Gaeta Locals in 1996
by deecat
Check out next tip for updates on Locals in Gaeta
Where we lived in Gaeta was an apartment building with approximately 12 individual apartments in it. The bottom floor of this building contained a wonderful Cappuccino Bar that was purported to have the biggest and best cappuccino in all of Italy. I haved to say that it truly did have the best cappuccino that I have ever had in Italy during the three times that I have visited.
I had a ritual each morning. I would go to the produce stand and select fruit and juice for breakfast and vegetables for dinner. Then, I would go to the news stand across the stree and purchase theInternational Newspaper (in Enlish) for Allan.
After purchasing fresh bread at the bread store a block away, I would return to our apartment building and have a cup of cappuccino at the bar. Its interesting to note that I was always the only woman at the bar! Each day, an older Italian man would walk to the Cappuccino Bar. As I walked into the bar, he would smile and nod.
Toward the end of our visit, my husband and I asked if we could take a Polaroid picture of him. He agreed. We took the picture, but he did not smile.
So, Allan had me stand beside him with my arm around him, and, WOW, did he smile.
We think that he did not smile because he had no teeth and was embarrassed. It was sad to say goodbye.
The third picture that we took was of the old man and me again, and this one...we gave to him. I often look at mine; I wonder if he does too?
It's my fondest memory of our time in Gaeta.
Piazzale Caboto
by deecat
The area that faces the sea near the Town Hall is called. We owe General V. Traniello [Gaeta was his home town] for having this area done. He is also the person who had the park created.
The area behind the Gran Guardia building is where the sea had been filled up with materials obtained out of the demolition of part of Charles V's ramparts. This area has been called Piazzale Caboto since 1930, but it has been modified until it became what it is today, a part of the Lungomare. The Piazzale Caboto and the Lungomare both are dedicated to Giovanni Caboto [he discovered Canada in 1497] because his parents were born in Gaeta!
I love this area because it is the area where we roamed for two months in 1997, and it is where we hung out for four days in 2006. Besides, the view of medieval Gaeta is really excellent right here. Photographs:
1. Dee at Fountain in Piazzale Cabot in 1997. I loved this fountain and admired it often.
2. Allan took this photo of me in 1997 when we first arrived in Gaeta.
3. This is also a 1997 photograph. It's of an old fisherman who was here at the pier each day.
I never saw him catch a fish. I did not see him in 2006.
4. Allan in 2006 at the same wall as the photo that he took of me in 1997.
5. Photo of Piazzale Caboto in 1997.
Stately Statue of Gaeta
by deecat
Up on a hill above the old town of Gaeta stands the Teresa di S. Francesco Church . It is a beautiful piece of architecture that seems quite imposing when you are standing on the Gaeta Pier.
It is thought that Saint Francis of Assisi on his way back from a voyage to the East stopped at Gaeta and founded a small church where the present one now stands.
At the first of the 19th century, the French used this church as a military hospital warehouse!
It was restored in 1927, 1951 and now it is being repaired again in 2006. It is covered with scaffolds now.
I always admired it from afar. One day, Allan and I decided that it was time to visit the church. We climbed up the hill and then climbed the steps and were stopped dead in our tracks by a most beautiful sight. There, next to the steps, was a huge white marble statue of Saint Francesco carrying a cross.
This white statue was brilliant against the azure water of the Gaeta Bay. It took our breaths away. We stood there in awe of its splendor. No photograph can do it justice. We finally went into the church. That brilliant white theme contiues with massive arches of white marble against black and gold altarpieces. It is really remarkably beautiful.
We were fortunate enough to go to a service in Teresa di S. Francesco and noticed that most of the "regulars" were the older people in the town. We saw only a few young people and some children.
When we left the church, we walked back down those steep steps, and, once again, we saw that marvelous statue of Saint Francesco and were stunned just as we were the first time we laid eyes on it.
Its elegant beauty is, indeed, stunning.
A bit of everything to suit everybody
by unravelau
I would definitely take you up Mount Orlando and into the mausoleum of Munazio Planco. The beautiful scenery that I can only be reminded of now in photo's ........but what photo's. The old rocks, quaint backstreets, the castles, the churches, the beach etc.etc.
Reposo
by sissah
Reposo is a mid-day nap/meal time for Italians. You don't encounter it much in the larger cities, but in smaller towns, everything shuts down from about noon to five p.m. It's a big pain in the butt because you can't get anything then -- food, gas, socks -- nada.
Sign in with Facebook
Itri © NonnaLou
Awesome coffe shop at the piazza
Love this car
USS Mount Whitney & CGC Munro...
