Stefano Meglio reads from I Gladiatori by Primo Levi at KITCAFFE’ In Montclair, the Italian Literary Salon presented by Kairos Italy Theater and Trumpets at Trumpets Jazz Club
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Palermo is Sicily’s capital and largest city with a population of about 700,000. It was founded in the Eighth Century B. C. by the Phoenicians who wanted to take advantage of its natural harbor. This strategically situated city was conquered again and again. For example, in the past this was a Muslim city with two or three hundred Mosques. The period of the Norman occupation starting in 1072 and lasting for well over one hundred years was considered Palermo’s golden age. The conquests continued almost unabated. Palermo was heavily destroyed during the Second World War. To some extent Palermo is still in the hands of a conqueror, the Mafia. Start at the Cathedral, built in 1185 on the site of a Byzantine basilica that was transformed into a mosque by the Saracens in the Ninth Century. Other historic churches worth visiting include San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, and the Greek Orthodox church La Martorana. Many churches and other buildings are situated in or near beautiful parks. The Teatro Massimo (Great Theater) is the largest opera house in all Italy. The movie Godfather Part III included a famous scene, violent of course, that occurred on the Teatro’s steps. The Palazzo Reale was the seat of government for centuries. It is now the home of the Sicilian Parliament. The Palatine Chapel was the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily. Its mosaics are well worth seeing. The building and its furnishings are a great combination of Arabic, Byzantine, and Norman styles. Don’t miss the Salinas Regional Museum of Archeology with its prehistoric cave drawings. Then for a change of pace visit the Museo delle Marionette many of whose marionettes are hundreds of years old. Finish your tour at the Piazza Pretoria (Pretoria Square). The fountain that dominates the square is decorated with hundreds of sculptures whose lack of clothing led to the name, “Fountain of Shame”. We suggest that you see this square at night. Sicily has always adapted foreign foods to come up with Sicilian versions. Put together all these foreign influences and you have the unique Sicilian cuisine. See our companion article I Love Touring Italy – Palermo, Sicily for a sample menu and more information on local wines as well as an in-depth examination of its tourist attractions. Marsala DOC, which was first exported to England well over two hundred years ago, is Sicily’s best-known wine. Most Marsalas are sweet; some are great, others are not.
We begin our tour of southern Calabria at Pizzo on the western Tyrrhenian coast. We proceed south and west along the coast to Tropea. Then we continue mostly south along the coast to the capital, Reggio di Calabria. We leave the coast to visit the Aspromonte mountains and then continue east and north to Locri on the eastern Ionian coast. We head inland to Gerace and then go and west along the coast before finishing our tour a bit inland at Stilo. In this part of the world directions are always approximate; you have to go where the roads go. Pizzo, population about eight thousand, is a seaport and resort situated on a steep cliff overlooking the Gulf of Santa Eufemia. Its main attractions are the Baroque Church of San Giorgio (St. George’s Church) and the Castle in which the French general Murat, an ex-king of Naples, was killed in 1815 after an unsuccessful attempt to rouse the populace against the Bourbon kings. Tropea, population about seven thousand, is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Calabria. It lies in between the gulfs of Sant’ Eufemia and Gioa overlooking the sea. And yet it is still relatively undiscovered. You’ll love its untamed white sandy beaches, old houses, and ancient churches. Its Norman Cathedral has a special feature, unexploded U.S. bombs from the Second World War, each bearing a note of thanks to the Madonna. Near the main square is the medieval Santa Maria della Isola church and monastery, remodeled in Gothic style and touched up a bit after an earthquake slightly over one hundred years ago. If you fall in love with the town you may want to sign up for some Italian language classes. And don’t forget the onions, the local onions are so good that Italians call red onions Cipolla di Tropea (Tropea Onion). The city’s most famous citizen, Umberto Anastasio, was born in 1902 but left for New York City about 1919. There he lived under the name Alberto Anastasia, a leader of Murder, Incorporated. He died in a hotel barbershop in an imposing hail of bullets. Anastasia’s fictionalized story was a part of the Oscar winning movie On The Waterfront. Reggio di Calabria, population approximately two hundred thousand, is the oldest and largest city in Calabria. It sits at the base of a long mountain range running through the center of the region. Over the centuries the area has been subjected to multiple several earthquakes and tsunamis. Furthermore, the soil is quite difficult to till. This city was founded by Greek colonists in the Eighth Century B. C. and passed from one hand to another over the centuries. Interestingly enough it was home