2006 Sicily & Malta 1

Sicily and Malta 1

Journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip to Sicily and Malta from March 26April 14, 2006. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, copyright 2006.

Volume 1.

Cover: Quatrocchi Viewpoint, Lipari

Sicily & Malta March 26 - April 14, 2006 It is not easy to find a destination that neither Jake nor I have been, but Sicily was a place that we had never visited and were interested in experiencing. To add Malta to our list of countries was a logical step as it is only a short ferry ride away. Jake thus set about with his usual zeal, carefully planning a three-week trip to the islands of Sicily, Lipari, Malta and Gozo.

Volume 1

Sunday, March 26 - 27

to Palermo, Sicily

We left Chicago on Sunday afternoon aboard Alitalia 627 on a nearly nine-hour flight to Milan. Our equipment was a Boeing 767 and although our seats were only four rows from first class, we felt uncomfortably closed in by the galley walls. Arriving in Milan on a dreary, overcast morning, we encountered problems exchanging dollars for euros and buying an Italian SIM card for the phone. We were eventually able to find a Vodaphone booth in the domestic flights area but had no luck locating an operable ATM before we had to catch our short flight to Palermo. We were delighted to arrive in brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures. A comfortable bus carried us into the city and gave us an excellent opportunity to get our bearings on the way to the main train station. There we found an unmarked taxi and overpaid the driver to take us the short distance down Via Roma to Via Vittorio Emanuele where he dropped us at Centrale Palace Hotel. Exhibiting the same faded glory that we were to find so evident throughout Sicily, the hotel was conveniently located in the midst of the most historic district of Palermo. We were shown to our room with a balcony overlooking Via Vittorio, with Quattro Conti in Piazza Vigliena to our left and the Palazzo dei Normanni and Cappella Palatina in the distance to our right. After freshening up and organizing ourselves, we headed up the street for sandwiches and gelato at a little cafĂŠ nearby. That was just what we needed to feel ready to explore the city.

We walked to the cathedral, a late 12th century building in the Sicilian-Norman style that showed Arab influences in the geometric tracings on the exterior of the apses. The inside of the church was rather depressing with its sagging Baroque decoration and we did not stay long but continued up the street and through the Villa Bonanno gardens, rich with succulents and palms, to the Norman Palace. We first tried to visit the 13th century cloisters of the San Giovanni degli Eremiti but found that they were closed for a reconstruction project. Moving on to the palace, we climbed the stairs to the Cappella Palatina, built between 1130-1140.

Unfortunately, we were unable to grasp the full impact of the glorious 12th century mosaics as both the altar and the narthex were covered for restoration purposes. Nonetheless the brilliance of the remaining walls was breathtaking, with gold and rich jewel colors illuminating the intricate scenes and patterns.

Cattedrale Palermo a UNESCO site

Porto Nuova

Palazzo dei Normanni

Cappella Palatina

We toured the Royal Apartments, housing the chamber of the Sicilian Parliament. The Sala di Ruggero II also had friezes of dazzling gold-backed mosaics that covered the upper sections of the walls and ceiling with hunting scenes depicting all kinds of animals—lion, peacocks, hares and monkeys. Making our way back along the Via Vittorio we stopped to take a photo of a green man I spotted on the Porta Nuova, a massive gate built under Charles V. On our way, we found Vincenzo Argebto e Figle, a shop that has made and sold traditional Sicilian puppets since 1893. We watched the puppet maker at work and bought one of the unpainted heads. A good rest at the hotel was in order by that time, and we felt refreshed as we set out for dinner at seven, walking the few blocks to Sanandrea, on the piazza of the same name. There we ordered our first—and perhaps our favorite—Sicilian seafood dinner with the help of an English menu that had fun mistakes (“slise”, “watar” and “schremp” to name a few) but that we nonetheless greatly appreciated. We enjoyed a tasty meal of pasta with cauliflower and other fresh vegetables, whitefish in a citrus crust with wild fennel puree and fava beans, and cannoli for dessert. We had our first taste of Sicilian wine, from the Regaleile estate, and were well pleased.

Tuesday, March 28

Palermo

Although we were somewhat aware of it, the street noise during the night did not have an adverse effect on our sleep and we awoke fresh and rested. A hearty breakfast buffet at the hotel, with cheeses, fruits, meats and pastries got us off to a good start as we headed out under another cloudless sky. This time we walked in the direction of Quattro Canti to Piazza Pretoria with its 16th century Florentine fountain, bound by several impressive buildings.

