The Great Regatta

Chapter Seven

'Well, it's up to you, Blaise, as none of us knows Italian,' Justin said.

Blaise looked at the Hon. Evelyn. He shook his head.

'So it is,' Blaise said. 'Rely on me.'

'We will, Blay,' Justin said.

They went to the Old Town near the waterfront, to the Piazza del Municipio, looking to the bay, with the City Hall and the impressive castle, partly late mediaeval, partly Renaissance, with beautiful relief on the façade. Blaise said:

'It's the Castello Nuovo, the 'New Castle', built by the King Robert I of the Angevins and called also Maschio Angiovino, the Angevin Male, for in the southern Italy, a show of power is thought of as necessarily male. The relief glorifies the King Alfonso of the Angevins.'

'You hear, Fonsie?' Justin smiled. The white mouse poked his head out of Justin's pocket. 'His full name is Alfonse.'

The Hon. Evelyn nodded.

Justin looked at a hill towering above the place in distance, crowned by greenery and beautiful buildings:

'And what is this?'

'This is the San Martino hill, a very beautiful place,' Blaise said. 'We shall go there now.'

They meandered through some streets above the square and at last got to the summit of the hill. Justin saw a small castle and a monastery, surrounded by gardens.

'This is the abandoned Chartreuse of San Martino, that gave the name to the hill,' Blaise said. 'And this is the Castle of Sant'Elmo.'

'Saint Elmo, as in Saint Elmo's lights?' Justin said, perking his ears up.

'Quite right,' Blaise said. 'And now let's see the complex of San Martino. It's very lovely, and has beautiful cloister. And around these buildings are lovely terraced gardens from which one can see the entire city.'

'Nice,' Justin said with enthusiasm.

They went to see the fine Gothic chartreuse, and then wandered into the gardens. They were shady and welcoming, and they could see a beautiful view of Naples from the terraces.

'Wonderful,' Justin sighed.

Then they went back to the waterfront and along the dockyards to the popular church of Santa Maria del Carmine. From there they went deep into the old streets, saw the beautiful Renaissance churches of Gesu Nuovo, Santa Chiara, San Lorenzo Maggiore and San Domenico Maggiore, the fine palazzi along the Via Toledo, the main street of Naples, the Duomo - the Cathedral of Naples, and the quiet streets of Spiccanapoli - the Split of Naples, as that part of Naples was called. Blaise stopped into one of the streets.

'And this street is the official boundary of Spiccanapoli,' he said. 'And guess what it's called? Via San Biagio dei Librai - the Street of Saint Blaise of the Scales!'

'Scales as in balance?' Justin asked with a smile.

'Yes.' Blaise smiled.

Then they went into a trattoria, and Blaise ordered polenta and Chianti for all four of them.

'You're from the North, aren't you?' the young waitress witch asked.

'Yes.' Blaise smiled.

'How'd she know it?' Justin asked.

'She meant the North of Italy.' Blaise smiled. 'I speak a northern dialect, and polenta is a favorite dish in the North.'

'Oh, right,' Justin said.

Polenta, a kind of hominy with milk, garlic and tomato sauce, and baked, al forno, was very tasty. Chianti, in a bottle emblazoned with the famous black cock, gallo nero, was excellent as always.

By the nightfall they were back on the ship.

The next day they headed for Dubrovnik. They passed the mountainous shores of Calabria and entered a strait between the mainland and a large hilly island. Suddenly they saw a beautiful castle floating in the air above the strait.

'This is the castle of Fata Morgana, a powerful faerie,' Blaise said. 'Muggles think it's a mirage. This place, the Strait of Calabria, is famous for it.'

Blaise's companions looked at the castle in awe.

'Then it's Sicily to the right?' Trevor asked.

'Yes,' Blaise said. 'Only sailors say 'starboard.'

'Starboard,' Trevor repeated thoughtfully.

Then they doubled the peninsula of Calabria and sailed across a bay. They doubled another hilly peninsula and crossed the Adriatic Sea. Gradually they saw a cape encircled by a wall with round towers, groves and villas on the coast behind the cape.

'Dubrovnik,' Blaise said.

'Yeah,' Justin said. He made a spurt and entered the bay ahead of Avery.