Kathryn & Rick's Blog

Our stay in Piazza Armerina was a strategic one. We were only about 15 minutes from the Villa Romana del Casale, a huge Roman villa famous for its extraordinary collection of mosaics. Staying nearby meant we could get there before most of the crowds, which turned out to be a very good decision.

We left the hotel at 8:45, but before we did, I snapped a couple of pictures of our lovely hotel.

When we arrived at the Villa Romana del Casale, the parking lot was practically empty. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be the case later in the day!

The villa dates to the early 4th century AD and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. No one knows exactly who owned it because no written records survived, but it was clearly the home of someone very wealthy and important. At the time, Sicily was one of Rome’s major sources of grain.

The villa was occupied for about 150 years before being abandoned. A landslide eventually buried much of the complex, helping preserve it until it was rediscovered in 1929. Excavations are still continuing today.

Nearly every floor was covered with mosaics. The simpler geometric designs were in the service areas, while the more elaborate ones decorated the family’s rooms. The mosaics often reflected the purpose of each room, and there were also remnants of frescoes on the walls.

One of the most interesting mosaics is Coronation of the Winner. It shows women competing in athletic events including running, discus throwing, weightlifting, and ball games. The winner is shown receiving a crown and palm frond. The women are wearing two-piece athletic outfits that look surprisingly similar to modern-day swimsuits.

Another spectacular mosaic is the enormous Corridor of the Great Hunt, which depicts the capture and transportation of wild animals—including elephants, lions, and tigers—probably destined for spectacles in Rome.

The villa also had large thermal baths, a gymnasium, and even an outdoor communal toilet. An aqueduct supplied the complex with water, so the residents were clearly not living a rustic lifestyle.

After taking approximately a million pictures, we left and traveled about an hour and a half to a winery for lunch. The winery is now run by two sisters, the 7th generation, and has been in their family since 1850. We tasted a white and a red wine. The white was good; I didn’t care for the red. Lunch, however, was very good.

Then it was back on the bus for the drive to Ragusa. The city is built on a broad limestone hill between two deep valleys and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At this point, I’m beginning to think you can’t go anywhere in Sicily without running into a UNESCO designation. People have been living in this area for about 13,000 years.

After checking into the hotel, we went on an orientation walk with Nico, who showed us where to find the bank, pharmacy, restaurants, and other essentials. We then stopped for aperitifs and appetizers and spent some time comparing travel stories over drinks. Very fun!

Afterward, we walked through the gardens before heading back to the hotel.

We left Mazara del Vallo this morning and headed inland toward the center of Sicily. On the way, we stopped at the Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just outside the city of Agrigento. Despite its name, the “valley” is actually located on a ridge overlooking the town.

The site was once the Greek city-state of Akragas, founded around 580 BC. Akragas quickly grew into one of the most important cities in southern Italy, thanks to its fertile land and access to important trade routes. By the 5th century BC, it had become a prosperous cultural and economic center, known for its magnificent temples. Plato famously described the people of Akragas as living “as if they would die tomorrow, and building as if they would live forever.”

The Valley of the Temples includes the remains of seven temples, all built in the Doric style. We saw two that are remarkably intact considering they are about 2,500 years old. One of them survived particularly well because it was eventually converted into a church. The first was the Temple of Hera, also known as Juno to the Romans. The other, and more intact of the two, is the Temple of Concordia. No one knows for certain which deity it was originally dedicated to.

We also saw the remains of the original city walls, which were built along the edge of the quarry. The Greeks cut into the rock to create the walls, leaving enough stone in place to serve as a fortification. Over the centuries, some of the stone was removed and reused to build a pier and other structures. Christian tombs were also carved into sections of the remaining walls.

Here are a couple of other random pictures from the site.

It was quite hot, and the sun was strong, so getting back on the bus and into the air conditioning was a welcome relief.

Lunch was at a nearby home, where the family makes its own sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, and wine. We had olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and pasta, followed by a tour downstairs to see the family’s workshop.