As there was a church service in progress in La Martorana Church we only peeked in, missing the opportunity to see its mosaics. We went on to the market areas. Ballaro is a lively market along narrow streets below colorful laundry hanging out to dry. Monkfish and swordfish on display; piles of giant strawberries and red peppers; eggplants and artichokes stacked high; all played against a jumble of shoes and tables of bric-a-brac and sundries. As we walked along, I recorded the sounds of hawkers, haggling and street music on my little hand-held machine.

Ballaro

Our route brought us to the Regional Sicilian Museum in the CatalanGothic Palazzo Abatelius. We knew that we would not be seeing Antonello’s Annunciation and Madonna, which were both on tour. There was still plenty for us, including the huge fresco Triumph of Death depicting Death astride a skeletal horse, striking down men and women in the blush of youth. We particularly liked the serene 15th century bust of Elenora of Aragon. A huge Caravaggio canvas was being photographed using a complex system of grids while we watched.

Galleria Regionale de Sicilia

Strolling in the direction of the water, we noticed street signs in the Kalsa area in Italian and Arabic and Hebrew. Enticing aromas of cooking and incense were in the air. We visited the puppet museum, going backstage and finding a profusion of puppets hanging along the walls, most sporting elaborate suits of armor. Our walk took us past the Palazzo Chiaramonte, a fortified residence built in 1307 for a wealthy and powerful Sicilian family, where we particularly noted its unique arched windows, rich with intricate Arabic inlays. In the garden across the street I saw two massive banyan trees, their evocative threaded trucks reminding me of those on Guam that were said to have held the spirits of the evil Tatamono. As we made our way along a particularly narrow street, we watched in fascination as a truck tried to get through an impossibly tight spot, denting a parked car in the process. People around seemed nonchalant, as if this was business as usual. On our wanderings we discovered that crossing the street was in itself an adventure. One must step out with confidence—or at least at the same time that a local does—or there might never be an opportunity to get to the other side.

Palazzo Chiaramonte

Reaching Palermo’s most famous market, the Vucciria, we found it bustling with color and noise and life. We made our way through the maze of booths selling fruits and vegetables, cheeses, fish of all kinds, colorful marzipan, dishes and toilet paper, finally exiting at Piazza Sant Andrea, where we had dinner the previous night. We continued through the Mercado delle Pulci, which was more of a flea market, and on to Antica Focacceria San Francisco, across from the church of Saint Francis, where Jake had hoped to have lunch.

Vucciria

However, we discovered that it was closed on Tuesdays. Instead, we ate at Ai Cascinari, a simple restaurant that Jake had read about. The start of the meal was promising, with our host bringing lots of tasty small dishes— aubergine balls, anchovy puffs, little pizza rolls, fried vegetables and fish bits.

But sometime later, everything fell apart and service became non-existent.

We finally got our bill from a snippy waiter, paid and departed, wondering what happened and if we had somehow done something to cause the change of attitude. Walking along Via Roma, we entered the antique district, finding the shops closed for the mid-day break. We continued north on Via della Liberta, passing the Teatro Massimo, one of the largest opera houses in Europe, and the Teatro Politeama, where we saw a political demonstration getting underway with flags and drums, perhaps relating to the elections that were only a few days away.

Teatro Massimo

We explored the high-end fashion district with shops such as Hermes, Furla and Sandre Angelozzi. At the latter, I tried on a dress displayed in the window but to my dismay, discovered that Italian sizes are decidedly more diminutive than they are in the US. We walked as far as the English Garden where we sat on a bench, watching some girls blowing bubbles at each other. Two little boys kicked a soccer ball and a couple of policemen idly chatted nearby. Since we did not feel much like walking much further after such a long day, we had a casual dinner at Primavera, a cozy trattoria across the street from our hotel. The place was friendly and unpretentious and we had fun watching a large and boisterous party grow to take over table after table in the small room. We discussed our observations from these two days in Palermo over our chocolate desserts.

• • • • • • • • • •

The contrast of the old and the new.

Wherever we walked, we never felt unsafe.

Cell phones and Vespas everywhere.

Lots of pretty schoolgirls who hold hands freely.

Crowds of young men from the Naval Technical Institute buying lunch from street vendors.

The difficulty of crossing the street.

The fantastic gelato.

