CAPRI

My traveling companion, TC, and I spent about four days on the isle of Capri during our two month tour of the Italian Islands. We arrived in Rome, took the train to Naples. Did some sightseeing, went to other islands then headed to Capri. The train ride to Sorrento was another visual experience for me with all the lushness of the vineyards, orange trees and flowers. Had a setback at the train station in Sorrento when we found out we could not leave our big pieces of luggage there overnight.  So we had to take everything with us to Capri.  The taxis are so high in Italy that we had decided we wouldn't use them anymore so we put all our luggage on a city bus and went down to the port.

Fortunately, I had enough time to walk around and take some beautiful shots of the Sorrento waterfront before the ferry left. It's a charming place but one I didn't want to linger in. Sheer cliffs rise up from the beaches with lovely hotels and other buildings perched on the edge of them.  The Excelsior Vittoria, a beautiful, luxury hotel, was right across from the dock. 

We took a small ferry on the Alilaura line and arrived in Capri in about half an hour. Capri was just as overwhelmingly beautiful as I had expected.  I had heard and read so much about it but it didn't disappoint me in the least.  It was simply enchanting. Here is a photo of Porto Grande to the left.

The next photo is Porto Grande to the left.

We walked around the Porto Grande area until we found the tourist office.  They helped us secure a hotel in Anacapri where we wanted to stay. 

So we loaded our luggage on a city bus again and off we went on one of the most daring rides of my life and also the most gorgeous.  Six switchbacks took us over Mt. Solaris with breathtaking views of the town of Capri, Porto Grande and the Gulf of Naples.

 I was disappointed that we didn't have a view of the water from our hotel, the Carmencita.  But I sat out on our back balcony and all the lushness of the surroundings had that magical effect on me again.  I still can't believe we're in the midst of vineyards, scotch broom, peach trees, and blooming pink hydrangea, geraniums, bougainvillea and on and on.  There was an interesting, abandoned 17th-18th century  palazzo right across from us.                                                                                 

In order to get to know our new town we were residing in, we took a stroll  through its small downtown area.  Found the Piazza Diaz with its lovely Santa Sophia Church built in the 1500's.  Later it was remodeled and acquired a pretty yellow and white Baroque façade of today.

Lining the piazza are attractive Majorlica-tiled benches. I sat with some of the local men of the town and had my picture taken by my TC.

We next took a bus to Capri going the same route down the six switchbacks hugging the mountain.  We walked in its small piazzetta filled with umbrella-topped tables and many more tourists than in Anacapri.  I loved the steps leading to the church filled with pots of geraniums. 

We had canneloni at Isadora's and were back in the high end prices of Rome again.  You definitely do pay a price for the places with a view in Italy.  We decided to sit out on the Terrace, drink a beer and watch the sunset.  It turned out to be the most spectacular sunset my TC had ever seen.  The sun crept from behind Mt. Solaris and set in a mist of pink and lavender hues over Ischia directly across from us.

Today was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice.    We had a very late breakfast on the lovely terrace of the hotel.  I was again entranced by the vegetation—poppies among the peach trees, geraniums, vineyards all around—surrounding me, teeming with earth's beauty.

The Chiesa di San Michele in Anacapri was first on our list for sightseeing.  The octagon-shaped church, more like a chapel, is famous for its Marjolica-tiled floor depicting the Garden of Eden and the explusion of Adam and Eve.  The tiles were brought from Naples and the artist was Leonardo Chiaiese.  One can climb to the second floor to get an overall view of the entire work—a fascinating representation with various animals and water fowl.  A large serpent is coiled around an orange tree, not an apple tree, showing how the local people adapt stories of the Bible to their own times and region.  My TC also liked the colored marble in the altar done almost like mosaics.

We discovered a narrow alleyway and found that most of the people of the town walk along these rather than on the sidewalks of the main road like we had been doing.   There was a section full of stalls and small shops.  I succumbed to a pretty, wooden, music box inlaid with pieces making up the design of a lute, its music and scrollwork and, of course, it played the well-known song, Isle of Capri.                    