The owner’s great grandfather was a master Sicilian cart maker, and his father learned the craft from him. His father continued making carts until 1959, when people began replacing horses and carts with cars. He changed careers, but when he retired about 20 years later, he returned to cart making as an hobby and continued the family tradition.

His father died about 20 years ago, but the owner and his children are now working to keep the craft alive. His grandfather’s carts were so precisely balanced that the horse only had to pull the cart forward rather than carry any of its weight. It was fascinating to see how much skill and tradition went into something that was once an everyday necessity.

Here are some pictures.

After lunch, we drove for about an hour and a half to Piazza Armerina. Most of us, including me, took a nap. When I was awake, I saw plenty of olive trees, almond trees, and grapevines, and the landscape was quite hilly.

Once we arrived in Piazza Armerina our bus driver had a challenging time navigating the narrow streets of the town, but he somehow managed to get us through without a scratch—or a dent.

We’re spending the night at an agriturismo, a farm-stay accommodation located on a working agricultural property. The room are a little basic but very nice. For dinner we had a 4 course dinner, too many appertizers to name, pumpkin risotto, salad, rosemary potatoes, orange chicken and a choice of desserts. I’m not going to bed hungry!

I slept until 6:00 this morning, but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling much better. We had an hour-and-a-half drive to the salt flats, so I claimed the back row of the bus and slept for most of the way.

At the salt flats, we watched a short movie about how the operation works. The basic process is pretty straightforward: as seawater evaporates in a series of shallow pools, the salinity increases until the salt crystallizes. The salt is then harvested by hand.

After the movie, we donned our boots and were put to work. We cranked the Archimedes screw pump to move the water and then waded into the salt ponds with our sieves to harvest the top layer of salt. This is the best-quality salt and is used for seasoning. Apparently, a day of “laboring in the salt mines” is part of the OAT experience!

After our hard labor, we headed by boat to the island of Mothya. The Phoenicians settled there about 2,700 years ago. In the early 20th century, a wealthy British family named Whitaker acquired the island, and Giuseppe (John) Whitaker became fascinated with its history. He financed extensive excavations that uncovered many of the Phoenician ruins and artifacts.

We had a “picnic” lunch before heading back to Mazara. Since we were in Marsala where Marsala wine was popularized we had to have a little post lunch aperitif. We had a little wine and biscotti for dipping. I didn’t like it much, it was a little too strong for me. Some people went for a walk around the island after lunch, but I decided that, given the state of my health, archaeology could wait. I took a nap instead.

Here are some of Anne’s pictures.

Our next activity wasn’t until 5:30, so I had plenty of time to rest. We then went to a Sicilian restaurant for a cooking class and, more importantly, to eat the fruits of someone’s labor. We made pasta with Sicilian pesto, eggplant parmigiana, and an almond parfait.

Anne and I didn’t participate in the cooking because we were still sick, but we did participate in the eating. Priorities.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel. I finally felt well enough to do some blogging, since I hadn’t felt up to it the night before. And the good news is that by the end of the day, I was feeling much better. Apparently, the combination of salt, naps, Sicilian food, and gelato is a pretty effective treatment! And there were fireworks outside the hotel. I’m not sure what we are celebrating, maybe that I’m feeling better????

We were able to sleep in this morning and didn’t have to meet until 9:30, which was a nice change of pace.

Mazara del Vallo was founded before 600 BC by the Phoenicians, who came from what is now Lebanon. The Arabs ruled the area for a little over 200 years before the Normans arrived. Rather than driving the Arabs out, the Normans allowed them to remain, and Mazara still has a substantial Muslim population today. That history has given the city a distinctly multicultural character, and our guide told us that people here are generally very tolerant of different ethnicities and religions.

