Exploring Sicily

After our Grand Circle trip to Malta (see separate travelogue.), we set out next on a tour of Sicily (see Grand Circle website).

Under the command of tour director Mariangela, ably assisted by driver Stephano, we set out to explore this confusing, dramatic island.

We started in the city of Palermo, a major port surrounded by rugged mountains, and a good place to begin an investigation of the character of Sicily. Of Palermo Norman Lewis wrote,

... it would be fair to say that it is a place of limitless excitements. The newspapers are glutted with sensations. Three leading politicians out of four are generally exposed as corrupt, the death rate by violence is twice that of Rome, a palace falls down every year, state processions are held up by continual funerals, and in 1998 the postal authorities disposed of an accumulation of undelivered letters by burning them or throwing them into the sea.(In Sicily. See bibliography at the end)

Our hotel, the Gran Albergo de Sole, had been a favorite haunt of Mafia boss Don Calogero Vizzini. Judging from the furnishings, we may have been given his room.

The hotel could not be better situated. Our room looked out on the roofs of old Palermo. Adjacent to the hotel is the Quatro Canti, an astonishing set of four baroque corners, each like this one, marking the intersection of the two main thoroughfares.

Across from the hotel is the Piazza Vergogna, the "Square of Shame", featuring classic nudes conveniently placed in front of a convent.

Adjacent to the square is the Piazza Benini. Facing this Piazza are three delightful churches that provide a diversity of architectural styles.

The bell tower of Santa Maria dell' Ammiraglio, or La Martorana, was built in Norman times. The interior features a ceiling and other mosaics created by Byzantine craftsmen.

Next door the San Cataldo church dates from the 12th century. The style is Norman, with three odd, Arabic domes.

The church of Santa Catarina does not look prepossessing from the outside, but inside the ceiling and the nave and altar are stunning.

Extravagant baroque churches, such as San Domenico, can be found on almost every street. The cathedral, begun in the 12th century but modified frequently since then, is quite dramatic.

Among other buildings worth noting are two theaters built in the late 19th century. The Teatro Politeama Garibaldi is the more extravagant, the Teatro Massimo opera house the more classical in style. We were fortunate to get tickets for the latter to see Pucini's Tritico, so managed to enjoy Italian opera in this magnificent setting.

The old section of Palermo is a vibrant blend of ecclesiastical and residential architecture.

As in any Italian city, traffic is a hazard - when the light changes, get out of the way of the Vespas. Parked cars are crammed into every available space, making it hard for even the stray dogs to find a place to park.

Older citizens gather around for a game of chess. Adolescents find a place to relax along the sea front. And the Villa Giulia is a cool spot to be when the afternoon sun gets hot.

Excursions from Palermo

On a hill above Palermo is the cathedral of Monreale. Built in Norman times, its ornate ceiling shows some Arab influence. Most spectacular, though, are the extensive mosaics dating from the 12th and 13th century that decorate every wall of the cathedral.

We traveled west to Segesta, site of a Greek temple built in the 5th century BC in Doric style. Thanks to being largely buried in silt until recently, it has survived earthquakes and other devastation to remain one of the best preserved temples in the world.

Its purpose has never been fully explained. The temple was probably never finished. For example, one can still see extrusions left on the edges of building blocks that would be used to help move the blocks into place. Eventually, they would be removed. Now the temple is a site for tourists and a home for birds.

Beyond Segesta, along the coast near Trapani are the salt flats, producing table salt the same way they have for hundreds of years. The old windmills, though, are now mostly for show.

The western-most town in Sicily is Marsala, a dramatic contrast to Palermo with its bright open squares and stark white buildings. And yes, we did get to sample the Marsala.

Clearly one cannot discuss Sicily without raising the topic of the Mafia.

So, after leaving Palermo, we traveled through rugged countryside where the Mafia has been in control for hundreds of years - forbidding mountains, fertile fields, and small, isolated towns.

We stopped in the town of Corleone, dominated by a hill that once held the local gaol. That the town was a center of Mafia activity should not be a surprise.

The main reason for going to Corleone was to meet Gino, a volunteer working with the CIDMA (Antimafia Movement. After his picturesque but depressing description of the history of the Mafia, and just in case we were starting to feel optimistic, he informed us that, due to political pressures, CIDMA was about to go out of business.

After leaving Corleone, we stopped for lunch in a delightful setting, a converted railway station in Ficuzza. An old ox cart added to the rustic atmosphere. The idyllic scene was only somewhat tempered by knowing that the Ficuzza woods are notorious as the site of Mafia violence.

We continued our journey through central Sicily and reached Agrigento. Though its population exceeded 200,000 during Greek times, it is now a small, work -a-day town with mundane distractions not evident 2,500 years ago.

A walk around town provides typical scenes of busy men conversing with the usual hand gestures. It also offers interesting alley ways, and an impressive town hall.

One episode in Agrigento illustrated the problems encountered by tourist traffic. This bus (not ours) was unable to get around the parked car, or to back up. The horn honking went on for a good five minutes. The final resolution is unknown.

The primary tourist attraction in Agrigento is the Valley of the Temples, a series of four or five Doric temples laid out along a ridge below the city. Entering the temple area, one's first view is of an ancient olive tree. Above it lies the temple of Juno. A little further along one comes to the temple of Concordia, and then the temple of Hercules.

At the end of the ridge are the remains of the largest known Greek temple, the temple of Zeus, now not much more than a pile of stones.

