The noses of Rome? They are everywhere. Approximately 2,500 -2,800 big noses. Water fountains to you and me. The nose refers to the metal spout, which sticks off the fountain like a … nose. In place since the 1870s they are a little Easter egg hunt as you walk the city.
Nasone (plural nasoni) in front of a flower vendor.
If you come from California, a state usually struggling with and talking about drought, the sight of constantly running water fountains is a bit shocking.
The nasone down the street from where we stayed.
It may seem wasteful to us, but the company in charge of supplying water to Rome says the constantly running fountains only account for a small percentage of water loss, 1% or so, compared to the loss from old and leaky pipes. It is the same tasty drinking water as that supplied to homes.
A nasone in the forum with Arch of Titus in the background.
Some fountains have glamorous backgrounds.
Beautiful fountain across the street from the Alter of the Fatherland.Another nasone near the Arch of Titus in the forum.
Other nasoni have more utilitarian surroundings.
Representative of a typical street scene.
The metal spout has a small hole at the top of the arch. If you put your finger over the bottom spout water will arc up from the hole to create an easier to drink from fountain. We didn’t know this until later, so we either filled our water bag or slurped the old fashioned way.
Rich filling our water bag while listening to an audio tour of the forum.Slurping. Again with a dramatic background.Piazza della Rotunda nasone, that’s the Pantheon in the background.
It wasn’t hot while we were in Rome, but I imagine these fountains are even more appreciated in the heat of summer. It’s nice as a tourist not to have to worry about finding water. And, no need to carry a full water bottle, which keeps your day pack lighter.
Unassuming but so useful.Is my back to an amazing Roman ruin while I snap pics of a fountain? Yes.My favorite fountain. With my favorite travel guy.This stunner is in the Travestere neighborhood. The two side spouts weren’t running, but the theme is fantastic.
We’re back in the US now for a visit to friends and family. Our five days in Rome were not enough to see all the sights, but we did visit many of them, in between fountain spotting.
The Bella Vista of the trulli. Trulli is the plural of trullo. Helpful?
This fantastic UNESCO world heritage site is firmly on the tourist track of the Puglia region, for good reason. The stone buildings are amazing and adorable. Even more adorable with a dusting of snow.
One of the narrow streets of town.Close up of a dry stacked roof.
Why, you ask, are these squat little buildings called trullo built this way? Two main reasons, per Wikipedia – abundant building material in the form of limestone boulders collected from fields, originally. And, the Count of Conversano who gave permission for the first “town” here, was avoiding taxes which would have been due to the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples. Apparently, no mortar – no taxes.
There are many trulli you can stay in. Maybe not ideally suited to tall modern men, but fascinating.
Like many UNESCO sites Alberobello was both saved and destroyed by its designation in 1996. The buildings, saved. The probably once characterful town, now firmly on the tourist track, another tick on the travel itinerary – gone. Destroyed is a strong word, but we do find the friendliness of locals is an inverse curve to the number of tourists. Other than the charming little streets of trulli walking in town is not so charming, with impatient drivers and narrow if any sidewalks. So what does the savvy visitor do? Head out of town on a country side walk.
Just chilling with a trullo. And a massive old olive tree.The 50th trullo is just as fascinating as the 1st.The olive trees will also stop you in your tracks for a closer look. Trulli lane. There are enough stones around here to build houses and walls.
We quickly left town behind and the countryside felt very rural. It sounded rural too. The barking dogs had us both grab a couple of small stones for our pockets as dog bite deterrents, but we didn’t need them. All dogs were safely contained. And once we left the outskirts of town there were few people and fewer dogs. Off season this area was quiet, in season the vacation dwellings probably have a lot of life. Vaccination note: since we love to ramble on back roads on foot and on bike, we got vaccinated for rabies – which means if we get bitten by a dog we need only one fairly available shot instead of the full and less available course of shots. On our hike out of Sorrento Rich did indeed get nipped by a little terror of a terrier, but it didn’t break the skin. We’re glad we got those vaccinations.
A garden trullo, maybe a storage shed, with Rich added for scale.There were trullo in need of attention.There were trulli which were truly scrumptious. And there were trulli looking for new owners. Anyone? This became a perfect walk. Sunshine, snow on the ground, and eye catching sceneryMuddy lanes and olive groves.Giving the Swiss firewood stackers a run for their money, firewood in the shape of a trullo.Getting to Alberobello is a lovely train ride, the train is going the perfect speed for sightseeing.Puglia regional train and a happy traveler.Two happy travelers. We spent one night in Alberobello, then back to Bari for a night, and on to Rome.
