Lloyd Thomas (DDE 764) - Naval Cruise Book

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1,-f 0111 fo EOIWIQQ Cn the mornings of 14 and 16 February two tour parties loaded on buses and departed on lgng to be remembered tours of Rome. The first day we Went to such places as St. Peter's -Cathedral, Pantheon, Colosseum, Sol- diers Memorial and the palaces of many of Italy's rulers. Among these was Mussolini's Palace. Most of these were in Ancient Rome -where the famous works of Michelangelo and his students surround you. It did not seem possible that we were standing where Nero, Julius Caesar and many other noted Romans one stood hundreds of years before.

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,T-..-.-1' ULIOLJ, .Qfafy To catch the spirit of Naples the visitor must see it first as he sails between the islands of Ischia on the port side and Capri on the starboard and enters the celebrated Bay of Naples, some 22 miles wide. There at the apex of the Bay lies the noisiest, most picturesque, and most fascinating of Italy's historic cities. As the ship plows forward, through the bluest of waters under the bluest of skies, the sloping city appears, flanked seven miles to the east by the onimous bulk of Mount Vesuvius, and on the west by the grace- ful heights of Posilipo. In the background an amphitheater of volcanic hills curls around the city, which has been called the most beauti- fully situated in all Europe. To the lovely Isle of Capri go 30,000 tourists a year, to enjoy the balmy air and picturesque scenery, and to view the ruins of the palaces in which the profligate emperor Tiberius spent ,the last seven years of his life. From a crest north of the city, where stands the massive bulk of St. Elmo Castle, built in the 16th century and now used as ,a.prison, a spiny ridge runs down to the sea, splitting the city in two. , if Ifrffff-ff.if3iiiif,32y,1m i - e i' In the older and larger part of the city, to the east of the ridge, the spires of scores of ancient churches rise, intermingled with large public buildings, and here and there a factory chimney. In this quarter the poorer people live, and here centers the industrial and political life of the city. On the western side of the ridge are the new fashionable dwellings of the rich, built on terraced hills and com- manding sweeping views of the bay, with the twin mountains of the famous Capri in the far distance. From this historic and famous city we were fortunate enough to be able to go inland and visit ancient Rome and Pompeii.

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The next morning our group had an audi- ' h P e Pius XII in the Hall at the palace ence wit op ' adjoining St. Peter's. This was a very impressive of part of the tour and left each and every one us with the feeling that he had really accom- plished something worthwhile in his life. This tour took us also to the Cathedral of St. Paul, along the Roman Mfall and by the Roman Forum. Mfe passed such places as the -Chapel and Archway of Quo Vadis, a pyramid Tomb, and by the ruins of the old aquaducts. Modern Rome is very nice, with its night clubs and new 'hotels and a beautiful ultra- modern railroad station which has recently been built. We all appreciated the hospitality and kindness the modern Romans gave us and for the knowledge of Ancient Rome that we were able to grasp while we were there. vrf YM? -I if