Summer

On this Memorial Day weekend Americans (at least those of the upper Midwestern variety) generally mark the beginning of summer. There is no national holiday this weekend in Malta, but there is no doubt that summer has begun here, as well.

The first clue is the weather. We have been here for the warmest, driest winter on record, so the temperatures have been pretty moderate for our entire stay. But in the last week or so they have really shot upwards. Instead of low- to mid-70s, we're now in low- to mid-80s Fahrenheit. The sun is hot, the winds have calmed, and though we've had almost no rain, the large bathtub called the Mediterranean Sea surrounding the island contributes to humidity.

Stone beach near our flat on May 18 -- much more crowded now!

The second clue is the tourists. Our neighborhood has gotten decidedly more crowded. Most are Europeans. We do hear some American accents (though we've been fooled by Canadians, who sound like they're from the U.S.). In early May, cruise ships started docking in Valletta and disgorging hundreds for day tours. Those don't come to our neighborhood. But the folks who come for a week or two generally come here to Sliema.

So, the season has changed. It's definitely summertime in Malta.

Amalfi Coast

We met Francisco, our driver guide, at a central meeting spot about seven minutes walk from our hotel in Sorrento. We also met a half-dozen other Americans -- two from Oregon, two from Los Angeles, and two from Arizona -- and piled into a van together to drive along the seacoast to the south.

Isle of Capri on the far horizon

This rugged coastline is named "The Amalfi Coast" after the principle village along the route. Even with a bit of morning haze, the views were pretty spectacular.

Looking down on Positano

We were deposited in three of the villages to wander on our own a bit. We had a hour in Positano. The Greeks who first settled here told a story of how this little port and fishing town had been founded by the god, Poseidon, from whom it gets its name. The Romans didn't change the name of the town, even though they changed the name of the god to Neptune.

Selfie. We're getting better at these.

John Steinbeck put Positano, and this entire coastline on the map in a 1953 article in Harper's Bazaar magazine. American tourists have been flooding the place ever since.

Interior of famous seaside church at Positano. It's all Virgin Mary, no Jesus!

We drove on to Amalfi. Well actually, we crept along to Amalfi. I'm sure we could have walked there in the same amount of time. Traffic does not move smoothly on the narrow, winding road along the Amalfi coast. And our guide told us we were there on a light traffic day! It was mid-week, and it is not yet the high season.

Amalfi

Francisco pointed out Sophia Lauren's multi-million Euro summer home along the way (no good photo of that -- tourists don't get close).

Fountain in Amalfi with a hundred or so colorful tiny figures

From the 7th to 12th centuries, when Venice was still just a backwater, Amalfi was a maritime republic rivaling Genoa. Its merchant fleet traded throughout the Mediterranean, especially in Egypt, the Levant, and Anatolia. And its navy went to war against any who would interfere.

Cathedral of St. Andrew -- very Byzantine

The grand cathedral, dedicated to Saint Andrew the fisherman, reflects strong Byzantine influence. In the middle of the square is a statue of the local who supposedly invented the magnetic compass and revolutionized navigation at sea (not mentioned is the fact that the Chinese had it centuries before).

Fountain of St. Andrew, in cathedral square

Amalfi is also famous for production of thick, high quality, hand-made paper (something else stolen from the Chinese) that is still considered the top pick for wedding invitations and other fancy paper products in Italy.

View from Ravello

Our final stop was Ravello. The van had to really climb to get to this hilltop, which was once a citadel designed to hold of Saracens and pirates. Today, it's mostly just a nice view. The church here looks plain on the outside, but is supposed to be quite special inside. Unfortunately for us, preparations were underway for an afternoon wedding. We were not invited.

We did manage to discover some interesting shops, however, and to enjoy one last gelato before leaving Italy. After three trips there in the past four months, we probably won't be back for awhile.

Pompeii

We have forsaken our flock for a few days. Our students are adults, they should be able to get by without us now that that have lived in Malta for almost four months. So Mary and I boarded a cheap flight for Rome, then caught a fast train to Naples, and from there a decidedly slower train to Sorrento.

The main street in Sorrento is a ped-mall on Sunday evenings.

We found a delightful little hotel (an overgrown B and B, really) a bit off the beaten track in Sorrento. And the track in Sorrento is well beaten, indeed! The place is packed with tourists. We have heard more American accents in the last 24 than in the previous three months.