Shopkeepers at the markets good naturedly hawking wares.

Old folks gossiping across balconies.

Crazy traffic that somehow made sense.

Wednesday, March 29

to Gangiveccio

After another opulent breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to Notabartolo Station—fortunately, Jake just happened to discover the correct station before he headed off on foot in an entirely different direction—where we picked up our brown Fiat Croma from Europcar. We managed to find our way out of town in a mostly straightforward manner and drove to Monreale to see the Duomo of Santa Maria la Nuova and its nearby Benedictine Abbey. Upon entering the cathedral, we were stunned by the magnitude of the golden mosaics that covered the interior: biblical characters and mythical heroes depicted in deep colors against a brilliant background. For a small fee, we were permitted to ascend narrow, winding steps to the upper terraces where we were treated to marvelous views over the cloisters, and as we climbed further, of the cathedral apses. At the highest point, we had a panoramic view back to the city of Palermo.

Descending again, we entered the cloisters, a beautiful example of Islamic-inspired architecture. The arches were supported by sets of paired columns, many of which were decorated by colorful mosaic designs and topped by whimsical Romanesque capitals: Atlas supporting an arch, an acrobat with his feet touching his head, turbaned men holding snakes, a sulky Eve taking an apple from the serpent while a disapproving Adam looked on. They were enchanting. A miniature cloisters, tucked away in the southwest corner, had a distinctively Arab look. We stayed to take numerous photographs of our favorite carvings.

Monreale

a UNESCO site

Duomo of Santa Maria la Nuova

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the nearby Taverna Pavone (“Peacock”) where we ate pasta with artichokes, capers and onions with a nice local wine before getting back on the road. Picking up the autostrade (A20), we drove towards Cefalu see the cathedral there. As we approached from Palermo, the view of the church was particularly striking against the backdrop of the Rocca, but we were unable to find a place to stop to take a photograph. Inside, the church was something of a lesser Monreale, with mosaics on the altar and a beautiful Romanesque interior, again showing Arabic influences in the surrounding decoration. Leaving Cefalu on the A19 we exited at Scillalo and tried to follow the road to Ganges through Polizzi Generosa on the SS120 but took two unintentional detours into the heart of Petralia Sottana and of Petralia Soprana, ending up both times in narrow, steep roads that elicited our growing concern about the fenders of our shiny new car.

Cefalù Cattedrale a UNESCO site

Through the Sicilian interior we drove, into the Madronie Mountains where we saw green hillsides dotted with clusters of little houses. We arrived at Tenuta Gangiveccio just as the light was starting to fade. Previously a Benedictine Abbey founded in 1363, it had been turned into an agriturismo by a young couple. Paolo greeted us and showed us to our room, informing us that dinner would be in forty-five minutes.

We had a short rest before joining one other American couple for a simple meal in the dining room. After our desserts, Paolo prepared a fire for us in the little sitting room and we became acquainted with our compatriots over the remainder of a frosty bottle of Lemoncello, a drink I quickly decided was a favorite.

Thursday, March 30

to Gela

We slept well in the clean mountain air and awoke to another beautiful day. We met our new friends at breakfast where we had coffee and an incredible apple tart. By 10:30 we were on the road, taking SS120 to Sperlinga, where we saw a formidable castle poised above a rocky landscape which Lampedusa described as “a sea suddenly petrified at the instant when a change of wind had flung the waves into a frenzy.� Purchasing tickets to enter the castle, we climbed up steep stone steps, worn uneven by the years and the elements, with the aid of a rope. We were rewarded with views of the greening countryside and the road below, where two frisky border collies herded a flock of sheep.

Sperlinga

Returning to the car, we drove through Leonforte, passing Calascibetta perched atop a mesa across from the neighboring town of Enna. We made the mistake of going into Enna, for it was a huge problem to just get through town and impossible to park. We had no choice but to keep going, driving around Lake Pergusa and on to Piazza Armerina, where we plowed through the remains of a street market trying to find Villa Imperiale del Casale. Casale is an imposing Roman villa dating from the 3rd century that still has magnificent mosaic floors that depict an amazing variety of subjects from animals to mythical figures to bikinied girls. The villa had been buried in a landslide in 1611 and was not rediscovered until the end of the 19th century, a fact that explains the excellent condition of the floors. We were fortunate to be visiting the villa in cooler weather for our guidebook warned that the heat generated by the Plexiglas protective ceilings can get oppressive in the warmer months. Indeed the temperature could not have been better for our visit as we made our way along metal walkways that took us through the various rooms with their themed floors. It was only another 10 kilometers south on SS 117 towards Gela to Agriturismo Gigliotto, a farm “baglio� or villa built in 1300 as a monastery. We chose a cozy room in a smaller building in the back, with a curtained bed and typical Sicilian furnishings. After walking the grounds overlooking fields of cactus growing as a crop, we joined several other guests from Germany and the US for a drink in the courtyard before a family-style dinner.

