Trasnportation Strikes in Italy

24 Hour Transport Strike

For Italians hearing about a transport strike, they would ask "Where is the News?"   Strikes like the current one have become part of the culture - a fact of life in Italy.  Those on vacation in Italy would see things completely differently.

Paralyzes Rome

Public transport unions' strikes have paralyzed Rome. The strike kicked off at 0830 hours CET and is scheduled to last 24 hours.  Strikes like this are unpredictable, sometimes they never actually happen and other times they end early.

The protest involves all of Rome’s public transport services including buses, trams, A and B metro lines, Cotral coaches and the Rome-Giardinetti and Rome-Civitacastellana-Viterbo light rail links.

According to Rome's transport authorities the majority of the Metro lines stopped running between 0830 - 0900 CET. Buses and trams were running on a looser schedule.  Local transport strikes were suspended between 1700 and 2000 hours to ensure minimum mandatory service. Union rallies kicked off at 0900 hours from Piazza della Repubblica heading for Piazza SS Apostoli.

Elsewhere in Italy

The rail strike in Venice was called off, but the vaporettos (water buses) went on strike. The public sector strikes occurred in Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples, Turin and Genova. 

The 24-hour strike affected Actv water and bus transport, and the Hellovenezia ticketing and call center services. During the strike , buses ran in these time bands: 6.00 - 8.59 a.m.; 16.30 - 19.29. Essential water services also ran during the strike.

Airport handling staff were on strike 22 June at Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa and Venice airports and many flights were cancelled.  Passengers flying to/from these airports should expect delays and/or cancellations and should check with their airline before traveling.  Other airports in Italy appeared to be unaffected.

Know Before You Go


The interesting thing about transport strikes in Italy, and other parts of Europe, is that they are generally pre-announced and follow strict guidelines.  As you can see from above, transportation resumes between peak travel times and essential services are not impacted.   That would be of little comfort to you as a visitor should you find yourself in need of transportation during the active strike hours, so it best to be aware of pending actions before you travel.


Here are some useful resources that can help:

Venice - Actv SpA (water and bus transport)

FCO (UK) Travel Advisory - Italy

U.S. Embassy to Italy - Demonstration Notices

Trenitalia Railway - In Case of Strike

In addition, consult your transportation carrier's website for latest information.

Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles

 

Virtual Cruise with Chris

12-Night Mediterranean

& Greek Isles Cruise

Star Princess

May 30 - June 11, 2011

Our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise began in Rome, Italy with a two night pre-cruise stay.  We then took a train to Civitavecchia, Italy, where we boarded Princess Cruises' Star Princess for our cruise throughout the region.   The cruise concluded with an overnight stay in Venice, Italy.   The next morning we departed Venice for Rome via train for another day exploring the eternal city before heading home the next morning.   Click on the Blog Posts and FB Photo Albums to virtually journey with us on our trip.

	Port	Blog Posts	Photo Albums
1	Pre-Cruise Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	Our Rome Adventure Begins Day 1 Pre-cruise in Rome Exploring Palatine Hill and Roman Forum When in Rome Relaxing at Trevi Fountain Visiting Vatican Museum St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II Walking Tour of Rome from Vatican As Night Falls in Rome Rome to Civitavecchia by Train Sail Away From Civitavecchia	Rome - Colosseum Album Palatine Hill - Roman Forum Trevi Fountain Vatican Museum Line Vatican Museum Part 2 St. Peter's Vatican Pope John Paul II Exhibit Walking from Vatican Piazza Navona  Rome at Night
	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Track Excursion to Eze	Monte Carlo Off the Beaten Path - Eze
3	Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy	Off the Beaten Path Lucca Italy	Lucca - Walking Tour  Lucca - Church of San Michele in Foro  Lucca Duomo (Cathedral of St Martin )
4	Naples/Capri, Italy	Naples/Capri, Italy Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring A Lost City From Ancient Ruins to Shells in Napoli	Naples/Capri Arrival Drive to Salerno Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring Amalfi Drive to Pompeii / Lunch Exploring Pompeii Cameo Factory
5	At Sea	Star Princess Main Dining Room	Star Princess Food
6	Santorini, Greece	SantoWines Santorini Greece Village of Oia, Santorini Greece Continuing Santorini Exploration in Fira Sunset on Santorini	Santo Winery - Santorini Drive to Oia - Santorini Village of Oia Village of Fira Santorini Sunset
7	Mykonos, Greece	Images of Mykonos Kalafati Beach in Mykonos Panagia Tourliani Monastery Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice Mykonos Town Walking Tour Meet Petros - Mascot of Mykonos A Man and His Donkey	Kalafati Beach Panagia Tourliani Monastery Returning to Port of Mykonos Mykonos Countryside Mykonos Walking Tour
8	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	The Acropolis a Journey Into Antiquity Plaka The Neighborhood of the Gods Lunch at Metropolitan Hotel Athens Athens City of Contrasts Along The Attica Coast Temple of Poseidon Overlooks Aegean Sea	The Acropolis The Plaka Lunch Buffet - Athens Central Athens Scenic Attica Coast  Temple of Poseidon
9	Katakolon (Olympia), Greece	Step Back in Time to Ancient Olympia	Ancient Olympia Archeological Site
10	Corfu, Greece	Achilleion Palace Corfu	Achilleion Palace Corfu Town
11	Split, Croatia	Off the Beaten Path Krka National Park	KRKA National Park & Waterfalls Adriatic Coastal Drive to Krka
12	Venice, Italy	Concordia Disaster Rekindles Venice Restrictions Venice in Spring and Winter Sailing Into Venice by Cruise Ship Exploring Venice at Night	Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship Venice Walking Tour Part 1 Venice Walking tour - Part 2 Venice - Evening 64 photos Venice at Dusk  38 photos Venice at Night  50 photos
13	Venice, Italy to Rome, Italy Post-Cruise	Venice Cruise Terminal to Pizzale Roma People Mover from Cruise Terminal Arriving Back in Rome  Back Home from Mediterranean Cruise	Venice to Rome by Train 39 photos

