Vintage Village

Amalfi Coast, May 1984. Hamlets like this one dot the Amalfi Coast. Many of them were pirate lairs.

Cruise Memento

I wrote earlier how my Best Friend's Parents sailed across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Andrea Doria. Earlier, I had thought they made the trip during their honeymoon. I was wrong; they sailed aboard the liner in 1955, one year before the Andrea Doria sank.

Their voyage aboard the Andrea Doria stuck with me because the historical figure, Andrea Doria, was someone I later studied when I did research about Mediterranean piracy. Although my work focused on Venice, I also learned about how other maritime cities—namely Genoa and Pisa—took measures to protect their interests from naval pillage.

 
Atlantic Ocean, Summer 1955. Here's a postcard my Best Friend's Mom, Louise, saved from the trip.

Thanks to my Best Friend for making this photo available to us.

Walking the plank.

New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital installs a pirate-themed CT scanner.

It's not quite "Venetian piracy," but ...

Thieves rob a courier canal boat carrying cash meant for delivery to retired veterans.

Thanks to my friend Kris for pointing this story out to me.

Two subjects I never thought would appear together in a news story.

Lithuania and piracy.

Indoor Shopping

Stuttgart, Germany, August 1985. This place reminded me of the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele.

Speaking of that Galleria post: are you buying a lottery ticket tomorrow?

Don't-Miss-the-Train Reunion

 

Stuttgart, West Germany, August 1985. I traveled to Stuttgart to participate in a conference about medieval maritime commerce. I was happy to visit the city because my Dad studied there after the war. I stayed in a suburban hotel and rode the train into the center each morning. I've never seen cleaner train stations.

Hidden Treasures

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, July 1961. Mom helps me explore an abandoned boat. Could this have been the moment when I first got interested in ... piracy?

Desk

Urbana, Illinois, September 1985. This is the place at which I sat and wrote a dissertation.

Pirates Courtyard

During the two years that I lived in Columbia, South Carolina, Mr. Irene often flew down for a visit. One weekend we drove to Charleston. Because I had grown up in Chicago, I was not accustomed to seeing so many historical buildings in an American city. During that time, I also was an historian, and my area of focus was medieval, Mediterranean piracy.

Charleston is full of pirate-themed tourist attractions. I nonetheless was quite charmed when Mr. Irene and I stumbled on the Pirates Courtyard: 

Charleston, South Carolina, September 4, 1989. I stop at the Pirates Courtyard, on Church Street.

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Charleston, South Carolina, November 1989. I returned to the same spot, shortly after Hurricane Hugo struck the city.