PASSION PLAY HOLY THURSDAY MARSALA

Many small towns south of Rome have a procession about  the death of Jesus Christ called the Passion Play. In Sicily, they say the best Passion Play is in Marsala. The play starts at 1pm and continues until 7pm. It begins at Sant'Anna Chiesa and proceeds throughout town in a long route which eventually winds up back where it started. In this Passion Play you not only see Jesus,  but also the other two men who carried their own crosses, the Roman soldiers, Mary Magdalene, Pontius Pilate and of course the Blessed Mother. This procession actually has several acts spoken out loud with music playing in the background for the whole 6 hours. You also see the soldiers laughing, mocking, whipping, pushing and yelling at Jesus during this procession. So, if you stand in one spot, you are able to see the play acted out as it passes you. The pictures need no explanation and as you can see it is a very humbling experience to watch.
Buona Pasqua   (Happy Easter)

TAORMINA and CEFALU'

A major destination along the Tyrrhenian coast is the former fishing village of Cefalu'. The town is most noted as being captured in the Oscar -winning film Cinema Paradiso. The Greeks thought the crag evoked a head, so they named the village Kephalos, which in time became Cefalu'

The town is  not only in possession of a great beach but it is also blessed with a Romanesque cathedral. Cefalu' is a town of mediveal streets and small squares. Above the town is La Rocca, the massive much photographed crag

Looking down from my hotel I could overlook all of Taormina as well as the Greek Theater with the sea in the background.

The Teatro Greco was hewed out of the rocky slope of Mt Tauro. The Romans remodeled and modified it. The Arabs who were intent on devastating the town, slashed away at the theater in the 10th century, which is why it is a rather sparse and dusty ruin. Below are the streets of Taormina both at day and evening.

The smoldering Mt Etna in the background of Taormina. At the top is actual smoke coming out since it is active.

Above Taormina is the town of Castlemola. This is one of the most beautiful places in eastern Sicily with a panoramic view of Mt Etna. Below is a typical side street and a tratoria where I dined.

MARSALA

Marsala is a thriving little port on the westernmost tip of Sicily where the world famous Marsala sweet wine is produced thanks to the fertile red earth and sunshine. This is a town of baroque buildings, Roman ruins and a lively fish market.  The city was originally found by Phoenician escapees from the Roman onslaught. They fortified their new home with a 20 foot thick wall, ensuring that it was the last Punic settlement to fall to the Romans.  In AD 800 it was conquered by the Arabs who gave it its current name Marsa Allah ( Port of God).
Pictured above is the Florio winery which is one of the oldest producers in town. It was here that travelers from England discovered in taverns a fortified wine similar to port and realized it had commercial potential. Here people drink the dark, vintage Marsala, which is best sipped as a dessert wine with cheese, fruit or pastries. It is also used to flavor the local cassatelle cakes made from fried ricotta and cinnamon. And of course, who hasnt had that flavorful dish, chicken marsala which has become so popular in the states.

There is also Il Museo Archaeological in town which has displays of prehistoric gold jewelry, ceramics, as well as a preserved Punic Ship discovered in 1971. The ship is thought to have been constructed for the battle of the Egadi Islands in 241b.c. The picture above is a ceramic dated around 350 b.c. Some on display date as far back as 700 b.c.
Finally a picture of la casa. As you can see it has a nice airy living area  with 2 bedrooms both with balconies and 2 baths, a large backyard with a patio,  lounge chairs and a bbq.
Next up will be the towns of Cefalu' and Taormina!!!
Buon Giornata

