The Grand Tour 06: Kodachrome Slides from Campania, Venice, and Rome, 1950

 

Continuing his long 1950 voyage back to the USA, my dad took a steamer from Alexandria, Egypt, to Genoa, Italy, with a stopover in Syracusa. He wrote in his diary it was a rough crossing, with many passengers seasick. After disembarking, he took a bus tour along the coast and to Pompeii. The following day, he entrained to Rome. 

 

 Syracuse, Sicily

 

The famous amphitheater was excavated from the limestone in the early Imperial Era (approx. 100 BC).  The superstructure is gone. 

 

Amalfi Coast, Campania

 

The famous Amalfi Coast, at the southern edge of the Sorrentine Peninsula in Campania, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This view is from the town of Ravello looking south towards Minori and Maiori. The spectacular coast is now horrendously over-touristed.

 

Rome

 

The Arch of Septimius Severus (203 AD), Roman Forum

The Roman Forum - where are all the tourists? (October 27, 1950)

Piazza della Rotondo (Pantheon). The Albergo del Sole is now a boutique hotel.

 

Venice

 

After a few days in Rome, my dad took the train to Venice. He noted that the car was unheated and he had to wear his topcoat in the compartment. Fortunately, Venice was sunny and warmer.

 

View from the top, Piazza San Marco from St Mark's Campanile

Piazza San Marco, November 1 or 2, 1950

Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront

Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal (Nov. 1, 1950). Where are all the tourists?

Venice really is a fantastic destination. The Rialto bridge and the nearby market area is most interesting. I have not been to Venice since 2013 - much too long. By all means, make it a life goal to see the islands, canals, architecture, and the opera - but go off season. Just do it.

Rialto Bridge in 2013 with a few more people (digital file)

  

After a few days in Venice, my dad took the train to Verona and changed to a train heading to Innsbruck via the Brenner Pass. 

My dad took the 1950 photographs on Kodachrome film with his Leica IIIC camera and a 5 cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens. I scanned the slides with a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED film scanner run by NikonScan 4.03 software. On some frames, I corrected color casts with the color correction tool in Photoshop Elements 2024. It is surprisingly effective. 

 Next: central Europe.