Treasures of the World with Bettany Hughes - Season 1, Episode 4 Mediterranean Islands
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00:00I'm traveling the world, exploring secrets and wonders.
00:08This is really tight.
00:12An adventure by land and sea to the most fascinating places.
00:17This is absolutely incredible.
00:20I've been given special access to significant and surprising treasures.
00:25So tiny and absolutely unique.
00:29Buried in ancient sites, extraordinary buildings, and glorious works of art.
00:37That help to explain the story of us.
00:41Come with me as I reveal how the past has shaped our lives.
00:46This time, the treasures of the Mediterranean.
00:50This sea has been called the Great Sea.
00:53The White Sea, the Bitter Sea, the Encircling Sea.
00:57And it's been given all these different names
00:59because this body of water is a lifeblood of civilization.
01:05A waterway that connects the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe,
01:10which has seen more human journeys than anywhere else in the world.
01:15It's left its mark in many cultures in many ways.
01:20The Mediterranean has long fed the imaginations of travelers, writers,
01:26and artists from the ancient Greek poet Homer,
01:29who described our desire to wander these waters,
01:32to the 19th century painter Vincent van Gogh,
01:35who talked about the ever-changing palette of the Mediterranean.
01:39And I want to follow in the trail of their inspiration.
01:43I'll be charting a course across this wonderful waterway
01:46from its western edge,
01:48discovering recent finds inside the rock of Gibraltar.
01:53Then, travelling east, I'll explore hidden treasures
01:55on three of my favorite islands reached across the Mediterranean seas.
02:00The riches of Malta, the magic of Italian Ischia,
02:04and finally, the Greek island of Delos with its sacred mysteries.
02:10An adventure of discovery in some pretty remarkable places
02:16that can help us understand the story of humanity.
02:31The Strait of Gibraltar has been a superhighway for at least 4,000 years,
02:37navigated by sailors from the Middle East and Africa,
02:40Greece and Rome and beyond, all trading goods and ideas.
02:46I'm right at the very mouth of the Mediterranean here,
02:49at its western edge, and I'm heading close on 3,000 miles east.
02:53But before I do that, there is something in here
02:56that I just have to show you.
03:01My first treasure is a brand-new discovery,
03:04hidden away within a cave inside the Great Rock of Gibraltar itself.
03:10This is the point where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic,
03:13so you've got hot and cold water crashing together,
03:17which makes the sea a lot livelier and, frankly, pretty treacherous.
03:24Oh!
03:26For travellers from the east, it was no mean feat to make it here.
03:31And in the caves of Gibraltar, sailors from the Late Bronze Age onwards
03:35would take shelter before embarking on perilous journeys.
03:44The sea level's risen so much that, these days,
03:47you can only get in by clambering over the rocks.
03:51This is not an easy cave to access.
03:55I've long wanted to explore this intriguing place,
04:00Gorham's Cave.
04:03This cave is packed with ancient artefacts,
04:07which have been brought here over the centuries by sailors
04:10as an offering, because this isn't just a cave, this is a shrine.
04:15Precious finds from across the classical world have been uncovered here,
04:20but a brilliant, brand-new discovery has just been made.
04:25Over the decades, archaeologists have been piecing together fragments,
04:29and just in the last couple of weeks, they've identified this.
04:33So, the original was made in the 5th century BCE,
04:37The original was made in the 5th century BCE,
04:39and we know it's a medusa, who's a kind of ferocious female monster,
04:44whose stare could literally petrify, it could turn men to stone.
04:48Now, we know this is a medusa because she's got these snakes for hair
04:51and this terrible, menacing gash of a mouth.
04:55Now, a medusa could be a protector, but she could be a warning.
04:59So, basically, this is a 2,500-year-old sign saying,
05:05Watch out.
05:08The belief was that this cave was actually Medusa's home,
05:13where the ancient Greek hero, Perseus, came to seek out and kill the goddess.
05:18She was described by the Greek scholar, Apollodorus,
05:21as having wings of gold that gave her the power of flight,
05:26and if you made offerings to her, she'd protect you on your voyage.
05:30Isn't it just incredible to think of those awestruck travellers
05:34beating a path to this cave to honour the goddess?
05:38The remainder of the gifts left for the medusa are now safely stored
05:42in the Gibraltar National Museum,
05:44under the care of archaeologist Dr Geraldine Finlayson.
05:48Oh, my goodness. This is actually a treasure chest.
05:50So, this is all stuff from the cave? This is all stuff from the cave.
05:53Oh, my God. It's heavy, isn't it?
05:56It is heavy.
05:58I mean, what beautiful things.
