Mystical Malta, AKA The Little Island That Could!

Well, if Sicily was not Italy anymore, Malta surely didn't feel like Europe anymore!  While Malta is indeed part of the European Union, its Arabic influence makes it unlike any other European country, at least that we have been to!

There are more than 7,000 years of human history here, but don't worry, we won't be covering it all!  The ancient Neolithic temples here are 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramids in Egypt and 500 years older than Stonehenge in England.

Malta is only 316 square kilometers in area and consists of two main islands - Malta and Gozo.  For reference, that is about the same area covered by Saint John, New Brunswick, or Prince George, BC.  But Malta plays a large part in history because of the number one rule of real estate - location, location, location!

This map of the Mediterranean Sea, with Malta circled, gives you a sense of why this little island is so important in the scheme of much that goes on in Europe and the Middle East.  It's location, in combination with its great natural harbours, meant that whoever wanted to control the Mediterranean Sea had to control Malta.  Think of Malta as a massive fortification built on gigantic rock.

Every major power controlled Malta at one point in time or another.  The Phoenicians (current day Lebanon area), the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Knights of Malta (more on them later), the French, and the British.  Malta was a key player during World War II, and they finally declared independence in 1964.

The British have played a prominent role here from 1800 when the French were defeated until their independence in 1964.  In fact, when Queen Elizabeth II was a princess, she would come here to visit young Prince Philip while he was stationed here.  And the Duchess of Sussex (you know her as Meghan Markle), while visiting Malta in 2015, claimed, "... coming to Malta has been really important for me because my great-great-grandmother lived here, so we are trying to trace the ancestry." 

The Maltese language is a Semitic language (think Arabic and Hebrew).  It is unique in that it is the only Semitic language written with our Latin alphabet.  Uniquely, much of it is derived from Sicilian and Italian with some English thrown in for good measure.  One resident described it as Arabic and Italian with a Tunisian accent.  This was one language that gave me great difficulty!  Luckily the second official language of the state is English, and most merchants speak it well.

Given its small size and location, you can be sure that either the sea or the very narrow streets play a part in everything that you see and do.

All traditional boats have the eye of Osiris at the front to ward off evil (you have no doubt heard the expression, 'the Evil Eye'), and in theory to help navigate.  This is said to have been brought here by the Phoenicians.

The boat colours are standard with variations on the same theme. Most of these boats are found in the Marsaxlokk fishing village.  Now, you try and figure out how to say that name!

We went to that village to see the Sunday market. Speaking of water, ...

it also shows up here in the form of rain, sometimes torrential, even having to bail the market stalls. The rains can fall hard here, in part because the land mass is so small that it does not impact the weather system at all - storms just rip right through.  The good news is that heavy rains usually pass quickly, and people can get on with whatever they are doing.

They also use the sea to play some interesting sports, including their own version of water polo!

This looks harmless enough until you start to see the interaction at a closer level.

As you can see, you need to be an accomplished Kayak-er so that you can roll with the ball as necessary!

With a few exceptions, the streets are quite narrow.

So narrow, in fact, that in some places they had to grind off the building corners to allow the touring coaches and school buses to turn the corner without damaging the building or the bus!

It isn't just the streets that are narrow, so are the shops! This grocer got creative and extended his store to the street. Drive by groceries.

In Mdina (yes that is the spelling - in Arabic vowels are apparently optional), the streets were purposely designed to be narrow and not on a rectangular grid system.  This helped the escape from would be attackers and prevented arrows flying far, since arrows don't do well with curves and turns!

Streets are hilly, and shops align both sides of the street in Valletta.  In fact, there is very little of this tiny Capital City that is flat!

Malta even gets coverage in the Christian Bible.  The Evangelist St. Paul was shipwrecked here in the year A.D. 60.  He was being transported back to Rome to be tried as a political rebel, but the ship was caught in a violent storm only to be wrecked on the Maltese coast. All 274 aboard swam safely to land.

