Road Trip Sicily Continued

Feb 11

Scala Dei Turchi
When we left Agrigento, we were advised that a stop at Scala dei Turchi is a must. This impressive and unusual formation was created by the action of the sea waves on the white rock cliff.  The result is a gently sloping set of stairs, hence the name Stairs of the Turks. 

 

Cattolica Eraclea

Before our next stop in Selinunte, we made our way to Cattolica Eraclea. This is the home town of a friend of ours in Ottawa and we promised to stop by to look up some relatives. By instinct we looked for the town church. We figured best way to find people in a small Italian town is to go straight to the church. Quite by sheer luck, we found the Parrocchia B.M.V. Della Mercede right at the top of the hill in the middle of town.  We saw a gentleman going into the church and followed him in. This is how we met Lorenzo Lomea, sacristan and, “Cavalier di Mercede” (Knight of the Madonna of Mercede).  With lots of facial and hand expressions, we explained to Signore Lomea why we were visiting Cattolica.  “We are looking for family members of a dear friend in Ottawa.”  We also mentioned the names of the family.  He was familiar with the name but did not have an address and pointed down the street where we might look for the family name on the door-fronts along that street.  Before saying goodbye we took a photo with Lorenzo in front of the church to show our friend back home. 

 

 

We looked for the family residence, however, without success so decided to have lunch in a park we found before leaving for Selinunte.  In the center of the park there was a shrine dedicated to Padre Pio, now beatified.  Under his statue was written the following quotation: “La Fede è l’unico punto d’appoggio nel mare tempestoso della vita." 

While we were eating and talking about religion two older gentlemen strolled into the park. It was quite clear that they were very curious about us. So, we introduced ourselves and explained why we were in Cattolica. They introduced themselves as Antonino and Salvatore. The more gregarious of the two, Antonino, responded with delight. He said that he knew the family. Another picture was in order. Salvatore declined to have his photo taken. Antonino, on the other hand was all for it. He became more and more exuberant as we got to know one another. He seemed genuinely happy to have met us.  He kept holding our hands and grinning from ear to ear! What a lovely, sweet soul he was. 

 

It's not an illusion.  I really am taller than Antonino!!

 

We explained that we were on our way to Selinunte and that we wanted to reach there before dark. They recommended the best way for us to leave town and Atonino kept insisting that we drive “piano” (slowly) and not like the other crazy drivers.  That was our time in Cattolica. 

The drive through the centre of Sicily from Cattolica to Selinunte takes your through mile upon mile of agricultural land. The rolling hills at this time of year seem to be covered in green velvet. This is beautiful countryside and you can see that the soil is extremely rich and productive.  We didn’t even try to take pictures. They never do the real thing justice.

Feb 12-13
Selinunte

Stayed at a lovely B&B, Terazzo di Venere, in Selinunte and slept in the fanciest bedroom. 

 

This was really our bed!! 

The archaeological park was steps from the B&B, so we walked over to tour the park and its temples – each in various stages of repair or still in its destructed state. 

 

 

This picture gives you an idea of how big the columns were on one of the temples. I am 5 feet tall and this column's radius is about double my height.

There are also massive excavations of the ancient town sitting at the top of the hill. This site overlooks the sea and it’s easy to understand why it was continuously inhabited until its final abandonment.

Acropolis at Selinunte

We had 2 fabulous meals at the local restaurant “Boomerang”. In addition to great meals we were serenaded nightly by wonderful singing. At the end of the first night, we were promised fresh fish on the following evening. And that’s exactly what we had. Our freshly caught fish meal included plate upon plate of fried cod, anchovies, mullet, grilled squid, mussels, followed by a salad of blood oranges and radicchio, all topped off by lots of wine. The meal ended with cannoli and the local dessert wine made with almonds – DELICIOUS!!  Albert and I finished the night by having one dance before we left the restaurant. Nice way to end our stay in Selinunte. 

Giovanni’s (our B&B host)  Mom took us to visit her niece’s ceramic shop. Of course we bought something.  We were also gifted with a bag full of the hugest lemons. However, according to Albert they were not as big as his Grandfather’s lemons grown in New London, CT.  Lemons abound in Sicily and they are strangely delicious, just like everything else here.