06:02They look like they're from all over.
06:05Some of them having been found in the 1950s,
06:08and then some of them have been found more recently.
06:10But, of course, they all go much further back.
06:13I mean, this is just...
06:15I mean, this is like, I am in a sweet shop, basically.
06:17Because these are Egyptian scarabs, aren't they? That's right.
06:20They weren't brought here by the Egyptians, though.
06:22This was the Phoenicians, who were like the tradesmen and women
06:26of the Mediterranean, of the ancient Mediterranean,
06:30and they used to trade with the Egyptians,
06:32and then they'd bring all these trade goods all the way
06:35to the western side of the Mediterranean.
06:37The Phoenicians originated in the Near East
06:40and were active from the Bronze Age onwards.
06:43The treasures they left show the vast distances they travelled
06:46right across the Mediterranean,
06:48and the importance of respecting Medusa to secure safe crossing.
06:53They're so... I've got to put my specs on.
06:56They're beautiful.
06:58And it's something that, it connects,
07:00it's a body of water that connects you, it's shared.
07:02And the incredible thing is that in this one cave,
07:05you've got all points of the Mediterranean represented,
07:08so north, south and east and west.
07:10I mean, that looks somebody of very distinctly African heritage.
07:14That's right. The whole of the Mediterranean is represented,
07:17not just the northern shores of the Mediterranean,
07:20but also the southern shores.
07:21This is very clearly an African that's depicted in that scarab.
07:26And that, I mean, that's a beautiful little thing.
07:27Is it possible to pick up?
07:29Yes, I'm sure we can.
07:31Where is that from?
07:32Well, this is glass amphoriscos.
07:34It's what have been used to contain perfume or a very expensive spice.
07:40And this actually can be traced back to one single factory
07:44in Rhodes, on the east of the Mediterranean.
07:47But that's incredible.
07:48Look at the amount of detail, the tiny little handles,
07:51the beautiful little bead of glass in yellow at the base.
07:54These are items that weren't lost in the cave.
07:57They were left there with a purpose,
08:00and the person had all their hopes and aspirations
08:05attached to the offering that they were leaving
08:07for their deity, for their gods.
08:09That is so beautiful, isn't it?
08:12Can I...
08:13Very carefully.
08:14There we go.
08:15Isn't it a lovely thought that whoever left this
08:172,500 years ago, they would probably love the fact
08:19that we're cherishing it today.
08:21Yes, I suppose they would be quite chuffed.
08:23And as you say, I mean, these aren't just random things
08:26that are being left.
08:27They obviously have real value to the person
08:30who's leaving them.
08:31It would be something precious for them.
08:33Yeah.
08:34However beautiful it is.
08:35Can you take it off me now?
08:37I'm slightly nervous I'm dropping it, I have to say,
08:39because this is glass that is 2,500 years old.
08:42That's right.
08:45And all of this tells you that journeys really matter
08:48and that journeys are really dangerous
08:49because they're trying to keep the gods on side,
08:51obviously, by leaving these things.
08:53But you also get a sense that these people,
08:56they had a really kind of active relationship
08:58with the Mediterranean.
08:59It wasn't just water for them.
09:02It's sometimes referred to as the Marinostrum,
09:04the Arseids.
09:06They all referred to the sea.
09:08The sea was like the common denominator
09:10of all these different cultures.
09:11They're around the Mediterranean.
09:13But if there's one thing that they could all identify with,
09:16it was this sea,
09:17which was the source of all their trade routes.
09:20It was very important to them.
09:21And as a person who lives in the Mediterranean,
09:24you feel that the sea is running in your blood, I think.
09:27Wow.
09:29The Medusa head from Gorham's Cave is a treasure
09:32because it's a unique survivor from antiquity.
09:35And it shows just how intrepid those early travellers were.
09:39They're venturing thousands of miles from their homes
09:42in incredibly perilous conditions.
09:45And it also reminds us how, as a species,
09:48we seem driven to try to face our fears
09:52and whatever the dangers, to explore beyond our horizons.
09:59I'm following the trade routes
10:00of those ancient Phoenician travellers,
10:03heading east to a pivotal island
10:05which sits between the continents of Europe and Africa
10:09to explore exciting new finds,
10:11which are testament to the lasting influence
10:13the Middle East has had on the Med.
10:16My next treasure is a gem of the medieval world
10:20on the island of Malta.
10:25Malta's strategic position
10:27right at the heart of the Mediterranean
10:29made it a crucial stepping stone
10:30between the continents of Africa and Europe.
10:36The ancient Greek historian Diodorus
10:38wrote that Malta was a place of great importance
10:40to the Mediterranean.
