Saying Goodbye to Sicily

After 15 days, I knew my trip to Sicily would soon be ending. On the final evening, our OAT group gathered for a bittersweet farewell dinner in a Catania restaurant. It was a memorable meal – caponata with cod; rigatoni pasta with shrimp and Bronte pistachios; wood-fired salmon with tomatoes and oregano; and the lightest melt-in-your-mouth tiramisu for dessert. 

Luckily, I had arranged to stay an extra day in Catania after the tour officially ended so the following morning, while others were zooming off to the airport, I was having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and planning my adventures for the day. As much as I had enjoyed our guided sightseeing, I was looking forward to exploring on my own. Today would be all mine. I could spend hours and hours walking around Catania, I could sit at an outdoor café when the mood struck, I could even imagine that I wasn’t actually a tourist, but one of the people rushing off to work or school this morning. 

Walking briskly out of the hotel, I noted with satisfaction that the sun was already shining brightly and the sky was a flawless expanse of blue. At the nearby Piazza Trento, I paused to observe the small group gathered at the kiosk for their morning espresso. What would it be like to live here in Catania, I wondered. 

I would shop in one of the open-air markets, of course, which is where I was headed later. But first, I made my way back to the Piazza del Duomo to take some photos of the elephant and the obelisk. 

And with no schedule to follow, I decided take a look at the interior of the cathedral. 

Afterwards, I set out for less familiar territory and soon was walking along streets with few, if any, tourists. In the area between via Vittorio Emanuele II and via Garibaldi, a canopy of brightly colored umbrellas caught my attention. Entranced by the display, I stopped and observed local residents doing their grocery shopping at this open-air market. 

Eventually I navigated my way south to the Castello Ursino, in the middle of a quiet piazza. At the time this fortress was built in the 13^th century, it was located on top of a cliff facing the sea. When lava from the 1669 eruption of Mount Etna surrounded the castle and altered the landscape of the city, the castle was no longer on the seafront. It now houses a civic museum, which I didn’t visit. However, I spent several minutes walking around the outside of the castle to study the decorative carvings on its many towers, searching for the astronomical and religious symbols I’d read about. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to identify the menorah and the five-pointed star of Solomon. 

Ignoring my rapidly growing hunger pangs, I continued wandering through the tangle of residential streets, looking for the former Benedictine Monastery, Monastero dei Benedettini, which is now used by Catania’s university. I had been told that it offered an excellent view of the city. 

On my way back to the Piazza del Duomo, I came across the Odeon, a partially excavated 2^nd century CE theater, which held 1500 spectators.

Another new discovery lay just a few streets beyond the Odeon. The Baroque era Via dei Crociferi led into the Piazza dei San Francesco d’Assisi. The small but charming piazza was surrounded by ornate churches and palazzos from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. 

And much to my surprise, I was just a few blocks west of the Piazza del Duomo. I soon was trudging back up Via Etnea, stopping to take photos of the Piazza Universita in the sunshine.

The noon bells were ringing when I approached Collegiata Basilica. I had just enough time to rush inside and snap a quick photo of the fercolo, the silver carriage used to carry a statue of St. Agatha in the annual procession honoring the saint.

Continuing on my way, I was pleased to get a decent photo of the Bellini monument in the Piazza Stesicoro.

By this point, I’d been walking for nearly four straight hours and I had worked up quite an appetite. Since I had done some strategic planning for my walk, I wasn’t far from Café Spinella, right on Via Etnea. I sat myself down at an outdoor table and ordered some classic Sicilian street food: a spinach arancini (the size of a softball on steroids, with a crunchy deep-fried exterior and a creamy mixture of rice, cheese, ham and spinach inside) and schiaciatta a la Norma (with a filling of eggplant, tomato, basil and cheese oozing out of the dough). 

I briefly considered gelato, but I was too stuffed. All I could think of was taking a siesta back at the hotel before I faced the unenviable chore of packing. 

Darkness had fallen when I walked to via Filomena one last time in search of a light dinner. 

When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t ready to leave yet. The sky was blue once again. The sun was shining. I lingered over my cappuccino and mini-cannoli, knowing that in a few short hours, I would be on my way to the airport for my flight home. There was time, however, for a quick walk around the neighborhood. 

And then it was time to say Arrivederci, Sicilia. Mi manchi gia.(Goodbye, Sicily. I miss you already.) 

A Relaxing Day in Taormina

After two busy weeks traveling around Sicily on an OAT tour, I was ready for a relatively relaxing in one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island – Taormina. The fabled coastal resort is set on a rocky promontory on Sicily’s east coast, overlooking the Ionian Sea. Although it’s only 61 kilometers (less than 40 miles) east of Mt. Etna, Taormina’s color and luxury offer a striking contrast to the volcano’s austere beauty. 

