Taormina

DH, a friend and I took a Sunday drive up to Taormina (on the eastern coast of Sicily about an hour and a half from our apt).  Wonderful little town ... a bit of a resort area. so there are frequently lots of tourists from cruise ships wandering around the town.  This is looking down one of the walking streets back through the old city wall which goes back at least to the early 1400's, and may be much older.    Taormina is famous for its marvelous Greek Amphitheatre ...but it was closed today.

another painting at Garibaldi

"We are the heirs of a great history ... the future of a grand country:

1861 was the unification of Italy as a single country

Jester in Motta S.A.

Recently Motta Sant'Anastasia (CT) Sicily had its annual Medieval Fest

 and celebrations in honor of the town’s patron saint, Santa Anastasia.

This jester was a lead performer one night. 

He's also a juggler and ventriloquist and a bunch more all rolled in one.

He was a riot to watch!

Operation Husky ... WW2

Visited the WW2 Museum in down-town Catania a few years ago ..small, but has excellent exhibits.
Well worth visiting.

Days gone by ,,,

Really hot here currently ... this was at a festival last fall

... the boy is wearing a folkloric outfit typical of 50 years ago or more.







WW2 Canadian Cemetary

Private Sabblut was one of many lost during Operation Husky.
This is in the Canadian Cementary near Triona in Catania province.

St Michael

St Michael on top the Mother Church in Piedemonte Etnea (northeast side of Etna).

Sicilian Bagpiper in Monterosso Almo



Sicilian Christmas bagpipers are known as Zampognari. The bagpipe is traditionally made of reeds and a sheepskin.
 Now the reeds may be plastic and the sheepskin imitation .. the Zampognari always are dressed traditionally.



Christmas in Monterosso Almo (Ragusa province)

DH and I visited a living nativity in Monterosso Almo, a small town in Ragusa province. The evening opened up with Joseph leading Mary on a donkey through the main streets of the town, stopping at a few places to ask for shelter. You had to buy tickets to go through the nativity ... and your entry time was determined by the number on your ticket. We were lucky in that we were able to enter in the first hour.


This one was more than just the manager scene... you trudged up and down various streets and looked at small village life scenes ... such as men making rope. a bakery, a cheese producer and so on ... the townspeople would explain what they were doing, the history and other facts. At the end was the cave with the Holy Family, the Magi and shepherds.

This is one of the churches on the main square.

MORE FROM THE AMPHITHEATRE IN POZZUOLI

This was both close to the ticket office ... have to wonder who was honored with a statue ... nothing left but the feet.

MARBLE DETAIL AT AMPHITHEATRE

Anfiteatro Flavio (Flavian Amphitheater) is in Pozzuoli, near Naples.  DH and I were up there a few weeks ago for the International Bazaar at base.   The amphitheatre wasn't too far from where we were staying  - so we spent a few hours exploring.  This detail was on a panel just inside the entrance.

INSIDE LORD NELSON'S CHAPEL

Here the inside of Lord Nelson's chapel from just inside the main door. 

The painting in yesterday's post isn't shown here ... the afternoon sun washed out everything when trying for that shot.    

Look to the right of the altar - see the arch behind the columns? 

 Yesterday's art is in a matching arch on the left side of the altar.  

Looking at the lower window (seen through the columns), you may be able to tell that the walls are nearly three-feet thick. 

This is still an active chapel.

SAINT IN LORD NELSON'S CHAPEL

Something I didn't know until recently was that Lord Horatio Nelson's family, even though they were English,  had ties to Sicily and owned a castle near Bronte on the west side of Mt Etna.  The original buildings were built shortly after the Battle of Hastings (1066 CE).  The castle and grounds are open to visitors (the family sold it to the Italian government only about 30 years ago ... there is a letter on display inviting the last resident and family to attend  his "cousin" Queen Elizabeth II's coronation).

This painting is in the chapel and takes up a large part of the wall on the left side of the altar.  While I thought it a magnificant art piece ... it wasn't until just now  that I took a good look at the chalice.

PLANT TOUPEE

Saw this balcony support while DH and I were wandering around a Prickly Pear Festival in Militello last weekend .. just had to laugh. 

 A plant toupee!

LA TROTA RESTAURANT (The Trout Restaurant)



Toward Siracusa is a wonderful place to eat ... The Trout Restaurant.  It is built into a series of caves and has fish ponds outside where you can wander around looking at the fish.  DH remembers going to there with his parents and sister when he was a kid (many, many years ago).  As you can guess, it features fish ... but non-fish meals are served as well.  

The main dining room ...



Fresh trout



Closing note ... freshly made ice cream

SICILIAN HARNESS

Somewhat fuzzy, but don't have any other pictures to show right now.  The horses are dressed up almost as much as the Sicilian carts when they are out and about.  See these at a lot of the festivals ... some of the harness are over a hundred years old.

BREADS AND GRAIN IN ART

Saw
this
 poster
in a
window ....

MOTTA TOWN HALL

The plaque over the entrance to the town hall in Motta ... it's dated 1934.
The center motif is the watchtower (though most call it a castle) that is at the very top of the town and looks out over the surrounding land and out to the sea.

BASKETWEAVER

DH and I found this basket weaver on one of our explorations ...

SICILIAN PUPPETS OR PUPI

Here are some of the local puppets (the Italian word for puppets is "pupi") ... these things are HUGE!  Each of these three is close to 4-foot tall and around 125 - 150 pounds.  They represent the medieval soldiers who forced the Moors out of Sicily.   Most of the puppets in this collection are about 150 years old.