I always make great friends when I travel and this trip is no exception. Ines (German), Remo (Swiss) and Dachia (Russian), and I decided to rent a car and get out of Cefalu for a couple of excursions. On Friday we met in the late afternoon and drove up into the mountains to two lovely old towns. As we climb the mountains, here is a view of the coast (and humidity) we are leaving behind:
It's difficult to tell what people who live in Gratteri actually do. It is isolated and small. It has its own access to fresh water and there is also a water purification system in place. The town is full of windy streets, very picturesque, super quiet and charming. Nothing was open. We just walked and took photos. It was the late evening so people were hanging out in the wee piazzas and wondering about us as we walked by.
Here are some scenes from our walk:
From there, we drove to Castelbuono... in our little Fiat 500:
Castelbuono has a past that mixes Arab and Norman influences. The construction of the castle, which is buono, began the in 14th century and wasn't finished until the 17th, I believe. We were there in time for dinner. The restaurant had at one point been nominated for a Michelin star. The restaurant itself was a bit clumsy. But the food was interesting a good. We got an amuse bouche of a fluffy ricotta thingy and a eggy spinachy thingy. For dinner, I had the pappardelle with pesto and a Sicilian red wine.
We then walked back to the car. The town was lit up so prettily. Loveliness.
So the sun goes down, of course. The heat remains but it's just not as scalding. In fact, in the shade with a little breeze, it's very comfortable and beautiful. At night, everyone comes out for a passeggiatta. A tradition in most of Italy, this is an evening walk that is all about eating and talking. Everyone is out at night. People go to dinner a bit late (well, in my opinion. But remember I like to go to bed at 8. I'm lame) and meet up with friends, chat the evening away.
It's rather civilized:
My friend, Ines (from Germany), and I are at a restaurant in the piazza. I ordered a delicious Sicilian-style pizza and a glass of vino bianco from the Etna area. She ordered a traditional eggplant dish with saffron.
I took home my leftover pizza in this box that is SO very Italian stereotype. OH!
I always meet fabulous people on my trip. Lucky me!
The sirocco winds are beginning to hit Sicily. They are hot winds that come up from the Saharan desert and are the tipping point for the hot summers in Sicily. This morning I just went for a slow stroll, taking photos of things and places I thought had a certain beauty.
Like lined up mopeds:
Majolica tiled staircases:
Groovy old churches and shrines:
Beautiful Baroque facades. The unfortunate thing about Cefalu (and I noticed it in Siracusa, as well) is that there are many old churches but they are all closed. In Tuscany, all churches are open for visitors to take a look inside. Here I think they just don't have the money/infrastructure to keep these places open. I am going to ask my teacher about it on Monday.
This church is particularly interesting. It is called Saint Stefano Protomartire o del Purgatorio. It's 15th century. The purpose of the church was to pray for the souls in purgatory in hopes you could help lessen their time there. Notice the skull and crossbones above the portal:
I walked to the Bastion to look at the sea and there was a man there, playing the theme from The Godfather on his accordion:
As I was making my way home, I became fascinated by the roots of these trees that are pushing up the concrete. They look so alive:
I know you're probably thinking, oh, she's going to talk about the infamous Norman invasion of England in 1066. But no. I am going to feature one of the architectural delights of Cefalu that is the result of the Norman invasion of Sicily in 1061. This was when Roger de Hauteville crossed the strait of Messina and made his way into Sicily. It took them around 30 years to conquer the Saracens who had had their turn at controlling the island. King Roger (which always sounds so silly... a king named Roger? I mean, really), once everything settled down, decided that Cefalu was a prime spot. And it is. It had an imposing landscape and was perfectly situated, looking over the Tyrrhenian sea.
The cathedral was erected around 1131 and took almost 100 years to fully complete. It is built in the Norman style. Blocky, castellated, small windows, roman arches.
The staircase that leads up to it is without any kind of railing, which actually makes for an aesthetic that is very refined.
Built in a classic basilica style, there is a central nave with secondary aisles on either side. It's cavernous and cool on a hot day. The roof is wooden and coffered.
There is this Norman baptismal font as well that is so cool.
Afterwards, lunch with some of my friends from the school. I had pasta with butter and sage and a selection of grilled vegetables, onions, eggplant and zucchini. So delicious.
Lastly, since the 4th has passed, I would like to leave you with this superb poem by Naomi Sahib Nye:
Cefalu was founded in the 4th century BC by the Greeks, who named it Cephaloedium. The city sits at the base of an imposing outcrop, that looks like a big rock was just plunked here. This gave the city a ready-made fortress look and of course those cultures who came him later, namely the Normans, the Spanish and the Arabs, all contributed architecturally and culturally to the city. Here is a photo from the web so you can see the entire city:
With the school, we had a little walkabout. It was interesting. Of course, the city was once completely enclosed by a wall and there are ports at strategic and practical points. It was a city of fishermen, and so here is the Porta Pescari:
There is also a wee outdoor museum that features old fashioned fishing gear. Nets and floats and spears and things:
Many buildings from the Normans still exist. The main church, which I'll visit soon, is known for its mosaics.
And here is a medieval laundry area that was used all the way up to the 70s!
The "bastion" is one of the palazzos on the tip of the peninsula. From here you get a sweeping view of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which I have been swimming in, by the way. So marvelous!
Cramped but lovely, Cefalu's old town has some interesting alleys and vicoli:
This morning my driver, Santino, picked me up at 10 and we began our driving trip across Sicily. We drove east to Catalina, then turned west to Enna, then north toward Cefalu. It took about 3 hours, during which Santino talked endlessly about history, archeology, culture, food, literature... etc. all in Italian, of which I understood (I'm happy to report) about 80% of it.
But what was fascinating is how diverse the landscape is. The center is actually a very rich agricultural valley. There are cows! And there are hills and mountains. Lots of interesting old cities that tourists don't know of. We stopped at the Autogrill and he treated me to an espresso and a sfolgliatella, a delicious, crunchy pastry with almond cream.
Villa Caterina is my home for the next 3 weeks. School begins tomorrow!
I took a taxi up into Siracusa this morning, after cooling off in the sea and having a lemon granita. It is called the Neapolis Archeological park and it is a place you can see Greek, Roman, and early Christian ruins all in one spot. After getting your ticket and audio guide, you will look like this:
You might be concerned because you are about to take a 1.5 hour long hike in the middle of the day in a place where there is no shade. You have no hat. No water. But you're determined.
First you walk down into the Latomia del Paradiso. This is the ancient rock quarry where "workers" spent their days chiseling out huge chunks of rock in different shapes and sizes. It's called Paradise right now because somewhere along the line, someone decided to plant a lovely garden with lots of flowering trees.
Down into the park you continue. The quarry is massive.
There are chisel marks everywhere. Apparently, the workers would chisel a line into a section of rock, add wooden pegs and then hammer those until the rock split along the line.
There are so many caves that are off limits to tourists. There's this one that is of particular interest. According to legend, Saint Paul preached here in 64 AD?
Then you hike out of the quarry, up and up, until you get to a high mark on the hill where those clever Greeks built their theater. It overlooks the bay, which is looking impressive from this perspective. Later, Christians used this side of the hill for tombs. And those are everywhere as well.
You walk down and stroll along the altar of Hieron. It's 200 meters long and is thought to have been used as a massive sacrificial altar. 450 bulls. Wha?? Huge barbeque afterwards.
Now make your way to the Roman amphitheater:
And as you head toward the exit, you have a few things to say about the need for a team with weedeaters:
Hope you enjoyed all the videos. I thought that was the best way to show you all these marvels. Photos don't do it sometimes....
