Naples

In the footsteps of great authors of the past

October 28, 2012 , 0

The eagle-eyed among you might have observed a slight delay in my post this week. I’ve been basking in the sunshine of the south of Italy, hoping the genius of luminaries such as Ibsen, Byron, Hugo, Dumas, Woolfe, Dickens, et al, who roamed these streets, would rub off on me; recharging depleted batteries.

And indeed creative juices flowed, the imagination ran riot, amidst the startlingly clear blue Mediterranean waters …cruising round Capri, peering into mysterious caves …wandering up narrow streets, approached by smooth-talking, black-eyed, beguiling strangers by day …spooked by the shadowy recesses at night …Wonderful scenarios were conjured up by the soaring architecture …and the stunning Amalfi coast, playground of the rich and famous … who might also feature …Vesuvius, dominating the landscape, became a character in its own right …Peering into its crater brought the eruption of AD79 into vivid relief …Exploring the scenes of complete devastation below provided fertile material for … maybe an historical novel … set in Pompeii …or perhaps Herculaneum …And the amazing artefacts excavated from these sites, now housed in the museum in Naples, alongside other gems of the area, brought the culture, the lifestyle, the splendour close enough to smell …Why not have hair-raising chases along precipitous roads, a moment’s inattention away from certain death …a glimpse of those vertiginous views enough to have our hero in dire jeopardy …You get the idea. Fertile ground indeed. You’ll be glad I spared you the other 750 plus photos!