10:43The ancient Greek historian Diodorus
10:45wrote that Malta provided a place of safe retreat,
10:48out in the open sea but well supplied with harbours
10:52and how right he was.
10:56From the Bronze Age onwards,
10:57Malta was a crossroads for cultures and ideas.
11:03This place is a natural harbour
11:05and it's been used for centuries.
11:07It's called Masa Shlok
11:09and Masa means harbour in Arabic
11:12and Shlok means southerly wind
11:15because over 1,000 years ago,
11:17travellers originally from North Africa
11:19came here and made Malta their home.
11:25The historic harbour is still active.
11:2770% of the island's fishing catch is landed here,
11:30often on traditional Lutsu fishing boats,
11:33another inheritance from the Phoenicians.
11:36Excuse me, can we lift the cloth so I can see the eyes?
11:41Sorry.
11:43Thank you so much, that was so sweet.
11:45So this nice fisherman has just lifted up his cloth
11:48so I could see these eyes.
11:49I don't know if you can see them on the front of the boat.
11:51I'm very excited about these
11:53because eyes like that have been painted on boats
11:56in this part of the Mediterranean
11:58for at least 3,500 years
12:00because they're supposed to be like kind of lucky charms
12:04and keep the boats and the men inside them safe.
12:07So isn't that fantastic?
12:09That's history uninterrupted across the centuries.
12:14Thank you, wherever you are.
12:16Traders of fish and luxury goods
12:18have made the day or so sail from Tunisia in North Africa
12:22to Malta for centuries.
12:24And just a week before I arrived,
12:26a fabulous wonder came to light.
12:30This was not on my schedule,
12:31but I've heard that there's a quite extraordinary discovery
12:36that's just been made.
12:37These are waterworks.
12:39And when they were digging them out,
12:41archaeologists were alerted
12:43that there was something a bit unexpected down here.
12:47Debra, hi.
12:48Hi, how are you?
12:49Hi, Bettany, how nice to meet you.
12:51Nice to meet you as well.
12:51Archaeologist Debra Camilleri and her team
12:54have uncovered an ancient burial ground
12:56left by explorers originally from Tunisia.
12:59What an incredible find.
13:02I mean, so this is a Phoenician or a Punic tomb,
13:04is that right?
13:05Absolutely.
13:06How incredible.
13:07So I know that the finds have had to go to the lab
13:10because they're very delicate,
13:12but these are some of the things
13:13that were discovered, were they?
13:14Yes, we found a beautiful glass beaker,
13:16a little glass vial,
13:17which probably held some kind of oil or perfume,
13:20a needle with an eyelet,
13:22just a number of things all completely laid out,
13:25never touched as if it had been there
13:27and put there yesterday.
13:29So undisturbed, not disturbed.
13:30Never been touched for over 2,000 years.
13:33Does it, it goes right the way back, does it?
13:35Yes, it does.
13:36It's approximately a meter inwards.
13:37So what's that?
13:38It's a kind of like a stepping hole, is it?
13:41Yes, it is.
13:42It's a foothold so that you can put your foot in
13:44on either side and be able to get down into the tomb.
13:47This recent discovery offers new evidence
13:50of how these ancient travelers revered their dead.
13:54Incredibly exciting.
13:56It's exciting anyway when there's a new find,
13:58but it, I don't know, it just feels so important
14:00because I think we can so often forget
14:02the history of Malta is it's really connected to Africa.
14:05So these are people who've originally come
14:07from North Africa, presumably.
14:08Most likely.
14:09I mean, definitely there were the Phoenicians
14:10later called Punic,
14:12and they were traders and seafarers
14:14and came here and settled
14:15or perhaps used it as a trading post.
14:17But we haven't found a lot of their settlements, of course,
14:20but we found their burials.
14:21So this is a part of their culture
14:23that we're trying to understand.
14:25Sealed in the tomb were amphorae
14:27containing cremated human remains.
14:30They were adult and adolescent bones
14:32and precious possessions used in ancient burial ceremonies.
14:37This area here also may have been
14:39where people were sitting to just sit there,
14:41perhaps light a lamp,
14:44pay their respects to the dead before they moved on.
14:47I mean, I do, there is something just so touching,
14:50isn't there, about places like this that,
14:52you know, this is 2,300 years ago,
14:54but the people here, they're really wanting to do right
14:57by their dead relatives
14:59or the dead people from their community.
15:01Yes, absolutely, no different than what we would do today.
15:04I think it shows how sophisticated they were
15:06in terms of wanting to have a place
15:09that was peaceful and serene for their loved ones.
