Herculaneum

Herculaneum (Ercolano) was a Roman city near Pompeii that was also buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.

Herculaneum was wealthier than Pompeii, and is much more condensed/built vertically than Pompeii.

Many fishermen lived there; and intact Roman fishing vessel was only recently recovered.

Herculaneum is less busy than Pompeii and less restrictive on where you can go.

Herculaneum may have been a Greek city originally, but was a Samnite city when the Romans took it over.

Time has warped the ground the city rested on.

Many Roman atrium had open roofs with a basin to catch rainwater in.

Ancient frescoes are hidden all around the city.

Some houses still have the shrines to their household gods.

The King of the Two Sicilies funded tunneling into Herculaneum in the 1700s, but excavation ceased when Pompeii was discovered because it was much easier to unearth.

Marcus Nonius Balbus was the patrician who funded many of the public buildings in Herculaneum and made the city great. A variety of statues of him have been moved to the Naples Archeology Museum.

There are many mosaics present in the city as well.

Mosaic from the bathhouse.

Dogs protecting the atrium opening to an apartment.

Another household shrine

Vivid color that has survived to this day.

The Romans had some... graphic statues.

Herculaneum is still being unearthed, until the the next time it is covered by Mother Nature.

Malta

The buildings in Valletta, Malta, are made out of a distinct yellow limestone. The Knights of Malta, and then the British, heavily fortified the area around Valletta to make it impregnable.

There were many celebrations going on due to Armistice Day. In 1565, the Knights of Malta held out in Fort St. Angelo (the peninsula to the left of the yacht) against the Turks during the Great Siege of Malta.

Malta was heavily bombed in World War II, but never fell to Axis powers.

Not a bad port-of-call for the British Navy.

A typical example of the small churches dotting the Valletta area.

The Inquisition had a presence in Malta; the Grand Inquisitor had a nice map collection.

Scary in any culture.

Burlap Nativity.

The best part of the Inquisitor's Palace was the testimonies of those tried by the Inquisitors. This is the proof used by a famous mathematician to show he wasn't using witchcraft for construction.

Shhhhhhh.....

Some of the scariest torture devices are the simplest ones.

Graffiti in the Inquisitor's dungeon.

Malta has its own average beer, Cisk, and its own orange soda, Kinnie, which tastes alcoholic due to the bitters, but isn't.

Some yachts are more interesting than others.

Valletta has some beautiful parks tucked away.

Surprisingly not out of Lord of the Rings

Some of the temples in Malta are as old as 3600 B.C., making them 1600 years older than Stonehenge. And like all good ancient cultures, they worshipped the mother goddess.

The sleeping lady, the highlight of the Malta Archeology Museum.

Tiny hands

Where did that pig come from?

Spirals

Two for the price of one.

Parliament building

A typical farm with a stony fence

A large church in the center of a small town

Hagar Qim is Malta's most famous ancient temple.

The Mnajdra temple complex is a short walk away.

Mdina was Malta's fortified medieval capital.

It has great views of the entire island.

Did the gremlins come from Malta?

Prickly pear liqueur from Malta was a little sweet for my taste.

Nenu the Artisan Baker is a great restaurant in Valletta. Ftira, Maltese pizza, is excellent, as is the rabbit.

Resistance is futile.

Why?

St. John's Cathedral may be one of the most ornate churches in the world.

The highlight of the church was the many marble tombstones of the Knights of Malta that served as the floor.

The Knights Hospitaller controlled Rhodes until they were dislodged by Suleiman the Magnificent. Charles I of Spain gave the knights Malta afterwards, which they controlled until Napoleon quickly defeated them over 250 years later. The British moved in after defeating Napoleon. Malta became independent in 1964.

At least the statue accurately shows loot being hoisted on the backs of Turkish and black slaves.