The Villa San Michele was at the end of the path.  Owned by a Swedish
doctor named Axel Munthe, after Munthe's death in 1945, a foundation was formed to oversee the property.  It is full of Roman sculpture dug up on his property and the surrounding area.  Caesar Augustus and, later, Tiberius had twelve villas scattered over the island so it used to be possible to still unearth genuine Roman objects of art and perhaps still is.

The bedroom was my favorite with Roman arches, an attractively-designed iron bed and a full-length, bronze, male statue.  The loggias were nice, filled with antique busts, benches, and columns. The gardens were the true delight!  They were arranged in tiers full of hydrangeas, impatients, bougainvillea and jasmine to give them a wonderful scent. 

At the end of the garden was another of my favorite vistas.  Straight below were the ruins of the Baths of Tiberius amid turquoise-splattered water. But the whole panorama consisted of Capri, Porto Grande, Sorrento and the mainland, the Gulf of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius, the same view we first had while climbing up to Anacapri on the bus but in an even more beautiful setting.   I took a lot of pictures from this spot.

Going by bus to Capri, we walked through the town to the other side of the island.   We strolled through the Gardens of Augustus dating back to his period and came to a great lookout where we could see the famous Faraglioni, the three, tall, limestone, offshore rocks. 

There were captivating coves all along this coast.  We saw the pre-runner to the switchback road on the other side that the bus travels.  This is named the Via Krupp after the designer, the arms manufacturer, and is a paved path  with switchbacks that eventually straightens out and goes to Marina Piccola.  We were tempted to traverse it as it was downhill all the way but decided to go by bus instead.

Stopped first and had a granita, similar to a snowball, but much tastier as it is frozen fruit juice.  My traveling companion had a lemon while I had a peach.  Walking back into Capri, we decided to take a cab to the Villa Jovia, the only remaining villa of Tiberius on Monte Tiberio. They had no bus that went there.  We soon learned we couldn't go by cab either.  The only way is a long hike up the mountain on the northeast side of the island.  We decided to wait until tomorrow to see whether we wanted to do that climb or not.

The Capriots have done nothing to exploit their Roman origins.  They tolerate the day trippers coming over only to see the Blue Grotto like that's the only attraction here.  Then they are left at peace at nightfall. 

We now had the choice of a boat ride around the island or a bus ride to Marina Piccola which is the small marina used mainly for swimming.  We chose the Marina Piccola but it was a bad choice.  All the restaurants were just closing but we did manage to have a snack of fried mashed potato and a beer.  Then we had to wait in line forever because all the swimmers were finished for the day and wanted a ride back to their hotel.  We did get to see the Saracen Tower but more importantly, the Siren's Rock or Promotory, famous in Homer's book The Odyssey.  So Capri was the home of those alluring women who so captivated sailors that they never wanted to leave.  This was long before the orgies of Tiberius. Perhaps in modern times, they keep on with these traditions.

Taking the bus back all the way to Anacapri, we got off at the Caesar Augustus Hotel.  We went out on its spectacular terrace looking at the same glorious view described before.  But at the end of the Terrace, there is a statue of Augustus with his arm raised and his finger pointing out the most gorgeous part of his realm.  I took some special photos here.  Picked up a hotel brochure from the desk.  I think I will plan to stay here on my next trip to Capri.

We had tickets for a concert in the chapel at the Villa San Michele.  Had planned to change clothes before we went but we didn't have time so went in our shorts.  I really felt out of place.  The Swedish Minister of the Interior and his wife were there as well as many nicely-dressed locals.

