The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1950-07-27
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
by Huzel Brannon Smith
Naples, Italy
Delayed

We sailed from Messina after
dark and later that same evening
the ship cruised by the island of
Stromboli which has recently be-
come famous because Of Ingrid
Bergman and the motion picture,
The active volcano, for which the
island is named, has been creating
ing excitement for years. We were
close enough to get an excellent
view of the molten lava as it
moved slowly down the sides Of
the crater making most unusual
picture.
We sailed into the bay of Naples
early in the morning and were
greeted by heavy fog. The bright
Italian sunshine and the beauties
of the Bay that have been so
highly praised were certainly not
in evidence this cold, dreafy
morning.
We searched the horizon in
vain for view of Mount Vesu-
vius. The lovely blue water was
neither blue nor lovely. As the
fog slowly began to lift we were
surprised to find the ship was
locked in what appeared to be
practically the center Of the city.
This part of the harbor is semi
circular and we had the first
berth so we actually were quite
close to the city. The buildings,
with the exception Of the pier,
looked even older and more drab
than they actually were because
of the lighting. The pier had
been badly bombed during the
war and was now being rebuilt.
The new construction of the pier
was in sharp contrast to the an
cient buildings of the harbor area.
Naples is filled with museums,
churches, theatres, and opera
houses, among which is San Car
10, one Of the most famous and
one Of the largest In Europe. The
National Museum of Naples is
one of the most important in the
world. It contains an unrivalled
collection of marble and bronze
statues discovered at Pompeii and
Herculaneum, an unequalled num-
Der of Greek and Roman relics,
as well as famous art work and
collections of the Italian crown.
The Castel Nuovo Is one Of the
most interesting buildings in Ma
pies. The castle is typical of those
pictured in children's story books.
It was erected in 1888 in a style
like the French fortresses of the
same period. Later in the fifteen
tn century the grand triumphal
arch, considered one of the finest |
in Europe. was added. For over
three hundred years Castel Nuovo |
was the home of the kings Of Ma
Piles.
One Of the most enjoyable |
spots for shopping was the Caller
ia. Umberto, an exceptionally |
large arcade. The Galleria is roof |
ed, at height of some five floors,
completely in glass. The shops
were packed with lovely silks,
woolens, beautiful gloves, fine
canoes, exquisite art objects. The
restaurants were doing a flourish
ing business. Food was delicious,
plentiful, and by American stand
dards, oheap.
There are several things an Am
erican tourist almost always does
in Naples - pay a visit to the ca
meo factories nearby, take boat
to the storied island of Capri and
a motor trip to the excavated city
of Pompeii which was buried by
molten lava by Mount Vesuvius
in 70 AID.
The cameo factory we visited
was the finest in Italy, our guide
assured us. The canoes and cor
al, all hand carved, were very
lovely and we were able to make
some nice purchases there for
friends at home.
1t was one of the disappoint-
ments of the trip that we did not
get to visit Capri - but the only
day we had to visit the island was
extremely ugly and everyone adj
vised against trying to make it. We
later learned from one brave soul
who made the trip despite the
weather that everyone was sea-
sick - even though the trip over
to Capri takes only couple of
hours.
We spent one day at Pompeii |
and made a lot of interesting dis |
coveries about people and life |
back in that time. Some of the |
conveniences they enjoyed at that
time so long ago were amazing i
and served to strengthen our long |
held belief that there is really
nothing new under the sun.
As a whole was terribly dis
appointed in the Bay of Naples. |
I had always heard it spoken of
as the most beautiful body of |
water in the world. "See Naples |
and die" they said. But, even
when the clouds lifted. it could
not compare with Rio. Yet loved
1t.
Since coming home I ran across
a lovely oil painting by an Italian
artist. E. Pasini. Of the bay at |