Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 5.

Introduction to the 1982 Backpacking Trip to Southern Italy.

At the end of last week's blog, I wrote that this week's Extravaganza would include the 1982 hike up Mt Etna in Sicily to gaze into its active crater. However, when I sorted out the two magazines, I found that there were too many pre-Etna slides to display before getting around to using them.

Therefore, the 1982 backpacking trip to Southern Italy will be divided into two sections. The first will be displayed here, and the second which will include Mt Etna, will be displayed next week if all preparations fall smoothly into place.

However, the photos displayed here include the ruined Church and the Catacombs of St John in Siracusa. This is very significant. In 1982, I was able to walk into this ancient underground site on my own freely, spend as much time in the cave network as I wanted, and take as many photos as my heart desired. But at present, as Alex and I discovered in 2006, and confirmed by the website Tripadvisor, every visitor must now be included on an escorted tour which is fixed at certain times of the day. Furthermore, photography is forbidden throughout the tour. It's this nannying, whether by the State or by the Catholic Church, that in my opinion, killed the spirit of adventurous travel, although I'm sure that some would disagree.

The consequence of how the church and catacombs are visited and photography banned by 2006, has made these 1982 photos very precious, and to me, valuable. Therefore to say that these images of the interior of the Catacombs of St John are very rare is neither an exaggeration nor an understatement.

The same could be said for the Church of the Tears (Madonna delle Lacrima), also in Siracusa. In 1982, the edifice was unfinished, with a large circular platform sheltering an underground crypt which was already in use. By 2006, the edifice was finished with the platform forming the floor of a circular church looking like a serrated cone, meant to resemble a teardrop. 

The 1982 trip to southern Italy involved buying a train pass. By paying a fixed price beforehand, once I had the ticket validated at Milan Station, I was then free to travel anywhere in Italy for a fixed period, in my case, three weeks. Indeed, the pass gave me unlimited access to Italian State Railways in the same way that the Ameripass ticket gave me unlimited access to the Greyhound Bus across North America in the seventies.

In 1982, I arrived in Italy via Milan after the train I was on departed from Bolougne-sur-Mur, and avoided Paris, stopping instead at Lille, then along the north-eastern border of France, then at Metz, and Mulhouse, before entering Switzerland to stop at Basil and Lucerne. At Milan Central Terminus, I had my interior railway pass validated.

I then spent a couple of days with a friend from our church in my hometown, who was working on a contract in Milan, before I boarded the train at Milan Central for an overnight journey, stopping at Roma Tibertina (a through station) at dawn before terminating at Naples Central later that morning. I then spent a few hours of that day in Pompeii before moving on for another overnighter to Brindisi for another couple of days. It's from Brindisi where the Appian Way to ancient Rome began. From Brindisi, another overnight train took me to Taranto where I had to change trains for Reggio Calabria, the port for the ferry crossing to Sicily, across the Messina Strait.

This week's Extravaganza contains the first half of this fascinating holiday, from Dover to Sicily. 

Click here for the Travel Biography Index where you can find the relevant texts of this trip.

Photos of the 1982 Backpacking Trip to Italy.

From Dover to Milan.

On the Ferry to France from Dover.

On the move. Swiss scenery from the train.

Lake Lecco.

A view of Lake Lecco, a branch of Lake Como.

My friend Derek relaxes by Lake Lecco.

Views of the Alpen Lake.

Some foreground at Lake Lecco.

Lake scenery.

The town of Lecco is backed by Monte Valentino.

Posing at this magnificent scene.

Evening draws over Lake Lecco.

Pompeii.

The Amphitheatre in Pompeii.

Recent rain made this Pompenian street wet.

The Roman pedestrian crossed the road on these stones.

Detail of a Pompenian house and garden.

A theatre in Pompeii.

Reflection of an Altar.

Temple of Jupiter, Pompeii.

Brindisi.

The start of the Appian Way.

Brindisi Harbour.

Brindisi Harbour.

A scene at Brindisi.

Sailing from Reggio Calabria to Messina, Sicily.

Leaving the port at Reggio Calabria.

Looking towards the stern of the ferry.

A train is split before rolling through the bow of the ship.

Approaching Messina.

Central Catania, Sicily.

Fountain garden in Catania.

Elephant Square, Catania.

Roman Amphitheatre, Catania.

Siracusa - where I spent most of my time in Sicily.

The Madonna della Lacrima, 1982.

Madonna della Lacrima, as it was in 1982.

Interior of the Crypt, 1982.

A ceramic statue weeps. Was it a miracle?

The Church and Catacombs of St John.

Ruins of the Church of St John, Siracusa.

Interior of the Church of St John, Siracusa.

Church of St John, Siracusa.

I was alone in the Catacombs of St John in 1982.

Sarcophagi are seen here in this cave.

Three more sarcophagi are in the foreground.

A tunnel branches off the main corridor.

The Neapolis, ancient Greek Garden, Siracusa.

The Neapolis, Siracusa.

Greek Theatre, 2nd Century BC, Neapolis.

Another view of the Greek Theatre.

Panoramic view of the Greek Theatre.

Roman Amphitheatre, Neapolis Gardens.

The Ear of Dionysius, limestone cave.

Temple of Apollo, Siracusa.

A canal separates Isola di Ortigia from the mainland.

The Mystical Fonte Aretusa, Ortigia.

White Fountain Beach (Spiaggia di Fontane Bianche).

At White Fountain Beach, south of Siracusa.

White Fountain Beach.

The smooth Mediterranean of Sicily.

The beach was almost deserted.

The White Fountain Beach facing north.

Spiaggia di Fontane Bianche, facing south.

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Next Week: Southern Italy continued, Mt Etna, Taormina.