It was a piano concert given by Lotte Jekeli.  Her family was from Transylvania but she was born in Eisenach, Bach's birthplace, and she studied music at the Conservatory of Weimar.  Mt TC and I had visited these places and many more on a trip to Germany the previous winter.  We had spent New Year's with Klauspeter and Jutta Seibel at their home outside of Hamburg.  He is the Music Director of the Louisiana Philamonic Orchestra in New Orleans and I just finished up two years as President of Symphony Volunteers, Inc, their support group.  Normally, I would have gone up and introduced myself and asked if she knew the Seibels.  Jutta was an opera singer.  But we didn't mingle, just enjoyed the concert.

Her repertoire was splendid.  First, she played a Bach Partita then Sonata Opus 28 Pastorale by Beethoven.  My favorite was Impromptu Opus 90 by Schubert and she closed with a beautiful Ballad Opus 47 by Chopin.  The crowd was so enthusiastic that she played two encores.  The setting again was magical, the chapel being lit by candlelight.  While she was playing, I gazed out of one of the Gothic windows and there framed between the window and a Roman column with a bunch of red roses was Mt. Vesuvius.  You just could not ask for more beauty at one moment than this.  We hope to go to as many concerts and operas as we can find during our trip.  This first one had certainly been delightful.

This whole atmosphere reminded me of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where I had rented homes several times in the summer and lived there.  It was so cosmopolitan although small like here.  I was beginning to think I might like to try living here for awhile. I had thought about living in Anacapri before coming on the trip and now experiencing it just made me want to do it sometime.  I could walk the alleyways, go everywhere by bus.  It is possible.  I also think I'm ready to take on St. Paul de Vence with its steep hills and steps, another place I've wanted to live in for a few months and brush up on my French.

The night was extra clear so we walked on the same terrace where we had taken all those wonderful photos earlier today.  We saw the lights of the Bay of Naples and Capri and as far away as the Bay of Salerno.  Then we took the alleyway back to the Piazza della Vittoria, the other main square of Anacapri.

The Restaurant Barbarossa beckoned to us.  We were going to sit outside but it suddenly became very windy so we went inside.  Our menu explained that Barbarossa was an Arab from Algeria who had terrified this area and took over possession of Capri.  We had seen the remains of his great castle fortress from the villa San Michele today and had also caught glimpses of it while climbing the switchbacks on the bus.  Barbarossa ravaged the island in the 1540's, followed by Dragut.  But those days are over now and the only ravaging is done by the many tourists.  But Anacapri is more isolated and doesn't have as many.  We had a delicious pizza and Tiberio red wine, made here in Anacapri. 

We took another bottle back to our room.  This really did seem like the longest day of the year and it was. 

We had a big surprise!  It rained all night after Sergio, our friend in Naples, told us it never rained in the summertime.  Also, we never suspected it after that clear view we had last night on the terrace.  We went to breakfast then washed out our clothes. It turned out we had just taken a morning off and it did us a lot of good.  I was thankful for the bad weather. 

We walked down to the Piazza Diaz again and lunched at the pretty restaurant bordering the square with large pots of geraniums in bloom.  It's called Materita and our waitress told us it was named after a tower on the road to Faro.  So we looked it up on our map which we obtained free from the tourist office.  We also discovered there were two more bus routes on the island in directions we hadn't explored yet. 

Fried calamari and prawns were what I ordered and shouldn't have been surprised when the shrimp arrived with the heads still on and fried in their shells.  I thought I'd never forget the seafood platters my daughter and I had ordered in a restaurant when on our trip to Venice.  She had said that everything on her plate was looking at her.  Our seafood platters in New Orleans are very different.  We had another good local wine named Paesoniello with a nice picture of men and women harvesting the grapes.  It is made by the Fratelli Brunetti who seem to bottle all the wine made in Anacapri.  We did have a bottle of white wine bottled by a cooperative in Capri.

The weather had cleared beautifully so we decided to go to Marina Grande and take the boat trip around the island.  As much as we had been around the port and in tourist offices, we hadn't found out that these boats only leave at 9:30 every morning and only if the weather is good.  We checked on hydrofoils to Positano on the Amalfi coast or to Salerno.  Decided to take the one to Salerno which leaves at 5:00 tomorrow.  We were really glad now that we hadn't been able to leave our luggage in Sorrento so didn't have to go back there.

