A blog for all those who work on Pompeii and the other archaeological sites of the Bay of Naples.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Le ville romane di Stabia?
See yesterday's Corriere del Mezzogiorno for an article about the difficulties of finding the villas at Stabia. There are no road signs from the motorway and no signs in Castellamare to help tourists locate the villas.
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3 comments:
It is so difficult, it is almost laughable. A whole team of trained archaeologists nearly fell to pieces this summer just looking for San Marco. If it had not been so frustrating, it would have been funny!
Wow! And, I thought I was the only one who couldn't find those sites. I was on foot as well, hiking up those hills from the Vesuviana line train station. Finally found what I was looking for, and was amused by the staff at the front gate of one site (Villa San Marco?) who seemed completely surprised that I was there at all. Maybe the lack of signage is deliberate - it allows the staff sit back and sip cappuccinos and talk about football all day. Nice work if you can get it. On that same excursion, though, I had a lovely experience at Villa Arianna. It was late in the day - no tourists around - and a matronly woman gave me a personal tour, unlocking rooms for me to photograph and gawk at. She wouldn't let me leave without seeing every room. She spoke no English and I speak very little Italian, but we were able to communicate our mutual appreciation for the ruins. Maybe the government shouldn't put signs up - now that I know how to get there, I enjoy knowing a "secret" archeological site that's not overrun by tourists...
I have to admit that also for an Italian it has been difficult to get there this past summer. Especially the Villa San Marco, it took me like 15 minutes before I understood that I had to pass in front of the stable with the barking watchdog to get there. I thought it was only a private driveway and not also the way to get to the Villa...
Funny staff!
I was lucky because I could communicate with the locals, but I just can imagine what kind of nightmare can be for someone who does not speak Italian.
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