Termoli

After a rough night where our little ship rocked and rolled for 15 hours, we landed in Termoli where it is absolutely beautiful. Not a trace of any storm...the sea is calm, the sky is blue and there is only a slight breeze. Go figure. 

Like so many of the towns along the coast, it is protected by a castle 

The walls are tall (140 feet) and thick (20 feet) and the last time they were invaded was in 1557 by the Muslim Turks...who destroyed the city and killed the people. The area has also see a far number of earthquakes.

The battlements tried to protect the people. This fort has "new" technology...the rounded towers deflect cannotballs better than the square towers of the past.

Inside the walls is a tidy town with shiny cobbled streets and 

A few very narrow alleys--our guide said this was the narrowest street in all of Europe...about 12 inches at your feet and less at your head! 

Of course there's a church. This is a Romanesque facade started in the 10th century. Our guide said the exterior niches were painted at one time and there were traces of color as well as gold leaf. That's gone now. Inside, the church is quite stark. It was remodeled in the 15th century, in a baroque style, but an earthquake destrloyed much of the church and the curlicues were removed as was any other decoration. They did find parts of a 10th century mosaic floor with a "Tree of Life" design, much like the floor of the church in Otranto.

Houses in the old town do not have front yards, but they do have potted plants...

...sometimes the pots are attached to the front of the house.

See the eye on the fishing boat? Like Maltese fishermen, the Termolian fisherman believes the eye guides them thru thesea and leads them to the fish.

I love this sign...especially the car falling into the bay. You are warned!