As our trip back to the US gets closer we’re both getting very excited to see family and friends. See you all soon.
This is the country where we are most likely to overeat, over indulge, and find ourselves over padded as a result.
Overlooking the town of Amalfi. We got to this height via an elevator.
How to avoid this? Move. Just keep moving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Have a hiking day. Walk the long way home after dinner out. Walking and biking are second nature to us, so that’s what we do when we get somewhere.
The hike from Sorrento to Massa Lubrense involved loads of up and down and stunning views.It was fairly well signed, and took us through beautiful rural areas.The green netting is enclosing lemon groves. Chestnut poles hold up the netting and provide freeze and sunburn protection. So many lemons.This view was well earned. Looking towards Sorrento.
If we have a train day, we make sure to have an active day next. Of course, some train days involve loads of walking too. We rarely take taxis, we walk to and from train stations or take a local bus. Being sensitive to the impact of car traffic on cities encourages us not to add to it. Walking gives you more time to notice things and grounds you geographically. I’m slightly directionally challenged, landmarks are how I navigate. That shop, this fountain, a row of green flower pots, all help me find my way though new places.
Above Amalfi, the town of Lone where some buildings rise out of rock.Beautiful picnic spots of the world.
The Amalfi coast has so many trails, walkways and tiny roads to explore. And stairways. So many stairways. Our day hiking above Amalfi was one of the most memorable hikes we’ve done. The coast road is more famous, but the paths and small roads are what we love.
Donkey power in action.Trail markers and water fountains. It was not at all hot when we were there, but in summer the water taps would be a very welcome sight.Cat spotting!
Are all of our hikes blissful and conflict free? No. We have very different paces and one of us, the tall one, hikes much faster than the other shorter one. In an attempt to get more of a work out Rich came bounding back down the first big staircase climb out of Amalfi as I was struggling up. Morale killer? Yes. Squabble? Yes. I demanded that he turn around and then after I passed him I insisted he go back down as far as he wanted as I hiked on – in the lead for once! Temporarily, but happily.
The stunning water color and a view of the famous coastal road.Starting a travel day with an early bus from Amalfi. Not much view on a rainy day with the windows steaming up. Second breakfast before catching a train to Bari.The travel planner taking a break to enjoy the view. And mentally plot the next hike.Trains are the best! Crossing from the west coast to the east took us through the Apennine Mountains. And snow.
The weather cooperated for our first full day in Bari so we rented bikes and headed down the coast, knowing there was a train to take back and enjoying the tailwind.
Heading out of Bari in the sun with a smile.Passing a field of abandoned Trullo, the stone buildings of the Puglia region. We had to go check them out. So off the road we went. A bit muddier than expected.Lunchtime in Polignano a Mare. Go right to the place with a line for take out panzerotti. Like a hot pocket sandwich, a cousin to calzone. Lunch with a view. And back to Bari on the train. While I’m always grateful for bike cars on trains, I hate bike hooks. I’m never confident that I can lift my bike up, and I certainly couldn’t lift the heavy rental bike up. If you ever wonder what the term “ableism” means – this is it.
So this is how we stay healthy and happy. But, six months in we have learned that Rich absolutely needs more exercise than me. He’ll be upgrading to a slightly larger travel backpack so he can add running shoes to his kit. And I’ll be better at not getting mad when he bounds back down a hill I’m still climbing so he can turn around and go up again. (Seriously, who does this?)
One of the joys of extended travels is discovering the connections and overlapping layers of history, from the Neolithic to this shocking few weeks in Post Cold War Europe. You see snippets of history, in both the context of the ancient society, and the modern context of how it is presented.
Chariot ruts in Pompei show just how much traffic plied these streets, and that there are always infrastructure maintenance backlogs!
In this part of the world, it is still stunning to discover the vastness and complexities of the Roman empire from Morocco to England, and of course, in modern Italy.
Literally layers of history at Herculaneum, right up to the old shoreline.
The past week’s events in Ukraine overlapping with visits to two of the world’s greatest archeological sites, Herculaneum and Pompéi has been sobering. Most of us understand the risks of Putins end game, but it’s especially painful for Europeans who bore the brunt of two world wars and protracted Cold War. History does feel like it is doomed to repeat itself.
The empty Herculaneum on a Monday morning; a joy to explore!