The welcome given to the survivors is described in the Acts of the Apostles (XXVIII) by St. Luke:

"And later we learned that the island was called Malta.
And the people who lived there showed us great kindness, 
and they made a fire and called us all to warm ourselves... "

As the fire was lit, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, but he suffered no ill effects. The islanders took this as a sign that he was a special man. This scene is depicted in many religious works of art on the Islands. According to tradition, the Apostle took refuge in a cave, now known as St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat, Malta.

This is St. Paul's grotto.  Below the grotto, there are catacombs, many of which were expanded to be used as bomb shelters during World War II. The allotted space in the bomb shelters was only about 4 square feet per person.

For those who do not know the history of St. Paul, he was in fact later transported to Rome to stand trial and, after lengthy house arrest and a trial, was beheaded for his "crimes - being a radical".

This piece of pillar in the Church of St. Paul's Shipwreck, is said to be a portion of the pillar on which St. Paul was executed.  The other portion is in Rome.

As noted earlier, much of Malta's history is militaristic, and this is evident almost any which way you look.

The fortifications, entrenchments, towers, batteries and so forth abound on the island.  If you wish to see a more comprehensive list of fortifications of the island, please visit this site:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fortifications_in_Malta

Built upon the rock foundations, these structures have a long and storied history.  A good portion of that history is of the Knights of Malta, who controlled the island from 1530 until 1798.  Their formal name is the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, but perhaps better known as the Hospitaller Knights of St. John.  Today, you likely know them for their charitable works as St. John Ambulance.

The Hospitallers arose in the early 11th century to provide care for sick, poor or injured pilgrims en route to and in the Holy Land.  After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, the organization became a religious and military order under its own Papal charter, charged with the care and defense of the Holy Land.  They, together with their perhaps more well-known colleagues, (and at times competitor), The Knights Templar, became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land.  Later, after they were chased out of the Holy Land and lost their lands in Greece to the Muslims, the King of Spain granted the Knights of St. John the Island of Malta in exchange for one peregrine falcon per year.

Europe owed a large debt of gratitude to the Knights for their efforts in the great siege of 1565, where they defeated the Muslim Ottoman Turks when they tried to capture the Island.  Had the island fallen, Western history may well have been quite different!

While the western world owes much to the Knights, they seem to be in a bit of a pickle with the Vatican these days. The Knights, still 25,000 strong, have a unique relationship with the Vatican. While they technically report to the Vatican they are considered a sovereign state and issue their own passports, currency and stamps. However, none of the UK, US, or New Zealand recognize their passport. It seems that some of the Knights object to the Vatican's attempts to liberalize, and one member has written a scathing book about Pope Francis. Pope Francis however, had a few run ins with the Knights back in Argentina. Pope Francis has issued an order to investigate some of the Knights internal activities. Stay tuned.

Malta played a pivotal role in World War II, but was also instrumental in World War I, where they became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean, when it provided hospital care for the sick and wounded. The island’s resources were taxed to the utmost, given they only had 286 hospital beds just before the war, growing to 20,000 by January 1916.

During World War II, Churchill is reputed to have said that whomever controls Malta will win the war.  Malta was, and still is, the most bombed place on earth!   The very day after Mussolini declared war – on June 10, 1940 – Italian bombers commenced attacking the capital of Valletta. In total, 15,000 tonnes (33 Million pounds) of bombs were dropped on these islands. 

The Lascaris War Rooms were created by the British during the siege of Malta, from 1940 to 1943.   This underground facility contained operations rooms for each of the fighting services (air, sea and land), from where both the defense of Malta and other operations in the Mediterranean were coordinated. The Operation Headquarters at Lascaris communicated directly with radar stations around the Maltese islands.  This allowed them to decide precisely when to send bombers up for maximum effect and minimum loss. Malta was a key location in preventing Italy and the Germans from gaining access to much needed Middle East fuel supplies. In turn, the Italians and Germans did their best to prevent much needed food supplies from getting to Malta. With little or no food the Maltese people endured continuing all efforts to support the Allies.

