Young, plump bodies bursting out of tight denim bounced around the small compartment. Jewellery  jingled on arms and necks and small explosions of gum punctuated the distorted music from a mobile phone as the excitement that anticipated a Saturday night on the town pervaded our carriage. We were stationary in a siding at Poggiomarino under the shadow of Vesuvius when our peace was invaded by the youth of this small and definitely non- tourist town. Around us extraordinary graffiti decorated the otherwise drab station buildings. They looked more like works of art than acts of vandalsim. The local bar, where you had to stand to drink your chosen but cheap beverage had a very definite men only flavour.

 

Where could the youngsters be going we wondered? Wherever it was it was livening up our diversion on the apparently straightforward, you can’t go wrong, journey between Herculanium and our hotel, Hotel Imperial Tramontano, in Sorrento. We were soon to find out because a few stops after the train leapt into motion the youngsters all descended on the town of Pompeii. Clearly Pompeii was  just as famous locally for it’s nightlife as it was wordwide for it’s Roman excavations. 

 

Today was Easter Saturday on the Amalfi Coast in Italy and when we got back to Sorrento the streets were eerily empty of traffic but teeming with people. As we pushed our way through the throng it was hard to believe that yesterday in the early hours of the morning these same streets had been host to hundreds of Sorrentinians processing through the town by candle light. Although we had only arrived the previous afternoon we had heard about the procession and a few of us decided to get up to watch this first of Sorrento’s two famous Good Friday processions.

 

As we crept outside onto the dark, empty streets the first indication that anything was about to happen was the appearance of the night porter with a blow lamp to light the candles we could now see had been positioned on the pillars of hte wall surrounding our hotel. We wandered down the road and soon came to a small church, doors wide open so that we could see the beautifully decorated alter inside. People started to gather outside this church and ahead we caught a brief glimpse of some white figures glding through the night. A small crowd was heading in our direction and we preceeded them to find a good vantage point.

 

Strains of music drifted towards us and a band appeared and marched slowly past us, the music was beautiful, calming but uplifting. Silence fell in the empty street behind them. Then around the corner came the first of hundreds of ghostly white figures, each carrying a flaming torch and every idnentity concealed by a white hood. One group chanted as they passed by but generally the silence was profound and respectful. Finally the Virgin Mary appeared carried aloft and guarded by caribinieri in ceremonial dress. The statue was escorted into the church a few metres beyond us. Mary was looking for her son Jesus who had been condemned to die on the cross and she was checking each church.

 

The procession had halted and waited until the Virgin re-appeared before continuing on it’s way. We strolled back down the empty street where the night porter was dousing the flames, the show was over until the second procession tonight.

 

We spent the rest of the day exploring the delightful town of Sorrento. Our walking tour in the morning concentrated on the old town where we strolled along narrow streets and sampled the delights of limoncello and lemon flavoured chocolate, cakes and biscuits. In the afternoon we had time to visit the pretty Marina Grande, a short stroll form out hotel and visit one of the many wood marquetry shops and workshops. That evening we gathered on the terrace outside the bar of our hotel and sipped cocktails enjoying a wonderful view across the Bay of Naples.

 

After an early dinner we gathered outside again for the second procession, the more sombre Procession of Death which we were assured we would find more fascinating than the early morning spectacular. This procession certainly attracted many more people but a convenient bar just around the corner from our hotel offered a more comfortable alternative to standing on the stree waiting and good viewing position when the procession finally passed by.

 

Again the procession was proceeded by a band but his time the music was funereal and the mood sombre, there was no sense of hope as amongst the hundred of black robed and hooded participants the body of the crucified Jesus was born aloft, followed by the effigy of the Virgin Mary who had now found her son dead on the cross. This procession was greeted with mixed emotions and some found this Italian re-affirmation of their religious roots rather disturbing.

 

The roots of these processions probably go back to 1500 and the processions were very simple as the brothers from the orders responsible for organising them walked through the streets in plain dress with lit lamps, singing psalms carrying a bare cross. Probably around 1700 under the domination of the Spanish viceroyalty the parades were influenced by the Jesuit priests who introduced more objects such as torches and lamps as well as standards, symbols and artefacts. A choir singing the words of the psalmist David was also incorporated into the Procession of Death. By 1806 the numbers of brothers and friars in the local convents had greatly diminished so the King of Naples ‘invited’ other Sorrentinians to participate in the procession. The invitation is till repeated today and many local people, in particular the young people, take pride in accepting this invitation and following a tradition that has been handed down from father to son.

 

Our Saturday morning began with a coach tour along the spectacular Amalfi coast. Once round the Sorrento Peninsula we drove along the winding coast road where the cliffs plunged straight down into the sea. Inhabitants of this area accessed the sea below and habitations above by clambering up and down one of the many narrow sets of stone steps. We had a photo stop above Positano and time to wander around Amalfi before making our way back along the coast. Some of us got off at Meta to take the Circumvesuviana train to Herculaneum to visit the ruins there and take a trip up Vesuvius. It was a good opportunity to compare the smaller site of this residential town with the sprawling remains of the large commercial centre that was Pompeii.

 

Easter Sunday started with a festive Easter breakfast before we set off for the excavations at Pompeii and a 2 hour guided tour during which our guide, Alfonso, fascinated us with the history of the town. Did you know that no remains of any cats were found as they sensed the danger and deserted the town? We then slowly made our way back to the hotel through very heavy traffic as it seemed the entire population of Naples made its way to Sorrento to enjoy a leisurely lunch and some retail therapy. When we finally got back we had an interesting festive Easter lunch. The restaurant was decorated with a display buffet that represented the meal meal we were about to eat and an amazing dessert buffet that, thankfully, was edible! I am sure I am not the only one who sneaked off to enjoy a long siesta after eating! It was a busy day – our festive evening meal that was not dissimiliar to the festive lunch was followed by an entertaining performance of the Sorrento Musical at the Teatro Tasso.

 

Our last morning we set sail on a hydro foil to Capri where we had a great day exploring this beautiful island. Most of us took the easy option, shuttle buses between the port, Anacapri and Capri whereas Derek walked every step of the way. The ladies? Well we shopped or window shopped till we dropped. This lovely day marked the end of a super trip to a fascinating area.