Postcards from Sicily
It was the size of a grapefruit!
Just as bumps and lumps tend to be described in terms of fruit, so the proportions of geographical areas always seem to be compared with the size of Wales. For some reason, Sicily was bigger than Terroir expected, so we did a few of the obvious comparisons. Sicily just out ranks Sardinia in extent but is three times the size of Corsica. Compared to Wales? Sicily is 20% bigger. Who knew?
Just as Terroir has found it impossible to categorise Wales in a couple of blogs, so limiting ourselves to a few meagre words on a sodden Sicily is also very difficult. Regarding the adjective ‘sodden’, please see our previous post for details of recent Italian rainfall. And again, as per our last post, we are once more sending you a small selection of postcards. We will, however, preface the Sicilian ones with a curtsey to Mount Etna, Sicily’s iconic volcano.
Mount Etna, featured at the top of this post, can be a mighty smoking goddess or utterly hidden under an invisibility cloak of cloud. We were amused, therefore, by an interpretation board which included the rather esoteric comment illustrated right. The references to “between hell and paradise” and “a difficult challenge for the writers” struck home after our personal experiences, whilst standing on Etna’s volcanic slopes, of snow, torrential rain and no views! Admire the Valle del Bove? Huh.
Greetings from the Parco Florence Trevelyan, aka the English Garden, Taormina
Taormina, as many of you will know, is a popular ‘chic resort town’ [Lonely Planet’s description] which clings to the eastern coast of Sicily, providing wonderful views of both the Ionian sea and, in good weather, of Mount Etna. When the tourist bustle becomes too much, a quiet stroll around a spectacularly sited public park can bring welcome relief.
The eponymous Florence Trevelyan seems to be a slightly shadowy Victorian lady who may have needed to escape her native Northumberland after a dalliance with the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. Arriving in Taormina in the 1880s, she created a number of gardens, and married a local doctor.
The Parco FT is a delight even when it’s raining but is spectacular when the sun comes out after a shower. The planting is a mixture of tropical and Mediterranean species including some fine specimens of olive, pine and cypress, underpinned with a variety of shrubs and hedges, herbaceous plants, tranquil open spaces and Victorian follies (the latter inaccessible and hard to photograph). A mix of local lava stone and brick creates whimsical structures and handsome surfaces although the latter can get a tad slippery in the wet.
Florence appears to have been a member of the Northumberland Trevelyan family (think BBC reporter Laura Trevelyan) who, records now reveal, were 19th century plantation owners in the Caribbean. Unsurprisingly, these holdings contributed greatly to Trevelyan fortunes and earlier this year the family apologised to the people of Granada and are, apparently, establishing a community fund for economic development on the island. It is doubtful whether this Victorian aspect of family life prompted Florence’s escape to Sicily but we would suggest that her life and garden design skills are worthy of further research.
Life in Ruins
We mentioned the association between archaeology and wildlife in our previous blog (the postcard from Pompeii). It is perhaps rather unoriginal of us to feature this again, but for once, the ruins, the weather, and the wildlife were all co-operating to create a very memorable Sicilian experience.
The Parco Archaeologic della Neapolis, in Siracusa, is stuffed with interest. We will spare you details of the Latomia del Pardiso (a historic space with catacombs and traces of classical prisoners of war, located in a gigantic former limestone quarry, below left) and will pause only briefly at one of the two amphitheatres which also occupy the site. The Teatro Greco (below right) is transformed each year into a modern theatrical space for classical Greek theatre productions and the infrastructure of modern technology robbed the space of any ancient atmosphere.
Further on however, is the Anfiteatro Romano, pictured on the ‘post card’ above, which creates a very different ambience, one of historical drama (literally and metaphorically), visual pleasure and wildlife interest.
Sicilian Souvenirs
Sicilian ceramics are striking, colourful and bold. The tradition is said to be very old, probably imported from North Africa, perhaps around 10,000 BCE. Various websites describe the process of drying followed by low temperature baking/firing, to create earthenware which is then painted with tin oxide colours to create a majolica style ceramic. The motifs are clearly influenced by the Sicilian landscape and culture; these days, we presume, that ‘culture’ also requires a huge increase in ceramic production to meet the demands of the modern tourist economy.
A remarkable variety of ceramic heads (right) are on sale everywhere and, in Terroir’s view, are an unappealing part of the offer; we just couldn’t live with one or two of these staring at us. One website suggested they portray the heads of two illicit lovers; when the girl discovers that her night time visitor already has a wife and children, she decapitates the boyfriend and uses his head as a flowerpot. At least this form of recycling shows an admirable imagination and love of plants, but it’s still a ‘no’ as a souvenir purchase.
Terroir is susceptible to shopping for ceramics, however, so while in Palermo, we made our way to an establishment which had been recommended to us. Talk about a kid in a sweet shop. The photos below demonstarte the vibrancy and celebration of design and decoration. Below left, you can see a variety of creamic blue pine cones, another motif which is typical of Sicily both in terms of ceramics and landscape.
The recommendation to visit this shop was a good one. We were talked through the origins of many of the designs and shown pictures of much earlier interpretations of the two patterns we chose. Below (top row) shows a traditional pomegranate design (from the 16th century) with the modern plate on the right and, in the lower row, an even older fish representation from the 12th century. Again, the modern plate is on the right.
We are pleased to report that both dishes arrived home undamaged.