Calascibetta

Casale

Villa Romana del Casale a UNESCO site

Friday, March 31

to Castoreale

After breakfast in the same hall where we had dinner, with the sound of children’s voices and TV cartoons in the background, we were on our way to Caltergirone, city of Sicilian earthenware pottery. Due to the vast deposits of clay in the area, the pottery industry has flourished in this attractive town. We found evidence of this everywhere: the house numbers, shop signs, and decorations on public spaces. Pottery shops lined both sides of the Scala (Steps) of Santa Maria del Monte.

The 142 steps themselves were faced with a profusion of colorful tile uprights. We peeked into many of the shops and purchased a plate decorated with pomegranates and an artichoke candleholder. It would have been easy to get carried away in those places but the question of how to get things home in one piece helped to control our appetite for more. We retraced the way from Enna to Nicosia, driving north through Troina, Cesaro, and Randazzo (the “Black Town,” so named because of the lava used to pave its streets, highlight its buildings and construct its monuments.) Jake had to negotiate a series of hairpin curves, ascending to a 3500-foot pass, and slowing to allow sheep on the road to cross over. On this part of the drive, we noticed several abandoned building complexes, which appeared to be failed attempts to attract tourists to views of Mt. Etna.

Caltergirone

Mt. Etna

a UNESCO site

Outside of Castoreale, we arrived at Green Manors Country Hotel.

Christine, the innkeeper’s mother, who had just returned that afternoon from three months in Asia, warmly greeted us. She showed us to our room, “The Fantasy Room” (alas, so named only because of the design in the stone floor). Shortly after we were settled with a drink on the terrace, our hosts Pierangela and Paola arrived back from the airport where they had been negotiating the importation of some plants that Chris had tried to bring back in her luggage. The only other guests that night were another innkeeper, Angela (manager of the Hotel Lisga Bianca on Panaria) and her boyfriend.

Jake and I were given a fireside table and presented an excellent dinner of antipasti, red pasta, and local beef and vegetables. Pierangela chose area wines for us and topped off our meal with sweets and grappa and hazelnut liquor. Pleasant conversation by the fire followed dinner with Bach and Jacques Brel playing in the background.

Saturday, April 1

to Lipari, Aeolian Islands

Since we needed to get an early start for the ferry in Milazzo, we had to forego the beautiful breakfast that had been prepared just for us. After some scurrying around, we found the Ustica Line slip at the port, parked the car, and got our tickets. Again, the day could not have been more perfect: the water was absolutely calm for our ferry ride amongst the Aeolians, the seven islands that dot the crystal waters off the northeastern coast of Sicily. The ferry, a catamaran, made the trip to Vulcano in 45 minutes, where it stopped briefly before continuing for 10 more minutes to Lipari, the largest and most populated of the islands. We took a taxi to our hotel, the Meligunis, where we were warmly welcomed as the first guests of 2006 by the manager. Angela, our fellow guest of the previous night, had called another innkeeper on Lipari who in turn had called our hotel to introduce us. All of this proved to be a nice surprise for us, as we were shown to a magnificent suite (the one pictured in the hotel brochure), with a balcony overlooking the harbor, a bedroom, two sitting rooms and two baths. Pausing just long enough to take in the view on that brilliant sunny morning, we set out to explore the island.

We walked along the harbor to the ramparts of the Acropolis, ascending a long flight of stone steps to the Cathedral of San Bartolomeo. We purchased tickets to the multi-site archeological museum where we were particularly fascinated by a haunting collection of theatrical masks recovered from graves that dated from the 6th century BC. We stayed until the museum closed at 1:00 and then visited the church and its rustic, overgrown Norman cloisters. We strolled along the streets looking into the shop windows, all closed for the mid-day break. We found a pleasant “mom-npop� trattoria where we ordered pasta and wine at an outside table and watched the family members who chatted and knitted nearby. After lunch, we stopped for gelato and then walked back towards the hotel. On the way, I found shop displaying attractive jewelry made of silver and local obsidian where we made several purchases.