15:12Amazing, it's beautiful, thank you.
15:18The Phoenicians, who also left those offerings
15:20in the caves in Gibraltar,
15:22settled in Malta for at least 500 years,
15:25and so began a sporadic flow of settlers
15:28from North Africa to the island.
15:30In the 9th century, the city of Medina,
15:33the Walled City in Arabic,
15:36became the Maltese powerhouse of a new Arabic dynasty,
15:39the Aghlabids from Tunisia.
15:43The arrival of these Arabs from North Africa
15:45was the beginning of a 200-year dominance
15:47that brought a new religion, Islam, to the island.
15:53Islam was now a faith and a culture
15:56that spread from the Red Sea in the east
15:58to the Atlantic Ocean in the west,
16:00creating a network of Islamic scholars and artists
16:04and scientists and philosophers,
16:05with Malta right at the very centre.
16:08This has been described as the golden age of Islam,
16:12but to find evidence of it here, you have to turn detective.
16:23One place you can feel the Arabic influence
16:25is on the streets, in the Maltese language.
16:37Over time, with waves of immigration,
16:39the language evolved.
16:41In the 12th century, Sicilian travellers,
16:43or, of course, Sicilian,
16:45from the 16th century, Crusader knights,
16:47spoke a whole range of European languages,
16:50including Italian and French,
16:52and from the 19th century, it was the British and English.
16:56So, Maltese is really a completely unique mix.
17:01It's the only Semitic language
17:04that's written in the Latin script.
17:15There may be no surviving grand Islamic monuments,
17:18but to find another piece of the Arabic heritage puzzle,
17:21you can head to the fields.
17:24Despite the punishing heat here,
17:26farmers manage to produce
17:27an astonishing three citrus crops a year.
17:31But how?
17:34This is the valley of Wyd-Hazrum,
17:37two words with Arabic origins,
17:39and all the bounty that you can see around me
17:43is the result of pioneering medieval Arabic technology.
17:48An irrigation system delightfully called
17:51the invention of summer.
17:56Malta's miracle worker
17:58is an extraordinary engineering treasure,
18:01a system of underground water reservoirs
18:04cut into the rock called qanats,
18:07Arabic for lance or conduit.
18:12This channels the clue to a 1,000-year-old system
18:15that runs for at least 30 miles underground across Malta.
18:25These channels bring unfiltered ground water
18:28and spring water into a series of tunnels
18:31using gravitational force.
18:34I've got special access to the self-same network
18:37as it directs water into the city of Rabat.
18:41Running 30 feet below street level,
18:43it's evidence of the skill of the Arabs
18:45in controlling this vital, scarce resource.
18:50I'm not a fan of small spaces,
18:52but I can't resist a special tour of this medieval labyrinth
18:56with archaeologist Dr Keith Buhadjar,
19:00if I can find him.
19:04To find the evidence,
19:05you've got to physically climb down through history.
19:10Hello.
19:11Hi.
19:12Hi.
19:13How are you?
19:14I'm perfect.
19:15It looks like I've come to the right place.
19:17Do I have to come through here?
19:18Yes, yes, you need to come down.
19:19OK.
19:20Do you mind if I can do that?
19:21Watch your step.
19:22Yes, of course.
19:26Great.
19:28Perfect.
19:30This is incredible.
19:31Watch your step.
19:32There are some puddles.
19:33So, the water's starting already, that's it?
19:35The water is starting already.
19:36We're at the level of the city of Rabat.
19:39The water's starting already.
19:40We're at the level of the water table.
19:42Careful, this is a tricky bit.
19:43OK, thanks.
19:50Your hand?
19:51Yeah.
19:52OK, great.
19:54God, the water's deep here, isn't it?
19:55Yes, it is.
19:56This is the start of the medieval system.
19:59Now, from here, things will get progressively easier.
20:02Easier, good.
20:03I like easier.
20:04Is there anything we need to look out for, please?
20:07There might be a couple of bats, so...
20:09Bats?
20:10Yes, so be warned.
20:11OK.
20:12When you said easier, Keith, I'm not sure this is the easier bit.
20:19So, here we are.
20:20Uh-huh.
20:21This is the first shaft.
20:22You've got a sort of hollowed-out maze in here,
20:24which is now all silted up.
20:26That's meant for water accumulation.
20:28And up here, you've got your shaft,
20:30complete with handholds and footholds,
20:32enabling the occupants of the above property
20:36to actually access the system when necessary.
20:38Yeah.
20:39Any occupant in the above dwelling
20:41could lower down their bucket,
20:43fill it up with water and actually lift it back up.