View of Mt. Vesuvius from Sorrento in evening

From Sarrento it's only a 30 minute ride on the commuter train back to Pompeii Scavi (we passed it once already on the trip from Naples to Sorrento), and from the rail station, a very short walk to the main entrance to the archaeological site.

Paint on the exterior of this home urges a vote for "Cornelius" in an upcoming election

But we had signed up for a walking tour that met outside the secondary entrance, so we walked another 10 minutes or so. It would have been less, but we were walking slowly. We were quite early for the appointed meeting time for the tour.

Gladiator exercise and training facility, Pompeii

Our tour had ten people, all Americans, plus Carmine, our guide. Carmine provided background on the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Before 79 A.D., Vesuvius had a nice cone shape with a single peak, but its top was blasted away.

This was a "Plinian," or explosive eruption (think Mount St. Helens in Oregon back in 1980) that sent a wave of super-heated gasses across the city, killing all humans and animals in its path within seconds. The wave of gas was quickly followed by the deposit of tons of volcanic ash (formerly the top of the volcano itself) that accumulated to 20 feet and deeper within the next three days. 

The odeon, or theater, in Pompeii

Some of the city remains undisturbed beneath this ash even today, but about two thirds of the city has been excavated, beginning in the middle 1700s, but in a more intense and systematic way beginning in the mid-1800s.

Stepping stones allow Pompeians to avoid stepping water or muck in the streets

In many ways, it would have been better if these early archaeologists had not uncovered so much. The challenge now is to preserve what has been uncovered. 

The amphitheater is remarkably well-preserved

Exposure to wind, rain, sun, and thousands of human visitors has not been kind to the ruins. But it remains the best preserved and most remarkable of all Roman sites.

The locker room in one of the baths at Pompeii

Pompeii has allowed researchers to see exactly how Romans lived 2000 years ago. Because people did not have time to flee, stove-tops have been discovered with the last meal covered in ash when it was still warm. Eggs were preserved, unbroken. The first century equivalent of "fast food" remained on the serving counters of shops along the main streets. 

Erotica decorates the walls of a brothel in Pompeii

Even the bodies of the dead were preserved -- sort of.

One of the plaster casts encasing skeletal remains

When the ash covered the body of a victim, human or animal, it clung close, then hardened. As the flesh decayed, the skeletal remains were left in a cavity that matched the exact shape of the body at the moment of death. The 19th century archaeologists figured out that when they encountered one of these cavities, they could inject plaster into it. The hardened ash acted as a mold.

Detailed plaster work in another bath

A number of these plaster molds remain on display at the site. On many, the detail is such that the facial expression, and even the folds of their clothing, can be clearly seen.

Frescoes on the wall of a villa just outside of ancient Pompeii

Other organic materials, such as wooden doors, wagon wheels, and even tree trunks, were molded in the same way, long after the wood itself had decayed to dust.

A dining room. Romans reclined on cushions to eat from a table placed in the middle

The finished plaster walls of homes and businesses were preserved with their shape and their paint intact. Sometimes, even graffiti was preserved, or the equivalent of a political yard sign, the candidate's name painted on the exterior plaster wall of a house.

At the Temple of Venus, Pompeii

Excitement in Sliema

We had no sooner gotten off the plane in Malta, returning from our excursion to Sicily, than we heard that there was big excitement back in our neighborhood, near our flats. The news was buzzing about the airport, even though the event was only an hour old (it's a small island and word travels fast).

A popular restaurant, where our group has had a couple of large pizza parties, and where Mary and I have eaten a couple of times ourselves and with guests, had a balcony collapse. Eight French tourists were injured when the balcony gave way and they were thrown to the rocks at the edge of the sea.

Ambulances and emergency crews converged. The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) even dispatched a patrol boat to assist in the rescue. (The AFM is both army and navy -- Malta is too small for separate services.)

Fortunately, all survived and are expected to recover. We hope the restaurants recover, too.

Taormina

Our final group excursion with our students has just completed. We took a short flight to Sicily to spend three days in the seaside village of Taormina.

