Sicily
October,2023

Having recently completed a portion of the Camino in Spain we flew into the city of Catania on the eastern edge of Sicily. We rented a car from the airport so we could explore some of the inland treasures. I quickly became accustomed to the turn into traffic, honk and then gesticulate style of Italian driving. We drove a quick hour and half southward to Syracuse our initial destination and home for a couple days. 

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Adapting to change is a characteristic of Sicily. We experienced this in a culinary kind of way. On our first evening out in Syracuse we wandered the streets around our apartment. Emerging from a warren of alleys and narrow streets we were drawn to a well lit and wide cobbled street. A number of outdoor restaurants were set up under awnings and tables bedecked with candles. We found a place and perusing the menu ordered a couple of dishes of seafood and a salad. 

 

The following day we retraced our steps in broad daylight. When we came upon the same cobbled street we were amazed at its transformation. Now a full open market with shouting fishmongers and their stalls of fresh octopus, swordfish and mounds of prawns occupied the same space. By day a bustling market, at night a bewitching set of quiet restaurants. 

 

One of the many delights of Sicily is also how the ancient sits cheek and jowl along the modern. On the first morning when we walked out of our apartment we discovered that we were located one block away from the Temple of Apollo; built in the 5th century BC. Fortunately, our dwelling was built a few millennia later. 

 

Walking along the shore Sarah suggested we take an advertised boat ride around the the Syracusean peninsula. Aboard a ten-person craft our captain navigated us out into the aquamarine bay. We cruised along the rocky cliffs and into a few of the enchanting sea caves. As we idled into an inlet the captain cut the motor and invited us all to take the plunge. Having come prepared we both jumped in with our bathing suits and bobbed in the refreshing saltwater sea. 

 

After a couple days in Syracuse we collected our car and drove inland to our first destination - Modica. This is a small town known worldwide for being one of the first centers for making chocolate! When the Spanish brought back cacao from the New World the denizens of Modica embraced this ‘food of the gods’ with sugar and spice. Here you can still sample the amazing taste and especially texture of chocolate recipes from 500 years ago. Its a time machine for the tastebuds. The granular chew and aromatic burst is amazing.

 

There are a number of World Heritage sites in Sicily. Near the top of the list is the remote but well worth the search - Villa Romana. This villa was the mansion complex of an uber wealthy Roman. By fate of mudslides and earthquakes nearly the entire complex was preserved in pristine condition. One if its most famous mosaics is a set of bikini clad athletes covering the floor of an enormous room. There’s nothing new under the sun, indeed!

 

The following day we drove north from Agrigento to the bustling city of Palermo. For parts of three days we explored this jewel of culture where Christians, Muslims and Jews coexisted for two centuries in the Medieval era. This rare harmony occurred under the quixotic rule of (drum role) the blonde haired Normans! It was a shining star in the midst of the Dark Ages. Scholars, architects engineers, theologians and musicians collaborated and made possible the Renaissance to come. Visits to the Norman palaces and churches of Palermo shocked us by their spectacular visual treasures unlike any we have seen around the world! 

 

Traces of that eclectic era can be tasted in the popular Arancini; stuffed and breaded rice balls in the shape and size of an orange. Brought from North Africa by conquering Arabs in the 800’s they are a mainstay for Sicilians of all stripes yet today. We ordered some from a stand in Palermo and dug through the crisp outside into the streaming hot core of ragu sauce. 

 

Bidding farewell to Palermo and its majestic Norman palaces and churches we drove eastward along the Mediterranean coast. We arrived that afternoon in the quaint town of Cefalu. Nature put together a feast for the eyes in this seaside habitation. Towering over the town are the  impossibly steep granite cliffs known as the Rocca. Below are sandy stretches of beach; sandwiched between is the town. We decided to embrace the elements and climbed the dizzying heights on a footpath and returned to cool off in the waves. We finished the day by sitting on the beach and watched the sun set over the horizon as sky and sea merged together. 

 

Perhaps the most famous Sicilian is the polymath, Archimedes, who lived in the 3rd century BC. He the inventor of the Screw, Lever and Mirror. He is the voice who famously cried out, “Eureka!” when he discovered the mass of an object while taking a bath. His engineering skills are a legacy in full display throughout Sicily. Our week of driving through Sicily revealed breathtaking bridges and tunnels that crisscross the country. 

 

Our final day returned us to Catania where we began. We had time to visit the superbly curated WW II Museum that presents the allied invasion of the island in 1943 called, “Operation Husky”. It was fascinating to view this presentation from a formerly fascist country that was not entirely welcoming to its liberation. There was a certain ambivalence between the messages of Mussolini and Eisenhower.

 

As we bid adieu to this rocky island we glimpsed Mount Etna one last time. This semi-dormant volcano rises triumphantly into the clouds. This colossus of stone is a fitting image for Sicily. All along its ocean facing slopes there are vineyards that produce its famous Nero d’Avola wine; affordable, garnet red and very drinkable. On its opposite inland-facing-slopes are impregnable valleys dotted with abandoned inns from another era.

 

It was in one these remote valleys that we witnessed a lasting memory. With our windows down while navigating the undulating hills of a dale we heard the tinkling of bells. Looking to our left we saw and heard the source of the sound. A few hundred yards away a shepherd was walking behind his flock of sheep grazing on the arid ground. A sheepdog was moving along the edges causing wayward sheep to return to the fold with the delightful tinkle that echoed across the valley. 

 

This scene could have happened two thousand years ago. We had invaded a remote and ancient land. We are glad for the imprint it left on our hearts. We are the ones who were conquered; by its sheer beauty and rugged landscape.