1936 On the Continent

converted monasteries, and the proprietors have naturally endeavoured to preserve the poetry of the Italian
chiostros
, while providing every modern comfort. Amalfi has one of the loveliest churches of the region, the Dome, which was built in 1204.
Ravello
    From Amalfi you can reach the splendid little town of Ravello by a road with many windings. You must notmiss Ravello. From Atrani the road gradually rises among vineyards and flower-beds towards Ravello. This is a place where the visitor experiences in the physical sense the poetry and, at the same time, the terrifying magnificence of nature. Life in the quiet little town, in which at one time the wealthy merchant princes of the coast used to build their Norman-Arabic palaces, appears to be almost at a standstill. The palaces, some of them in ruins, are still there, but most of their owners have moved to other districts; the palaces and villas are locked up, waiting for their owners.
The Magic Garden
    The Palazzo Ruffolo is the finest among the palaces. Its wonderful flower garden gives a lovely view of the Bay of Salerno. It is no wonder that Richard Wagner, when he visited Ravello with his family in 1880, wrote in the autograph book of the palace: “I have found Klingsor’s magic garden.” The whole of Ravello is, in fact, one vast magic garden. It has two hotels, the “Palumbo,” on the site of which Wagner wanted to build a vast hotel to accommodate those who came to see and listen to his works, and the “Caruso Belvedere”; but neither is like any other hotel or inn in the world. The visitor is received here as though he were a Norman or Saracen noble, and that is how he is put up in the lovely arched rooms. Lunch and dinner are served on the terrace of some turret, on a round table with wormholes in it, and the meals include excellent wines. Speaking about food, we must mention the
osteria
on the Piazza, the “Bella veduta sul mare,” where mine host will first of all cross-examine you as to your tastes, then cogitate for awhile, and finally serve you a meal that you are not likely to forget till your dying day.
    However, the pleasures of poetry and the table should not cause you to forget the sights, such as the interesting bronze door and the interior of the Dome, the Palazzo Gonfalone and the twelfth-century S. Giovanni del Toro. When you say farewell to Ravello you may be sure that you will return as soon as possible. When you earn a little extra money the idea will inevitably come to you to pay another visit to this gorgeous little place. I know this from personal experience.
Paestum
    But Ravello is not the last of the lovely places round Naples. There is still Paestum, with its magnificent Greek monuments. It is far from me to criticise Roman architecture, but when you see the ruins of Greek churches and palaces here in the south of Italy you will no doubt stand in amazement and exclaim: “This is the real thing after all!” Paestum, formerly a flourishing Greek and subsequently Roman town, was first depopulated by malaria (which travellers need not fear, as owing to reclamation the danger is now past), then devastated by the Saracens. But even the Saracens could not destroy the magnificent public buildings. The Temple of Neptune is one of the best preserved Greek temples. The oldest church in Paestum, called the “Basilica” for some unfathomable reason, is also worth a visit.
    Paestum can be reached by the Naples-Reggio Calabria line via Salerno. If you travel in this direction you must have a look at Salerno as well.
On the way to Sicily
    The railway line from Naples to Villa San Giovanni, and beyond that to Reggio Calabria, is the most beautiful in Italy. All along the line there are ancient settlements and towns. An archaeologist would undoubtedly find something in every village, but the tourist has no time to spare for these places.
    Passing through the small station of Pizzo di Calabria, the tourist may recollect that it was here that Joachim Murat, ex-king of Naples, Napoleon’s legendary general, was shot dead on October 13th, 1813, five days after landing. Before the train reaches the station of Reggio Villa S. Giovanni, from where it is carried by steam ferry across the Messina Straits into Sicily, it passes through Scilla, the place mentioned in the Odyssey where those who have been fortunate enough to cross the Charybdis were destroyed by the monster with seven heads. In reality both the Scilla and the Charybdis exist, and