Catanzaro and Reggio di Calabria

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of updates.  I don't really have any excuse, except that I've been feeling lazy.  All this travelling has really worn me out!

I spent two days in Catanzaro and one in Reggio di Calabria and, since I didn't do a whole lot in Reggio, I decided to just do one update for the pair.  My time in Catanzaro was split between the old city (WAY up a hill) and a nearby archaeological park, originally the city of Scolacium (birthplace of the late-antique historian Cassiodorus, who wrote a now lost history of the Goths).  This is what it looks like from the top:

Catanzaro was originally settled by the Greeks (like most of southern Italy), and changed hands a number of times throughout the ages.  But, thanks to earthquakes and the bombings from WWII, a lot has changed.  The city itself was quite nice, but I got the impression that it's rarely visited by tourists.  It has a port nearby and everyone who comes to the area goes for the beaches, rather than the history.  As a result, some churches I'd hoped to get into were closed.  Nevertheless, it was a good time.  I started off by going to the Chiesa di San Giovanni, built over the ruins of an old Norman castle.  Here are a few shots:

The single remaining tower from the castle

Some of the foundations of the fortress, as seen from inside the church.  There were quite a few of these, but the glare from the glass makes it almost impossible to take a decent picture.

Exterior of San Giovanni

I next went to the Chiesetta (little church) di Sant'Omobono, a Byzantine church from the 11th century.  Sadly, this was one of the churches thst appeared to be closed indefinitely.  I went back a couple times at different times of the day to be sure, but it was never open.  Oh well...

I didn't take any more pictures of the city itself, as there wasn't anything particularly remarkable to capture.  The Duomo dates to the 12th century, but was almost entirely destroyed during the war and so nothing remains of its medieval past.

The archaeological park was really excellent.  I was the only person there, and the ruins were on par with areas of Rome (although obviously on a much smaller scale).  It was really nice to not be mobbed by tourists when trying to see things like this:

Byzantine necropolis at the top of a hill

Ruins of an arena (like the coliseum, but smaller)

Another view

The Roman forum, in use until the mid 7th century (when it, along with the rest of the town, was abandoned in favor of a more defensible location)

Amphitheater

This all was really spectacular, and the cherry on top was the remains of a Byzanto-Norman basilica in the park, a bit closer to the water.

As this was in the apse area, I think it was probably the crypt

 The whole park was really excellent, and I wouldn't have even known about it if it weren't for the couple running the B&B I was staying at (incidentally, if you should ever be in Catanzaro, I highly recommend Il Cedro B&B.  Couldn't have been better!)

I next went to Reggio di Calabria.  Another extremely ancient city, it too was ravaged by earthquakes and WWII.  There was a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the early 20th century, killing tens of thousands and leveling the city.  The city itself was very nice (and pretty modern, because it's almost entirely rebuilt in the past century), but there wasn't anything still standing that was of interest to me.  The main reason I went was for the Museo Nazionale, which has a fantastic underwater archaeology collection, including the Riace bronzes (Google them, they're superb!).  Sadly, the museum is closed for renovation.  Luckily the Riace bronzes and a few other pieces were viewable in a different location, but I was hoping to wander in the museum for hours.

In retrospect I would have given myself more time here, which sounds weird since there's not much left.  There are, however, lots and lots of small archaeological sites scattered throughout the city, in addition to an archaeological park.  Everything is fairly spread out though, and I didn't really have time to explore extensively.  I did come across the remains of a private Roman bath, likely a part of a patrician household.

Notice the mosaic "dressing area" (according to the sign) in the middle

I'm currently in Palermo, and I'll be home in just a few days!  Hard to believe a month has almost gone by.  Tomorrow I'll be going to Agrigento (home to the best preserved Greek temples in the world), and on Tuesday I'll be in Cefalu.  Hopefully I'll be updating 3 more times, plus a sum-up once I'm home.  Thanks for reading!

Travel Woes

I haven't updated in the past few days for 2 reasons.  First, the internet has been especially questionable, and I haven't had much opportunity to get online for more than a minute or 2 until today.  And second, thanks to some problems with train and bus connections, I haven't really had the chance to do much of anything.

As I mentioned in my previous post about Brindisi (at least I think I mentioned it here...it may have only been on Facebook.  Either way, not important), I was having a lot of trouble sleeping because of the heat.  When Sunday rolled around I headed to Lecce, with the intention of going to Otranto for the day.  My exhaustion, coupled with the difficulty of getting to Otranto on a Sunday (it's not on the main state rail line, so you have to rely on regional buses and trains), caused me to decide to just take the day off.  I wandered around Lecce for a bit, but I don't do much of anything worth noting.

After Lecce was Taranto.  I intended to spend a full day there, but unfortunately my train from Lecce ran about 20 minutes late, causing me to miss my connection and forcing me to sit around in the train station for a few hours for the next one.  As a result I made it to Taranto, but I had a lot less time than I would have liked there.  The old city still feels more medieval than just about anywhere else I've been thus far.  It was a lot of fun to wander around; I really wish I'd had more time.  I saw two churches while I was there, San Domenico and the Duomo.