Educationally, we wanted the students to see another, very nearby island in order to compare cultures. Sicily and Malta have shared a great deal of common history. In fact, for several centuries Malta was considered part of Sicily. Until the 20th century, most educated Maltese spoke Italian (many still do, thanks to Italian TV broadcasts), and Italian was the official language of the Maltese legal system up until World War II. But today, Malta is one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe, while Sicily has been known for poverty. What were the crucial differences?

View from Taormina

We left our flat at 4 a.m. to take the early morning "red eye" Air Malta flight to Catania. It's only a 120 mile trip, so the flight doesn't take long. It was a longer wait in the airport for our bus to Taormina. We arrived too early to check into our hotel, but dumped our bags and set off to see some sights. The view of the Mediterranean across to the Italian mainland, about 25 miles away, is spectacular!

Castello Saraceno at the top, Chapel of the Madonna of the Rock below the cloud on the left.

We walked around the village, enjoying the views and the architecture, visiting the Duomo (cathedral) and some smaller churches. Then we started climbing... and climbing... and climbing our way up the Salita Castello path toward a ruin called "Castello Saraceno" or "Castle of the Saracens" (although the present ruins date from the Norman period in the 11th-14th centuries, after the Arab "Saracens" were gone).

Mary and Maddie making the climb

The castle ruins are permanently closed, so most of us stopped well below the summit at a little chapel called, "Santuario Madonna della Rocca" or "Santuary of the Madonna of the Rock." The view was amazing. The little chapel, not so much.

Outside of Santuario Madonna della Rocca

The chapel is a cave that  has been used as a place of worship, probably since Roman times. On the wall above the altar is a smudge of paint behind some glass. Some people see an icon of the Virgin and Child in it. There are legends of apparitions here, as well. Clearly some were moved by it.

On the way down, Meggie leads our whole group on the narrow steps.

After our climb down, we enjoyed some excellent Sicilian pizza together, then went back to the hotel to check in. Most of the students headed for the beach, but discovered that stinging jellyfish didn't make for good swimming. Mary and I spent some relaxing time reading.

Italian mainland on the horizon

On Sunday we had arranged for a guy named Mario to take us hiking on Mt. Etna, one of Europe's largest and most active volcanoes. Mario's pals, Sergio and Luigio, showed up instead (turns out that Mario isn't just a guy, but a fairly large company). The group split between two vans and off we went.

One of the many small caldera on the side of Mt. Etna. Those red dots are people.

Etna was a longer drive than I had expected, but the scenery was great. Some smaller craters and lava flows had left their marks, and the look down over Catania and the rest of Sicily's northeastern coast was spectacular.

Grabbing some photos while enduring the cold wind on Mt. Etna

One of the vans had transmission trouble on the steep incline, which caused a glitch in the schedule. It meant a little more time in the hiking zone while another vehicle was being brought. No complaints about that...

Taking in the view from 6000 feet.

Until we got to the hiking zone! Not only is this a barren place where recent lava flow means almost no vegetation, but the wind at 6000 feet was icy and blasting at nearly 50 mph! Mary and I went down into one of the caldera to get out of the wind. Some students climbed higher, but most of us huddled in one of the restaurants for warmth.

Barely visible far in the background is the cable gondola to the top.

To go higher than this point on Etna, one has to take a gondola, and then 4-wheel drive vehicles will take folks around the main caldera at the top (for a price). But it is much too dangerous up there to go wandering around. And it takes at least two hours to make that trip, so we stayed at 6000 feet.

Entrance to one of the lava caves opened by construction of the roadway.

On the way down we visited a couple of lava caves. These are places where gases trapped in the lava flow make huge bubbles. They often aren't discovered until road-building or other construction happens to open them up.

Piazza at Castlemola

At at park in a village on the side of the volcano we stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch, and also a chance to taste some Etna wine, cheese, and honey. Then we hit the road back toward Taormina.

Looking back at Mt. Etna from the castle ruins at Castlemola

We stopped on the way back at Castlemola, a village higher up the mountain, above Taormina. There are ruins of another Norman-era castle here, with spectacular views looking down on the castle and chapel we had climbed up to the day before. The village was a quaint place with narrow, winding streets.

A sporty little Bug at Castlemola

The day was long, but a fascinating look at how the volcano and the sea have shaped this place and its culture.

