USS Cambria (LPA 36) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 30 text:

POMPEII T wenty -TWO twisting kilometers from down- town Naples sits a city still hunched from the once hot breath of a now becalmed Vesu- vius. It is a dusty Old World ghost town — originally embalmed in volcanic cinder, now two-thirds laid bare to the tourist ' s cold eye. The Pompeii story is one of partial then total destruction. In 63 A.D. earthquake cracked the foundation stones of the city, then, 16 years later, the volcanic eruption that drowned Herculaneum incidentally eliminated Pompeii. Deadly gases, coupled with the en- suing ash, killed most of the 25,000 inhabi- tants so that today, nearly a thousand years later, bread is still found in the ovens and jugs of wine sit in vinegary testimony to the powers of 79 A.D. The first traffic regulators — stones set across streets for dry passage from sidewalk to side- walk, spaced the width of a chariot ' s wheel apart — still mark many intersections. Phallic symbols adorn many houses. In effect, Pom- peii is a city one day called to its death. It laid down its needles and butter knives and hammers and hoes . . . and went. Today its statues and its dogs are equally well preserved in Naples Museum.

Page 32 text:

o CAPRI NCE UPON A TIME there was an island. Sur- rounded by blue, blue water. There was not much vegetation — but what there was — was very green. Legend said that wherever flowers were found blooming in the shade of an old walnut tree, there would be found romance. The name of this wondrous island was Capri. And it still is. A rugged rock bastion with a prize fighter ' s profile. Cliffs so steep mountain goats get vertigo. A national museum that serves old Spanish brandy beside a blazing fire. Grocery stores that sell American chocolate pudding for addition to water to make Caprisian fudge sauce. And stand- ard Mediterranean-style villas spotted in wherever the slopes ease off. A red finicula up to the town of Capri. From there, all styles transportation to the Caesar Augustus, to Mussolini ' s or Ginger Rogers ' pensione, to Frederick Barbarossa ' s or the Emperor Tiberius ' castle. The slogan of the hardy: grin and burro it. Way back below at sea level is the Blue Grotto where the sun ' s rays filtering through the water outside the c ' ave entrance create a mystic blue- lensed world within. A low rock tunnel guards the interior. If the wind goes wrong, forcing the swell against the tunnel mouth, it takes nice timing to regain the outside. Yes, it ' s a straight-up-and-down lovers ' lane. Surrounded by blue, blue water. And its name is Capri.