San Domenico is a church originally built in 5th century, while the current structure dates to the early 14th.

The original structure is supposedly visible beneath the church, but I couldn't find any way to access it.  There were a number of strange squares on the ground that looked like they may have granted access, but they were clearly shut.  Fairly disappointing, but c'est la vie.

The Duomo was more encouraging.  This church was built in the 11th century and, although updated over the years, is still essentially the same Byzantine-Norman structure.

Greek style cupola, rather than the western dome

On the left side you'll see two peacocks, early Christian symbols of eternal life, and on the right an eagle with outstretched wings

Notice how different all the columns are; I'm not certain, but I'm pretty confident when I say that these are collected from the ancient monuments of the city.  Taranto is extremely ancient; in fact, it's mentioned in the Odyssey.  Those floor mosaics date to the Norman period, and there were a few patches scattered around the cathedral.

Even better than the church itself was the crypt.  This dates to the Byzantine period, and once again it appears that the columns were collected from around the city.  I ran into the same problem as in Brindisi (no lights), but this time I remembered that my phone has an excellent flashlight built in.

Notice the lack of bases on these columns; I expect that originally this structure was much deeper, and when the current church was built on top it became a crypt.  Just a hunch though.

I wasn't using a flash to take these pictures, but rather just the light on my cell phone.  So, that about wraps it up for Taranto.  Nice city though; I'd certainly consider coming back.

I writing this from Catanzaro, where I'll be until Friday morning.  Getting here was hell (missed trains, long waits at the station, trains crammed with people and no AC, etc.), but Catanzaro is quit nice.  I'll be headed to Reggio on Friday, and then Palermo Saturday.  One week, and then it's back to Baltimore!

Also, the internet here in Catanzaro is good enough that I've started to upload all my photos to a Photobucket album, in case you'd like to see any more of any particular place.  Here is the link: http://s1049.photobucket.com/albums/s390/byzinitaly/

I'm getting them up there little by little, but as I'm writing this all of Istanbul is done.  If there are problems, please let me know!

Finalized Itinerary

The time has finally come, I'm on my way!  I'm currently sitting in the airport in Detroit, waiting for a flight to London this evening.  My itinerary has changed a little bit since the last update, so here's the current plan:

·         Istanbul-6/20-6/25

·         Ravenna-6/25-6/29

·         Rome-6/29-7/3

·         Bari-7/3-7/5

·         Brindisi-7/5-7/8

·         Otranto-7/8-7/9

·         Taranto-7/9-7/10

·         Catanzaro-7/10-7/13

·         Reggio Calabria-7/13-7/14

·         Palermo-7/14-7/19

I think most places I'll be staying have wifi, so I should be updating this fairly frequently.  Keep your eyes peeled!  I should be putting up the first update from the trip either Thursday or Friday.  Wish me luck!

More Detailed Itinerary

I've started booking tickets to various places, and my plans have changed somewhat since the last post.  At this point things are pretty well set, though.  So here's the plan:

• Arrive in Istanbul on June 20th, stay for 4 days
• Ravenna for 3 days
• Rome for 4 days
• Bari for 2 days
• Brindisi for 3 days
• Otranto for 1 day
• Taranto for 1 day
• Catanzaro for 2 days
• Reggio Calabria for 3 days
• Palermo for 3 days
• Back to Baltimore on July 20th!

If you click on the name of each city I've listed, you'll be taken to the wikipedia page about.  Each of these places has either a castle, cathedral, palace, or something of the sort that's built during the 11th century or earlier, which is the primary time frame I'm dealing with.

So as you can see from my last post, I've cut out a few places and am staying longer in a few others instead.  I think this will make the whole experience less hectic for me, plus I think it's more likely to wish I had more time somewhere than to be bored and wish it was time to leave.

Have any of you been to any of these cities?  Any can't-miss sites?  Leave a comment!

Where I'm going and for How Long

Although I still haven't bought any tickets yet, I've started to narrow down where I'll be going this summer, as well as when.  I'll update again when things are more set in stone, but at the moment I'm planning on leaving around the last week of June, and returning in the first week of August.  The tentative plan is to:

• Spend about 4 days in Istanbul, Turkey.  This is primarily to acquaint myself with Byzantine art and architecture, so that I'll be able to notice its influence more readily.  Plus, it's Istanbul: how could I not go there?  After that, I'll be going to Italy for the remainder of the trip.
• About 3 days in Ravenna
• About 4 days in Rome
• For the remainder of the trip I'll be in Southern Italy.  I'm planning to go to cities such as Naples, Salerno, Amalfi, Benevento, Bari, Brindisi, Otranto, Taranto, Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria, and Palermo.

 For the most part I'll be in these cities for no more than 2 days, and in most cases only 1.  At least that's what I'm thinking at the moment; I may change my mind and go to far fewer places, but spend more time in each one, maybe taking some side trips to nearby villages.  Like I said, when I have more things nailed down (and when I've spoken with my adviser about my plans in greater detail), I'll update with an actual itinerary.