20:46And mind you, this is one of the proper canal systems
20:49that we have in Malta.
20:50It's probably roughly around 1,000 years old.
20:53So, this water still feeds the town, does it?
20:55It does, it does.
20:56And even an agricultural estate further down here.
20:59Amazing.
21:00It's amazing.
21:01I hate being underground in small spaces,
21:03so is it OK if we leave?
21:04I'm delighted historically.
21:05Can we go?
21:06But at least you've seen the system.
21:07At least I've seen the system.
21:14The Arab expertise in controlling water on Malta
21:17was a stroke of genius
21:19that nurtured a burgeoning 15,000-strong Muslim population.
21:25By the 11th century,
21:26there was a thriving Islamic community here
21:28with an emir in charge.
21:30And I've just been invited to see something very special
21:34and very rare from that age.
21:38My most precious Arabic treasure
21:40is a gleaming gem in the central bank of Malta's special collection
21:44that's recently been identified
21:46as a solid gold quarter dinar coin.
21:50This is such a beautiful thing.
21:53It's so tiny and absolutely unique.
21:58And we know that it was minted here on Malta
22:02because written on the top there is Malta in Arabic.
22:05And if you very carefully turn it over on the back,
22:10it says,
22:11there is no god but Allah
22:13and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.
22:16Now, this was made in either 1080 or 1081 AD
22:21from gold that came all the way from Egypt.
22:24So it is a golden treasure from the golden age of Islam.
22:32For me, the treasures from the age of Islam on Malta
22:36show a fascinating mix and legacy of cultures,
22:39Western and Eastern, on the shores of the Mediterranean.
22:45There's this beautiful poem written in Arabic 800 years ago
22:48by a man called Ibn al-Abar.
22:51And he describes his journey to the Mediterranean
22:54as a journey of a thousand miles.
22:57And I'm riding that wave 400 years ago
23:00by a man called Ibn al-Abar.
23:03And he describes his Mediterranean sailing boat
23:06as if it's alive.
23:08Ride in the name of Allah on the back of your green mount
23:12that swims on the crest of great waves
23:15with the feathers of the fastest birds
23:18with wings that beat just like my heart is beating
23:22ride on.
23:25And I'm riding that wave 450 nautical miles
23:28on to my next Mediterranean treasure
23:31on one of the most magical islands of these waters
23:34just off the coast of Italy.
23:39I've continued east across the Mediterranean
23:42to an enchanting island 20 miles from Naples
23:45called Ischia.
23:50This volcanic island is the stuff of legends
23:53and its treasures have inspired romances of all kinds.
24:02This is not a bad way to arrive at a site.
24:10The island of Ischia emerged from the sea
24:13rather like the goddess Aphrodite
24:16the result of an underwater volcanic eruption
24:20and its unique drew people here from antiquity onwards.
24:25One of the most famous writers from the Roman world
24:28Cicero wrote about this place.
24:31He said here beneath the sand and the seabed
24:34burns the heat of the volcano
24:37as it still does.
24:40The volcano may last have erupted in 1302
24:43but the sand can still reach 150 degrees
24:46hot enough to cook on.
24:50These fantastical features became legendary.
24:55This is a whole canyon of volcanic material
24:58so what you're looking at is millions of years' worth
25:01of pumice and ash from the inside of the volcano.
25:07Pilgrims from the Greek world flooded here.
25:10I'm following their footsteps to my first treasure on the island
25:13Cavascura, to explore the source of some fabulous tales.
25:16They believed it was sacred
25:19that it had special magic powers
25:22and that's because of the boiling water
25:25that comes out of this cave.
25:33Look at that, amazing!
25:36The ancients told the fantastic story about this place.
25:39They said that Zeus, the king of the gods
25:42went into battle with the monster Typhon
25:46and as punishment Zeus then buried Typhon
25:49under the island of Ischia.
25:52Every now and again the monster would turn over in agony
25:55and as he did flames would spurt from his mouth and eyes
25:58he'd hurl rocks into the air
26:01and his hot fury would heat the water
26:04until it boiled
26:07and still thousands of years later
26:10it is still boiling.
26:16By the late 2nd century BCE
26:19the Romans had dug in, creating simple thermal baths.
26:24Well, since I'm here it seems rude not to have a go.
26:40The ancients knew that these waters didn't just have
26:43spiritual properties but physical benefits too.
26:46Even Hippocrates, who was the father of medicine
26:49wrote that the minerals in waters
26:52could cure all kinds of ills and ailments.
26:57Potassium and magnesium to this day
27:00are known to relieve muscle and joint problems.