One of the most interesting reminders of that history is the Kasbah, the old Arab quarter. The area was largely abandoned after a series of earthquakes, including major earthquakes in 1968 and 1981. In 2009, the mayor decided it was time to bring the Kasbah back to life. Since he is an artist himself, he invited artists to help beautify the neighborhood. Slowly—very slowly—the area has been coming back to life.

We also stopped in a church that was about as far from understated as you can get. It was completely over-the-top Rococo, with elaborate decorations everywhere you looked.

Here are some pictures of the Kasbah and the church.

After walking around the Kasbah, we went to the Dancing Satyr Museum. In 1998, some local fishermen discovered a 2,000-year-old Greek statue of a dancing satyr in the sea.

By this point, though, I was starting to notice that I wasn’t feeling quite right. Unfortunately, there was a cold going around the group, and it seemed I might be coming down with it.

After visiting the museum, we met the captain who found the Dancing Satyr. He told us about the discovery, but by then I was feeling considerably worse. I ended up sleeping through most of his talk. Not exactly my most attentive!

Then we went to a home-hosted lunch, and it turned out that our host was the same captain who had found the Dancing Satyr. His wife died about 10 years ago, so his girlfriend did the cooking. He didn’t speak much English, and his girlfriend spoke a little, so her daughter’s boyfriend and his friend joined us to help translate. It was quite a group effort just to have a conversation!

The food was good, but by then I was feeling worse and didn’t eat much.

We returned to the hotel, and I immediately took a nap. I woke up around 6:00 and Anne and I went to the pharmacy and then out for gelato. Another beautiful sunset. Apparently, even feeling sick wasn’t enough to keep me from gelato.

I was back asleep by 8:00. Clearly, my body had decided that sightseeing was over for the day.

We left Palermo this morning and headed toward Mazara del Vallo, with a stop in Monreale along the way. Monreale is a town perched on the hills overlooking Palermo and the lush valley below, known as La Conca d’Oro, or “the Golden Shell.” The name comes from the shape of the valley, while the “golden” part refers to the abundance of lemon and orange trees planted here during the Arab period.

The main attraction in Monreale is the 12th-century Norman cathedral, the Duomo of Monreale, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its spectacular mosaics and for combining Norman, Arab, and Byzantine architectural styles.

There is a great legend about how the cathedral came to be built. According to the story, William II of Sicily fell asleep under a carob tree while hunting in the woods near Monreale. The Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and told him to build a church where he was sleeping. When the tree was removed, a treasure trove of gold coins was supposedly discovered among its roots, which helped finance the construction of the cathedral. I’m not sure how much of that is history and how much is a good story, but it certainly makes the cathedral’s origin more interesting!

Inside, the mosaics are overwhelmingly gold, which helped reflect the limited light inside the cathedral. The images, depicting stories from Genesis and the life of Jesus, are arranged in tiers and divided by horizontal and vertical bands. The scale and detail were really magnificent. Here are some pictures.

We also briefly visited a local shop where they make mosaics. It was interesting to see the work that goes into creating them.

Here are some pictures of the town and surrounding countryside.

After our visit to the Duomo, we headed to an agriturismo, a traditional Sicilian farm that has been approved for dining and lodging, for lunch. The setting was beautiful, but amazingly, the food actually exceeded the view. And that’s saying something!

Then it was back on the bus for our ultimate destination, Mazara del Vallo. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store since there isn’t one close to our hotel. Anne and I stocked up on cheese and salami for dinner, because apparently we are now capable of preparing a gourmet Sicilian meal without actually cooking anything.

My hotel room has a view of the Mediterranean, and I arrived just in time to see a beautiful sunset. Not a bad way to end the day.

After we checked in, the group took an orientation walk. Nico showed us where to find the bank, pharmacy, restaurants, and, most importantly, the gelato store. Clearly, he understands what matters.

Anne and I took our grocery-store picnic back to the hotel, enjoyed our cheese and salami with a view of the Mediterranean, and called it an early night.