During the Byzantine era the temples were converted into churches (for example, the interior of the Concordia temple became a basilica), or allowed to fall into disrepair. Much of the area was used as a necropolis at that time.

From Agrigento we set off again into the interior of Sicily, headed for the east coast.

Along the way we stopped at Piazza Armerina, site of a large, third century Roman villa, to view the mosaics that are being restored.

They are truly astonishing in their realism. They range from abstract designs with three-dimensional texture to military scenes with men at arms and brilliantly decorated horses.

Using small tiles, the artist (probably from North Africa) has been able to express a range of subtle emotions. Hunting scenes show terrifying animals attacking the hunter, and hunters attacking small animals that try to hide - but, of course, in vain.

Best known of the mosaics are probably the "bikini girls", actually athletes in competition, with one person awarding the prize

Colors in a design were established by choosing the appropriate type of marble. A close up view shows the care with which individual tiles have been selected and placed.

Our journey continued through the Sicilian countryside, with an occasional reminder that Sicily is still a very rural province.

As we neared the east coast, the dominant feature on the horizon became Mount Etna, the plume of smoke evidence of an active eruption on its flank.

Our destination was Taormina, host to international visitors for 200 years. It is set on the side of a steep hill, with Etna always visible in the background.

We stayed at the Ariston Hotel which, in addition to having numerous terraces where we could take refreshments, offered great views of the coastline.

Near the hotel is a public gardens, a pleasant place to relax. The gardens were designed by a Victorian Englishwoman with an odd taste in garden decorations. The garden does offer beautiful views along the coast.

Other spots offer views of the aptly named Isola Bella that lies below the city.

The main street in Taormina is the Corso Umberto, an endless series of shops designed to appeal to the tourist. Side streets are made up for the most part of flights of steps, with numerous cafes where one can find lunch.

The Greeks built a theater into the side of the hill above Taormina. The Romans later converted it into an amphitheater, adding a rear wall and thus spoiling the view of Etna, which has now returned with a partial collapse of the wall.

Taking an evening stroll, it's not unusual to run into preparations for a religious procession, with altars set out on street corners, and the streets themselves paved with flowers.

If you don't mind steps and steep roads, Taormina is a great place for walking. Above the town, on top of a rock, is the Saracen's Castle, which we set out to reach one morning.

The castle can be seen from near the hotel, so we set off up an endless flight of steps. The pathway, known as Via Crucis, is marked at intervals by stations of the cross. Thus, just as one starts to feel tired, one is made to feel even worse.

After about 30 minutes we reached the top, from where we could see our second objective, the town of Castelmola, which required another half hour of uphill walking. We enjoyed the wildflowers along the way.

The view from Castelmola was worth the effort. We could look back at the way we had come, and beyond that, across the hills to Etna.

Later Gordon took a walk to explore in other directions. Ignoring the warnings of local dogs, he strode off down a set of overgrown steps that turned into an even more overgrown trail.

Eventually the trail passed under a road to emerge at the sea. The remainder of the walk was mostly a hike along the beach to the neighboring town of Letojani. Even this was made difficult by rock piles that required some scrambling.

So, it was back up the trail to Piano del Porte, a strange area near the center of Taormina consisting of overgrown fields and ruined houses - no doubt the site for some future turismo development.

We took a day trip to Siracusa, site of the original Corinthian settlement, and another city that is now much smaller than it was 2,500 years ago.

A large quarry, now a garden, was used for the stones of which the ancient city was built. A popular spot to visit in the quarry is the Ear of Dionysius, which serves as a great echo chamber.

The Greek theater, the largest in Sicily, has been modified for modern performances. The Roman amphitheater, now overgrown, was also one of the largest of its kind.

To appreciate the Baroque influence on the city one must walk across to the island of Ortygia. A spacious piazza has been laid out in oblong form, with the duomo on one side. While the cathedral's exterior is typical ornate baroque, the interior is actually a converted Greek temple.

Near the piazza is fountain of Aretusa, at one end of the Lungomare, with views over the harbor

On our return we stopped for lunch and, looking like something out of a Fellini movie, took a brief stroll on a local beach

Of course, we had to pay our respects to Mount Etna. We had been told that Etna is a "good boy" (mostly) -- the eruptions are (usually) well behaved, and the hot lava moves slowly enough that one has plenty of time to get out of the way.

So we traveled to the edge of the lavafield, which reminded us a lot of the old slag dumps of Pittsburgh.

The hazards of living under a volcano are apparent at this restaurant. Although the lava flows slowly, it is relentless. The "rocks" seen here are lava. The sign reads, "The lava of 2001 ended here".

A tough climb behind the restaurant gets one to the top of one of many craters on the side of Etna. It also provides a great view of a second crater that is more accessible to tourists.

On the way down the mountain a pair of foxes stopped by to wish us farewell.

One of the last events was a home-hosted lunch at a private home. The charming hosts had prepared what was probably the best meal of our visit: home made fettucini and home grown fruit to finish.

So in a small town well removed from the tourist beat, we found the real character of Sicily. Beaten down for centuries by feudal landowners, the church, and the Mafia, Sicilians still remain cheerful and generous to their guests.

Recommended reading:

Norman Lewis, The honored society, Eland Books, 1984.
Norman Lewis, In Sicily, Jonathon Cape, 2000.
Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The leopard, Collins, 1998.

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