We took the funivia or furnicular up to Capri just to say we had done it. I especially liked the tile wall mural depicting various historical events and characters of Capri. 

We didn't feel up to the hike to Villa Jovis so decided to explore through the other, new bus routes we had discovered earlier.  Went back to Anacapri where we took the bus to Faro on the southwest point called Punta Carena.  Beautiful villas in abundance lined the road as we left Anacapri but then olive groves took over and we came to a wilder, more natural part of the island.  The road passed right by the Torre Materita then ended at the lighthouse, the second largest in Italy, with the one at Genoa being the biggest.                                                         

Returning to Anacapri, we then took the bus to the Blue Grotto on the northwestern side.  All the young people on the bus were planning to go swimming there.  Upon arrival, we climbed down the steps to the grotto but one can't see anything from there.  You must go in a small boat or swim into the grotto.  No boats were there today as it was much too windy and they would have crashed upon the rocks.  I thought it was much too dangerous to swim, also, but a group of about ten people were doing so. 

Much to my utter amazement, my TC decided to take his clothes off on the spot and join the others.  I was left behind, gladly, to take pictures.  I was really worried about him when the first big wave took his body and almost lashed it against the rocks but he recovered and took hold of the guiding chain and disappeared into the grotto.  I knew he'd be okay then because it was calm inside and he was with other people.

He came out, swam around a bit, then climbed up on the stairs.  I took a great picture of him.  He looked so cute and I was very proud of him.  We watched some fishermen catch some small, gold fish.  I asked if they were sardines and they said no.  We watched them feed three to a cat who ate them whole.

We had a beer at the pleasant outdoor bar and restaurant with a pool area called Nettuno which was about to close.  Watched another gorgeous sunset as it again went behind Ischia.  Saw Mt. Vesuvius again, right opposite the Blue Grotto.  My TC thought the Grotto was beautiful and maybe I can go by boat tomorrow.

I persuaded my TC to take a new alleyway which I thought would take us right back to our hotel and it did.  It was full of private homes and gorgeous gardens, mainly with large branches of bougainvillea and potted plants of huge, pink hydrangeas.  Passed by a cemetery, one of the prettiest I've ever seen, with raised tombs as in New Orleans, sculptured angels and more potted, pink hydrangeas.  We walked by our abandoned house and found out it's named the Palazzo Ferraro and it is occupied. 

Had a light supper out on our balcony tonight—had delicious peaches, bread and wine.  Tried to go to sleep early because we had to get up early to catch the boat which goes around the island. 

Today was one of our craziest days but that occurred later.  The day began early—for us.  We woke up at 7:15, had breakfast and made it down to the port.  The weather was beautiful but it was very windy so I was afraid the boats wouldn't be going out and, unfortunately, I was right.  It was really incredible to watch the day trippers arrive and find out they couldn't go to the Blue Grotto.   They didn't know anything else to do.

When we got back to Piazza Vittoria in Anacaprti, we decided to take to chair lift, which goes to the top of Mt. Solaro. The highest spot on the island, it is just over a 1000 ft. but it, too, was closed because of wind.  So I would leave Capri without going to some of the main tourist attractions but that didn't matter to me.  I loved the ambience and beauty of the place more.

My TC decided we should definitely leave today.  If we waited for the weather to get good enough to take the boat trip, we might spend too much time here.  We went back to our hotel and told Carmencita and her husband that we were leaving.  They tried to get us to stay.  I told them I really loved Anacapri and wanted to come back and stay longer next time.  But on this trip, we had a full agenda so must try to go on as much as possible.  The husband called and got a reservation at the Hotel Solerno which made my TC happy. 

We decided not to do anymore sightseeing and just take off in the Italian tradition.  I wrote postcards and got my journal up-to-date out on our balcony.  Took a lot of pictures of this wonderful landscape we were part of for a short time.  Started trying to write a story about our palazzo across the alley with the mountain behind it with a cross on top.