These war rooms were the advance Allied HQ from where General Eisenhower and his Supreme Commanders Admiral Cunningham, Field Marshal Montgomery and Air Marshal Tedder directed the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in 1943.  After the war, Lascaris became the Headquarters of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet.  In 1967, the complex was taken over by NATO to be used as a strategic Communication Centre to monitor the actions of Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean, until its closure in 1977.

One other momentous event occurred in Malta.  In December 1989, US President George H.W. Bush met USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.  Together they declared an end to the Cold War.  We were shown the room where they met.  The Maltese people are very proud that the two leaders met here.  In fact, in 2105 the Central Bank of Malta issued a coin in honour of that event.

Today, Malta is a highly industrialized, serviced-based economy, with some advanced manufacturing in the areas of electronics and pharmaceuticals.  Tourism also plays a large part of the economy, as does the film industry.  Of note, a good portion of Season 1 of the Game of Thrones was filmed here. There are Game of Thrones tours offered and are reportedly quite popular, although we did not partake since we have never seen the movie series.

With its harbours, narrow streets and deep history, it is a very picturesque and interesting place to explore. This shot was taken from the rooftop terrace of our suite. Now that is some boat! However, there is an even bigger one in harbour, which cost €100 million, but is up for sale at only €43 million, as the Indian owner is apparently upside down financially.  Any takers?

Many of the older structures that were damaged during the war have been refurbished in a very tasteful way. These wooden balconies, called gallariji, date back to the 1600's but continue to be a standard part of  the architecture. We even have one in our suite!

 Many of these structures are in varying stages of repair, but are no small undertaking - modern plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, and elevators. 

This is our small suite in Valletta.

Our suite (look up, way up!) was renovated in 2016, and provides a great view of the area, including the  rooftop terrace shot below and the harbour scene above.

A good portion of the tourism economy includes hand made silver filigree jewelry and numerous watch shops.  In tiny Valletta alone we saw two Rolex watch and a host of other high end watch dealers, and it seems like every third shop is a jewelry shop.  Hmm, I wonder if this has anything to do with the 4,000 people that march down Republic Street off the cruise ships daily??

Sonya succumbed to the allure of some of the exquisite silver filigree work carried out by this artist. Yes, that is her chain and pendant!  Dianna, you would go crazy in Malta! 

After 5 weeks of Italian cuisine, we were ready for a change.  No more pasta, please! With its Arabic roots, there were a variety of cuisine available here.  As we rented a small apartment, we were able to cook for ourselves so, of course, Sonya had to find a spice store.

As it turns out, it was literally just down the hill from our apartment, so we were able to have a wide variety of flavours while we were here - curry, cumin, coriander and Maltese spice blend. Yes, Sonya convinced the shop owner to reveal the spice combination in traditional "Maltese spice blend".

Also not far away from us is the Co-Cathedral of St. John.  We both agreed that we were pretty much churched out (if that can be a term) and that although we did not want to have an ABC (another blessed church) tour, we were persuaded by locals to visit this one. Okay, one last church!

As with most places, pictures do not do it justice, but this place was as ornate as ANYTHING I have seen thus far, including the Vatican and all of the other churches we saw in Italy.  Above, you get a sense of the floor and the ceilings.  Now, look at the pillars. 

This is a close-up of the woodwork on those pillars. The entire church is covered in this style of gilded carving, representing much of the wares and all things Knights Hospitaller.  When you look at the effort and money spent on this, it is helpful to remember that devotional works like these were a way to create employment and a stronger economy for the people of the island.  At least we hope it did.

Just up the street is the Church of St. James.  While it is a Catholic Church, the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox faiths hold their services in this church.  

On the surface this can be seen to be, and is, a generous gesture of religious tolerance. And while Malta has a number of different religions with institutions on the island, according to Wikipedia, "Malta does not recognize Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and a few other global religions that are described as cults. There is one Jewish congregation. There are nearly 45 Hindu families in Malta that practice their own Hindu faith however there are no Hindu temples and the Hindu deceased are buried in Malta instead of being cremated", as is their traditional custom. While these dated beliefs may seem off base to some, it is important to note that things are changing rapidly in Malta...in fact, they finally authorized divorce in 2011 by a vote of 53% to 47%. 

