Sage Advice for the Traveler

The Villa Vergiliana: https://www.vergiliansociety.org/villa/

When I was a student in college, I had the privilege, in the fall of 1985, of spending a semester abroad in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS), more affectionately called the Centro. While we were on a two-week excursion to southern Italy and Sicily, we stayed a few nights at the Villa Vergiliana near Pozzuoli and Naples. While there, I found on the bulletin board this practical list, which should be considered by all who set out for vacation:

The Ten Commandments of Travel

1. Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast left them at home - for thou hast left thy home to find things different.
   
   
2. Thou shalt not take things too seriously - for a carefree mind is the beginning of a happy vacation.
   
   
3. Thou shalt not let other tourists get on your nerves - as thou art paying out good money to have a good time.
   
   
4. Remember thy passport where it is at all times - for a man without a passport is a man without a country.
   
   
5. Blessed is the man who can make change in any language - for, lo, he shall not be cheated.
   
   
6. Blessed is the man who can say "Thank You" in any language - it shall be worth more than many tips.
   
   
7. Thou shalt not worry. He that worrieth hath no pleasure - and few things are ever fatal.
   
   
8. Thou shalt not judge a people of a country by one person with whom thou hast had trouble.
   
   
9. Thou shalt not make thyself too obviously American - when in Rome, do somewhat as the Romans do.
   
   
10. Remember thou art a guest in every land - and he that treats his host with respect shall be treated as an honored guest.

Oh Those Aqueducts

This is a section of the Aqua Claudia outside Rome. It was taken in June 2010 by Susann Sowers Lusnia, Professor of Classics at Tulane University.

An Old-Growth Forest of Columns

This is what happens
when you don't prune back columns as they grow.

I took this photograph in Paestum in July 2005.

History Repeats Itself

In the "The more things change, the more they stay the same" department, we have news out of Italy which reminds us (sadly) of an incident from the ancient Roman world.

CNN reports that a riot between the fans supporting the rival soccer teams from Catania and Palermo has resulted in the death of a police officer and the arrest of 29 brawlers outside the stadium. The officials in the Italian soccer federation have canceled all soccer games for the weekend (Feb. 3-4, 2007) and may consider longer suspension of Italy's most popular sport.

How different is this news from the scene illustrated on the picture above? This fresco shows the fighting between the inhabitants of Pompeii and the nearby town of Nuceria in AD 59. This conflict resulted in the suspension of gladiatorial contests in the town for ten years.

O TEMPORA, O MORES...

It never rains in Italy in the summertime...

I had taken eight trips to Italy during what everyone would consider "the summer months" and had never experienced any rain. So, wise guy that I am, I always told my students that they never had to worry about umbrellas or ponchos when they packed for the trip. Leave it to Iuppiter Pluvius to prove me wrong on our trip in 2005! It was a summer cooler than normal and we experienced periods of heavy rain a couple of days during our trip. The key was to stay positive and remind the students how fortunate they were not to have to experience Italy in all its dusty and sweaty glory. I also enjoyed seeing wildflowers blooming in the Forum in July and Italy dressed in an uncharacteristic green instead of its usual golden brown.

Italy's Umbrella Pine

In his letter describing the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, Pliny the Younger writes,

Nubes...oriebatur, cuius similitudinem et formam non alia magis arbor quam pinus expresserit. Nam longissimo velut trunco elata in altum quibusdam ramis diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein senescente eo destituta aut etiam pondere suo victa in latitudinem vanescebat, candida interdum, interdum sordida et maculosa prout terram cineremve sustulerat. (Epistulae VI.16, ll. 13-18)

This passage immediately came to mind when I saw this perfect example of an umbrella pine tree in the ruins of Ostia Antica. I took this photograph in July 2005 with the intention of flashing it up on the wall from the digital projector whenever we read Pliny. Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words!

Neptune in Technicolor

As I have been learning the ins and outs of blogging, I've been visiting other sites and discovered that many people include images with their posts. For me, this feature is a must! So, here is my practice post...

This is the Temple of Neptune at Paestum, Italy. I took this photograph in July 2005.