to the first dated Hebrew book, printed in 1475. The worst earthquakes were in 1783 and then in 1908 when an estimated 80% of its buildings collapsed and thousands of people were killed. It took about one generation for the city to recover. Reggio di Calabria contains many interesting sights. We will start with arguably the most unexpected one, the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (The National Museum of Greater Greece), a very important archeological museum. Make sure that you see the two Bronzi di Riace (Riace Bronze) statues of bearded warriors whose origin is subject to debate among the experts. While they were discovered by an amateur scuba diver in 1972, they didn’t go on display for almost ten years. The famous poet Gabriele D’Annunzio called the Falcomata promenade by the sea the most beautiful kilometer in Italy, and, believe me, it has a lot of competition. The old city is proud of its Greek walls; the section near the promenade dates back to the Fourth Century B.C. There are also Roman baths. Other sights include the church of Saint Gaetano Catanoso, named for the first saint from Calabria in five hundred years, and the Byzantine-Norman Chiesa degli Ottimati (Church of the Optimates) initially destroyed by the Saracens towards the end of the Sixteenth Century. Make sure to see the Venetian-style Villa Zerbi and the Pinoteco Comunale (Town Art Gallery). The mile-high (actually more, about two kilometer-high) Aspromonte mountain range affords a definite change of pace from the Calabria seacoasts. What a view. The name means “sour mountains.” As you may well imagine its steep terrain and rocky soil are difficult to cultivate. You can find a ski resort at Gambarie east of Reggio di Calabria and an absolutely spectacular sanctuary Madonna di Polsi with an annual fair in late August and early September. Would you believe that many locals still speak a Greek dialect? Perhaps not surprisingly the local grape is Greco. Accompanied by some three thousand volunteers the hero of the struggle for Italian unification, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was defeated and captured in 1862 in the Battle of Aspromonte. But he had the last laugh a few years later. Locri, whose population is some thirteen thousand, was founded about twenty-seven hundred years ago by a Greek tribe. Its famous lawmaker was the first to devise the written Greek code of law. He suggested that someone who proposed changing a law should have a noose about his or her neck, and be hanged if the amendment failed to pass. Talk about a sense of justice. The original city was abandoned in the Fifth Century and later destroyed. You can see some of the city walls and ruins of a Greek theater. Gerace, whose population is approximately three thousand, sits on a hill composed of sixty-million-year old fossils from the sea. The site has probably been populated for about ten thousand years. Believe it or not, this little town once contained more than one hundred twenty churches. Among those remaining churches are the Norman Cathedral, the largest church in Calabria includes the Eleventh Century Prison of the Five Martyrs of Gerace, the Thirteenth Century Church of St. Francis with a beautiful Baroque altar, and the Tenth Century San Giovannello (Little St. John). You’ll enjoy Gerace’s medieval town and what remains of an old castle, that probably dates from the Tenth Century. Stilo, population three thousand, was founded by the Greeks. In 1940 this area was the site of the Battle of Calabria, also known as the Battle of Punta Stilo, one of the biggest naval encounters of World War II. The Italian navy and the combined forces of the British and Australian navies both claimed victory but the battle was considered to be a draw. This town’s most impressive sight is the Ninth Century Byzantine Cattolica di Stilo which is quite beautiful both inside and out. Other churches include the Cathedral, the Church of San Domenico, and the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino. And don’t forget to visit the Norman Castle and the Fountain of the Dolphins. What about food? There’s lots of it in Calabria. Reggio di Calabria ’s best gelateria, Tonino in the Corso, makes a red onion ice cream (as well as others based on squid ink and nduja, the local spicy salami). Let’s suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with Spaghetti al Ragu di Totano (Spaghetti with Squid and Tomato Sauce). Then enjoy some Cinghiale all’aspromonte (Wild boar Aspromonte style). For dessert indulge yourself with Passulate (Spicy Nut and Sultana Biscuits.) Be sure to increase your dining pleasure by including local wines with your meal. We’ll conclude with a quick look at Calabria wine. Calabria devotes some sixty thousand acres to grapevines; it ranks number 13 among the 20 Italian regions for the acreage devoted to wine grapes. About 91% of its wine is red or ros?leaving 9% for white. The region produces twelve DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only 2.4% of Calabria wine carries the DOC designation. Most Calabria wine comes from the northern part of the region. If you can find it, you should try the sweet Greco di Bianco DOC wine grown from a southern Calabria version of the Greco grape, and the similar non-DOC Greco di Gerace.