Cattedrale San Bartolomeo

Museo Archeologico Eoliano

We made arrangements to hire Danielle, the amiable taxi driver who had brought us to the hotel, to take us around the island later that afternoon. The woman at the front desk assured us that “Danielle is a simple man, and that is good.” He proved to be an excellent guide, driving us around the perimeter of Lipari. He stopped first at Quattrocchi (“the view that needs four eyes to see”), offering a magnificent panorama with Vulcano in the background and the Punta del Perciato and Punta di Jacopo jutting out below. He drove us past the pumice factory (suggesting that we close our windows to the toxic dust) and stopped to pick up some pumice rocks for me on the beach. He pointed out huge boulders of shiny black obsidian and showed us a caper bush. He stopped several times for us to photograph Vulcano, Stromboli, Panaria and Salina, with an eerie mist shrouding their bases. He also brought us to a souvenir stand where we met his father and tasted Malvasia, a sweet local wine. We declined his invitation to come to his home and sample tuna that his mother had prepared, sensing that this was a tourist ploy. At the end of our tour, Danielle dropped us off at the Gottepardo Hotel where we had promised Angela we would stop in for a drink and say hello to the manager, her friend Fabriola. We discovered that she was not there, but left a message of greeting, feeling that we had done our duty in trying to reciprocate for our introduction to the Meligunis.

Quattrocchi

Isole Eolie

a UNESCO site

Pumice

Capers

Obsidian

Caper Tree

Returning to town, we purchased capers and cucunci (the flower of the caper) in salt and Figa d’India preserves made from cactus, which intrigued Jake. By this time, we needed a rest, so we waked back to our room to deposit our purchases and put our feet up for a while. At 7:00 we set out to find a place for that drink we had missed earlier. Hoping to find a bar by the water, we walked along the waterfront but did not find anyplace to stop. Too early for dinner, we bided our time near a rather seedy park where every bench was broken, save one that someone was sleeping on.

As soon as we could get in, we went to the Restaurant Filipino and had cocktails while we waited until we could order. They were great drinks too: mine was made of lemoncello, vodka, Curacao and sugar, and Jake’s was Campari, gin, and a local liquor. For dinner we shared an expensive salt-crusted snapper that was tender and delicious but was unfortunately too much to finish. We did, however, manage to save a tiny bit of room for gelato, Malvasia and biscotti. We also bought local lemoncello and grappa to take with us. A full moon lighted our way back.

Sunday, April 2

to Taormina

Another early wake up call enabled us to catch the 7:50 ferry back to Sicily. Danielle’s father picked us up, as the hour was too early for Danielle himself. We almost got on the wrong boat but an alert ticket collector prevented us from sailing off to Stromboli. As we passed Vulcano, we could really smell the sulfurous fumes from the volcano. Back in Milazzo by 9:00, we confirmed that our car was fine and then went for coffee and pastries at a snack bar near the ferry terminal. We drove west and found the town of Spadafora, where we stopped to take photos of the signpost for David Spadafora, President of the Newberry Library, who had never been there. We continued into the city of Messina to the Regional Art Museum in order to see two paintings by Caravaggio, The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Resurrection of Lazarus, both painted while he was living there between 1608 and 1609. The famous Antonello housed there was away on tour, as we knew it would be, but we savored the opportunity to view the Caravaggio works in good light and to see details that are lost in reproductions.