Today we went to Castelbuono, a small town of about 8,000 inhabitants in the Madonie Mountains. It was about a one-hour-and-40-minute drive from Palermo. The first half of the drive was along the coast, with lots of tunnels along the way.

During the drive, our guide told us about Sicily’s plans for the future. He said the long-term goal is for Sicily to make much greater use of its abundant sunshine and become a major source of solar energy for southern Europe by 2040. With all the sunshine we’ve been having, I can certainly see why they think solar power makes sense here! He also told us that Sicily has been moving away from its dependence on Russian oil, although that change has come with higher electricity costs. It was an interesting reminder that even something as simple as sunshine can become an important part of a region’s future.

Castelbuono is more than 700 years old and was built around the Castello dei Ventimiglia, on the site of an older Byzantine farming community. The castle was our first stop. It has a very ornate Baroque Palatine Chapel that houses a relic—the skull of St. Anne, the mother of Mary. I learned that a palatine chapel is a private chapel associated with a castle or palace and the Vatican does not have administrative authority over it.

Here are some pictures of the castle and chapel. Quite a contrast between the inside and the outside!

The castle sits at the top of the hill, so we also had a great view of the surrounding area.

The town has a very creative and ambitious mayor. He would like Castelbuono to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, although I think that would be a shame because it could change some of what makes the town so charming.

One of his more creative ideas is using donkeys for trash collection. The streets are very narrow and winding, so they used to use a small truck to collect the trash. It was noisy and difficult to maneuver, so they came up with a much quieter solution: donkeys. They have six of them, each assigned to a different neighborhood. Every day, from 8:00 a.m. until noon, a donkey and her handler make their rounds collecting trash. Apparently, the male donkeys are too difficult to handle, so this is a job reserved for the females.

I have to admit, I never expected “donkey-powered garbage collection” to be one of the highlights of my trip to Sicily, but here we are. And the donkeys seem to take their municipal responsibilities very seriously. Here’s a picture of the donkey and her handler.

Our next stop was Chi Semina Raccoglie, a store run by two sisters who returned to Castelbuono after university and started a business making jewelry from seeds and other natural materials. We got to make our own key chains using beads and seeds. Some people purchased their jewelry, but I didn’t get anything. Apparently, my key chain was souvenir enough.

Then we went to lunch, where we were serenaded with local music while we ate. The owner’s four-year-old grandson joined the “band” for part of the performance with his toy guitar and definitely stole the show.

After lunch, we stopped at a store that makes panettone. At Christmas, they produce an astonishing 15,000 cakes a day! We got to sample some with manna sauce. Manna is a sweet, crystallized sap harvested from local ash trees. We also learned that it’s best not to eat too much of it because one of its other properties is that it works as a laxative. It was tasty, but once I learned that little detail, I was very careful about how much I ate!

Here are some pictures of the town.

We returned to Palermo and were dropped off near the puppet theater. We attended a performance of Opera dei Pupi. Even though we couldn’t understand the words, we laughed a lot and enjoyed the show. Apparently, you don’t need to speak Italian to understand a good sword fight and a little melodrama.

Dinner was not included in the tour, so Anne and I ended the day with gelato.

Palermo certainly knows how to make an entrance. In one day, we went from ancient churches and gold-covered mosaics to Sicilian street food, marionette theater, shopping, and a very personal discussion about the Mafia. And that was just our first full day in Sicily!

We started our day with a walking tour of Palermo, the capital and largest city in Sicily. With its roots going back to the 8th century BC, Palermo has been shaped by centuries of different cultures and civilizations. We saw a number of major sites, including the Teatro Massimo opera house, Palermo Cathedral, Fontana Pretoria, the Vucciria market, and Quattro Canti. And those are just some of the highlights—Palermo has more than 300 churches! The weather was perfect for a walking tour.

Here are some pictures from our walk.

After our walk, Nico, our guide, surprised us with arancini, a traditional Sicilian food. They were delicious! Some of the group then went off to do their own thing, while Nico had another surprise up his sleeve.

