By BETH ALTENA
Ancient Greek ruins, statues, winding, narrow mountain roads, villas, churches and cafés. That was the takeaway from our one-day visit to Sicily on our second to last day of our Greek and Italian cruise last November.
For our excursion we opted for a bus ride through the countryside to visit some significant churches and the café and surrounds where the Godfather movies were filmed, including famous Bar Vitelli and nearby medieval villages.
As noted in the headline, the weather was gloomy and overcast and featured one brief torrential downpour, giving a glistening look to the fall landscape. Our tour was a six hour route that included a variety of stops to experience this old culture and island.
Sicily has been occupied by humans since the days of ancient Greece and there are some very old forts, ruins and cathedrals to see. Fountains date back to the fourteenth century, including the Fountains of Neptune circa 1557. The history of the culture remains a little apart from mainland Italy, which is separated from Sicily by the Straights of Messina. The island is the first land to be “kicked” by the boot of Italy and Messina, the city, was our port of call.
As we approached the cruise ship’s berth, we passed the Forte of San Salvatore, built in 1546 on the site of a Basilian monastery dated 1086. From port, a striking view includes the Temple Christ the King rising in the foreground with mountains behind. The city of Messina is the third largest in Sicily with a population of 237,000 residents. Our visit took us out of the city to the country with many sites along the route.
Mummification is not uncommon there and we were “treated” to several underground vaults with mummified humans on display. It was unsettling.
The amount of art in this island locale was impressive and a tribute to a rich heritage from ancient Greece through the influence of many countries over the years. Religious art, from temples to cathedrals abound, along with ancient fountains, paintings, murals, tile, stonework and architecture can easily overwhelm.
Roads are ancient and stone paved out in the country, especially in the medieval towns where we walked around. I have no idea how they know when roads are free as only one car could possibly fit on any given road. The city, like so many we visited on this amazing trip, featured a charming mixture of old structures and new ones. Apparently the whole island was badly damaged during world wars and has been rebuilt to good effect.