I was really sad leaving Anacapri.  We had arrived not knowing anything about the island except a few books I had read beforehand. Now we felt almost like we had lived there.  We took the bus with all our luggage down to the port. 

We lunched on the waterfront, having pasta and our last of the good wine of the island. I went walking by all the shops lined up on the shore while my TC sat with the luggage.  I was looking for a clip to hold the top of my hair up.  When I asked several people where I could find one, they directed me to a dive shop and there it was—of all places!

We boarded the ferry Patrizia, better than a hydrofoil because you get to sit outside.  I just love being at sea.  The idea to go to Salerno was made just yesterday. I had thought we'd go back to Sorrento and take the bus along the Amalfi Coast and just pick a place to get off.  But this trip was stupendous as we got to see all the gigantic mountains along the way.  I knew all about the Amalfi Coast and the picturesque towns along the way but I had no idea that they were just tiny settlements at the base of the these mountains.

The view leaving Capri made me wish we could have taken a boat trip around the island but we got to see half of it including the Faraglioni from the sea. 

Sandra Forman Robert

1996      

RAVELLO-The Sound of Music from Heights of Splendor

                                                                   
What a glorious time we spent in and around Ravello!  Called the jewel of the Amalfi Coast, it's hardly undiscovered. But we hadn't heard of its Music Festival.

While traveling around southern Italy in the summer of 1996, we saw a brochure for it in the Tourist Office in Salerno where we were headquartered.  There was still room available for the night we wanted to go.  So we purchased the tickets and booked a room in nearby Scala, all accommodations being sold out in Ravello.

After our plans were made to go there, I saw a picture which showed the setting of the concert.  It was outdoors with the Mediterranean and Amalfi Coast and its environs in the background. Unbelievably beautiful, I couldn't wait to go and experience it.

So off we went by bus from Salerno to Scala.  Changing buses in Amalfi, we passed Atrani with its colorful tiled dome of the church of San Salvatore. The bus turned and it started climbing a winding road into the mountains. Around every turn, there were stupendous views of the sapphire-colored sea. Or the vineyards arrayed in terraces on the hills were seen plunging straight down to the coast. 

We went through a narrow gorge, which broadened somewhat into the Dragone Valley.  The bus stopped first at Pontine, a small, hilltop village.

Then it passed the turnoff to Ravello and curved around to Scala across the ravine from Ravello. 

The bus driver kindly dropped us at the doorstep of our hotel, the Villa Giuseppina.  We climbed down a flight of stairs, which led to an outdoor terrace.  Our eyes beheld such a beauteous view, the whole town of Ravello.  I could recognize the towers of the Duomo and the Villa Rufolo, which I had seen in postcards. We quickly climbed down further and were entranced by the different levels or terraces of the hotel. 

One had a large swimming pool, another a small restaurant and bar, and still others just providing places for the guests to recline. Then they could take in the views of the vineyards, the water, Scala and Ravello. Potted geraniums and flowing bougainvillea were in abundance everywhere. The genial owner greeted us as if we were members of his family.  He was the epitome of a courtly, hospitable Italian seignor. He inquired if we needed anything.  We told him we hadn't had lunch.

While we sat and soaked up the sun, his staff prepared a delectable pasta dish for us.  He introduced us to his daughter who brought forth a pitcher of white wine, which she told us she had made herself.  The flavor was marvelous and I was in awe of what they just took for granted. No one I knew ever made any wine!

After lunch, my traveling companion climbed up to our room on the top floor of the hostelry. He called me from the balcony to come see the view.  It was so high up that not only could we see Ravello but also the coastline and glowing water beyond.  We sat out on our balcony thinking how fortunate we were to be in this lovely place.

Scala is one of the three towns, which made up the Amalfi Republic formed in 839. It reached its golden age over a thousand years ago. Scala had two castles, one situated on the top of the mountain, the other on a peak overlooking the sea.  Plundered and burned by Robert Guiscard in 1073, it recovered only to be almost destroyed again by the Republic's arch-enemy, Pisa, in the years 1135 to 1137.