Malta joined the EU in 2004, so the local currency, as with most of the EU is the Euro.  Bloomberg, a leading financial reporting institution ,state, "By the time the country’s membership in the EU was formally approved in 2004, Malta had staked out its place within Europe’s economy, and the nation’s attractive tax schemes—effective rates as low as 5 percent for foreign-owned companies, vs. an average of 22 percent for other European countries—helped attract investment funds, banks, and financial-services firms from all over the world." 

All is not necessarily well with the EU, however.  According to Bloomberg, the EU is furious with Malta for corruption and money laundering and for selling passports to anyone with enough money.  Hmm, how much is an EU passport worth?  Well, you too can have a Maltese passport for a mere €650,000 (about C$1 Million, but less for a second family member), plus an investment of €150,000 in Maltese bonds!  The article states that by the beginning of 2018, Malta has raised more than €600 Million by selling these passports.  That puts it north of 1,000 passports sold in this manner!

See the full article here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-09-11/why-the-eu-is-furious-with-malta

We leave Malta much the wiser in terms of world history on many fronts.  We also leave Malta more rested than we came, thanks to the wonderful apartment that my sister-in-law found for us that afforded us the opportunity to sight see at leisure and, more importantly, decompress after several weeks on tour.  Thanks again, Diane!

We say goodbye for now, and we will see you from the Kimberley region of North West Australia next fall.

G'day mates!

SnP

Sicily

OK, because this installment covers about a week on Sicily it is going to be a long one, so settle in!

Remember the line from the Wizard of Oz, "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"?

Well, having left the mainland and come to Sicily, it felt that we were not in Italy anymore.  The Sicilians do in fact speak Italian, but they also speak Sicilian which is a separate written language, not just a dialect.  So, in some respects, we are not in Italy anymore! Actually, when Sicilians say they are going to the mainland they say, "I'm going to Italy." Our Tour Director, Francesca, who lives in Milan describes mainland Italy and Sicily as "two different galaxies".

Before we get into the specifics, some background on Sicily is necessary (sorry, John).

Several folks thought that the island is pretty small.  Well, it is the largest island in the Mediterranean at about 26,000 square kilometers.  To put that into perspective, it is about 60% of the size of the Netherlands, and about 5 times the size of Prince Edward Island, or about the same size as Massachusetts.

Because of its location as a key point to control parts of the Mediterranean Sea, it has been conquered, settled and abandoned by dozens of different civilizations, from: the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians (Tunisians) and Romans in ancient times, to the Arabs, and Normans in the middle ages, to the Spanish and the  Bourbons (French) in the Renaissance, and finally  Italy in the 1800s. Sicily feels like a melting pot. In fact, today their are 80 Albanian speaking communities in southern Italy and Sicily.

Until the unification of Italy in the 1860s, Sicily was an economic powerhouse because of  its strategic location in the Mediterranean, with trading partners all around the Mediterranean.  They were  prosperous from the production of silk, the mining of sulfur, and the cultivation of olives and citrus. After the unification, the country moved most of the industry to the north of the country in the Genoa, Milan and Turin triangle, leaving Sicily as the poor second cousin, if you will. Much of Sicily was badly bombed in World War II.  Some of the cities remains so and look it. The government economic focus on the north combined with the self interest of the mafia families meant there wasn't much progress in Sicily. Finally they are receiving some EU funds for development - especially their organic agriculture!

There are ancient ruins around much of the island, and you can feel the rich history seep into you as you walk and travel around.

Here is a map of our tour, which includes the Malta extension at the end (next blog installment).

We flew from Florence to Catania and stepped into a different world.  As we walked through the square, we noted that everything was quite different from what we had seen on the mainland.  This is because in 1669 Mount Etna erupted and covered the area in volcanic lava.  Following that, in 1693 there was a major earthquake that destroyed the entire city.  Ironically, there was an early morning earthquake (4.5 on the Richter Scale) on our first night.  Sonya and I slept right through it!

The entire city was then rebuilt in what is known as Sicilian Baroque architecture.

