Sicilian Glories

The island of Sicily in southern Italy has a sad history. Just about everybody in the Mediterranean region has invaded and dominated the island for a while: Phoenicians (present-day Lebanon), Greeks, Corinthians (present-day Tunisia), Romans, Normans, North Africans, Arabs, Byzantines, Lombards, Spanish. While some invaders were brutal, others brought tolerance and respect.   
 

Agrigento – Valley of the Temples

On the southern side of the island, the Greeks were among the first to push the native people (Siculans on the eastern side and Sicanians on the western side) inland and to establish ports for trade balanced in favor of Greece. The Greek ruins to the south at Agrigento are among the most complete outside of Greece itself. Meditating at the so-called Temple of Juno Lacinia (probably built as a sort of lighthouse for Greek sailors), I was aware of competing realities.
1.       In 800 BC, the gods were real and required constant attention.
2.       The temples fell into disuse as Christianity took over.
3.       We are still worshiping the pantheon of Gods: War, Sports, Love, Prosperity, etc.



An ancient seating area in front of Juno's temple allowed me to sense
what it might have been like in 800 BC.

Though in front of the Temple of Concord, this fallen god
 does not come from there.

Palatine Chapel

On the Northern side of the island, the Norman ruler, Roger II, left an indelible mark in Palermo. In 1132-1140, inside the Norman castle, he oversaw the creation of a chapel that resonated with his personal ecumenical vision. Just as in secular life he advocated for Jews, Muslims, Western Christians and Orthodox Christians to tolerate and respect one another, the creation of this amazingly powerful chapel was done by artists from different traditions. North Africans created a painted honeycomb wooden ceiling that is rare. Byzantine artists made stunning mosaics of stories that include and transcend Christianity. Muslim geometrics fill the inlaid marble on the floor and lower walls.

Inlaid marble, surrounded by mosaics and supported by carved pillar.

 

Mosaic of St. Paul escaping from prison by being lowered over the wall in a basket.

Above the mosaics is the edge of the painted wooden honeycomb ceiling.

The ceiling is made of thousands of pieces of wood that were created
 on the ground and then assembled in place on the ceiling.

Mediterranean Exhibition

During my time in Palermo, the lower chambers of the Norman castle were hosting a Mediterranean exhibition. On my first visit, I had been so overwhelmed by the Palatine chapel that I had neither the time nor the energy to have more than a cursory view. Since researching the Mediterranean is my primary aim, I resolved to return to the exhibition and give it my full attention. Trame Mediterranee (Mediterranean Threads/Patterns) contains installations, artifacts, and artwork that represent common elements in the variety of cultures in the region. A theme is that in prehistory all were one people. It calls upon Italy to be a bridge between Europe and the Middle East.

A sort of proto-Arabic script is painted (or dyed?) on blue cloth
 to simulate waves on the Mediterranean Sea.

An installation called Arabic Library - about one hundred tablets with Arabic
 writing suspended at varying heights from the ceiling.

Ceramic styles evident in multiple Mediterranean sites
were a theme of the exhibition.

Mimicking the ceiling of the Palatine Chapel, this is an installation
 of ropes suspended from a grid and tipped with copper cylinders
that clink with air movement. It represents the themes of the exhibition.  

Italy as a Local

I am attempting to travel Italy as a local rather than a tourist. Thus, with the help of my Palermo B & B hostess, I arranged a bus trip from Palermo on the Northwest side of Sicily to Bari on the Southeast side of Italy’s boot, at the top of the heel. How amazing it was to pass through Arab influenced Catania on the east coast of Sicily, cross the straits at Messina, travel across the toe of Calabria to the Gulf of Taranto, follow the coastline of the gulf, then cross the heel into Puglia, and end in Bari – a city of half a million people that feels very Eastern European. The south of Italy is definitely its fruit basket – citrus, grapes and olives.

Zip Lock Sanity

Being on the road for six weeks has its challenges. One of the ways I’m coping is through what I call Zip-lock Sanity. I have zip-lock bags to organize the necessities of Life. They include

·       Toiletries and First Aid kit

·       Transformer and digital chargers for camera, phone, and tablet

·       Office supplies like tape, post-its, pens, glue, scissors

·       Mini kitchen with plastic utensils, paring knife, napkins, etc

·       Pantry with nuts, raisins, lemon drops, water, etc.

·       Library of books and pamphlets collected on the way

Early Travel Impressions

In Sorrento, on the road to my B & B, here is one example of Italian rock.

Italy is essentially an enormous rock thrust up from the bottom of the ocean when the tectonic plates of Europe and Africa collided. Rock is everywhere and comes in varieties of pink, yellow, green, white, black, and grey. Human habitation of the rocky cliffs is pretty amazing – a tradition begun by ancient cave dwellers. Some areas are cultivated - made fertile by volcanic ash. Wheat and grain are grown in Umbria while further south greenhouses of vegetables are more evident; Olive groves are everywhere and Sicily has it all.

I loved this diorama of the cave dwellers who occupied Italy in pre-Roman times.

Italians love their shoes/boots, bags, cigarettes, and cellphones. I have seen hundreds of variations on the canvas shoe (essentially dressed up tennis shoes) – bangles, platforms, high heels, bright yellow/green/pink. I could do without the cigarette smoke!

My first stop after completing my artist residency was Sorrento, a small community southwest of Naples. I felt that in order to slow down after all of the work of the residency I needed to stay away from the frenzy of big cities. Sorrento is right on the Tyrrhenian Sea and abuts the Amalfi coast. From Sorrento I could explore Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii and indeed I did. I walked to the top of the inside of the crater of Mount Vesuvius, left by the eruption in 79AD.

Inside crater of Mount Vesuvius.

Then I went to the ruins of Herculaneum, a small agricultural community destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. 

Ruins of Herculaneum below the current town of Ercolano.

Herculaneum gave me an overwhelming sense of death. Perhaps because you could see the current town of Ercolano right above the excavation. Perhaps because the small spaces reminded me of graves. The town of Ercolano felt like the US in the 1950s – people struggling to make a living.

One of many streets in the ruins of Pompeii.

The urban grandeur of Pompeii was evident even though it had been stripped of all its priceless art and artifacts which reside in the archeological museum in Naples. It’s too much to absorb in one day.

I attempted to go to Amalfi but was stopped within five kilometers because of a landslide. The rainy season has hit southern Italy. A brief stop in Positano – spectacularly positioned on the cliff side – showed the influence of wealthy American tourists; overweight Italians who cater to them have adopted American bad eating habits.

Back Packing at 75
In my attempt to keep things simple, I decided to travel with just my backpack and a foldable fabric bag that serves as my daypack when on location. I am carrying few clothes, a small handheld digital camera, and a Surface Tablet to which I can download my photos and connect to the Internet. Most useful so far have been my bar of laundry soap and First-Aid kit.

Feasting My Eyes
I am a pilgrim, not a tourist. That means I am not trying to see everything, but to select those things that can best inform my work on the Mediterranean section of Eve's Imprint. As a visual learner, what I see and feel sticks with me. For this reason, I am traveling by train and bus. When most people think of Italy they think of food and wine, but for me the primary thing is to "feast my eyes" upon the landscape, people, architecture, cultural nuances, and subtle regional differences.