Sunday, April 16th, 2023 Queen Victoria, Naples, Italy
Updated: Jul 4, 2023
Over the past 3 days we’ve steamed north-west from Port Said in Egypt through the Mediterranean Sea; last night we squeezed through the narrow Straits of Messina that separate the mainland of Italy from the island of Sicily – it’s been very smooth sailing. This morning the Queen Victoria coasted into the Bay of Naples and was secured alongside the classic 1930’s cruise terminal that serves the city of Naples. The sky was very overcast with slight drizzle and rain forecast for most of the day. Today we had a ship’s excursion from Naples to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. The one-hour bus journey south from Naples to Sorrento took us past Mount Vesuvius, Herculaneum and Pompeii – through tunnels and around hairpin bends on a road that hugged the mountainside above the coast. Our guide was excellent and blended his deep historical and local knowledge with a sharp wit – he even explained the basics of volcanology while describing the fate of Pompeii. The main square in Sorrento is dominated by a large Café / Bar called Fauno Bar – we had fond memories of our previous visit to this café and were very happy to see it still in business. With about 2 hours of free time before lunch, we headed for Fauno and indulged in superb coffee and pastries. Sorrento is a great town for wandering; really narrow cobbled streets lined with shops, restaurants, and market stalls. We visited the relatively small cathedral of St. Phillip and St. James, first built in the 11th century but we got to see the Romanesque-style version dating to the 15th century – it was very peaceful. Lemons are a big thing in this region, literally! Market stalls were selling lemons the size of bowling balls – it’s not surprising that the aperitif Limoncello hails for around here. Back in the main square we rejoined the tour group and headed to Ristorante L’Abate for lunch; the entire place had been reserved for our small group and the staff gave us a warm welcome. The food at L’Abate was very good; three classic Italian courses with as much wine as you could drink – since we would soon board a boat, I went easy. After about an hour on the bus we reached Salerno and boarded a small ferry for our cruise up the coast to Amalfi. The weather had worsened with rain, heavy at times and overcast clouds that reduced visibility a bit – thankfully the seas were not too rough, though there were still some who “cast their accounts to Neptune”. The tour was supposed to offer views of the Amalfi coast from the boat, but unfortunately the weather did not behave – going up onto the open deck was not advisable and the windows of the boat were easily steamed up. Nevertheless we did catch a few glimpses of towns that appeared to be stuck onto the hillsides or jammed into a tiny valley. Soon the boat began to slow down, and we glided into Amalfi harbor, docking very close to the center of the town. Our guide had told us that the relics of St. Andrew were buried in the Amalfi cathedral, with him being the patron saint of Scotland, it piqued our interest to try and find out how he ended up in Amalfi. A short walk from the pier brought us to the tiny Piazza Del Duomo which was dominated on one side by the cathedral – the original version dates to the 9th century. The whole cathedral now operates as a museum and we ascended a gigantic staircase from the piazza to the entrance, paid a small entry fee and wandered in. A small, cloistered square, planted with beautiful palm trees, led to a large room with museum exhibits, and from here we descended a staircase to the crypt in our quest to find St. Andrew. The small crypt was magnificently decorated – especially the arched ceiling with beautiful, gilded stonework inlaid with religious paintings. The space was dominated by a shire to dedicated to St. Andrew – a large bronze statue depicted the saint baring his famous X-shaped cross. But where were the relics? None of the signage in the cathedral was in English, so we had a hard time trying to figure things out. We finally noticed the space underneath the statue was lit up and visible through a gilded grating and by getting down on our knees we could see the top of a cylinder that appeared to be buried in the center of the open space that was littered with coins. I think we found the relics. Later research indicated that the remains of St. Andrew were brought to Amalfi from Constantinople in 1206 during the 4th crusade. However, records from this period are very sketchy and it appears that bits of St. Andrew ended up all over the place, including Scotland. Back in the piazza we just had time for coffee and pastries, thus ending the day the way it started, before making a dash for the boat and our journey back to Salerno and the bus ride back to the ship in Naples.
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