27:07That's really hot!
27:11But incredibly silky.
27:14They said it would feel like I had oil on my skin and it does.
27:17That's good.
27:26The volcanic nature of the island
27:29gives it a rare beauty that's drawn people
27:32and fired the imagination.
27:36This castle was the home
27:39of one of the greatest literary figures
27:42of the Italian Renaissance,
27:45an extraordinary 16th-century noblewoman
27:48called Vittoria Colonna.
27:53Here she was motivated to write
27:56trend-setting, passionate poetry
27:59and I've been granted access to a fresco
28:02inside Sant'Antonio di Padova of the poet herself.
28:08I'm so lucky that the nuns have let me in to see this
28:11because it's the most fantastic painting.
28:14That's Vittoria on the right and her aunt here on the left
28:17and obviously it's a religious theme.
28:20It's called the Madonna of Mercy
28:23and there's a whole lot of hellfire stuff happening
28:26but actually there are clues here
28:30to the artistic salons that Vittoria and her aunt used to hold
28:33so she's got a book and you can see
28:36the angels up at the top are playing musical instruments
28:39and it's kind of telling us that art and culture and poetry
28:42is the thing that makes life worth living.
28:50Vittoria would become one of the world's
28:53first published female poets.
28:56She started writing here
28:59and she was the first woman to be married
29:02to the Italian poet and poetess,
29:05Vittoria di Padello Araganese.
29:09After her marriage in 1509 to the high-ranking
29:12military leader, the Marquis of Pescara,
29:15this was the newlyweds' first home.
29:23She wrote all about love.
29:27She wrote about the love of the air.
29:35But in 1525, at the age of 35,
29:38Vittoria was widowed,
29:41leaving her alone on the island.
29:46Her husband dying of his wounds on the battlefield
29:49and she was devastated.
29:52She said she only wrote to pour out
29:56but do you know what?
29:59In some ways this was the making of her
30:02because suddenly Vittoria was in charge of all of this
30:05and she dedicated her life to the creation of art.
30:11Vittoria produced an astonishing number of poems,
30:14enough to fill 13 published volumes.
30:17She also wrote on philosophy and religion
30:20and this remarkable woman
30:23attracted one of the most famous artists of all time.
30:31Vittoria Colonna was the talk of the town
30:34and no less than the now world-famous Michelangelo
30:37asked to be introduced to her.
30:40Once the two met, they became inseparable.
30:43They exchanged gifts and wrote letters
30:46and shared poetry and the sonnets
30:50composed for her were said to be full of sweet longing.
31:02The two became one another's muses.
31:08In fact, Vittoria might well be the inspiration
31:11for the figure of Mary in the Sistine Chapel's Last Judgment
31:14which Michelangelo was painting in the Vatican at the time.
31:20Hello!
31:23Joining me at the castle is co-author of Vittoria's biography,
31:26Serena Spegno, from the University of Rome.
31:31You can see why this place was inspiring to Vittoria.
31:34She must have felt that this was paradise
31:37because it was and it still is.
31:40She was incredibly popular in her day, wasn't she?
31:43Very popular.
31:46She is extraordinary.
31:49She is extraordinary if you actually read what she writes
31:52in her poems and in her letters.
31:55This is a sonnet number 17 in this ancient edition,
31:58lovely small edition that I have here.
32:01Quando io dal caro scoglio
32:04miro intorno la terra e il ciel
32:07nella vermiglia aurora
32:10when from the dear rock I look around
32:13earth and sky in the red dawn
32:17all the myths that were born in my heart
32:20are swept away
32:23by the beautiful views and the clear day.
32:26Beautiful.
32:29Is it true that Michelangelo sought her out?
32:32Yes.
32:35They have such a passionate relationship.
32:38Are they soulmates? Is it a meeting of minds?
32:41It is probably more than that.
32:45It's a kind of platonic love,
32:48so the body is not involved,
32:51but that doesn't mean that the feeling is less strong or important.
32:54In fact, maybe it's even more.
32:57For a decade,
33:00Vittoria and Michelangelo visited each other daily,
33:03feeding an intense relationship
33:06of mutual respect and admiration.
33:11In 1547, Vittoria died
33:14and Michelangelo at her bedside.
33:17He said he had never seen a face so fair
33:20and he was obviously utterly despairing to have lost her.
33:23But then in 2018,
33:26a discovery was made.
33:29In this beautiful sketch that he did of her
33:32at the height of their friendship,
33:35he's written himself into her story.
33:38If you look down,
33:42he's drawn himself in to the folds of her clothes.
