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!
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!
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.
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.
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!"
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