The Resurrection of Lazarus Caravaggio

The Adoration of the Shepherds Caravaggio

Returning to the A18, we exited at Taormina--a tricky turn immediately

thoroughfare” was packed with throngs of people out enjoying the first

following a tunnel—and ascended to our hotel, Villa du Ducale, a flower-

sunny warm Sunday of the season. Walking towards the Piazza IX Aprile, a

decked family-run hotel high over the city with an incredible view of

beautiful necklace caught my eye and we went into the shop for a closer

Taormina, the sea and Mt. Etna from our little terrace. Our room was lovely

look. I came out with a Tagliomonte Murano glass and ruby pendant in gold,

with first-class amenities and a luxurious bathroom. The hotel van took us

quite stunning; it will be a wonderful remembrance of our trip. The piazza

down the hill to Piazza Messina in Taormina proper, standing high on a rocky

was filled with families and couples who were eating gelato or drinking wine

plateau overlooking the sea and Mt. Etna. We began our visit by walking to

in the outdoor cafes, looking at street artists’ wares or singing “Que Sera,

the theater, built by the ancient Greeks and enlarged by the Romans. The

Sera” along with the musicians who performed under the trees. We bought

surviving ruins date from the second century AD. They command a perfect

a CD to enjoy with our pasta and wine one evening at home. Eventually we

view of Mt. Etna sloping down to the coastline below. We tried

found a free table at a street-side bar where we could people watch, and

unsuccessfully to be served refreshments on the terrace of the elegant

ordered a wine and a Campari soda. At 7:30 we went for dinner at

Timeo Hotel at the foot of the theater before visiting I Giardine di Villa

Licchino’s, recommended by our hotel, but satisfactory at best. Later we

Comunale, a lush garden filled with a variety of flowering plants and

returned to the place where we were to get the van up to the hotel but in

containing a large number of whimsical follies. We climbed up to the

the mad dash for seats we missed out and waited with a pleasant young

pedestrian Corso Umberto, lined with a mixture of elegant shops, souvenir

German couple for a second pick up. We enjoyed a nightcap on our little

stands and cafés. The street described in our guidebook as “a peaceful

patio under the moon before bed.

Mt. Etna from Villa du Ducale

Teatro Greco

Giardine di Villa Comunale

Piazza IX Aprile

Monday, April 3

to Siracusa

Breakfast on the terrace under another cloudless sky provided a perfect start to the day, as we indulged in ham, cheeses, olives, and a profusion of pastries.

We delayed our departure until 11:30 and after extracting our car from the tiny hotel lot, returned to the autostrade. We followed the A18 to the outskirts of Catania where it terminated and then drove on smaller roads into Siracusa. We found our way with minimal difficulty to the Grande Hotel Ortigia, checking in by 1:30. Before starting out to explore the island of Ortigia, we stopped for some fortification at a gelato stand. Entering the Porta Ubica into the oldest part of the island, we explored the warren of narrow, winding streets that revealed an interesting mix of the old, the restored and the decrepit. We paused at Fonte Aretusa to watch the ducks swim amongst the feathery papyrus fronds that grew there. Legend relates how Aretusa, one of the nymphs of Artemis, was tormented by the persistent advances of Alpheus and asked the goddess for help in putting him off. Aretusa was changed into a stream so that she could escape underground and re-emerge in Ortigia as a clear freshwater spring. However, Alpheus changed himself into an underground river, crossed the Ionian Sea and emerged in Ortigia himself, having mingled his waters with those of Aretusa. Pretty sexy stuff. Further up the street we came to the stately Piazza Duomo. The effect of its gentle curves and the golden glow of the limestone buildings surrounding it was somewhat diminished by the fact that the entire faรงade of the cathedral was encased in scaffolding. Yet another renovation was in progress. Inside, however, it was interesting to see how an ancient temple had been replaced by another temple, dedicated to Athena in the 6th century BC and then, in the 7th century AD was incorporated into a Christian church. The Doric columns remained along the left side of the church, both on the outside and the inside of the building. It is possible that this structure was also a mosque during the Arab domination but was restored for Christian use by the Normans. Finally, after an earthquake destroyed the faรงade, it was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 18th century. So much history could be found in a single building: a recurring theme in Sicily.