Taormina (with Isola Bella)

Taormina’s history as a vacation spot goes back to Roman times. Over the centuries, it has hosted a long list of the wealthy and powerful, including several European monarchs. It was often on the itinerary of upperclass young gentlemen making their “Grand Tour” of Europe in the 18^th or 19^th century. In addition, it has served as a getaway destination for numerous writers, such as Goethe, D.H. Lawrence, and Truman Capote, to name just a few. And it’s noteworthy that when homosexuality wasn’t socially acceptable, Taormina had a reputation for tolerance. 

Rail travel in the mid-19^th century made Sicily accessible to a wider segment of the general population. The British are credited with turning Taormina into the summer playground of choice in the 1900s. In more recent years, the town has attracted filmmakers, from Fellini to Francis Ford Coppola. Today Taormina continues to draw visitors from around the world, many of whom arrive by cruise ship. And when a cruise ship disgorges thousands of passengers, their sheer numbers can easily overwhelm Taormina’s year-round local population of a little under 12,000 people. Fortunately, our visit took place in late October, when tourist season was winding down. 

On a bright and clear morning, we headed north from Catania to the province of Messina. Driving along on the Autostrada, we looked out at snow-capped Mount Etna on the left and the azure waters of the Ionian Sea on the right. 

Right before we began the uphill climb to Taormina, we got a glimpse of Giardini-Naxos, a modern beach town that’s especially popular with families. It occupies the site of the ancient Greek settlement of Naxos, founded in 734 BCE. Naxos was one of the first Greek colonies on the island. As we drove through the quiet town, I took note of the lungomare (seaside promenade), the narrow strip of sandy beach, and several large ships offshore.

Giardini-Naxos 

Then we turned off onto the narrow twisting road that led up into Taormina (elevation 800 feet above sea level). Even before we reached the center of the old town, I was entranced by the profusion of oleanders, in various shades of pink, and the view of the sea. 

Leaving our bus behind, we entered the historic heart of Taormina through the Porta Messina, one of the town’s three medieval gates. The imposing Palazzo Corvaja with its blend of Arab, Norman and Catalan Gothic architecture rose in front of us. The tourist office and a museum now occupy parts of the palace (built between the 10^th and 14^thcenturies). 

Catalan Gothic style windows in the Palazzo Corvaja 

A reminder of Taormina’s ancient past is the Greco-Roman theater, originally built by the Greeks in the 3^rd century BCE. In typical Greek fashion, it was built directly into the limestone hillside. During Greek times, the theater held 5000 spectators. In the 1^st century CE, the Romans used brick covered with marble to update and enlarge the theater, turning it into an amphitheater suitable for gladiator contests and increasing the seating capacity to 9000. 

With the arrival of the Byzantines in the 6^th century, the theater was turned into a church. Some of the theater’s stones were used in the construction of other buildings. In the centuries that followed, the Arabs and Normans likewise utilized the theater as a source of “recyclable” building materials. 

The central part of the theater collapsed during the 1693 earthquake and portions of the structure have been rebuilt, most recently in 1953. Nowadays, the ancient theater is used for concerts, operas and theatrical performances during the summer months. The acoustics are great, but it’s the view from the seating area that’s truly unparalleled. 

View from upper rows in the theater

From the viewing platform at the top of the theater, we could  look out towards the Ionian Sea and also towards the Strait of Messina in the opposite direction.

View towards the Ionian Sea

View towards the Ionian Sea 

View towards the Strait of Messina

Like most tourist towns, Taormina offers plenty of opportunities for shopping and eating. The pedestrian-friendly Corso Umberto Uno is the main shopping street. From typical souvenirs to interesting jewelry and clothing made by Italian artists and designers, Taormina has something for every budget. At this point in my trip, however, there wasn’t room in my luggage for any additional items.

The narrow twisting streets of the old town are filled with restaurants, bars, and cafés, which tend to be more expensive than their counterparts in other Sicilian cities and towns. Numerous shops sell locally made products. 

At Nove, a shop that specialized in all things pistachio, we had a lavish tasting experience. The nuts came from Bronte, a town on the western slope of Mount Etna that is synonymous with pistachios. Just a note about this “green gold”: The Arabs brought pistachios to Sicily, where they thrived in the volcanic soil.

After sampling at least half a dozen delicious pistachio products, including pistachio bruschetta, pistachio pesto, pistachio cookies, pistachio candy, pistachio liqueur, pistachio cannoli, and of course, the best ever pistachio gelato, I didn’t have much of an appetite for lunch. It was impossible, though, to pass up the pistachio arancini. 

There are plenty of historic buildings worth seeing in Taormina but I was content just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere of the place. As we prepared to leave Taormina, we took a ride in the aerial tram (cable car) down to Isola Bella, a small island that was privately owned for a number of years. It is now a nature reserve that is open to the public. 

As touristy as it may be, Taormina is definitely worth a visit.