Churches, Castles and Shrimp

We awoke to a sunny day, and Mark insisted his knee was much better. We went to the hotel lobby to upload pictures and to have our usual breakfast prior to Vito coming to pick us up.

Today was a big day. Vito had made arrangements with Antonio Montella from the Kilroy travel agency to get us into two places that were not open to tourists at the time. The first was San Francesco church where we had gone before. We met Antonio and two other friends of his for the tour inside the church and monastery. One was a girl from Gaeta whose name I have forgotten that spoke no English, and the other was a girl from Russia, Evgeniya Smolikova, who was fluent in Russian, English, and Italian.

We arrived at the church and we were greeted by the caretaker who met us on the front steps of the church. The caretaker was an older gentleman who spoke no English. He described the history of the church to all present in Italian and a bit about the architecture. He spoke so fast that neither Vito nor Evgeniya could translate fast enough. From this location we had a much better vantage point for taking some of the most spectacular photos I have ever taken.

The tour started at the monastery behind the church. He took us through several chapels, classrooms, and a courtyard that contained several statues. The hallways were made with several arches that led to other areas of the monastery. From the courtyard you could look below to see an enclosed futbol field for athletic activity that was also part of the monastery. Then we walked back around to the front to enter the church.

Antonio pointed out several architectural features that he asked me to photograph for him because the detail was so fine. He thought he would be able to use these for future promotions. The caretaker cautioned us as we entered the church was for the fact that it was still undergoing renovations, so there were some areas we could not get to. The inside was much more modern than I had expected for an old cathedral. But the sculptures inside were fantastic. Each of Jesus’ twelve apostles was represented with a statue around the sanctuary. The ceiling was very tall and it was bright inside. There were a few scaffolds off to the side in the back that were part of the renovation project.

The church had two sides of pews that are common in the Catholic Church with kneeling benches for each. Stained glass windows lined to top of the walls next to the ceiling rather than the traditional ones that are near floor level. At the front was a statue of Jesus sitting on a throne. Off to the side of the altar was an eight-foot tall crucifix with Jesus on it and on either side of the horizontal cross were framed photographs of Mary and Joseph. The carvings on the wall were intricate, but symmetrical throughout.

When our tour was finished we went back out onto the steps and snapped dozens of photographs of the city, the statues, and the gulf below with clouds in the mountains off in the distance, and each other. The sky was blue, the water was blue, and the color contrast from the city was bright and warm. I did not want to leave this paradise. But we had another spectacle awaiting us a short walk away further up on the mountain.

Angevin-Aragonese Castle’s played an important role in Italian military history. Its foundation and the building of the first fortifications can be traced back to Roman times. Traces of the period are still visible today and are an integral part of the town's landscape, like the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus, a Roman general from the 1st century BC. The mausoleum is located at the top of Monte Orlando near the castle. The fortifications of the town were strengthened and extended in the 15th century. Over the years several changes were made to the structure of the castle depending on who occupied the city through the centuries. Through the years, it has even been used as a prison. These large, looming structures are maintained today by the Guardia di Finanza, a maritime protection organization.

There is a lot or renovation taking place here as well. Walking up a long, steep ramp and across a bridge that covered a long-ago drained moat got us to the entrance. And yes, there was a door that would drop down like one would expect from a castle. We met a guard who summoned what appeared to be a supervisor, a middle-aged man who spoke no English, to take us on our tour which started by climbing a series of cobblestone steps that led us into a courtyard. Here we saw a square surrounded by three story buildings with balconies. There were cannons, anchors, bells, flags, etc. from what looked like a military compound.

We were taken to the chapel first. I was surprised to see that some of the frescos and paintings were damaged from vandalism. It was a small, round chapel with a simple altar.

Our next stop was in a small, maritime museum with articles from centuries of maritime protection, models of boats, uniforms, guns, old electronic communication equipment, flags, and many other items that told the story of the Guardia di Finanza.

Following the museum, we proceeded upward to the top of the castle walls were we had another spectacular view of the city and beyond. In fact, we could see Mt. Vesuvius in Naples in the distance. But our treat was to get even better. Upward still we went into the tower, a steep, narrow stairway large enough for only one person at a time to ascend or descend to the highest point we had been within the city.

The views were outstanding. I could easily take thousands of photographs of the landscape below and beyond that would not do the scene justice like standing there and seeing it in person. The waves crashing against the rocks below from the Tyrannian Sea, the multi-colored buildings and rooftops against the blue sky and sea, the mountains in the distance with snowcapped peaks, and the beauty as far as the eye could see. No wonder these castles were here; protection from invaders from the sea.