If you will be touring Europe, why not consider the island of Sicily, a region of southern Italy? Depending on your particular interests, this beautiful island can be an ideal vacation spot. You can get eat really great Italian food, and wash it down with fine local wine. And several parts of Sicily are yet to be discovered by tourists. This article presents western Sicily. A companion article presents eastern Sicily. Another companion article presents Sicily’s capital, Palermo.
We’ll start our western Sicilian tour in Monteale on the Tyrrhenian Sea just west of the capital of Palermo. We’ll meander east and south to the city of Marsala on the Mediterranean Sea, and then head southeast along the Mediterranean Sea to Agrigneto.
Monteale, is a city of about thirty thousand, is situated a few miles southwest of Sicily’s capital Palermo. It is best known for its Duomo (Cathedral), which like so many other Sicilian churches is a product of the Norman conquest. This Cathedral was built from the years 1174 to 1185. The Monteale Duomo is often considered the finest example of Norman architecture in all of Sicily, and believe me there are a lot of competitors.
Can you believe that the interior of this magnificent building contains much more than an acre of gold mosaics? Everywhere you look there is plenty to see, for example, the bronze doors contain over forty biblical scenes, while the north door has over forty panels of evangelists and saints. Make sure to visit the nearby cloister surrounded by beautifully decorated glass mosaics. Finish your tour on the belvedere with its magnificent view of the Conca d’Oro (Golden Conch) Valley.
The town of Erice whose population is less than thirty thousand lies about one half mile above sea level. You’ll love its two castles, Pepoli Castle dating from Saracen (Arabic) times and Venus Castle dating from Norman times, built on what some say was the most famous Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Venus. The city contains the remains of walls from the days of the Phoenicians and the little known Elymians, perhaps descendants of the Trojans. Erice holds many scientific conferences. Capo San Vito is a cape situated approximately twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) northeast of Erice. It claims to have the most beautiful beach in all of Italy. Every September it holds a five-day international competition for couscous, a North African semolina-based dish.
The abandoned city of Segesta, about an hour’s drive southwest of Sicily’s capital Palermo, is home to one of the best-preserved Greek Temples, built by Elymians under Greek rule around 430 B.C. Legend has it that they built the temple to impress the Athenians of their wealth in order to enlist Athens against a nearby city supported by Siracuse. Once Athen’s envoys Segesta left work on the temple stopped. The temple remains incomplete, but magnificent. Segesta also boasts the ruins of a Greek amphitheater that presents classic Greek theater (in Italian), a Norman castle, and a small church.
The city of Marsala whose population is about eighty thousand was the major Carthaginian base in Sicily during its wars against Greece and Rome. The city name comes from the Arabic words for great port or Ali’s port. Marsala played an important role in Italian history as the landing point of Italian national hero Garibaldi’s one thousand red shirt combatants who fought for the reunification of Italy.
Today Marsala brings to mind the wine much loved by the British (and others) for well over two hundred years. Should you visit this city make sure to see the Museo Archeologico Baglio Anselmi (Baglio Anselmi Archeological Museum) with its warship and artifacts believed to date from the First Punic War in 241 B.C. You may also want to make reservations to visit the Donnafugata Winery in downtown Marsala. Yes, they do give samples. We have reached the western tip of the island and now head south and east.
Selinunte was the site of a Greek colony founded in the Seventh Century B. C. This colony prospered for hundreds of years until destroyed by the Carthaginians in 409 B. C. Thousands of its inhabitants were slaughtered and most who weren’t killed were enslaved. The city’s seven temples were destroyed; only one has been restored but the ancient market has been excavated.
We terminate our virtual tour of western Sicily at Agrigento, historic city and site of Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) arguably the finest Greek ruins outside of Greece. The classic Greek poet Pindar called it “the most beautiful city built by mortal men.” Prepare your trip carefully, summers in this part of the world are very, very hot, and while you don’t want to get sick, you don’t want to rush through the site which contains several buildings worth visiting.