As you can see, there is a lot of dark stone.  They rebuilt with local materials, much of which is dark volcanic rock.  They balance it with some white marble and limestone, but as you can see, it can look quite stark!

Then there are the Sicilians.  As our guide book explains, because of their heritage, they can be welcoming yet suspicious, reserved, and at the same time almost chatty.  Whatever their disposition, Sicilians are passionate people.

You decide what this fellow's attitude is towards tourists!

The next morning we were off to Siracusa.  Established by the Greeks, it was the second largest city in  Greater Greece (as it was called back then) after Athens.  Now, for those who think this place is off the beaten path (as it may be now), when you walk here, you walk in the footsteps of Archimedes, Cicero and even the Evangelist St. Paul. Pretty good company.

You can get a sense of the importance of this location when you look at the size of the ancient Greek theatre  seen here.  It was built in the 5th Century BC. At the time, it could seat 16,000 spectators.  As you stand at the top, you can imagine yourself seated watching a Greek tragedy.  In fact, you can still do so today, although the stage has to be brought in and people generally bring or rent cushions to sit upon.

This shot of the same theatre gives you a sense of the size.  In its time, it overlooked the harbour as the Greeks thought it was important to have a great view while they watched the tragedy unfold on the stage. 

As we walked through Siracusa, we were reminded that pigeons are a protected species in Italy, despite the fact that they spend millions of Euros cleaning up the statues!  Here St. Paul seems to be pointing to the pigeon, pleading  to get the darn thing off his head!

As we were touring the town, we heard a two piece band playing some pretty good music.  

Now I have seen a one-string base before, but the range of this one was pretty amazing.  

I don't think that he was very happy when tourists walked by without dropping a Euro in his case, if the expression on his face gives anything away!

Sonya spotted a couple more artists  along the street practicing their craft.

If the guy on the left started painting when he commenced growing out his hair, he has been at it awhile! Just two old guys enjoying the day and their passion for art!

In the Southwest United States they grow prickly pear, which is the first place we had seen it.

Here, it grows everywhere and in an abundant fashion. Interestingly, here they call them Figs of India.

When Columbus sailed to the Americas, he brought back prickly pear  plants.  Of course, at the time, he thought that he had landed in India, and since they  resembled figs they named them Figs of India. Got it wrong on both counts - he wasn't in India and they were not figs.   They look gorgeous but are actually covered in thousands of spikes. Our guide recounted one of her Asian travelers who didn't realize it, popped in his mouth, and spent several weeks in hospital recovering from all the spikes that had to be removed from his mouth! We  were served these for dessert, and they were delicious!  We now know how to cut and serve these, so we will definitely look for them when we head to Palm Springs!

As we walked through the markets, we noticed more of a middle eastern influence, as can be seen by the types of spices and by the way they are displayed for sale. Hmm ... curry. cumin, coriander.

Now, many in Canada and the USA grow zucchini but  I bet few have seen any this long and thin! That will be a lot of zucchini cake!

Our next stop was in a town called Ragusa.  

Ragusa was two towns, an upper and lower, that were eventually incorporated into one city.  Although very small, they were always separate and would not amalgamate. When Mussolini said that they must amalgamate, they reluctantly agreed, PROVIDED that the united city could have two Patron Saints.  One wonders if that was what kept them apart all those years!

During our walk through town, we came across a very unique solar clock.

No, it is not a sun dial, because it is on the wall of a church, not horizontal. Notice how it does not look like a clock either.   Well, this mechanism works by showing how much daylight is left in the day.  It was from the times of the Moors and the day was determined from one sunset to the next.  

So, if you look at the line of the sun, you see that it is positioned roughly at 2130.  So, in theory, there were 2.5 hours (2400 - 2130 = 2h30min) of sunlight left.  When we looked at sunset time, we found out that it was correct (adjusted for our modern day light savings time)! The clock was on the wall of a church, so the priest would look at the clock and ring the bells appropriately so that the workers in the fields would know how many hours of daylight were left.

