We just briefly touched the Sicilian coast at Taormina before passing through the Straits of Messina. But now we are going to spend some time on the island. In fact, we are planning to sail right round it. An unexpected schedule change has made this option possible.
Although it is fully part of Italy, Sicily is, to borrow a phrase, like a whole other country. For example, while Italian is the official language, Sicilian which is spoken by many if not most people.. Reflecting Sicily’s history of conquests or occupations, Sicilian has Greek, Latin, Arabic, and French influences in its vocabulary.
Possibly, because of its shape, Sicily’s flag bears an emblem called the Triskelion or Trinacria. Given Lori’s likely family origins in the Isle of Man in the UK, it is a remarkable coincidence that their flag bears the same device.
Sadly for Lori, this connection has not manifested itself in a natural fluency in Sicilian.
We have been told that Sicily is divided into three parts - the north, the south and the interior. By boat we can easily do the north and the south coasts but everyone who has visited here says that we must go into the interior too. So once we reach a major marina on the south coast, we will make an expedition inland. It will be a nice change.
Starting from Milazzo, we travel west across the flat “top” of the island. Milazzo is an industrial and resort town which seems slightly nondescript until you start to wander through the old town. Here there is a beautiful castello and some very old churches.
Milazzo church (note the closed door and, yes, we did try the handle)
Oddly, all the churches were closed and they didn’t want to let us into the castello because it was about to close. Worse still, many restaurants were not yet opening for lunch; clearly they rely solely upon the dinner trade. We're in Italy so, needless to say, we eventually find a nice little osteria.
Before leaving we carried out our sea trial on the engine and everything seems to be fine. So we head off for Cefalu. We had intended to stop en route, but this option is roundly dismissed by the lady in the marina office because the intermediate places are either "not open yet" (Capo d’Orlando) or “not nice” (St. Agata). We do as we are told and get to sail a good bit of the way but there is a swell building from the northwest which makes the ride a little bumpy.
The somewhat minimalist marina at Cefalu is inside a breakwater that forms a little harbor. However it is completely open to the east and it is a little disconcerting to moored looking directly at the open sea. Not my usual definition of a harbor. Some of the swell gets into the marina and causes a lot of slopping at the stern.
The town of Cefalu has been here since about 400BC but its claim to fame is its Norman Cathedral that was started in the 12th century.
While we are here, we buy fruit from a street vendor. The fruit is, as always, amazing but it is interesting to hear him alerting people to his presence by making the same street cries that have been made by these vendors for hundreds of years. He weighs the fruit on little hand scales with a design that is probably of comparable antiquity. (You can just about see them in the picture.) His only concession to modernity is his little motorized cart.
Our next stop is Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Another day where we can sail with a favorable wind into an unfavorable swell. More bumps and the waves are a bit bigger today. For about the last ten mies or so we put on the engine and push our way through the seas.
Initially, Palermo is just what we expected - a scruffy-looking sea port that suffered badly from Allied bombing in the Second World War.
But take a closer look under the grime, behind the facades and, particularly, at its churches and you get a completely different story.
It’s hard to comprehend that there are so many churches that are so old in Palermo. Most have their origins in the 12th century and show an amazing mixture of stylistic influences. Here are four that particularly took our attention:
The church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, more commonly called La Martorana,,
This church is squeezed in between buildings and is comparatively simple from the outside with a Norman tower that would not look out of place on a country church in England. But the interior is certainly unlike anything found there or anywhere else for that matter.
The detail is quite sublime.
The Cathedral of Palermo presents a different picture.
This time it is the exterior that astonishes. Here we see the blend of influences from both the Norman and Arabic periods of Palermo history. In theory you wouldn’t be sure that this kind of mix would work but it practice it is superb.
And the interior does not disappoint.
Perched on a hilltop adjacent to the town is the Cathedral of Montreale. This is another church in the Norman style with Arabic influences.
It is the sheer scale of the interior that is so daunting here. I included a picture with people in it to let you get a sense of the enormous area covered by the mosaic. The gold bits are indeed gold. And the detail is quite remarkable.
Finally, we have the Chiesa del Gesu - the first Jesuit church.
Despite being near the main streets it is surprisingly hard to find in part because it looks like very little from the outside. They are preparing for a wedding which looks like it will start in the next hour and we fear that we will miss the interior. But no. No-one seems to mind that a small handful of tourists is there as they prepare. And the interior ……..
Not your average wedding photographs in this context -the bride might be upstaged by the church.
Incredible detail
Under a superlative ceiling
This has to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world and it is all the more remarkable because there are no lines and no entrance fees. It’s not a monument, it’s “just” a working church slightly off the beaten path.
At the end of our first full day here, there is a concert of popular Italian music on the waterfront intended for teenagers. Because of the recent bombings in the UK, security is extremely tight with roads blocked to vehicle traffic for most of the day. Fortunately, everything passes off without incident.
And in the early evening of our second day, there is Palermo’s Gay Pride parade. This is a typically boisterous Italian event with unbelievably loud music, car horns, singing, and chanting reverberating through the narrow streets. It is delightfully unreserved and unrefined.
We end up staying an extra day in Palermo because the weather, while still following the same pattern, is intensifying and we have a tricky little cape to round before we can head towards the south of the island.
Our last night in the north was supposed to be at San Vito Lo Capo -the cape in the northwest corner of Sicily but the wind and the swell weren't dying away quite as quickly as predicted. So, to avoid another rolly night, we headed for Castellammare del Golfo - a rather endearing fishing and resort town just south of the cape.
According to its general reputation, this little town is noted for having been the birthplace of many American Mafia figures. It is the origin of the Castellamarese war fought between two of the clans for control of the Italian Mafia in New York City.
There is no evidence of this as we eat a lovely seafood dinner perched above the sea. But who knows who is sitting at the next table ..... (Actually it was a family with a two year old but she did look pretty intense!)