Feb 14-15
Poggioreale

Marco, our landlord, and Giovanni, our B&B host, recommended visiting the mysterious and deserted ghost town of Poggioreale.  This 17^th century town was extensively damaged by an earthquake in 1968 and abandoned by the townspeople who just picked up, moved downhill and built a new town.  The old town is condemned and entrance is not permitted, so we snuck around and found a way in. As I walked into the centre of the town, I looked up at what might have been steps of the town church. At the top of the hill overlooking the church remains, I saw a woman dressed entirely in black who was looking down at me. Not exactly what I expected so I hurried back to Albert and the car – too eerie for me.

Abandoned Poggioreale

 

Entrance to destroyed home in Poggioreale

Trapani

After leaving Poggioreale, we made a quick stop in Trapani and drove along the ocean front, stopped for pizza and sandwiches before continuing on to Palermo. We had to give up visiting Erice so we could get into Palermo before dark.  It’s a good thing too. Finding our B&B in the centre of the old town was quite tricky even with GPS Lucia’s help.

Palermo
On our first morning in Palermo, we visited the Orto Botanico (botanical garden). Here’s a picture of a giant bougainvilla.  It’s the same one I have at home, only mine is miniscule compared to this one, so we had to take a picture.

 

Bougainvilla at Orto Botanica - Palermo

We stayed in the best B&B, Hotel Harmony on Via Lungarini, and recommend it if you ever get to Palermo. Giuseppe was the finest host and his favourite line was “have some coffee, have some wine, have some more it’s free, all free.”  What a hospitable and generous host. 

We managed to visit the cathedral for a few minutes.

Duomo Palermo

 

It was Sunday and everything closes at 1, museums, churches, etc., so we decided to eat instead. Seems to be our fallback when there’s nothing else to do. We found a wonderful restaurant and had a great meal. We saw some tempting veggies sitting on a side table and mistakenly thought our waiter told us to help ourselves – so we did. I thought that was the vegetable dish I ordered but realized our mistake when a plateful of other vegetables arrived. Anyway, we were blissfully ignorant and all the happier for it – the potatoes, peppers and spinach frittata were lip smacking good. Of course, we had to pay extra for our mistake and it was well worth it. I am notoriously not fond of peppers and these were outstanding!!

Feb 16
Montréal
This town sits on top of a very steep hill overlooking the city of Palermo.  It is home to an incredible Norman cathedral and Benedictine abbey built in the 12^th century. The interior of the cathedral literally glitters with gold mosaics created by Sicilian and Byzantine artists.

 

Duomo Monreale

Duomo Monreale - close up of Christ above the central altar - lots of gold!!!!

We strolled through the halls of the cloister that Benedictine monks once walked in prayer and meditation. Took a picture of Albert and reminded him that he could have been one of the Benedictines praying and meditating if he had stayed in the monastery. Luckily for me, he didn’t.

 

Albert at Benedictine Monastery in Monreale

 

Albert at the Benedictine Monastery in Monreale

Our drive down the hill from Monreale to Palermo was the most gut wrenching we’ve yet experienced in Sicily.  Sicilian drivers have no mercy. They drive at incredible speeds up roads that were never intended for more than one vehicle.  Our adrenaline levels were at an all time high by the time we reached safety and the bottom of the hill.  There was one point on our way down where a driver rolled down his window and pulled in his side view mirrors and then ours in hopes to squeeze by us, but no go. He ended up backing up. A prime example of the lengths people here will go through to get  by.

 

Road Trip Sicily - Piazza Armerina & Agrigento

We recently made a week long tour of Sicily, hitting the remains of ancient Greek temples as well as some of the more impressive Duomi of the island such as at Monreale on the outskirts of Palermo. Sicily has a beautiful, complex mix of ancient, medieval, and contemporary architecture and the people seem like a melange of the same from numerous ethnic origins.  The country side is far more mountainous than I imagined (Etna is huge.) and is made up of a plethora of olive, grape, and citrus groves and farms of all kind.  Though Palermo is the fifth largest city in Italy in terms of population, the island appears devoted to agriculture and fabulous food. 

