Robert C. Daniels

During a 1977 Mediterranean Deployment (we called it a cruise), as a crewmember of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-60), I was able to visit Naples, Italy, and its surrounding areas, including, most exciting – at least for me - the active volcano Mount Vesuvius and the ancient city of Pompeii, and Rome. Here are some of the pictures I took of my trip. They have been scanned in from a photos taken in the late 1970’s, so they are a bit old and not always particularly as clear as I would want them to be, but still, I believe you may find them of interest.

Rome

My trip to Rome was GREAT! I and two friends spent two full days there, but certainly could have spent more. We saw as many of the sites we could during our stay, taking two or three (I can't rightly remember) city tours conducted by the local chapter of the USO, as well as wandered the streets ourselves. Here's some of the pictures I took.

The Colosseum side-views. Note the age of the cars in these pictures. Again, these were taken in the 1977-ish timeframe.

Thee are inside views of the Colosseum. The floor of the Colosseum was made of wood. It was covered by sand for gladiator games. It could be taken up, revealing a maze in which the Romans could watch gladiators and wild animals hunt their prey.

Not far from the Colosseum sits the remains of the Roman Forum, where most of the official public buildings stood.

A couple of pictures of 20-year-old me at the Forum. The following eight pictures are also from the Forum.

The famous bronze statue if Julius Caesar.

Me, posing in front of the famous Arch of Constantine.

One of the tours we took was to the Christian Catacombs.

The same tour of the Catacombs included a stop at the St. Paul's Basilica (officially known as the Papal Basilica of St. Paul).

We also visited the Vatican:

Me and one of my companions resting before walking down the street to the Vatican, which can be seen in the background.

I do not know who these people are, but they were kind enough to be in my pictures.

Pisa

Me at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was able to climb to the top of the tower. At the time, there were no guard-rails around any part of the tower, whether the various alcove-type of porches on the way to the top (those seen with columns) or at the very top where the bells were. This made if very uncomfortable for me, since there were also young kids running around up there. I was afraid I would either see one or more of them falling or accidentally pushing someone (even me) off the tower. So, I did not stay up there very long. It did not help my ingrained fear of hieights.

The tower itself is actually a bell tower to the cathedral in the left of the picture. Many of the cathedrals at the time had separate bell towers next to or very near the cathedral.

Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii

Pompeii and several other nearby Roman cities had been covered by volcanic ash during a 79 C.E. sudden eruption of Vesuvius, burying not only the cities but also many of their human and animal occupants.

In the late 1700s and 1800s various forms of archeological digs occurred and have continued in one form or another ever since. Today the much of the ancient city has been excavated and opened to the public.

Although not part of Pompeii, the Castel Nuovo Naples in downtown Naples is worth seeing. With its construction begun in 1279, it would be the royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon, and Spain until 1815.

Views (from different angles) of Mount Vesuvius.

Looking into the volcano's caldron.

It is hard to see in this picture, but there were - at least when I was there in 1977 - no guard-rails to keep anyone from falling into the abyss below. It should be noted that at the time one could take a ski-lift type of lift to the top of the volcano, which I did. Once there, due to not having any guard rails, coupled with the rim itself only being approximately 10 feet wide as many places and steam and smoke rising in areas from the caldron, I felt very uncomfortable there and soon took the ski-lift back down.

The following pictures are of Pompeii.

Little ole' me, age 20, in front of a ruin in Pompeii. Notice the top of Mount Vesuvius just above the ruin behind me.

Different courtyards. Notice the fresco on the wall in the back of the picture just above.

Pompeii streets. Notice the stones crossing the streets. The streets were used also as drainage during rains, and the crossing stones were placed there so people could cross the streets without getting wet.

Also notice Mount Vesuvius in the background of the picture on the left.

Pompeii Colosseum.

Pompeii Colosseum seating. Pompeii Colosseum entrance.

I hope you have enjoyed these pictures.

Last updated on 13 Jul 2022 .

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