One of its claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of Fra' Gerardo Sasso.  He ran a small inn in Jerusalem for pilgrims who came to that city.  He founded the Order of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John, which later became the famous Order of the Knights of Malta who ruled over that island for countless years.

We changed clothes for the concert and walked into the small town of Scala to catch the bus to go to Ravello. The cathedral door was open so we stopped in for a brief visit to this old edifice dedicated to San Lorenzo.  Its pretty painted ceiling, white walls and chapel full of cherubs pleasantly surprised us with its loveliness.

The bus took us along the curving road to Ravello and dropped us off near the main piazza, where we found out that practically the whole town is just for pedestrians, no cars allowed. Ravello was founded as a Roman colony for the wealthy.  It was considered the most enchanting spot on the coast, which is the most beautiful in Italy.  So wrote Boccaccio in his famous work, The Decameron.  He even tells us that one of these extremely rich men was named Landolfo Rufolo.  I wonder if there is any connection between him and the Villa Rufolo where the concert is being held.

Ravello has conserved its monuments over the ages.  These attract many visitors as well as celebrities.  We thought we might see some tonight. There have been plenty in the past.  D. H. Lawrence, Greta Garbo who came here with her lover Leopold Stokowski, Jacqueline Kennedy, Gore Vidal who was made an honorary citizen, and King Vittorio Emanuele III who signed his abdication here in favor of his son Umberto II.

We first toured the Duomo, which was named after Ravello's patron, San Pantaleone, an obscure martyr.  Dating to the 12th century, it has some of the first bronze doors made in Constantinople, mullioned windows and a pulpit with superb mosaic work. There is a reason why Ravello has been called a treasure house of medieval art.

Now the Villa Rufolo beckoned me.   Built in the 11th century in the great period of the Amalfi Republic when there was trade with Sicily, the Arab world and even Constantinople, it bears the mark of exotic other cultures.  For fans of Wagner, of which I am one, it is of special importance.  Wagner had come here seeking a place that would suit him as the imaginary setting for the second act of his opera Parsifal.  He left a note in the guestbook on May 26, 1880, saying the magic garden of Klingsor has been found.

It really is lovely even in its half-ruined state. We went there early so we could walk around the garden and take pictures before a crowd of people arrived.  It was filled with palm trees, bougainvillea, fountains, architectural fragments, and flowers everywhere, always with resplendent views of the coastline and Mediterranean as a backdrop. Ravello has been called a balcony overlooking the Amalfi Coast and from here, you could certainly see why.  It has a natural setting that has few equals in the world.

We left and had dinner at the Caruso Belvedere, a gracious villa opened as a hotel over a hundred years ago by the grandfather of the present owner. He was a cousin of the famous opera singer Enrico Caruso.  On its premises are lovely flower gardens but more importantly, a well-tended vegetable garden and its own vineyard.  We had a bottle of its wine, which has a beautiful label with grape vines, coins and a view of the coast by Ravello.  It is called Gran Caruso.  This was accompanied by a meal of delectable seafood.

The concerts start late here, at nine o'clock.  So it was dark by the time we went back to the Villa Rufolo. In its 44th season, the Music Festival this year ran from June 7 to July 18.  There were 22 scheduled concerts which featured a wide assortment of European talent such as the sinfonia of Valencia, musicians from Salzburg, the ballet from Monte Carlo, the Philharmonics from Poland and Vienna as well as various groups from all over Italy. 

The concert started promptly and we sat back and enjoyed the beautiful strains of the all-Schubert offering. Listening to great music in such a visionary, dreamlike setting was a tremendously satisfying and exciting experience for us. What a remarkable endeavor.  I highly recommend it to everyone.