There is, of course, much to say about life in Sicily:  for example, except for the autostrada, driving here is best described as a free-for-all that has little comparison to anything in North America, including NYC.  Italians, Sicilians particularly, are either the best or the worst drivers anywhere. We can't decide; it's like a madness but interestingly there seem to be few serious accidents. We drove the diagonal of the island, from Palermo to Siracusa in about 3.5 hours. Everyone, everywhere, whether on the autostrada or not, is in a major hurry once behind the wheel. God knows why? Road rules, especially in Sicily, are meant to be broken at first chance. Parking occurs in any fashion and in any direction.  If you can fit your vehicle in a spot, then it’s good. The food is fabulous, the wine is very inexpensive, and there is dolce and espresso every morning and the big meal at noon. 

Feb 10
Piazza Armerina
First stop of our road trip across Sicily was to Piazza Armerina. We got lost a few times but thanks to our friendly and helpful GPS girl whom we have fondly named Lucia, we made it. In Piazza Armerina are the remains of a Roman Villa built between the 3rd and 4th Century AD, the Villa of Casale. It is believed to have been built by a member of the imperial family of Rome. Whoever it was had lots of money and so the idea of it being someone imperial makes sense. 

What saved the villa and its many amazingly well preserved mosaics was a landslide which buried the villa in the 12C until its discovery at the end of the 19C. The complex is huge and impressive and what makes the villa unique are its floors which are entirely of mosaics that have survived in excellent condition. We weren't allowed to take any photos so to give you an idea of the number and condition of the mosaics here's a site to visit: 

http://wn.com/roman_mosaics_from_villa_del_casale,_sicily

Feb 10-11
Agrigento
Agrigento, like many Sicilian towns, is beautifully balanced on a hill. Of course our B&B was at the topmost section of the city so the drive took us higher and higher through narrower and narrower streets. The trick is to drive up the street beeping your horn to let oncoming vehicles know you're coming, say a prayer to the Madonna, and drive as fast as you can to the other side. This is how it's done in Sicily. 

Naturally, we got lost and thanks to the help of a wonderful young man (forced by his mother to show us the way) we found our way to the Via Duomo and our B&B.  We arrived a little later than expected and were warmly greeted by our host, Alfonso.  A lovely and gregarious Italian gentleman.  We found the people of Agrigento to be kind and helpful to strangers who speak only a little Italian.

After a good night's sleep and an enormous breakfast served by the Signora of the house we were well stocked and filled for the day. Happily it was quite a warm and sunny day - perfect to view this exquisite site with its many temples. Our first stop was the Temple of Juno. The Greeks picked a perfect site - blue sky and blue sea are background to all the temples.

Temple of Juno

As you continue on the sacred way, you see the Temple of Concordia in the distance. This is a best preserved temple at the site. 

 

Temple of Concordia

The next stop is the Temple of Zeus considered to be the largest temple planned by the Greeks. Unfortunately, it was never completed. The columns are so huge it's mind boggling. Part of the columnar structure were these enormous telemons supposedly intended to support the temple roof. This picture gives you an idea of just how big they are and this was 1/3 of the entire column!!

 

Telemon & Caroline

 

The remaining temples, Temple of Hercules, Temple of Pollux and Castor and Temple of Vulcan have a few columns standing with most of the temple structure strewn around the foundation.

Albert at the Temple of Hercules

 

On our last day Agrigento, we visited the Duomo (right next door to the B&B) and  the Chiesa of Santa Maria Dei Greci. The Duomo is in serious need of repairs. The sandstone walls are literally crumbling. The Chiesa is, like many churches in Sicily, built around and on the remains of an older Greek temple.  Why start afresh when there's already something there?  Makes perfect sense.



 

Duomo Agrigento
 

 



Chiesa Santa Maria Dei Greci

Catania and Santa Lucia

It's been ages since our last posting and much has happened - nothing earth shattering - just some traveling, lots of eating and seeing some incredible sights.  Driving through Sicily (at least the eastern coast and inland) has been an eye opener. We are convinced that Sicily must be the breadbasket of Italy. Albert just told me that it truly is. So I guess I'm terrifically observant and somewhat behind on facts.There are mile upon mile of citrus groves (dripping with varieties of oranges and lemons), olive trees, vineyards (rather bare right now) and artichokes.  Winter must be perfect weather for growing artichokes. They are everywhere - in the fields and on fruit and vegetables vendor trucks on just about every street in every town we've driven through.