The next day it was Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, in its day the fourth largest city in Greater Greece after Athens, Siracusa (as noted above) and Corinth.  This temple is the only one in the area that has remained standing since it was erected, because it was continually re-purposed into the next conqueror's religion;  Roman, Christian, Muslim and Christian again.  

The next day we were off to Palermo and surrounds.   Just outside of Palermo is a place called Monreale.  No, not Montreal as in Quebec, but the meaning of the word is the same - Royal Mount.  Now, we are trying to keep the churches to a minimum in this blog (so as not to bore my father-in-law), but this one is a must!

This church was built by King William the Good (son of King William the Bad).  It is said that  the Virgin Mary came to him in a dream to tell him where his father had buried much of his gold treasure and apparently had neglected to tell his son.  In honor of her, he built this church.  

The inside is completed covered in 72 million (yes, million) mosaic tiles of glass and gold covering almost 70,000 square feet , and used more than 2,200 kg of gold in the tiles.  Only the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul had more mosaic tiles.  To give you a sense of perspective, look at the central figure of Jesus in the picture above.

Here is a close-up of that same mosaic.  Now if you look at his right hand (on the left), it measures 1.6 metres (5'3") from top to bottom.  His face is more than 13' in height.

While  in Palermo, we visited the palace of a living Count who actually still resides there. Count Alessandro Federico a descendant of Emperor Frederick II of Antioch.  Fortunately for him, his ancestor was not in direct succession for the throne, as they were all executed apparently!

The palace  incorporates a 12th century Arab-Norman tower, which was part of the original city wall.  It was a bit odd being shown through the palace,  peeking into someone else's private life.  In fact, it was the Countess herself who toured us through her house. As you can imagine, it takes a great deal of money to keep up these old places, and as she said, "titles like Count / Countess are nice but they don't come with any money".  

The shot above is of their courtyard and that racing car is from the late 1800s.  Apparently the Count's grandfather introduced him to car racing at a very young age, and he received a Maserati on his 18th birthday.  Alas, times have changed a great deal, much to the chagrine of the Contessa's sons who only received a Vespa scooter.

After that we toured a local food market and stopped for a bite to eat.  This was papa's restaurant and he was clearly in charge.  He understood almost no English but, in true Sicilian style, was very warm and welcoming.  

After he was done cooking our meal, he even came out and insisted that he take a picture of us.  One of his staff  also took our picture, apparently for their Facebook or Instagram page.

 Sonya decided some of the local sites were well worth a second look, and should be captured for posterity.  I have nothing to say on this matter.

While we were touring the seaside resort town, Cefalu,  we could hear a gentlemen calling out.  While we could not understand him, it was clear that he was selling something.  After a couple of turns in the narrow streets of Cefalu, we found him.

He delivers local produce and dry goods via his little truck to the local restaurants and citizens - calling out as he drives by.

As you can see, a couple of local ladies are out inspecting his produce!

Gord, Sonya spotted these shorts and she immediately thought of you.  She has been on the hunt for a pair ever since.  She says that you can wear these with the apron she bought you.  (She made me write this!)

Not to be outdone, she spotted these and thought of another friend.  In the interests of maintaining that friendship on a long term basis, I flatly refuse to identify the person for whom she wanted to find this outfit - but, he already has orange shoes - you know who you are! (She made me include this too!)

Both of these were spotted in a city called Taormina - clearly Sicily's fashion capital!

Taormina is an ancient, you guessed it, Greek city.  Here you seen the Roman ruins built on top of the Greek ruins ... well by now you know the story!  This is a town where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton came on their honeymoon.  Remember that she married him twice.  Anyway, while here, she grabbed the violin from a local player and smashed it over Richard's head.   It was perhaps a omen of their future rocky relationship.  Apparently he did not hold it against her, as he married her a second time!

A trip to Sicily would not be complete without a trip to Mount Etna.  Etna is, of course, the active Volcano on the Island of Sicily.

The word Etna is from the Greek αἴθω (aithō), meaning "I burn", and she still does!  Her most recent eruption was on 16 March 2017, when she injured 10 people, including a BBC News television crew, after magma exploded upon contact with snow.

