed columns a ghostly silhouette against the sky.

There are a number of small tombs, large tombs, tombs in the shape of semi-circular benches, a round tomb and a couple of triclinium tombs where the relatives of the deceased could come and have a picnic…of sorts. The most delightful of these still has some of the interior painting and does not have a name associated with it leading some to believe it was actually built as a public bench.  The next time I am waiting for the bus in a plastic bus shelter with the lingering acrid smell of someone’s “overindulgence” I’ll think of this place.

One of the more impressive (just due to the surviving amount of marble covering) is the tomb of Calventius Quietus, also located on the west side of the road. It has a large altar shaped top with some lovely carving, wreaths, ribbons and the like.

The tomb of M. Popidius is at the fork in the road where the left side leads to the villa of the mysteries and the right side leads to….not sure. But I am sure it leads somewhere.

The road itself is quite impressive, being the original Roman road. The stones are so smooth! Polished by feet and sandals millennia ago. 

Below is part of the arcade in front of the shops along the east side of the road leading north out of Pompeii by the Herculaneum  gate. Below that is the picture I was able to capture of the Villa of Diamedes.

Suburban shopping, rocking it ancient style

Villa of Diomedes, near Herculaneum gate

Pompeii - December 30, 2011, Shops, Fullers and Bakers

Mill stones at a large bakery in Pompeii

There are lots of the little shops that have counters made out of inlaid marble shards. Most if not all of them have large terracotta jars set into them. See the Thermopolium of Lucretius  for more information on one of the best preserved ones. 

The bakeries have some pretty impressive looking millstones. You can tell where a wooden shaft could be inserted to attach to an animal or maybe some slaves? It all sounds rather gruesome and grueling work for man or beast.

There was one fullers  workshop that we found that was identified as such and was open. It was converted out of an older, and rather nice, house in the center of town. Perhaps the original owners had fallen on bad times and sold it? Or maybe they moved a little further out of the center of town? There wasn’t really a separation between commercial and non

Thermopolium in the "Theatre District"

commercial activities in the average Roman town. So unless they were moving to Herculaneum (which had more of a resort feel to it) or to a larger villa outside of the city walls, I have to think that the original owners fell on hard times or died out.

It was tagged the Fullonica di Stephanus and was rather an impressive ruin.One of the few in Pompeii that had much of the second story's masonry intact. This included a lovely row of columns on the second floor. 

Fullonica di Stephanus

Pompeii - December 30, 2011 - Streets

Street in Pompeii

The streets of Pompeii are bleak.  The ruinous nature of the landscape the lack of second stories (for the most part) and in winter a lack of tourists all add to this impression. Yes,  it is the site of a cataclysmic disaster and one would expect it to be a little solemn.  With all of the plaster and paint missing from the mounds and piles of bricks that used to be shops, houses and places of worship even at ground level you are not really seeing the city as Pompeian’s would have 2000 years ago.  Six quadrillion tons of hot ash will do that.

The sidewalks appear to be extraordinarily high off of the surface of the road when compared with modern sidewalks (and ADA requirements). This is because there wasn’t a complex sewer system for carrying away waste water, or just waste in general.  Without a system like Rome's fantastic Cloaca Maxima waste flowed (on good days) in the streets much like Cleveland. Which just adds a new perspective on how different modern Pompeii is from 2000 years ago. It also makes it very clear why the great stepping stones were so necessary at so many of the street intersections.

Stepping Stones with wagon ruts

While walking  around look for the little tiles set into the ground. These were reflectors of moonlight, torch of candle light to aid pedestrians of the night and stop them from falling into the street full of doo-doo feces. Which would just be horribly unpleasant.

Pompeii - December 30, 2011 - Temple of Vespasian

Altar with Vespasian (on the left with head covered)

Right on the forum next to the Building of Eumachia is another building dedicated to the imperial cult; the Temple of Vespasian. Has a magnificent white marble altar with bas reliefs showing the emperor as priest offering sacrifices to the gods. 

The brickwork walls were covered with decorative plaster. This is long gone however the bricks were built up in such a way as to provide a basic form. The alternating triangular and curved pediments might be most familiar to Americans as being devices used on the White House. 

The temple was built sometime after the earthquake of 62 AD and must have been dedicated before the emperors death as Vespasian died only a few short months before the eruption. 

His son Titus became emperor upon his death, being (I believe) the first natural, not adopted, son of an emperor to inherit the empire. 

Titus however, did not wear the purple for long, just a few years. His younger brother Domitian was just a little too devious and had Titus packed into a chest of ice to cool his fever. It did all too well, very soon he was cold dead. Domitian would go on to build a massive palace on the Palatine Hill (which incidentally is where we get the word "palace") and then would be murdered in said palace by court officials.

Temple of Vespasian - Court, Alter and Cella