Sicily
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| Sicily |
Sicily is truly a
fascinating place to visit. It should move to the top of the travel wish-list of
anyone interested in European history. Because of its fertile soil and strategic
location, almost every Mediterranean civilization passed through, each leaving
its architectural, culinary and cultural marks on the island.
The earliest remains
we visited were the 8th century B.C. Phoenician ruins on Mozia, an island just
off of Marsala. There are traces of domestic architecture, a fairly
well-preserved “customs house”, and a man-made harbor. A small gem of a museum
houses artifacts found on the island, including a magnificent statue of a young
Greek (some say by Phidias) and several Phoenician stelae. Marsala has been a
center of salt production since ancient times. The salt pans with their
windmills and tiled piles of salt are very picturesque. The Greeks heavily
colonized the island. The Valley of the Temples, an impressive complex of
buildings near Agrigento, has some of the best-preserved Doric temples in the
world. We returned to the Valley after dark to see the temples lit up. Thunder
and lightning added to the special effects. Well-preserved Greek theaters remain
at Taormina and Syracuse; the former situated so that Mt. Etna forms a
spectacular backdrop to the stage. Also in Syracuse are vast stone quarries
(including the famous “Ear of Dionysus” cavern) that were used to incarcerate
Athenians defeated by the Syracusans and their Spartan allies in 413 B.C.
The Romans annexed
Sicily as the Empire’s first province. We visited a Roman amphitheater and a
huge altar in Syracuse. Words fail me when it comes to describing the astounding
floor mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale. Forty-six rooms of late Roman
mosaics depicting everything from mythological scenes to boys racing chariots
pulled by birds to catalogues of male and female animals to girls wearing
bikinis. This UNESCO World Heritage site is undergoing extensive restoration,
and we were fortunate in that we were able to watch the conservators at work
during our visit.
The Byzantine Empire,
after defeating the Goths in 552 A.D., used Sicily as a base to expand into
mainland Italy. During the 9th and 10th centuries, the Arabs conquered Sicily,
only to be conquered in turn by the Normans. Many edifices reflect a mixture of
Byzantine/Arab/Norman architecture. Probably the most awesome is Monreale, a
Norman cathedral decorated on the interior with a glittering cycle of Byzantine
mosaics. The attached Benedictine cloister has a highly decorative colonnade of
plain, carved, and inlaid columns topped by ornate capitals that support a
series of Moorish arches.
A treacherous trip
through the fog up a very steep, very narrow, very windy road brought us to the
charming medieval hill town of Erice. The interior of the Duomo is covered with
exquisite tracery executed in white plaster. Nearby is an impressive campanile.
A walk along the twisty cobbled streets brought us to Erice’s castles, one built
atop an ancient temple originally dedicated to Astarte; the other with a tower
that seems to spring from the living rock. The fog lifted and we were treated to
magnificent views of the Mediterranean.
From the 13th century
until the landing of Garibaldi in Marsala in 1860, after which Sicily was united
with the Kingdom of Italy, Sicily’s history is a most confusing one as control
of the island passed around amongst the Germans, French, Spanish and Austrians.
The Renaissance appears to have almost entirely bypassed Sicily, represented
only in Palermo’s “Fountain of Shame” (so-called because of its nudes) which had
originally been designed for a Tuscan villa. (We only saw Palermo through the
windows of our bus.)
On the other hand, the
Sicilians embraced the Baroque, developing an especially flamboyant variation
seen in many of the churches, cathedrals, and palazzos. Facades feature curves
and theatrical statues; putti and grotesque masks support balconies with
elaborate wrought iron balustrades; and interiors are richly stuccoed and
frescoed. In Syracuse, the elaborate Duomo was built around the 5th century
Temple of Athena – one can still see the ancient columns incorporated in the
walls. Caltagirone, renowned for ceramics, is also famous for its 142-step
monumental staircase built in 1608. Each riser is decorated with a different
style of hand-painted tiles.
We were delayed in
Milan for several hours while we waited for Catania Airport to clear the ash
resulting from an eruption of Mt. Etna. As we passed the mountain that night,
the crater was glowing red. Steam was still pouring out the next day when we
visited it. Much to my amazement, there is a full-fledged ski resort on the
slopes of the volcano!
Taormina, another
lovely hill-town, was our base for the first 4 days. Our hotel, the Ariston, was
built on the grounds of an old monastery. Each room had a dramatic view of the
Ionian Sea. Although a shoppers’ paradise, full of stores selling everything
from tasteful ceramics to tasty marzipan to tacky souvenirs, for the most part
Taormina retained a quaint feel (a benefit of being there in the off season?)
We also had some time
to explore Marsala. On the weekend we were there, the town was bustling. Eerily,
there were no (!) souvenir stores, and we seemed to be the only tourists.
Policemen were everywhere – never did find out why. The bands of boys, troops of
girls, clusters of men, and couples hand-in-hand parading around the square all
seemed relatively innocuous. While there, we were treated to a thorough tour and
wine-tasting (with food carefully selected to complement the wines) at Cantine
Fici, a large producer of excellent Marsala and other wines.
There are two things I
never get tired of in Italy. The first (no surprise) is the food – hard to get
bad food in Italy, be it in a trattoria, “bar” (café), cafeteria, or rest stop.
The paninis, pasta, pizza, bruschetta, caponata and infinite variations on
eggplant were delicious. Sicily is the home of arancini, cannolis, and cassata –
and I ate them all at every opportunity.
The other thing I
never get tired of is seeing the Italian countryside. Good thing, because we
sure spent a lot of time on the bus. Fall in Sicily is beautiful. Planted fields
were lush green, plowed fields deep brown, vineyards and stands of deciduous
trees a range of yellows and russets. Orchards of orange and lemon trees were
everywhere, as well as fields of prickly pears with their bright red fruit. I
love the rustic stucco cottages, stone toolsheds, and ruined castles. Around
every corner, a sublime new vista of sea and/or mountain. Although at times the
weather turned chilly, we were very fortunate in that rain never interfered with
our plans. Eight days was enough for only a taste of this captivating island.
I’ll have to get back someday! Ciao for now.