Just some lemons

We also trained to Catania on the 10:25 am which goes all the way to Rome so had a very comfortable sleeper car. We walked from the Catania train station to the Duomo (cathedral). It was as windy as all get out. Temperature was warm but we, or rather me, just about got blown back to the train station. After a few of our usual stops asking for directions, we made it to the big street near the Duomo where everyone shops in Catania. We were on a mission to find a sweater for Albert.  It's been a search - he may be half Italian but his size is definitely not Italian - he's just too tall and too broad. After much looking we landed on the big department store in Sicily and 'Dio Mio' we found a sweater that was perfect. So with sweater in hand, we moved on to the Duomo and naturally it was closed by the time we arrived.  Everything closes at 1 p.m. and if it's a store, will open up around 4:30.  However, churches and museums are a different story - once closed, they stay closed until domani. Nevertheless, the outside of the cathedral was spectacular enough.  We plan to come back on a later visit on our way to Taormina.

 

Duomo (Cathedral) Catania

The highlight of our day in Catania was a wonderful restaurant we stumbled upon while searching madly to find one that was recommended in the Michelin guide. We never found that one, but were pretty happy we didn't. The restaurant we did find is on the tiniest cobblestone street. It's called Trattoria Il Mare on Via San Michele, 7, and if you're ever in Catania, you must go there. We picked our meal from a display case loaded with all kinds of sea food. I had the pesce mista (a fabulous mixture of fried fish, shrimp, squid), and Albert had red snapper cooked in a Sicilian sauce. Oh and we can't forget the dessert.  Can't remember what it's called but it's Sicilian and made with ricotta (of course) and was so moist and downright delicious. We figure this was the best meal we've had in Sicily and we happened upon this little treasure purely by accident. You have to love accidents!!!!  We will be back for sure.

 

What kind of fish would you like?

 

Or is this more to your liking?

 

 

Fabio deboning Albert's fish

 

Sicilian fish with capers, olives, tomatoes

 

The day after we got back was spent searching for the painting of Santa Lucia by Caravaggio. This little adventure has now turned into a mystery tour. We went to where the guides say the painting is housed. Not so. We've checked websites, talked to people and have yet to determine the location of Santa Lucia. We haven't given up though. We will find her. In the meantime we spent a lovely afternoon at the museum Galleria Regionale di Palazzo Bellamy which is dedicated to Sicilian art and artifacts and Byzantine paintings. This is where the Entombent of St. Lucy by Caravaggio is supposed to be, but is definitely not. 

Antiquities

Since our last posting, we visited the Parco archaeologico in Syracuse - home of the Teatro Greco - pretty impressive for being over 2,000 years old.  Enjoyed imagining all those Greek bums sitting at the theatre watching the latest Greek tragedy and then later Roman bums in those same seats screaming their lungs out for their favourite gladiator. Yup, they all took place at the same place, just hundreds of years later.  Apparently, there are reruns of Greek plays here as well in the summer. That would be worth watching.  Would be curious to hear how well the acoustics work.

Teatro Greco

Unfortunately the Roman amphitheatre (also at the Parco archaologico) is under repair/renovation so we didn't see it up close.  The best we could do was to peer through the iron fence. Apparently, Roman replays of naval battles was one of the spectacles shown at the amphitheatre.  Leave it to  Roman ingenuity. Water from the nearby pool was used to flood the amphitheatre and voilà all was transformed into a fake ocean for a fake naval battle. 

 

Visited the archaeological museum again as well.  The place is so full of pottery that we both were potteried out in a few hours - we couldn't have handled looking at one more shard or even a whole vase for that matter. There are so many fabulous Greek pots done by some very famous Greek pottery painters.  There's still more to see.  Let's see that's at least three1/2 days spent at the museum and we have seen section A, B and F.  We have Section C and D yet to see.  All the artefacts are from Sicily and there are thousands of years of settlements so that makes for lots of debris left behind for archaeologists to sift through.