All this beauty we were able to witness because Antonio Montella, a great friend now, had made it happen. I did not want to leave, but we had to descend. However, the tour was not over. We visited the cells that were used for prisoners, including solitary confinement cells and primitive bathrooms. We even saw offices that were used by WWII politicians.

Downward we descended until we reached the street where we were parked. We said our thank you to our host, our goodbyes to our new friends, and gave Antonio two bottles of wine from Pietrastornina as a small token for what he had done for us.

The rest of the day we would relax and visit. When we arrived back at the hotel, Vito received a call from Gianluca Bronco. They were going for a walk on Serapo beach and wanted Wilma, Giulia, and Mark and I to join them

We agreed to meet Wilma and Giulia at the beach and she drove her own car. Gianluca’s family was waiting for us in the Hotel Serapo parking lot with their German Shepherd as well. It was great to see them again. We walked on the beach for just a short amount of time when we ran into another friend of theirs, Francesco LaRana, his wife Sylvia Dolcino, and their daughter, Aurora. I should take this time to explain that in Italy, wives do not take the surname of the husband, but the birth children of the marriage do.

Walking down Serapo beach made me miss my wife, Susan, very much. Susan and I spend hours-on-end walking our favorite beach in North Carolina. But the company today was great and the time was relaxing. It gave us another vantage point for photographs and allowed us to not only make more friends in Gaeta, but a peak into the life of our cousin and his family.

We met several other friends of Vito’s on our walk. He seems to know everyone in Gaeta! One of them was a gentleman named Erasmo DiPerna. Erasmo is a freelance broadcaster of futbol much like Vito is. He was a kind man and invited us to his son’s 16th birthday party on March 13. Vito graciously accepted on our behalf, but we could have very easily since Erasmo speaks very good English.

When we were about to leave the beach for a shot of espresso at a bar nearby, we again saw Antonio Montella and his wife, Luciana Salvato, walking hand-in-hand along the promenade. Walking and taking life easy was a common theme in Italy. Dolce far nienta; the sweetness of doing nothing!

Following our espresso, we decided to show Mark the top of the mountain north of Gaeta where Vito had taken me for the wonderful view of the entire peninsula. Once again, we climbed the mountain in Vito’s car. I had told Mark what a spectacular view it was that I had seen when he was recuperating with his hurt knee. I am sure he will be the first to tell you that I was not fibbing. The views from high atop the mountain were much like I had seen since clouds had moved in and embraced the lower levels of the mountains around. But the city and the sea could still be easily seen and there were more photo opportunities for us.

We descended toward Itri, and this time Vito took us to get an up-close look at the aqueduct on the way to Itri. Soon, rain started to fall from the clouds and it was not just a light rain, but a much heavier rain than we had seen since arriving in Italy. We left to rest at the hotel for a while before going to Wilma’s parent’s house for dinner.

Erasmo Mitrano and Marissa Paoli, Wilma’s father and mother, Jessica Mitrano (her sister) and Anthony Salemme (Jessica’s boyfriend) were also there. Leaving the car in the rain to walk to their apartment left us wet, but we arrived to their apartment building early enough to visit for a while before dinner. I cannot remember all the dishes we had (there were many and they were served in courses like Italians do), but I remember well the main dish.

Vito and Erasmo struggled to light the grill on the outdoor patio under a tent. Not because of the rain, but because in Italy they do not us charcoal or gas for grilling fires, but rather wood. The wood would not easily light and after about twenty minutes of attempts, it finally took. We laughed about it jokingly for a while because Vito is proud of being able start a wood fire with not trouble.

While we waited for the fire to get hot, Mark and I gave Erasmo and Marissa their gifts we brought to them from America.

Our main course was grilled shrimp. I was excited to hear this as I love shrimp. And when they showed us the raw shrimp and the size, I was even more excited. But what I did not know is that they shrimp was the whole shrimp, head, tentacles, legs, vein, and everything. Remembering that I agreed to try everything, this is exactly what I did. I ate the entire shrimp. On the other hand, Mark cut the shrimp open and ate only the meat.

Our visit was capped with two cupcakes with large, lit candles in each in honor of Mark and me. The following day was our birthday and they turned out all of the lights in the dining room and sang “Tanti auguri a tè, tanti auguri a tè, tanti auguri Mark and Greg, tanti auguri a tè.” We were very pleasantly surprised and touched by their kindness and generosity. We left thinking that this was such a wonderful family. The only thing that would have been better is if Susan had been there and we were able to speak fluent Italian.

As we left, the rain continued to come down. Vito took us back to the hotel so we could get some rest as the next day, our birthday, we would be traveling to Campodimele (at my request) to celebrate our birthday. We would also meet some more friends.