HELLLLLO AMERICA and Happy St Jopseph's day

I have decided to continue my blog from 2 years ago when I vacationed in Tuscany for 3 months. Currently I am in Sicilia for 4 weeks and will once again visit Tuscana for 4 weeks and finally ending the trip in the lake district north of Milano, stopping at Lake Garda and Lake Como.
Traveling from NY to Marsala was a 22 hour ordeal. My plane arrived late to Milano.  I had to hire il taxi so I could arrive on time for my connecting flight (switching airports in between - e difficile). When I arrived in Palermo, there was a miscommunication with my pick-up. Instead of taking only 90 min to arrive in Marsala, I had to board a bus to Palermo ( 45 min ride ), wait thirty min for a connection, and then take another l'autobus which took one hour and 45 min. Upon arrival there were no taxi's to be had and I had to walk 45 min to my destination. In case you are wondering - iphone 4 does not work in Italia. Their system is more advanced than ours - go figure!!! Sooooooo , 4 hours later after arriving at Palermo airport I arrived at my destination. However, I was reintroduced to the smiling and friendly Giovanni who immediately did what any eye-talian person would do, HE FED ME. Come sit down - we have bread, steamed escarole, prosciutto, dried sausage. pecorino cheese AND to top it off - he made his own olive oil to make sure it was the purest possible product. This olive oil provided flavor and aroma to the dishes at hand and I was in heaven. Before leaving to la casa, Giovanni packed food for me -veggies, fruit, as well as picking a handful of lemons from the tree in his back yard,
I arrived at la casa before sunset and was pleasantly surprised with the accommodations. A very nice open area when you walk in the dining and living area with a kitchen tucked away to the side. Upstairs are 2 nice size bedrooms both with balconies and the house has 2 baths. The flooring is tile throughout including the stairs. There is a lovely patio with lounge chairs outside and the yard is enclosed by beautiful Oleanda trees. Giovanni stocked the refrigerator with beer, white wine, salami, cheese, milk and butter. On top of the counter there were 4 bottles of red wine, cereal, bread and a bottle of his own personal olive oil. As  I looked under the counter I saw a whole crate of fresh oranges which he bought me. (Sicily is noted for  their oranges all throughout Italy).
On Sunday morning I walked to Marsala - the house where I  am staying is about 2 miles away. This is great since I try to walk at least one hour a day. However, there are buses which I later discovered. I entered  il centro ( central part of town) and found the streets ( which do not allow cars) packed with elderly men enjoying their conversations and families taking passeggiata - a stroll through town. OF COURSE my main goal was to once again have the greatest cappuccino and brioche con crema. Nowhere do they make it like Italia!!  BTW - no one here was celebrating St Paddy's day by drinking green beer. Wrong country.
I walked around town for several hours , made some internet connections using free wi- fi  to my loved ones. I returned to il centro only to find that it was now a ghost town at 3pm. Not a single person on the streets??? Only to remember, just like all Italian Americans who grew up in the USA, that Sunday dinner was served mid afternoon and was a big family affair. I found a restaurant opened for this early Sunday dinner and had a delicious meal along with a 1/2 bottle of vino rosso  which cost all of 2.5 Euro ( $3.25). The owner sat in the table next to me so he could watch Il Calcio ( soccer) and we began to talk. When he found out how far I walked to get to town he immediately told one of his waiters to drive me home after my meal was complete. This way he said- you can have an after dinner drink - Averna - and not worry about the walk home. Only in Italia!!!
On Monday I spent the day buying a local cell phone as well as obtaining Wi - Fi. Giovanni was nice enough to take me to town to teach me the ins and outs of Marsala as well as to do some sight seeing.
Tuesday - I decided to go to a local supermercato to buy some meats and groceries. I first stopped at IL Bar for my coffee and pastry when I realized that today signifies 2 things. First it is St Joeseph's day and more importantly it is my younger sister's birthday. Our parents called her Mary Jo in honor of St Joeseph's day.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!!! How old are you now? How old are you know ? Ok we will not go into that. Pictured above is a pastry that is made especially for today's celebration both in America as well as in Italia. It is called Spincione di San Giuseppe. If you haven't had one - you are definitely missing out. Uh hum  -  I made this my lunch ^@#*^! Hey - you only live once.
I miss you all and I am thinking of my friends,  family and loved ones all the time.
Vistors are welcome. Come one come all ..............
I will keep everyone updated with my travels.
A presto,
Vincent