Tag Archives: Italy
Sicily is an abstract painting
Sicily is an open air museum. Sure, there are the sensational sights and the glorious landscape, but the details are just as rewarding. The island is full of off-kilter stripes, a tessellation of tiles, a kaleidoscope of mosaics, crossed-out graffiti, and attractively decaying billboards. Now that I’ve had a brief taste of Sicily’s main attractions, […]
Panini picnic at the Duomo of Syracuse
The entire gorgeous city of Syracusa is a UNESCO World Heritage sight, and if it were up to me, I would extent UNESCO status to it’s panini. Specifically, Caseificio Borderi Elefteria located at Via Emanuele de Benedictis, 6, Siracusa, Italy. We walked through Ortygia island neighborhood of Syracusa, towards the Ionian Sea, avoiding the rements of […]
Campy corbels in Ragusa
I generally have a hard time appreciating Baroque, which I associate with frosting covered architecture encrusted with obese putti and over-inflated grandeur. Ragusa, a UNSECO protected Baroque town in Southern Sicily, just may have converted me into a Baroque lover. The town, largely destroyed in a massive earthquake in 1693, was rebuilt by its wealthy […]
In which our bus in Southern Sicily gets stuck in a medieval parade of children and hand gestures ensue
We are riding our bus through the exceptionally scenic Province of Ragusa, winding our way through a high-hill town, when children in medieval carneval garb started pouring out, completely blocking the street. Our bus, all the traffic, comes to a standstill. The bus driver lays on the horn. The woman sitting next us is outraged “Some of us have […]
Chasing the sunset in the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento
We arrived at the Valley of Temples in Agrigento, Southern Sicily, near opening time, and were still walking around late afternoon when a heavy rain drove us under a temporary shelter. We waited it out reading a history of the Temples. When the rain cleared we said, why not one more picnic at the Temple of Concord? […]
Cefalù: cute costumed children celebrating Carnevale with confetti
Cefalù, in Northern Sicily, is indisputably scenic. It’s dramatically set on the Mediterranean, with a giant rock mountain looming above it, full of golden light, palm trees, and twisty medieval streets. Despite it’s attractive qualities, we spent much of the day irritated with the tourist industry of the town, which has three major sights, two […]
Magnificent Monreale Cathedral, an amazing cloister followed by a beef spleen sandwich
The Cathedral of Monreale in Monreale, Sicily, exceeded my high expectations. Until I have a chance to write more, I’ll tease you with a few photos of the mosaics and cloister. Dating from around 1200, the cathedral and it’s art are pristinely preserved. After a day in Monreale, we returned to Palermo and furthered our […]
A taste of Palermo: street food, a curly tail cat, and Jesus Christ Superstar
Palermo is a delicious mix of Norman, Arabic, Byzantine, Baroque and Renaissance–and the street food reflects the multicultural heritage of the city. Our day was full of Byzantine mosaics with interludes of studiously eating as many types of street food as possible. I look forward to lovingly describing the outstanding art and architecture of Palermo when I […]
Straight of Messina
Today I napped on a dusty train next to a stranger, South from Naples down mainland Italy until we crossed the Straight of Messina into Sicily. Sicily is an island, of course, and there’s no bridge, and yet it’s possible to take a train across the sea. The train actually boards a ferry by breaking up […]
See Naples and die
You know how when someone goes to Las Vegas, people nudge each other and say knowingly “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”? Well in Italy, if you’re going to Naples people say “Vedi Napoli e poi muori!”—See Naples and die! Well I’m sure this is meant as a compliment, as in “OMG I’ve seen […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 