Bow Before Me!

Today was as clear-as-a-bell when we awoke for breakfast and another exciting day was on tap as Vito was planning on taking us to Sperlonga just up the coast where we had passed on our way to Gaeta after arriving. This was the place where Vito had taken Wilma on their first date, and also where he proposed to her.

Sperlonga is famous for being a vacation spot for the Roman emperor Tiberius. There is no real landmark for the city other than the grotto where he stayed when he was there. Famous for the architecture and beaches, Sperlonga is a resort that caters to a younger generation.

The drive to Sperlonga takes you back through the scenic tunnels that are carved into the mountain. As you approach the city the expansive beach is the first thing that captures your attention. Turning off of the main road into the city is a very short drive to the parking area where you can overlook the northern-most beach and the modern city that lies behind it. The view allows you to see city, beach, and mountains for miles and miles.

There is a peninsula that juts out slightly into the ocean that separates the north beach from the south beach. A piazza (square) welcomes you to the medieval part of Sperlonga perched high on the cliff of the peninsula. Walking through this part of town is much like walking through Campodimele. There are quaint shops, narrow streets accessible only by foot, coffee bars, and restaurants. The views looking out over the sea from the openings in the buildings will take your breath away. And the photographic opportunities did not disappoint us either.

Looking down from high to the south beach you can see Mt. Orlando in Gaeta in the distance. But even closer you could see the grotto where Tiberius relaxed as he was catered to by slaves for whatever he desired to make him happy. Only the piazza was modern.

When we had finished walking through the old town, we drove down to the new town to park and walk along the promenade near the north beach. I stopped to buy some postcards for my collection. We walked along a paved path at the base of the peninsula toward a triangular-shaped structure that sat at the point of the rocks. Strong waves from the Tyrranean crashed against these rocks and splashed high into the air.

The path continued around the peninsula, but a second path rose up toward old Sperlonga where a second, lower observation area existed. This is where Vito first kissed Wilma and where he proposed to her. On the way up, I was amazed at the number of stray cats that were lingering in amongst the rocky cliffs. My understanding is that there are many people in Italy who feed these cats and do not consider them pests; maybe because they hunt and destroy rodents.

Reaching the top of this path literally left us breathless. It was steep and hard to climb, but well worth it for the photo opportunities. We sat on a bench, barely noticing the lemon and orange trees that were growing out of the spaces between the rocks.

Clouds were beginning to move in from the sea and there was still much to see. We headed back down to the car and drove south to the entrance of Grotta di Tiberio (Tiberius’ Cave). A museum at the entrance where you paid for admission was filled with artifacts that had been excavated from the site and removed from the cave. There was a lot of information about the site and current excavations still taking place.

To get to the cave, you had to walk down a hill on a winding path to the bottom between groves of olive trees. When you emerge from this grove, there are ruins of a small, slave village that greets you and a pathway that walks you through the area. Parts of the path were paved with small bricks very much like you would see today. You could see the remains of pits where cold food was stored, furnaces where food was cook, slave living quarters, and pools where fish would wash in from the ocean, but through an engineering marvel could not get back out. This pool was the source for much of the food for the emperor. It was also a punishment for the disobedient slave as man-eating lamprey were also present. Do one thing wrong and you were pushed into the pool for the fish to devour.

With waves still crashing nearby in the ocean, we walked along a narrow, slippery rock path into the cave. It was cool inside, a pretty good reason to want to relax on a hot, Italian summer day. The pool of water was carved out under the cave into a semi-circle surrounded by rocks that were carved into benches for relaxing. And at the center was a large bench that was likely meant for the emperor himself. I sat on the bench and said, “Bow before me, your emperor, you slaves!” Both Mark and Vito bowed as I snapped a picture of them with the cave opening in the background, one of my favorite shots of the trip.

Because of the moisture inside of the cave the rock walkway was very slippery. One could easily imagine anyone of any social class, aristocrat, politician, or slave walking and slipping to fall into the pool for an untimely death.

At one end of the cave was a small opening that led to where the slaves would enter to serve their master. That opening went right to the main food preparation area of the time. It was neat to think that they could be so ingenious and efficient in those days.

As we exited we started to move a bit faster as the clouds were building for an obvious shower to come, and because the thunder in our stomachs was rumbling from hunger. We headed back to Gaeta where Vito took us to a restaurant right on the lungomare (promenade) of the Gulf of Gaeta, not far from Tapas.

Vito knew the owners of the restaurant well and introduced us to them. They showed us their wood-fired oven where pizza were made (primarily at nighttime), took our order, and left us to chat. In a very short time, a loud rain storm with hail was pounding the awnings and rooftop outside where the door was open. We had made it indoors just in time.

We were served our lunch. Mark had a dish with pesto sauce, while Vito and I ate seafood and olives. Vito tried his best to steer him away from that telling him that frequently people would get food poisoning from unclean vegetables used to make the sauce. It was not long afterward when Mark became sick. He insisted it was not from that, but I am not sure.

The rest of the day was spent with Mark relaxing at the hotel. I went with Vito to his apartment as Wilma had said that Giulia had been fussy all day. Vito had a hard time calming her and Wilma seemed a little frustrated as well. I offered to hold Giulia and rock her in my arms to get her to sleep. She calmed down after a few minutes and they were amazed. I continued to rock her so Wilma could have a break to do some things around the house while Vito drove back to the hotel to check on Mark. After about thirty minutes of rocking that sweet, baby girl, I laid her down in her crib to sleep. Wilma was amazed and told me in her best English to stay in Italy!

Vito was not gone long and when he came back he said Mark was feeling better, but sleepy. So I asked him to take me back to the hotel to retire for the night as well. Maybe a good night sleep and we would all feel better – Mark, Wilma, Giulia, and even Vito and me.