As you can see from the itinerary, this was a very port intensive cruise vacation.  As usual, when we travel "over the pond" to Europe, we like to arrive a couple days early so that we can extend our time there while getting accustomed to the time change.  In order to obtain round-trip airline tickets, it was necessary to return to Rome, Italy from Venice following the cruise.   This allowed us to spend another day in Rome and also made the trip a lot less stressful since we didn't have to worry about missing our flight home.

We hope that you enjoy your virtual journey with us to the Greek Isles.   As you can see, we haven't completed all the ports of call yet, so be sure to visit again for the updates.  Even better, "Like" us on Facebook so that you'll be notified as we post more pictures and stories.

From Ancient Ruins to Shells in Napoli

Turning Shells into Works of Art

Our day in Napoli (Naples, Italy) was drawing to a close, but we had one more thing to see before returning to the Star Princess.   Touring the Amalfi coastline from the water and exploring the ancient ruins of Pompeii were highlights of our day so far.  The final stop of our tour was a local Cameo Factory where we observed artisans applying skills handed down for generations, intricately carving seashell or coral into beautiful jewelry-true works of art, and beautiful keepsake souvenirs.

Not Just any Seashell...

can become a cameo.  In fact, only six out of over 100,000 seashells species existing in the world are selected to make a cameo.  The shell divers search for specimens 90 to 100 feet below the water's surface looking for high quality shells with no sign of flaws or cracks. The conch shell family is the best fitted shell for cameos. Among them, the carnelian shell is the most used for cameo carving. The most costly one is the Sardonyx shell with a thicker outer wall and a dark interior. Cameos carved from Sardonyx shell resemble marble.

The carver selects a section of the conch shell and determines where the layers of color are. The shell must also be broad and colored horizontally with light colors on top of darker colors. Usually, the darker color will be the background and the lighter color will be in the foreground.

A design is created just for that particular shell that will reveal the colored layers as it is carved, making the finished cameo three-dimensional. After the cameo is carved, it will be polished by hand. This is a very tedious process which takes good eyes, skill, and a lot of patience.

Italian Cameos

Here we were able to watch this carver as he turned a seashell into cameo jewelry.   We also had a briefing about how cameos are made.  There was free time to wander through the showroom and select a special cameo keepsake to take home from Italy.

The most popular motif for a cameo carved from shell is the face of a woman. So, when you see a woman's face on a cameo, you may deduce that it is made of shell.

See our Facebook Fan Page for our Cameo Factory album as well as other albums from our day in Napoli.   Please be sure to "Like" us so that you'll get updates as we continue our 12 Night Greek Isles & Mediterranean Cruise.

 

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Exploring A Lost City

UNESCO World Heritage Site

  of Pompeii

It was a summer day in August 79 A.D. when  Mt. Vesuvius rumbled, an ominous cloud formed, residents fled to save their lives, and a city was lost in a sea of ash. For nearly 1700 years, the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii would lay hidden under 75 feet of volcanic ash until their accidental discovery and subsequent excavation.

Pompeii was known as a vacation community for high society before the eruption; it had a forum, amphitheater, gymnasium, shops and an aqueduct that delivered water for irrigation, fountains and private baths. Some of the ruins are remarkably preserved with elaborately detailed mosaics and colorful frescoes decorating the interiors of wealthy homeowners' villas.

What was life like under the volcano? What exactly did happen that summer day in A.D. 79? 

The Discovery Channel takes a look into the latest findings.

Fast forward to current day...   we exit our motorcoach and walk along the path to the entrance of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Shortly after entering the site we see evidence of remarkably well preserved buildings from the Lost City.

Our guide, Mama Nancy, is very knowledgeable about the history of Pompeii, and leads us through the various streets of the excavated city.   After a short walk we are in the amphitheater where we sit and listen as several of our group experience what it was like to stand before the crowd and speak.   Sound carries extremely well in the well-designed theater.   Modern theaters have taken their design from ancient Romans.

We explore the various regions of  Pompeii.  One of the highlights was the Forum which was the heart of the city's religious, economic, and municipal life.   It was raining from the time we left the amphitheater until shortly after leaving the Forum.  Mt. Vesuvius could be seen in the distance casting its shadow on us.   Imagine if that was lava instead of rain.   All of a sudden we understand what it must have been like that fateful August day.

