Category: Uncategorized

Teatro di San Carlo

Another fine building brought to you by the House of Bourbon
The form of words they use is “the oldest continuously performing opera House in the world”. I suppose that excludes ancient Greek and Roman theatres used for the occasional opera.Built about 40 years before La Scala.
They say it was initially criticised for being too big. OK for ballet, but singers voices could never reach everyone.
The boxes all have mirrors and no curtains o you could see and be seen by the king.
These days you can hire the royal box when the President doesn’t need it.
What are these angry angels doing? The guide said they are mythical figures copied from Herculaneum.
Name the composer. He doesn’t look happy.

Naples

Galleria Umberto I
Maccas at Galleria Umberto. I might come back here
Saint at Galleria Umberto
Via Toledo on a sunny Saturday afternoon
This looks like a good street fo evening dining. Pre Covid this would have been my first stop, maybe not this time.
Instead I had a Poke Bowl. I think it’s a chain. Low carb meal, not much oil, therefore hardly any customers.
Teatro San Carlo, one of the oldest opera houses in Europe. I had planned to go there on Saturday night, but the performance was delayed to Tuesday because of Covid. I don’t know what they meant, probably it took out too many of the cast and orchestra. Anyway there is a tour this morning, I’ll go to that.

La Culla

Run by the Oblate Suore del Bambino Gesù. My room was on the top at the left.
I was in the Humility room

Positano

Previously I have stayed on the bus to Amalfi, but now I am visiting Positano
The church of the Assumption
Congratulations are in order
On the beach
Excavations under the present day church. This is a Roman villa that was covered by ash from the eruption of Vesuvius
A mausoleum that was later built over the then hidden villa. The seats were where the bodies of the monks were dessicated. The bodies were removed in the 1980’s
A second excavation is of an early church. This then became the crypt of a medieval church above. That was expanded to become the present day church. The hole in the roof of the crypt was used to lower the bodies of the dead monks after the funeral. This crypt/mortuary was discovered in the 1960’s by the parish priest. He expected to find the crypt but also discovered the bodies of the monks in the mausoleum which had been added to the crypt.

Some artifacts which were discovered in the original Roman holiday villa. The guide said that there are certainly many other Roman villas under the streets and houses of Positano but they have only been able to excavate the one under the Church of the Assumption.