 Yesterday was a lovely day - warm and sunny.  We walked by the Ionian sea, famously referred to as the "wine dark sea" by Homer.  It didn't look too much like wine but I bet it's nice to swim in when it's warmer.

Had lunch in Ortigia at Il Portocciolo; however, I've been told by Albert to say no more. He thinks we'll stir up too much envy if we go into any kind of description of the meal, so all I have to say is the seafood was fresh and tasty.

Today was a quiet day.  It was sunny but quite windy and cool, so we decided to stay in and plan for a week long getaway to Enna, Agrigento, Catolica, Selinunte, Trapani, Monreale, and Palermo.

 

 

Some everyday stories to share

Albert's account of his first visit to a Sicilian barber: 

We have found it very easy to adjust to daily life here in Siracusa.  Everything we need or want is within walking distance.  Behind every street level door-front is a shop of some kind, including the local Barbiere per Uomo that I recently had to visit for my first haircut in Sicilia: 

Caroline is with me. The shop is empty.  It's early in the day.  Aliaso emerges from a backroom and greets us as if we were old friends he hasn’t seen in years. He speaks almost no English.  He tells us he is a barber and a musician who has traveled the world.  He is a Sicilian folk singer. We tell him we are from Canada.  He says he has been to Toronto and Montreal with his folksong singing family band. He is very proud of his son, a young member of the group. He shows us a CD about a musical dedicated to Santa Lucia, the martyred patron saint of Siracusa. His brother composed some of the songs that the group performs on the CD.  He is devoted to spreading the story of Santa Lucia worldwide. 

Signore Aliaso sits me in the chair.  He feels miei capelli with his fingertips and suggests it's very soft and thin. He begins to spray and cut my hair. My back is to the mirror.  Caroline's expressive face is my mirror.  It reveals surprise, concern and maybe, alarm. The whole cut is done with scissors, a comb and a straight razor. Just like the old days!  Except for my beard, which he does with clippers but without an attachment.  I am now worried that Signore Aliaso has misunderstood my instructions and that I am about to receive the Inspector Poirot special as he plasters my hair with mousse.  But no, thankfully, Aliaso pulls out a hair dryer and gives miei capelli a fluff.   In the end, I look fine.  Though clearly, I been sheared.

 

Before we leave his shop, Signore Aliaso retrieves his guitar from the backroom and begins to sing, in a rich baritone, a sweet love song.  It is directed at Caroline, of course, and it has become clear to me that Italian men prefer to address women but that Italian women are more egalitarian.  Fine della storia!

 

Wash day and adaptability:

A little funny thing keeps happening with our laundry. We have to hang our clothes to dry on our balcony as does everyone else in Siracusa. It's amazing how people have gerry rigged clotheslines to fit even the smallest balconies so sheets are drying above the streets and traffic. For this story, we have noticed, that quite often whenever our laundry is out to dry, some bird or birds decide to poop on Albert's clothes. Maybe it's because they're good sized targets. I can't help but laugh and say "look Albert another bird pooped on your pants or shirt". Equally funny is that he wants me to take the clothes in before the birds do they're business. I have to remind him they're outside to dry and bringing them in before then defeats the purpose. We are having to adapt and be flexible.

 

Since then, I've had my comeuppance and been blessed with equal attention by said birds. Looked out the other day and lo and behold bird poop on my lovely new sweater. So this is life in Siracusa.

 

 

 

What? No Internet!!!!!

Had a few days of technical difficulties with no internet connection. Amazing how tied we've become to ongoing communication. There once was a time when you went away and you were literally away - with little contact with the folks back home. I must admit, it's hard to go back to the good old days. We've come to miss the ongoing connection.

The day was sunny and warm - perfect day to be out.  We put our days of incommunicado to good use by spending our days walking around town and visiting Ortigia - the oldest section of Syracuse. A place full of narrow cobblestone alleys with special looking shops and eateries. We fell upon another pasticceria - this one was recommended by our landlord, Marco. It supposedly has the best cannoli in the world.  We bought a couple of panini and cannoli.  Sat in the sun and ate our lunch right in the piazza outside Il Duomo (the cathedral) in Ortigia.  We will visit this spot again and again.  Oh by the way, the cannoli were WONDERFUL!!!

 

Il Duomo