There is a lot to take in at both UNESCO sites, so we decided it was best to separate our visits by a few days. We had planned on trying to get to Herculaneum early on Sunday morning from Naples, and set out from our hotel at 8am sharp only to be stymied by misinformation on the metro and train schedules….(BTW the Moovit app is best in Naples).
I wonder what was for lunch?
So as we sat on a crowded platform, with the prospect of getting to Herculaneum 1 1/2 hours after opening on by far the busiest day of the week, we decided eating €5 train tickets was a small price to pay for a better experience and left the station for another day. Another blessing of long term travels.
Looking towards the impluvium…Roman Villas are so impressive for their thought in design and layout; not much to improve in 2000 years of architectural development.
It was a great decision as we were able to stop at Herculaneum on the way to Sorrento on Monday, and had the place practically to ourselves….oh, and the sky was bluer on Monday too -:). This also gave us the opportunity to watch the excellent BBC documentary on Herculaneum which really did enhance our experience the next day.
Endless Pompei….20,000 lived here at its peak and 18,000 did get out on August 24, AD 79
Both Herculaneum and Pompéi are on the CircumVesuvia regional train line that runs from Naples to Sorrento, so an “on the way” visit is a great option, especially as both sites have left luggage facilities. The Pompéi entrance is very close to the train station, but Herculaneum is almost a kilometer away downhill, so best if you are traveling light with backpack luggage, but it is certainly doable with a roller bag (if you can stand the sound on the sidewalks!)
Left luggage at Herculaneum…simple services like this can make a travel day possible.
Herculaneum was a prosperous and smaller city than Pompéi; kind of a posh suburb. When it was hit by the huge earthquake of AD 62, many of its wealthier residents took the damage as an opportunity to remodel…of course, only to be buried by 50 feet of the pyroclastic flows of Mt. Vesuvius just years later in AD 79. The site is compact and surprising in its somewhat dense surroundings of a more modern town.
Yes, there were cats in Pompei
What was also surprising to us, was all the people that still live in the shadow of the mountain, taking a calculated risk that it won’t erupt soon, or with such force. They say there will be some warning from the vulcanologists and seismologists next time. And of course, we lived in San Francisco for 30 years, so can understand taking a risk living somewhere you love or is your home. Or both.
The restored vineyards of Pompei with Vesuvius in waiting.
After a nice day off in Sorrento walking in the local hills of lemon groves, we visited Pompéi by taking the train back from Sorrento on Wednesday, and again enjoyed an enjoyed light crowds.
Taking a Roman break walking in the hills of Sorrento, with spring finally showing it’s serious in Southern Europe
In fact we walked up to the ticket window at 9:30 am with no line. It did get a bit busier as the day went on, but still an apparent trickle compared to pre-COVID times, as the tour buses have not returned yet. Somewhat a golden time for travel if you can get here.
The tranquil footpaths to Marina Lobra, near Sorrento
Pompéi is vast and sprawling, and it stuns you with the scale of the city’s ancient streets, sidewalks, and lunch cafes. Romans ate lunch out routinely, apparently to feed their appetites building vast baths, forums, and an amphitheater.
The slight curves and meanders of Pompeii’s roads was insightful urban planning
It was so easy to visualize the vibrant community, with its rolling and meandering streets, variety of villas, and the detailed understanding that has been miraculously deduced about the residents of almost every significant building. Artists, traders, cooks, politicians, and more recently nearby, slave quarters that give insight into the reality of the indentured servitude that supported much of the Roman’s impressive legacy.
The work never stops at Pompei, as new discoveries await daily. Amazing.
It also helps to visit the fantastic Archaeology museum in Naples first as we did, so you can see many of the original artifacts, frescos, sculptures, and mosaics first, and the drop them into Pompéi and Herculaneum, like objects in SimCity AD79. There are a lot of in situ items still remaining at both sites, and many buildings at Pompéi are under restoration or access is limited to protect the fragile elements from so many visitors.
Art and story telling enriched every aspect of Roman life….it all feels so modern.
So as we headed out of Pompéi to continue along the Amalfi coast, we both relished this unique time to travel, our freedom, and the fact that our civilization is generally still thriving. But also more cognizant than ever that it can fall apart in an instant….or at least an archeological instant. We have to learn from history and react.
The happy travelers looking for their seats in the Amphitheater
Peace and love to all, especially to those who have recently fled their homes from an impending calamity.
Less Car, More Life 