We took a cab back to Scala and our wonderful host was waiting for us to make sure that we got home okay.  What a perfect day!                                                                     

PROCIDA

A large sign proclaimed to the world—Home of Il Postino—as  our aliscafi landed at the beach.  We had taken this hydrofoil from Ischia, where we were spending a few days.  We had discovered an untouched jewel, Procida, in the Gulf of Naples.

Immediately upon debarking, we met Donato, a cabdriver and tour guide. We agreed to let him take us everywhere on this interesting island.  I asked about Il Postino, the Italian movie which had been nominated  for an Academy Award in the USA.  We had viewed it just before our trip to Italy. Donato said he would show us the place where it was filmed.  I thought it was the town with the port where we had just landed. But he said no, it was on the other side of the island.

Donato drove us straight there, a very short distance.  We climbed up some ramparts in the car.  My eyes beheld one of the most exquisite views I have ever seen.  On our map the place was called Corricella but Donato said its name was Pescatore.  He gave me time to take many pictures as I am a photography nut.

Ascending further on the same road, we passed the Castillo Aragonese, which was used as a prison in bygone days.  It is boarded up now and not being used for any purpose.  The town people all agree that they would rather have prisoners than waves of tourists destroying the ambience of their peaceful island.

The road twisted and turned as we kept on climbing until we reached the Abbey of San Michele. Built in the 11th c., the Abbey-church had a chapel dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. Inside, we beheld a life-size statue of St. Michael, made completely of silver.  He is the patron saint of the island. 

On his feast day, this statue is paraded all over the island.  At the main altar there were beautiful bouquets of Easter lilies and pink roses, left over from a wedding. 

Donato called us outside on a balcony where he told us the view was  Spettaculare.  The whole bay of Naples presented itself to us with excellent views of Mt. Vesuvius and Capri.

Next, we crossed the length of the island on a flat inland road, with high walls and no sidewalks. Donato started expounding, as he often did about everything on his beloved island.  This time he exclaimed that the whole island was a garden, mostly made up of lemon and orange trees.  He stopped the car and picked some lemon branches for me to smell their aroma. They were in full bloom so I could appreciate the wonderful fragrance it gave off.

At the end of the island we came upon Chiaiolella, which Donato called the touristic port.  Only private leisure craft were docked there.  On this tiny island you find three distinct port areas—a  port for big ships and ferries, a fisherman's port and a tourist port. 

We could see the tiny islet of Vivara joined to Procida by a foot bridge.  It is now a bird sanctuary.  Further on, we could see Mt. Epomea on the nearby island of Ischia.  Also, Donato pointed out three Aragonese Towers, which are no longer in use.

On our return, we stopped to look at some palatial villas behind wrought-iron gates.  They seemed out of place here in such a picturesque, somewhat backward place.  We also had some good views of the Castillo and Abbey.  We asked Donato to drop us off at Pescatore, rather than back at the port. We wanted to have more time to explore this lovely place on our own.  We had really enjoyed the trip with Donato.  There is nothing like being with someone who is so proud of his birthplace and loves it so much.

We had to climb down many steps before we came to Pescatore. Only one restaurant was open so we chose that one, of course.  We sat outside and ordered a bottle of local Procidan white wine. The name of the restaurant was Graziela. That was also the name of all the white wine.  And there's a story behind it.  Graziela was a girl who lived on the island in the 19th century.  The French author Lamartine visited the island.  Graziela fell in love with him and let him have his way with her. When he left, she fervently believed that he would come back.  He never did.  But he wrote a book about her called Graziela.

After lunch, we walked slowly up the stairs leading out of Pescatore, the same stairs that the beautiful girl star in Il Postino had climbed. We came which seemed to sum up Italy and the island for me—sex and religion.  With the sound of the women chanting the rosary in the background, a pedophile, big tomcat was forcing himself on a sweet, unwilling kitten!

We walked back to the port area.  My traveling companion brought three of the huggest lemons I'd ever seen.  I posed for pics.  Then it was time to take the boat back to Ischia.  What a wonderful day trip to this enchanting, unexplored bit of Eden.