Wednesday, november 29, 2023
Our last morning in Villa Flora. We have booked a place in Sorrento, the next stop in our odyssey, but before we leave here, we like to visit the villa of Poppaea - the wife of the crazy emperor Nero. In fact, he became so crazy that the senate dared to condemn him to death. He fled Rome and commited suicide.
It was his reign that the Great Fire of Rome ocurred - a disastrous fire. Rome had many poor, who lived in cramped appartment blocks. Many of those blocks burned to the ground. Nero himself has been suspected of igniting the fire, but he accused the christians, and persecuted and tortured them without end.
And his wife… had a luxurious villa in the rivièra of antiquity. The coast around the Vesuvius.
The remnants of the villa are in Torre Annunziata, a good three kilometers (2 miles) from the hotel, so we decide to walk over. It really gives you a good impression of the neighborhood, and especially the socio-economic conditions here. In general you can describe it as ‘poor.’ All buildings are damaged. Most are square blocks of appartments, 3 or 4 stories high.
Metal balconies are rusted, graffiti everywhere. Some streets even make me a bit uncomfortable, the poverty is so obvious. But not a single beggar. My guess is that wages and productivity are simply very low here.
Poppaea’s village is structually very complete. Rooms are large and high. A large swimming pool still mostly in tact (though dry). Paintings show great detail, especially of birds. In short, a fairly impressive visit.
We walk back to Pompeii where we take the train to Sorrento. At the many stops school children board and get off. Lots of talking and noisy rythm of the train over the tracks. The landscape becomes more mountainous, and we move through long tunnels.
In Sorrento we enter through a maze of very narrow streets. Buildings are much better maintained here. It feels like a tourist town. Our room is large and clean and costs €66 per night. I check: in the summer it costs €320 per night.
We feel lazy and relax and read. At dinner we find a cozy restaurant with a pizza oven inside, where we order spaghetti with shellfish - a local delicacy. And afterwards a pizza, because they look (and taste) so good.
After the warm restaurant we roam through the narrow streets and buy milk and wine. It’s night already and Christmas lights decorate many stores. Massive churches with beautiful domes stand next to tiny souvenir shops in the narrow streets. Gradually we amble back to our hotel next to a four story bell tower.
Inside our room we get our books and a cup of tea, and I write this diary.
Wish you were here too. We have a side room with two single beds. Join us…
2025-02-07