Much research has been done since the discovery of this lost city.   Here are just a few that you might find interesting:

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Pompeii Heritage Site Information       

Ancient Roman Life Preserved at Pompeii -- National Geographic 

History of Pompeii : Pompeii : Discovery Channel 

Resurrecting Pompeii | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine  

Besides the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii is one of the must-see destinations while in Napoli (Naples, Italy).
We have posted several photos on our Facebook Fan Page:  Exploring Pompeii

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Amalfi Coastal Cruise

The Amalfi Coast, a 43-mile stretch just around the bend from Naples, is on many traveler "to-do" lists.  Princess Cruises was offering several shore excursions that included either a drive or cruise along the Amalfi Coast.    We opted for an all day tour that included the coastal cruise.

Best Seen from the Water

After a 45 minute motorcoach ride to Salerno, we boarded a motorlaunch for our  60-minute scenic cruise along the gorgeous Amalfi coastline. As we boarded the boat, we could choose seating inside or outside forward.  We selected the benches along the port (left) side of the boat so that we'd not have to turn around to see the scenery.

It was a beautiful sunny day as we sailed away from Salerno in our small motorlaunch.   A gentle breeze was blowing, keeping the temperature very comfortable.   At times, a light jacket helped to take away the occasional chill of the Mediterranean Sea breeze. 
 
Every Seat had a View
 
In reality, it didn't matter where you sat since there was something to see all around you.   It was possible to stand up and move around as long as you braced yourself for any unexpected movement of the boat.   The sea was quite calm, so we didn't have to worry about waves washing over the side.   Those in the very forward did get some sea spray from time to time, so take that into consideration when picking your seat.

Words Can't Describe the Beauty 


It's an ideal photo opportunity for shots of the rocky outcroppings and verdant grottos dotting the cliffs.  We've included a sampling of images in the collage above, but we have many more pictures which you can view on our Facebook Fan Page.  (Be sure to Like us to be notified of additional posts).

Amalfi Coastal Cruise   (Click the link to visit our Photo album)

This is just a portion of our 9 hour excursion which departed from Naples, Italy.  Be sure to check out the other posts about our 12-Night Greek Isles & Mediterranean Cruise on Star Princess.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Naples/Capri, Italy

ARRIVING IN NAPLES, ITALY

Star Princess arrived in Naples at 8 AM.  We had already had breakfast because our shore excursion, Pompeii & Amalfi Coastal Cruise,  would be departing shortly after the ship was cleared by local authorities.

Looking out from the upper deck, we saw that we weren't alone.  In this picture (left to right) are the Grand Holiday,  Liberty of the Seas, and Norwegian Epic.

If you are familiar with ships, the blue funnel might strike you as odd. Shouldn't that funnel be red?   Well, once upon a time it was.  This ship was previously known as Carnival's Holiday.   In November 2009, Holiday was retired from the fleet and  transferred to the fleet of Iberocruceros, another cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc as the MS Grand Holiday.

About Naples...

Italy's third-largest city, Naples is a bustling metropolis famed for it stately buildings, crowded streets, pizza and notoriously bad traffic. However, this beautiful city is rich in centuries-old culture and customs. Naples is also your gateway to the Isle of Capri, the fabled Amalfi Coast and the ruins of Pompeii, buried in ash by the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

12-Night Cruise, Day 3...

Our tour began in Naples where we boarded an air-conditioned motorcoach for a 45-minute drive to Salerno where a motorlaunch took us on a scenic 60-minute cruise along the gorgeous Amalfi coastline.   Arriving in the town of Amalfi  we had 60 minutes of free time to explore the town or visit the Amalfi Cathedral (entrance fee not included).

Following our visit to Amalfi, we cruised back along the Amalfi coastline to Salerno and boarded our motorcoach for a 30-minute drive to Pompeii where lunch was served at a local hotel.

After lunch we  explored the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pompeii, which uncovers excavations of a lost city buried deep beneath the ash when Mt. Vesuvius violently erupted in 79 AD.  Our guide, "Mama Nancy", explained the remarkably preserved remains that hint at daily life-their customs, buildings and cuisine.

Following Pompeii, we re-boarded the motorcoach and drove to a nearby cameo factory, where artisans apply skills handed down for generations, intricately carving seashell or coral into beautiful jewelry-true works of art, and beautiful keepsake souvenirs.   Those that wanted to purchase a keepsake had time to do that before we reboarded our motorcoach for the 30 minute return ride to Naples.

We will explore each of the parts of the tour in detail in additional posts.   Here are some photos on our Facebook Fan Page (please Like us so that you'll get updates as we continue our posts):

Naples/Capri Arrival        Drive to Salerno                        Amalfi Coastal Cruise
Exploring Amalfi               Drive to Pompeii / Lunch         Exploring Pompeii       
Cameo Factory

More information and photos of our day in Naples, Salerno, Amalfi, and Pompeii to follow in additional blog posts. 

 

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Where have you explored? 

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