33:45So here are his legs, he's leaning over,
33:48that's his face,
33:51and he's reaching out to paint her belly.
33:54So even if they couldn't be together in life,
33:57he made sure that they were together forever
34:00in a work of art.
34:05There's something about this place
34:08that motivates deep emotions
34:11and that's why it's so special.
34:14A hundred years later,
34:17the idyllic Castle on the Rock
34:20was also the setting for one of the greatest
34:23and most infamous love stories of the 20th century
34:26between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
34:29The castle here stood in for the ancient city of Actium
34:32during the filming of the 1960s version of Cleopatra.
34:35The couple stayed on the island of Ischia for weeks
34:39until it turned over into a very steamy, on set,
34:42love affair.
34:45Then they got married,
34:48so clearly it was the magic of Ischia
34:51working once again.
34:54Perhaps it's this heady combination
34:57of a dramatic, volatile landscape,
35:00steamy seas and the isolation of an island
35:03that stirs body and soul.
35:09Ischia's remarkable romantic landscape
35:12has nourished some pretty intense human narratives
35:15through the centuries.
35:18It's inspired myths and legends, fairy tales and fantasies
35:21and the whole place is pretty much like a storybook.
35:24I love it for that
35:27and because it reminds us that as a species
35:30we are creatures of imagination
35:33and that we love to understand the world
35:37and we love to create.
35:45My next treasure is on a Greek island
35:48with such a magnetic pull
35:51it became a hotbed of cultural exchange
35:54and fabulous wealth
35:57where ancient civilisations parted by the light of the moon.
36:00I'm continuing my journey east
36:03to discover a mysterious treasure
36:06on a Greek island
36:09where the Aegean and the Mediterranean merge
36:12the sacred island of Delos.
36:15It's a mystical, hallowed sanctuary
36:18said to be the birthplace
36:21of two of the most potent ancient Greek gods.
36:26Delos is an island
36:30of power players and pirates and pilgrims
36:33from across the Mediterranean across the centuries
36:36and for the ancients it was considered
36:39to be one of the most sacred islands on earth
36:42so I am incredibly privileged
36:45to have been invited to explore it
36:48and I should admit, like a child,
36:51I'm so excited I couldn't sleep last night.
36:54Delos is so sacred
36:57no one's usually allowed to sleep here
37:00but I've been given the great honour
37:03of staying both day and night
37:06to explore the remains of hundreds of palatial houses
37:09and fabulous temples
37:12some of the very finest
37:15inspired by one particular legend.
37:18The story goes that Zeus, the king of the gods
37:21had an affair with a divine creature called Leto
37:25getting her pregnant with twins.
37:28Now Zeus' wife Hera was not best pleased
37:31with this and she condemned Leto
37:34to wander across the Mediterranean
37:37from island to island.
37:40Eventually, consumed by the pain of childbirth
37:43the island of Delos took her in
37:46and Leto gave birth right here in this grove
37:49to a boy and a girl.
37:53Leto, the god of sun, light and reason
37:56and the girl was Artemis
37:59the goddess of the moon and hunting
38:02and female power.
38:05Artemis is one of my favourite goddesses
38:08she's fiercely independent
38:11a genuine wonder woman of the classical world
38:14both a hunter and a protector of wild animals.
38:17Her name, Artemis, according to the ancient Greek historian Strabo
38:20comes from the word Artemēas
38:23which means safe and sound.
38:26When you walk through sites like this
38:29you should always imagine them buzzing
38:32with colour and life.
38:35I'm just thinking about Artemis
38:38who was the mistress of animals
38:41so how lovely to be sharing a site at dawn
38:44with this beautiful cat.
38:48This is her work at the moment
38:51analysing tiny fragments of paint on her body
38:54this is her adir
38:57and this is what she would have looked like
39:00originally, isn't it brilliant?
39:03Her tunic is painted in Egyptian blue
39:06which was a highly prized, expensive pigment
39:09and a fantastic pink swirling cloak
39:12so walk through sites like this
39:15you're so beautiful
39:18This is just one of the examples
39:21of the riches on Delos
39:24so rammed it's taking archaeologists decades
39:27to analyse all that's here
39:30The only people actually allowed to sleep
39:33on the island now are archaeologists
39:36and the guards of the museum and the site
39:39and brilliantly I've been asked to go
39:43I'm going to meet Elen who's been working here
39:46for well over 15 years
39:49Hello Elen
39:52How lovely to see you here
39:55How are you?
39:58I'm very good, how beautiful is this?