Ortigia

a UNESCO site

Piazza Duomo

We followed the perimeter of the island to Castillo Maniace, a sandstone fortress from the 13th century that loomed over the horizon. As we walked along we noted the extent of the reconstruction going on all about us. Circling back to the Duomo, I left Jake on the steps of the church watching a fashion parade entering the cathedral for a wedding. He was entertained by the parade of slim, attractive girls in impossibly high spike heels. While he was thus occupied, I returned to an antique shop we had passed earlier where I purchased a rustic 19th century pottery bowl. We continued together to the Piazza Archimede with its ornate Baroque fountain and then walked down Via Roma, passing several blocks of inviting shops. At trendy Tru Trussardi we bought dressy tee shirts for all our girls, and me as well. There was lots of gesturing and confusion in coordinating the various sizes and colors but we eventually completed our shopping and set off to find granitas, the Italian version of slushy drinks that are wonderfully refreshing. That evening we departed from the security of Michelin and decided to try Osteria da Mariano for dinner, a place that Jake had read about and was anxious to try. Located down a narrow alley, it was only populated by an English woman and her two children when we arrived. We had no reservation but the proprietor offered us a table in the corner. Fifteen minutes later, the place was teeming, inside and out. We watched as our host effusively greeted his customers of many nationalities. There were several large parties and we enjoyed watching their celebrations. Our host ordered for us and we nodded our approval in spite of our ignorance as to what we were getting. Basically what we had was: antipasto of caponata, cheese, sausage, eggplants, spiced olives, peppers in oil; bruchetta; pasta with red sauce and penne with cream pesto; mixed fish with squid, swordfish and sardines; preserved ginger and almond brittle for sweets; and two full bottles of aperitifs at our disposal: a berry-almond flavored one and a Malvasia. As I was rather self-conscious about my unwillingness to eat squid, I wrapped mine in a paper napkin for a post-departure deposit in a nearby trash bin. We had enjoyed the evening so much that we tried to secure reservations for the following night but discovered that they were closed on Tuesdays.

Tuesday, April 4 Siracusa Waking at 7:30, we enjoyed another pleasant breakfast overlooking the harbor. (We are finding breakfasts in Sicily to be uniformly bountiful and delicious.) We walked back in the direction of our dinner the previous night but were disappointed to discover that the museum we had planned to visit, the Regional Gallery of Bellomo was, yes, closed for renovation, meaning that we would not be seeing either Antonello’s Annunciation or Caravaggio’s Entombment of St. Lucy. Instead, we took a taxi to the regional archeological museum of Paolo Orsi, nestled in the gardens of Villa Landolina. We were pleased to be offered free entry, as it was museum week throughout Sicily. We found the museum to be well designed in its presentation of the development of the cultural phases of the area. From the museum, it was a short walk to the Basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista, now a picturesque ruin, with a beautiful rose window and interesting decorative features including a cross imbedded in a skull and crossbones. We were happy to discover that, contrary to the local tourist map, the crypt and catacombs were open.

Our half-hour tour in English was with a group of French students. I found the catacombs to be fascinating: a complex system of rooms emanating from the tomb of St. Marcian. The most interesting part of the crypt was the four pilasters with capitals depicting the four apostles. We would have loved to photograph them but were emphatically informed that “la fotographia ha proibito.”

Basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista

After our tour, we walked up the hill to the archeological park, threading our way past lines of tour busses and a row of souvenir stands, to the Greek theater.

Unfortunately for our pictures, the ancient stage was covered with a platform for a recent performance. We entered the haunting cave known as the Orecchio di Dionisio or Ear of Dionysus. The cave does indeed resemble an ear, both in the shape of the entrance and the winding internal space. It is said that Dionysus was able to hear his enemies there without seeing them, due to the cave’s extraordinary echo. We were treated to a cacophony of sounds provided by a group of Italian high school students whose screams, whistles and moans echoed through the darkness. We taxied back to Ortigia and continued our exploration by walking the north side of the island. Hoping to sample some Italian pizza, we stopped for lunch at a pleasant outdoor pizzeria but found that they only fire up the ovens in the evening. We settled instead for pasta and a bottle of Leone d’Almerita, a local white wine, and just sat and enjoyed our surroundings until we closed them down at 3:30. We made our way back to the hotel and took a nap, waking at 7:00, just in time to eat again. We walked a short distance to Ristorante Darsena, an unpretentious seafood place overlooking the water, where we chose our seafood from a case, had it weighed and then enjoyed our scampi and gambere grilled, with radicchio. The desserts were great as well: lemon sorbet and lemon cake.

Parco Archeoligico della Neapolis

Teatro Greco

Orecchio di Dionisio

Wednesday, April 5

Ragusa Ibla

One more terrace breakfast before we checked out and were on the road by 8:45. We encountered ongoing problems with signage that seemed to let us down just as we really needed it, as we drove past Floridia, Solarino, and ascended to Ferla on a narrow and winding road. We commented on the stone fences that were in abundance in this area, defining parcels of the rocky soil. We continued on this narrow stretch of road, trying not to look too closely at the precipitous cliffs at the edge of the pavement, until we reached Pantalica, an area of wild and rugged scenery that holds a major archeological site. More than 5000 burial chambers from 1300 BC honeycomb the limestone cliffs overlooking two deep gorges. The area is a nature preserve and in our short walk down the narrow trail into the gorge, we saw lizards and wildflowers in a cornucopia of colors. There was only one other person around, a young Spanish fellow who was riding his bike across Sicily and had spent the previous night in one of the cave tombs. It was necessary to retrace the road back as far as Ferla before heading south towards Noto.

