Day 3: Cave of the Sibyl, Hadrian's Villa

This morning the weather started to clear on the coast and we drove north to Cumae, where the famous oracle, the Cumaean Sibyl, was located.  The Sibyl was Aeneas' guide to the underworld when he went to visit his dead dad to receive guidance and she also prepared three books of prophecies that she sold to the last Roman king, Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Snobby).  The Sibylline books were kept in a special temple and had their own priesthood who were called upon to interpret the prophecies in times of crisis for the Romans.  Here Mr. Spearman poses with our most excellent tour director Richard Bowen outside the entrance to the cave.

The cave is located inside a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  Originally the area was settled by Greek colonists and they built temples to Apollo, Diana and Jupiter.  Standing at the Temple of Apollo (the god of prophecy) we could see the island of Ischia,

 and the coast line.  The surf is up due to the weather we've been having.  Fortunately, the rain is now ended for our stay and though tomorrow will be breezy, we expect blue skies and warm temperatures from here out.

Here are Mr. Driscoll, Mr. Spearman and Mr. Cantello,

 

 the two Cantellos,

and the entire group, standing amid the ruins of Apollo's Temple.

After Cumae, we hopped on the bus and drove to Tivoli to Hadrian's Villa.  Hadrian was the 3rd of what are termed the "Five Great Emperors."  He traveled extensively, visiting every province of the Empire during his reign from 117 AD to 138 AD.  He was a builder and an architect, among other things, and in building his "villa" (an enormous palace complex) he incorporated architectural elements he saw in his travels.  Here the group is standing in front of a reflecting pool near the modern entrance.

This is a front view of the larger of two bath complexes on the site.

One of the rooms in that bath complex.  Notice the domed roof, with the center hole ('oculus')...we will see a more fabulous example of this type of construction when we visit the Pantheon.

This area is called the 'Canopus'.  Hadrian designed it to recall the famous Canopus canal in Egypt that connected the port of Canopus (part of Alexandria) to the Nile.

Hadrian's Canopus was surrounded by statuary, including this of Mars.

  At the far end of the Canopus was another concrete dome, though this was damaged by an earthquake.  You can see where a huge chunk fell down.

Behind the domed area is a series of arches.

One side of the Canopus is decorated with Caryatid statues, copied from those in the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

Leaving the Canopus, we proceeded to what has been thought to have been the quarters of the Praetorian Guard--the elite soldiers who protected the emperor.  The slots in the walls and where the floor beams would have been placed.

Here is the rear view of the larger bath complex,

with a closer look at the remains of the vaulted ceiling.

Hadrian's Villa also featured a swimming pool.

Here are Doric columns.  Hadrian has one area where different adjacent rooms feature columns of the three main types: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.  The Doric is the best preserved.

Moving along we visited the guest quarters.  These were either guest rooms or quarters for high-ranking bureaucrats.  Each room had a different mosaic floor design.

One last example of vaulted roofs and it was time to leave.  We headed into Rome, where we will stay the remainder of the trip (except for our day trip to Florence).

After a wonderful dinner around the corner from the hotel, we took the boys on a walk to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.  On the way we passed the Presidential Palace, with its ceremonial guards.

Then reached the Trevi Fountain.

While admiring Bernini's beautiful sculpture, I was able to capture my Latin 4H students who are on the trip.

We then went to the Spanish Steps.  At the foot of the steps is "The Fountain of the Ugly Boat" sculpted by the father of the man who did the Trevi Fountain.

And of course we saw the steps themselves.

After a few more minutes of wandering through Rome, the boys returned to the hotel.  We start early tomorrow with a visit to the Colosseum!  Ciao!