Each one of the Valle dei Templi temples is unique. We’ll briefly examine five of them, going from west to east. The Tempio di Castore e Polluce (Temple of Castor and Pollux) is somewhat messy. It was reconstructed well over one hundred years ago by people who didn’t know what they were doing. They slapped together elements from diverse ruins on the site. The Tempio di Giove (Temple of Jupiter) was never completed. At more than 330 feet (about 130 meters) long it was one of the largest Greek temples ever built. The Tempio di Ercole (Temple of Hercules) is the most ancient of these temples. It was partially reconstructed over eighty years ago. The Tempio della Concordia (Temple of Concord) is said to be the best-preserved Greek temple on earth. In the Sixth Century it was converted into a Christian church and restored in the Eighteenth Century. Everything is still there except for the roof and the treasury. Not surprisingly, you are not allowed inside but you can appreciate it from a reasonable distance. The Tempio di Giunone (Temple of Juno) offers a spectacular view of the valley below. Believe it or not traces remain of a fire that burned over twenty-four hundred years ago.
Across from the Temple of Castor and Pollux are several small temples that you may want to see as well. The Hellenistic and Roman Quarter consists of four ancient streets paved with mosaics and a few Roman house foundations. Right nearby is the Museo Archeologica Regionale (Regional Archeological Museum) with lots of antiquities. What about food? Sicily’s great food goes back as far as its beautiful buildings and ruins. Every conquest, and there were several, brought new foods to this island. Sometimes new foods such as tomatoes made their way peacefully to Sicilian tables. Organic food has become fairly popular in Sicily. Of all the Italian regions only the neighboring island of Sardinia produces more organic food. Certified Sicilian food products include olives, olive oil, cheese, tomatoes, oranges, table grapes (I prefer them fermented), and pears.
Let’s suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with Macco (Fava Bean puree). Then try Involtini alla Siciliana (Meat Roulade stuffed with Salami and Cheese). For dessert indulge yourself with Sgrappino (Whipped Lemon Sherbert with Spumante). Be sure to increase your dining pleasure by including local wines with your meal.
We’ll conclude with a quick look at Sicilian wine. Sicily is number one among Italy’s twenty regions when it comes to the acreage devoted to wine grapes and to the total annual wine production. And an independent Sicily would be the world’s seventh largest wine producer. It may be surprising but only slightly more than fifty percent of Sicilian wine is red. Sicily produces nineteen DOC wines. The term DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which we can translate as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only about 2% of Sicilian wine carries this sometimes prestigious classification. But there are many Sicilian wines without the DOC classification, sometimes by choice.
If you are looking for a European tourist destination, consider the area west of Naples in the Campania region of southwestern Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. You will find several small towns and two islands. While the area is not undiscovered it tends to be less touristy than many other parts of Italy including Campagnia on the other side of Naples, namely Sorrento and the Isle of Capri described in companion articles in this series. If youre in the neighborhood, be sure to visit Naples, described in another companion article in this series.
Well start our tour in Solfatara just west of Naples. Then we will head west to Pozzuoli and southwest to Baia. Well pop up north to Cumae. We finish our tour with some island hopping, first south to Procida, and then southwest to Ischia. The entire area is called Campi Flegrei (Fields of Fire) because it sits on molten lava. There is no reason to believe that volcanic eruptions are a thing of the past. And remember, the area is not far from Mount Vesuvius on the other side of Naples.
Solfatara is a semiextinct volcano whose most recent eruption was in 1198. Its name comes from the Latin sulpha terra for land of sulphur so you know what to expect. Solfatara is hardly attractive, unless you like to look at boiling mud. But as long as you stick to the path you should be safe. On the positive side the escaping vapors have been used for medicinal purposes since Roman times.
Pozzuoli is a fishing town that has become a suburb of Naples, hardly suprising given its proximity. The Greeks founded it in the Sixth Century B. C. Formerly the home of affluent Romans, its famous residents include St. Paul and Sofia Villani Scicolone better known by her professional name, Sophia Loren. Pozzuoli was damaged by volcanic eruptions during the Middle Ages and again in the 1970s. Youll want to see the Anfiteatro Flavio (Flavius Amphitheater), Italys third largest, that held 40,000 spectators. It hosts evening concerts in the summer.