Pantalica

a UNESCO site

Deviating ten kilometers or so we drove into Noto Antica, where the town of Noto had once been before the earthquake of 1693 completely destroyed it. We entered through an Arab-Norman arch and proceeded down a dusty road past the overgrown remains of the city. Eerie ruins protruded from the rubble and weeds. A broken column base lay at the side of the road. The effect was sobering when we considered the bustling city that was once there.

Noto Antica

We continued into the new Noto, a baroque jewel that was built to replace the one destroyed in the earthquake. We were struck by the golden glow of this city of limestone. However, we again were distressed to find so much was engulfed in scaffolding, precluding our full appreciation of much of the Baroque façade work. It was beginning to seem that all of Sicily must have been undergoing renovation. The cathedral was especially disappointing, for the façade was unrecognizable in its shroud of metal and tarps. Jake had read about the Café Sicilia in Noto, so we stopped there for treats: cannoli, cake, gelato and coffee.

The bakery had been there since 1892 and had retained its reputation, to which we could add our own endorsement. After our break, we walked through the side streets, taking pictures of the whimsical balconies with their richly carved brackets ornamented with cherubs, imaginary animals, mermaids and grotesque faces. As we passed the café on our way back to the car, a friendly gentleman seated out front called out to us. “Where you from?’ he asked. “Chicago” we answered. “I love it, Chicago!” he exclaimed and introduced himself as Dominic. After a few moments of friendly exchange, he gave us the name of a friend in Chicago, and insisted that I call her when we returned. I promised that I would and after taking a photo of him, we were on our way.

Noto

Val di Noto

a UNESCO site

Ragusa Ibla

Skirting Ispich and Modica, we arrived in Ragusa Ibla around 3:45. Ragusa was also destroyed in the same earthquake of 1693, but the people chose to rebuild the new town above the old and restore the old one as well. We had great difficulty finding our hotel in the old town. In a second pass through narrow and winding streets, we stopped at a tourist office that I spotted. I asked directions and learned that the only way to reach the hotel was to take a U-turn in the piazza below and then double back up a particularly narrow road. This we did and promptly arrived at Locanda Don Serafino. We were shown to our room, and were intrigued to find that it was actually more of a cave, much of which was carved out of the living rock. The walls were curved and made of stone and the bathroom boasted a giant mosaic tub with a wooden plank floor over the bare stone. There was even some kind of cistern or storage room excavated 20 feet or so below our room that was visible through a glass panel in the floor. It was all very charming, but humid and dank as well, and we decided that it was fortunate that we were only to be there one night. Just as we were preparing to leave the room, a truck became stuck in the street outside, not more than 6� from the door. It was quite a sight to watch the extraction process. Again, everyone seemed to take it all in stride, just as they had in Palermo. With the ancient streets as narrow as they are, these must be common occurrences.

As soon as we could escape, we walked up the steep cobblestone street towards the Duomo, looking for the restaurant Il Duomo, the only Michelin 2-star restaurant in Sicily. We climbed a series of steps to reach the façade of the Duomo di San Giorgio, only to find that it, too, was encased in scaffolding.

This was most disappointing, as the guidebook showed a lovely picture of the “wonderful pink façade…with delicately carved decorative ornaments.” We were, however, delighted to discover more fantastic balcony supports on the building housing the restaurant, perhaps even more interesting than those we had found in Noto. Returning to the hotel to dress for dinner, we enjoyed a glass of wine in the diminutive stone bar before climbing back up to Il Duomo. Although we arrived just after 8:00 and were there until 10:30, the only other table was a group of Japanese tourists in hiking gear. Considering the stature of this restaurant, we thought this surprising. We chose the “Ventoe e Passione” tasting menu for 85 euros and found our server to be helpful and courteous and the courses quite extraordinary. However, twothirds of the way through our meal, we began to receive both inattentive service and less imaginative and sophisticated food. All in all, the evening was quite disappointing. Back in our room, we took a mountainous bubble bath in the giant tub, which restored our good spirits.

Journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip to Sicily and Malta from March 26-April 14, 2006. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, copyright 2006. Volume 1.

V. 1