We went to visit the theater where they perform Opera dei Pupi, a traditional Sicilian marionette show. The theater we visited is a fourth-generation, family-owned business where they make the marionettes as well as perform nightly shows. In the 19th century, the Sicilian elite went to the opera, while Opera dei Pupi gave ordinary people their own version of theater. It was almost like a soap opera because the story continued from one performance to the next, giving people a reason to come back every day. If we get back to town early enough tomorrow, we may go to a performance. Of course, it will be in Italian, but we have an English description of the story, so hopefully we’ll be able to follow along!

Anne and I then separated from the group to visit the Royal Palace. Our visit included the royal gardens, the royal apartments, and the Palatine Chapel. We walked through the gardens and apartments, but the real draw was the chapel.

The ceiling and walls of the chapel are covered in gold Byzantine mosaics dating from the 12th century. It was absolutely amazing. It kind of reminded me of the Sistine Chapel in one respect: you are herded into a room and then everyone just stands there staring at the ceiling! Of course, in this case, the ceiling is covered in shimmering gold mosaics rather than Michelangelo’s paintings.

We walked and shopped our way back to the hotel. I did some window shopping and may have to go back for an item or two for myself. Anne actually made a purchase, so apparently she was more decisive than I was!

After about an hour of downtime, the group gathered for a meeting about the Mafia. The first hour focused on the history of the Sicilian Mafia and its relationship with Sicily, including its role during World War II.

During the second hour, we heard from the son of Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano. His father spent 43 years as a fugitive, and his son was born during the 12th year of that period. He told us that his father deliberately kept him away from the Mafia and did not want him to become involved.

What struck me most was hearing about the impact his father’s criminal activities had on his life, even though he had not participated in them himself. He grew up carrying the consequences of his father’s identity and actions, which made for a very personal and powerful discussion.

That evening, we had our welcome dinner. I sat with our guide, Nico, and we laughed a lot. After a very full day of walking, sightseeing, history, and some unexpected surprises, I’d say it was a wonderful first day in Palermo.

Today was a travel day. Our pre-trip has officially wrapped up, and we’re on to the main tour, which starts in Palermo.

We left the hotel at 8:00 and drove to Brindisi to catch a flight to Rome. From Rome, we flew to Palermo, not the most direct route. Both flights were late, and the airports were a little chaotic, but we eventually made it to Palermo in one piece—which is really all that matters on a travel day!

Once we arrived at the hotel, we met our new guide, who is also named Nico. Apparently, one Nico wasn’t enough for this trip! We had a few minutes to get settled before meeting the rest of our group. Seven new people joined us, so there were lots of introductions and names to try to remember.

After that, Nico took us on a short walk around the neighborhood and showed us where the bank, supermarket, pharmacy, and other necessities are located. It’s always nice to get the lay of the land when you first arrive somewhere new.

The Puglia group and one of the new people went out for dinner, but after a long day of airports, delayed flights, and getting settled, I was ready to call it a night.

It’s been a great week in Puglia, and now it’s time to see what Sicily has in store for us. I’m looking forward to exploring Palermo tomorrow—after a good night’s sleep, hopefully!

Today we explored Salento, the southern portion of Puglia. We left the hotel at 9:40 and drove about a half an hour to Galatina. The Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a 14th-century Gothic-Romanesque church, famous for its medieval frescoes, is the main attraction in Galatina. The frescoes depict the Apocalypse, the Old Testament, the life of Jesus, and the life of Saint Catherine. The frescoes were breathtakingly beautiful. In addition to the frescoes, the church houses a relic—the finger of St. Catherine.

The other thing Galatina is famous for is the tarantello, a fast-paced traditional dance. We saw people dancing it in the square outside the church. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, it was widely believed that if a person, typically a woman, was bitten by a local wolf spider, they would fall into a hysterical, deathly stupor known as tarantism. The only suspected cure was a frenzied ritual in which musicians played fast-paced music while the victim danced for hours—or even days—to supposedly “sweat out” the venom.