Monday was a free day. We did some shopping and looked at a few more churches and interesting buildings, visited some Greek ruins, enjoyed gelato, and a good lunch. We read our books by the hotel pool for awhile until it was time to catch the bus to the airport and make our way back to Malta.

Caravaggio

Our final class field trip today was to the Co-Cathedral of St. John in Valletta. (It's called a "co-cathedral" because Malta has two cathedrals but only one bishop, so the two churches share one title.) Our primary purpose in going there was to see two famous 17th century paintings by the famous artist, Caravaggio.

Nave and high altar, St. John's Co-Cathedral. This was said to be the grandest church anywhere in Europe, south of Rome.

Prof. Keith Sciberras, head of the department of art history, was our very engaging guide. He explained Caravaggio's life, focusing on the year and a half the artist spent in Malta while a fugitive from Rome, fleeing a murder charge.

Victory of the Great Siege on the back wall of the Co-Cathedral

Caravaggio's greatest of six works completed in Malta is the Beheading of St. John. This enormous and shockingly graphic painting is the focal point of an oratory, or chapel, adjacent to the Co-Cathedral.

Looking down a side aisle at St. John's Co-Cathedral

The oratory had two primary functions. It was the place of instruction for novices preparing to become Knights in the Order of St. John. And it was the place where condemned criminals would spend the eve of their execution, being urged to repentance by priests.

Beheading of St. John the Baptist (can't be seen here, but Caravaggio, who rarely signed his paintings, signed his name on this one -- in St. John's spilled blood -- just for added macabre effect).

One guesses that both those preparing for their first battle, and those preparing for their final walk, would find Caravaggio's realist painting rather sobering! (Sorry, no photos allowed in the oratory so these last two photos of the artwork are stolen from the web.)

St. Jerome

The other work by Caravaggio, his portrait of St. Jerome, hangs in the same room 

Birgu

This week we have the last two field trips related to our history course at the University of Malta. Today we visited two sites, separated very little by distance, but separated more than three centuries in time.

Our first stop was Birgu. This was a tiny village in the Grand Harbor area of Malta when the Knights of the Order of St. John arrived in 1530. At that time the only urban area on the island was at Mdina.

16th century fortifications a Birgu

Mdina was a natural fortress, but much too far from the harbor for the Knights. Since the end of the Crusades, the Knights had evolved into "corsairs" -- basically legalized pirates, authorized by the Pope to harass shipping of the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

So the Knights expanded Birgu and quickly fortified it with a high limestone wall to make it a defensive position overlooking the harbor.

View across the Harbor to Valletta

It was a good thing they did, because in 1565 an Ottoman armada showed up to lay siege to Malta in an attempt to wipe out the menacing Knights once and for all, and to open the door for an invasion of Sicily, Naples, and eventually, Rome.

In "The Great Siege of Malta" about 7,000 defenders managed to hold off more than 25,000 attackers here. Casualties on both sides were enormous, and Birgu was nearly leveled, but the Knights prevailed.

The residence of the Executioner (right across the street from the office of the Inquisition). Note the axes carved into the stone above the window!

After the Siege they rebuilt Birgu, and began work on Valletta as an even larger and better fortress. The expectation was that the Ottomans would be back soon to try again. But that attack never came. The Knights remained until Napoleon came along in 1798.

Fort Rinella is located less than a kilometer from Birgu, at the mouth of the Grand Harbor, overlooking the sea. But the two fortresses couldn't be more different.

Battle monument in the town square, Birgu

The British began construction of Rinella in 1878. The fort does not have high walls, but is instead dug into the ground. Rinella is small, because it was built only for a single canon: The 100-ton Armstrong, the largest muzzle-loading canon ever built.

With its steam-powered hydraulic loading mechanism, the Armstrong canon could be loaded and fired by a crew of only a half-dozen men. Another fort with an Armstrong canon was positioned on the opposite side of the Harbor, on the Sliema peninsula, not far from where we are staying. But that one was demolish after World War II.

The Armstrong 100-ton gun and guide.

The Armstrong canons were the doomsday weapons of their time. The British installed only four of them -- two here in Malta, and two at Gibraltar. With these four guns, strategists believed that Britain could control the entire Mediterranean. But their time did not last long. They were made obsolete by breech-loading canons. The Armstrongs were retired by 1904, never having fired a shot in anger.