Baia was perhaps the greatest Ancient Roman resort of them all. All the big shots including Caesar, Nero, and Tiberius had a home away from home in Baia. Cleopatra was visiting when Julius Caesar met his untimely end. For many people part of Baias attraction was its thermal, mineral waters said to have healing powers. Local excavations include the Temple of Mercury, the Baths of Mercury, the Baths of Sosandra, with the semicircular Theater of the Nymphs and a statue of Sosandra, the Temple of Venus, and the Baths of Venus.
Cumae was perhaps the first Greek colony on the Italian mainland, founded in the Eighth Century B. C. Youll want to see Antro della Sibilla (Sibyls Cave) considered by many people to be the most romantic classical site in all Italy. This cave, almost five hundred feet (one hundred thirty one meters) long, was carved out of solid rock. According to legend Sibyl was a prophet granted almost eternal life (as many years as the grains of sand in her handful) but she sadly forgot to request eternal youth. As she aged she shriveled so much that her body fit into a bottle that hung from a tree. In between uttering prophecies she begged for death.
Most present Cumae is underground. Make sure to see Lago dAverno (Lake Avernus), a volcanic crater lake that the Romans considered the entrance to Hades (Hell). According to legend, birds flying over the lake would die from the poisonous fumes. It was on these shores that Virgil wrote The Aeneid. Lets assume he didnt inhale.
Right near the coast you’ll find Procida, a densely populated island with about eleven thousand people jam packed into two square miles. This is about one third the population density of Hong Kong but Procida is the most densely populated island in all Europe. In spite of all that, Procida is beautiful and relatively undiscovered compared to the other islands off the coast of Campania. Try not to miss the Good Friday procession, an annual event since 1627. The island and its small fishing village Corricella were featured in the films Il Postino and The Talented Mr. Ripley, filmed in many Campania locations including the island of Ischia, described next.
We will finish our tour of this sometimes lovely area west of Naples at the island of Ischia, probably inhabited for thousands of years. Its almost sixty thousand inhabitants including thousands of German citizens live mostly from tourism with an estimated six million visitors a year. No, this is not one of the undiscovered gems that pop up from time to time. Over the millennia Ischia endured many conquests. Among the worst was in the mid-Sixteenth Century when the pirate Barbarossa devastated the island, taking four thousand prisoners in the process.
The Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle) is Ischias most heavily visited monument. It was built on a rock near the so-called mainland somewhat less than 2500 years ago. In 1441 the castle was linked to the island by a stone bridge. The nearby beach is fine and its waters may heal your ailments.
The La Mortella gardens belonged to the British composer William Walton and his Argentinean wife Susana, 23 years his junior. It is home to several thousand rare Mediterranean plants. After visiting the garden you can climb the long dormant volcano, Monte Epomeo, bathe in the Giardini Poseidon Terme (Poseidon Gardens Spa), or take a short boat trip to the village of Sant’Angelo on the southern coast.
What about food? Volcanic soil makes food tasty and plentiful and gives wine a special zest. The focus here tends to be on vegetables and fruits. Tomatoes are served every which way, including pizza and spaghetti of course. Try to taste the mozzarella cheese, made from the milk of water buffalo.
Lets suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with Nero di Seppia (Spaghetti with Black Squid Ink). Then try Coniglio allIschitana (Rabbit simmered with Tomatoes). For dessert indulge yourself with Strufoli (Honey Balls). Be sure to increase your dining pleasure by including local wines with your meal.
We conclude with a quick look at Campania wine. Campania ranks 9th among the 20 Italian regions for both acreage devoted to wine grapes and for total annual wine production. The region produces about 64% red and and close to 36% white wine, as there is little ros?There are17 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. The G in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is no guarantee that such wines are truly superior. Only 2.8% of Campania wine carries the DOC or DOCG designation. The G stands for Guarantita, and youll find three, the red Taurasi, the white Greco di Tufo, and the white Fiano di Avellino. I have tasted the Fiano and found it to be top of the line. A single DOC wine is produced west of Naples; the Ischia DOC whose region covers the entire island of Ischia and is made from a variety of local grapes. This wine may be red or white. The red may be dry or sweet, while the white may be still or sparkling. Frankly, Id go with the Fiano di Avellino. |
Rome
September 9, 2010, 12:11 pm
 Partly sunny 24°Creal feel: 26°C
current pressure: 1014 mb
humidity: 56%
wind speed: 2 m/s SSW
wind gusts: 2 m/s
sunrise: 6:44
sunset: 19:31
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