Here, you see one of the many extinct cones on her slopes.  This one has been well walked as you can see.

Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 (459 sq mi) with a base circumference of 140 km (87 miles). This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In the background of the extinct cone, you can see the lava field, with very little growing on it.  The first thing to grow on the fields are moss and lichen, followed by this plant.

I don't recall its real name, but it is colloquially called the "mother-in-law" cushion, and as you can see it can be quite prickly!  I asked if I could bring one home for my mother-in-law, but was told that would be impossible.  Too bad! Just kidding, Mia!

After visiting Etna, we made our way to a very small town called Savoca.  This is a mountain village with 197 inhabitants, but a very interesting history.

It is famous because Francis Ford Coppola decided to film some scenes from the movie the Godfather in this little town.  You were no doubt wondering when I would get to the story of the mafia, since we are after all in Sicily. How did the mafiosa come to be? Turns out in ancient times the land was owned by rich foreigners with local peasants who farmed the land on a share crop basis. Then came the middleman who managed the division of the profits between the owner, farmer and off course the middleman. Seems the middleman was skimming  a bit off all sides and eventually transferred those skills to all manner of business. Now you know the origin.

I'm sure you all remember the hit movie the Godfather.  The character the "Godfather"  was called Vitto Corleone.   His actual character name was Vito Andolini, but he takes on the name Corleone when immigration officials mistake the name of his home town in Sicily for his last name.   Francis Ford Coppola had wanted to film parts in the actual town of Corleone, but thought better of it because real mafia bosses were still operating in Corleone.

Coppola was so thankful to the people of Savoca he paved the main street as a thank you and offered the owner of the bar  (named Bar Vitelli in the movie) as much as she wanted for all that she had done.  She told him that all she wanted was for him to make the movie a success so that people would come to Savoca and to her bar.  She kept the name of the bar the same as in the show in order to increase traffic.  He delivered in spades!

This is a stainless steel sculpture of FF Coppola overlooking the valley.  You can see the church of San Nicolo in the background.  This is the church where, in the movie,  Michael (Al Pacino)  and Apollonia are married.  The priest that gives them the blessing (on the outside of the church) was the actual village priest.

For a walk down memory lane, you an play the above YouTube video, which plays the instrumental version of the love theme from the show.

As a wrap-up, we had our farewell dinner with our travel mates, as shown below.

As this portion of our trip draws to a close, we take the opportunity to show you the main players in the execution of this tour.  Our great driver is Rosario.

Although he still looks young, he has been doing this for twenty years and is an excellent driver!

Our tour director Francesca told the story of a priest that went to heaven.  When he met St. Peter, he told him how he had said mass every day for 60 years.  After review, St. Peter said, OK, go spend some time in Purgatory to make up for your minor sins, and after that you will be let into heaven.  As he was on his way, a bus driver met St. Peter, and was admitted to heaven immediately.  As you can imagine, the priest was outraged, so he confronted St. Peter to ask why. St. Peter said, "While you said mass everyday, people slept.  While he drove the bus every day, people prayed!"

Well, it seems that our bus driver Rosario may not be admitted to heaven as quickly as the other bus driver, because he was an excellent driver, and no one had to pray while he drove!

Our Tour Director Extraordinaire is Francesca.  

Francesca hails from Milano when she is not leading a tour.  Her husband is Greek and they have a place in Milan as well as a home on the  Greek Island of  Kefalonia, straight east of the northern tip of Sicily across the Ionian Sea.  She has been in the tourism industry for 36 years, and does an amazing job!

Francesca summed up the difference between travelling in various countries:

"In Russia everything is prohibited, especially that which is permitted.

 In West Germany (at that time), everything is prohibited except that which is permitted.
 In France, everything is permitted except that which is prohibited.
 In Italy, everything is permitted, especially that which is prohibited!"

As we leave the beautiful island of Sicily and the wonderful country that is Italy, there is nothing else to say except:

Andiamo (let's go in Italian) to Malta.

Ciao, ciao!

SnP