Fishermen, And A Statue By The Sea

In the fishing town local fishermen were working on their nets and a nearby statue reminds of the ones that were taken by the sea.

Like in Spain where I tried to find authentic fishermen’s houses, here too they were gone. The seaside always generates more money than the countryside. Therefore the people on the coast have more money; they renovate their houses well before the farmers do.

Italian Marble

Marble is extracted from nearby quarries; the road that went past them had all these marble pyramids by the side.These little mountains were built from the pieces of rock that would have to be dug out before reaching the actual marble. In Belgium and Germany (even in the far south of Holland) you will find similar heaps of earth where they used to dig for coal. They are the remains of years of work underground.The marble is a typical Italian product and you will find it back all over the country in houses, castles and churches and cathedrals. Like in Naples:

Shopping Cars

We didn’t stay in Apricena, but we went to a small hotel in a nearby village.

The very first morning when I woke up I heard the voice through a loudspeaker in the streets. I went out to have a look and I saw this car driving around with all his merchandise on top of the car. It was a driving fashion shop.

Like I had seen in France here too most of the shops had disappeared from the villages and traveling salesmen were appearing in the streets to sell their merchandise. Soon after this one there came a fisherman, a butcher, a greengrocer, and a car that sold all kinds of stuff you might need—a small grocery car.
Soon after, we had to change hotels, and ended up on the coast. Here we found one of the few hotels still open (it was late in the season). The place was packed with hunters who partied until late and woke up way before the sun would rise. The hotel was of the kind that had all stone and marble walls and floors that make for tremendous noise; you would hear literally every noise that was produced. You could hear your neighbor snore, wheeze, and cough.

Italy

I toured Italy with Frederique, a young radio journalist who had studied there for two years. She had her way of dealing with the Italians and her way worked just fine for me. We flew to Naples and rode off for a two-week journey; that was all the time she could make free for me. I thought that could be enough and Frederique set her mind to find me at least 30 good places.