40:01Welcome to the Proud School Dig House
40:04Head of the excavations, Elen Wormser
40:07invited me to a remote corner of the island
40:11It's a two-story, two-story home
40:14that was built here to protect its riches
40:17in a kind of sacred force field
40:20that surrounded Delos
40:23This is all basically one house complex, is it?
40:26Yes, it's about 3,000 metres square
40:29so it's a very large house
40:32Talk about a grand entrance
40:35This is fantastic
40:38It's decorated with furniture, paintings, mosaics
40:41and what is great in this house
40:44is also the view
40:47It's so splendid, isn't it?
40:50It's definitely saying I've arrived, me and my family
40:53Here you come to the central room of the house
40:56the biggest one
40:59It's really handsome
41:02where the owners were entertaining their guests
41:06Here you have a very special feature of the house
41:09which is a kind of artificial grotto
41:12which was very spectacular for the guests
41:15to be entertained by the owners
41:18A grotto is a small cave cut in a rock
41:21sometimes filled with water
41:24It's really interesting
41:27It's almost like it's trying to bring nature into the home
41:30I've not seen something like this before
41:33It's an Alexandrian influence
41:36So the whole house feels to me
41:39like it's the owner going, look at me, I'm well connected
41:42I understand the Mediterranean world
41:45I've got influence from Egypt, from maybe as far afield as Gaul
41:48from Italy, all in one place
41:51Yes, I don't know whether the owner was Italian
41:54or Greek or from Alexandria
41:57but what I can feel is that
42:01I've seen many things in the Mediterranean area
42:04and that's very characteristic of the Delian way of life
42:07a cosmopolitan way of life
42:10Do you think the people who lived here
42:13kind of had a sense of its specialness?
42:16Do you think that they actually believed
42:19it was magical in some way?
42:22This island had always this sacred spirit
42:25It has something magical, as you can see
42:29Delos, fuelled by its status
42:32as a free international trading port
42:35became renowned for its extravagant festivals
42:38honouring gods like Apollo and Artemis
42:41Celebrations so spectacular
42:44they were immortalised in poems and in song
42:49So this is a Homeric hymn
42:52which was written really early in the Greek world
42:55In your heart, think of the charm at Delos
42:58when they celebrate games with dancing
43:01and singing and boxing
43:04with ageless, graceful, beautiful maidens
43:07singing and singing again
43:10Many of these ceremonies
43:13involving sacrifices and circular dances
43:16were held at night
43:19drawing travellers from across the ancient world
43:23In addition, I've been invited
43:26to witness the full moon here tonight
43:29when it's closest to Earth
43:32and so at its brightest
43:35Not only am I incredibly honoured
43:38to be invited to actually stay here on the island
43:41but it's the summer solstice
43:44and tonight is the night of the supermoon
43:47so this is a unique experience
43:50With the sun setting over the island
43:53you can just imagine
43:56thousands of visitors and islanders
43:59waiting in anticipation
44:02for the dancing girls in their saffron robes
44:05celebrating the moon goddess Artemis
44:08For the ancients who navigated by the stars
44:11and hunted by the light of the moon
44:14the night time was sacred, powerful
44:18The goddess was worshipped here
44:21with night time festivals
44:24with moonlit dances
44:27and torchlight races
44:30and little offerings of moon shaped cakes
44:33lit by tiny flames
44:36which some people think
44:39give us our tradition of a birthday cake
44:42lit by candles
44:46For me, sacred Delos is a treasure
44:49not just because here you can walk
44:52in the footsteps of thousands
44:55who've worshipped Apollo and Artemis through time
44:58but because it's a reminder
45:01that we are creatures of day and night
45:04We're not all about reason and rationale
45:07but also about emotion and feeling
45:10and that if we don't embrace both
45:13we can only ever be a half of ourselves
45:23Voyaging across this great sea
45:26from its western edge at Gibraltar
45:29visiting those strategic stepping stones
45:32between Africa and Europe
45:35I've seen how this superhighway
45:38has transported cultures and created them
45:42These are truly things of wonder
45:45It's a body of water
45:48that's seen more human interaction
45:51than anywhere else on the planet
45:54more exchange of treasures and ideas
45:57So the Mediterranean
46:00isn't just a reflection of our story
46:03it is the story of all of us
46:12The Mediterranean
46:15The Mediterranean
46:18The Mediterranean
46:21The Mediterranean
46:24The Mediterranean
46:27The Mediterranean
46:30The Mediterranean
46:33The Mediterranean
46:42The Mediterranean
46:45The Mediterranean
46:48The Mediterranean
46:51The Mediterranean
46:54The Mediterranean
46:57The Mediterranean
47:00The Mediterranean
47:03The Mediterranean
47:06The Mediterranean