Over time, the medical myth faded, but the dance survived. Today, tarantello is celebrated as a lively couple or group dance and is part of local festivals, weddings, and cultural celebrations. Here is a picture of a sculpture garden memorializing the spider and therefore the dance.

While in Galatina, we stopped for pasticciotto, a traditional oval-shaped Italian pastry made from crumbly shortcrust dough and filled with rich egg custard. It was invented in Galatina. It was tasty, but I’m not a big fan of custard.

Here are some more pictures of Galatina

Back on the bus, we drove to a vineyard in Cutrofiano for a wine tasting and light lunch. The wine and lunch were quite good. After lunch, we got a short tour of the underground area that was once used to make olive oil and the wine cellars.

Otranto was our last stop of the day. Of course, there was another cathedral! This time it was Otranto Cathedral, which dates from the 11th century. Its most famous feature is the 12th-century mosaic floor, which is one of the largest medieval mosaic floors in Europe. The scenes include episodes from the Old Testament, medieval chivalric literature and bestiaries, and the Alexander Romance. The images are arranged around the Tree of Life.

In August 1480, Otranto was attacked and besieged by an Ottoman force. Clergy and survivors took refuge in the cathedral, but the Ottoman forces eventually broke in and killed those inside. The relics of many of those who were killed are also housed in the cathedral.

Here are some pictures of the town of Otranto

That evening was our pre-trip farewell dinner. Anne and I walked into town to do a little shopping before dinner. And since dinner was fish—which is not my favorite—we had gelato beforehand.

Here’s a picture from dinner.

Here’s a map of our journey

I slept really well until 2 a.m., when I dreamed that my alarm had gone off, I hit snooze, went back to sleep, and was now late. I got up and started getting dressed, only to realize it was still the middle of the night! Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep quickly.

This morning it rained on and off. We had a walking tour of Lecce, which is known as the “Florence of the South” because of its beautiful Baroque architecture and its origin dates back to the 3rd century BC. Most of the buildings are made from Lecce stone, a soft limestone that is perfect for the intricate carvings and elaborate decorations characteristic of the Baroque style.

The picture below shows the official coat of arms of Lecce. It is an angry dolphin with a crescent moon in its mouth. The dolphin represents the people of Lecce, while the crescent moon represents the Ottoman Empire. By depicting the dolphin holding the crescent moon, the emblem symbolizes Lecce’s defense against Ottoman incursions, particularly following the tragic Sack of Otranto in 1480.

We visited the Lecce Duomo, Piazza Sant’Oronzo—the main square—which contains the remains of a 2nd-century Roman amphitheater, and the Basilica of Santa Croce. Here are some pictures.

Paper mâché has an important place in Lecce’s history and culture. It was traditionally used to make many of the statues found in Lecce’s 48 churches, as well as figures for religious festivals. There is only one person south of Rome who still uses the traditional methods to make paper mâché. We visited his shop, and he showed us how he makes the figures. He makes his own paper using cotton threads and then uses it to cover figurines made from wire and straw. It was fascinating to see how something as simple as paper can be turned into such elaborate sculptures.

Lunch was next on the agenda. We had the afternoon free, so Anne and I wandered around a little. We went to a museum and then walked to Porta Napoli, a triumphal arch dating from 1548.

The museum was particularly interesting because of what was discovered underneath the house. In 2001, the owner had to dig up the floor to replace sewer pipes that were causing ongoing moisture problems. During the work, archaeological remains unexpectedly began to appear. What started as a plumbing project turned into a seven-year excavation that uncovered layers of Lecce’s history beneath the house. It’s pretty amazing to think that someone trying to fix a plumbing problem ended up discovering an archaeological site!

That evening, we went out for a very pleasant dinner and had pizza with two of our trip mates.