Excitement was in the air as all eighteen of us (sixteen students and two professors) boarded the international flight to Italy. After several weeks of studying the ancient perceptions of Sicily, particularly through the lenses of Vergil’s Aeneid and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, we were all thrilled to get to see some of these ancient monuments and regions for ourselves. Personally, I was most excited to see the temples and their integration into the fabric and architecture of modern Sicily. Since I have been taking an advanced archaeology seminar on the preservation of ancient sites and the moral and practical difficulties that come into play in tense situations, such as at the site of Palmyra (recently retaken from IS) and the construction of dams in Turkey (such as the one near the ancient city of Zeugma).

 

Beyond these interests though, I was particularly thrilled to explore the Sicily of the Aeneid. We spent a large amount of time in class leading up to the trip exploring the implications of this saga both on the Roman Empire of Augustus and the modern region of Sicily. For example, in Book V of the Aeneid, Vergil describes the foundation of a new city of Trojans, named after their fellow Trojan patriarch, Acestes. This city can be traced through the history of the island, through many different names: Acestes, Egesta (Thucydides), and Segesta (modern). I love this type of connection of the ancient to the modern and was looking forward to finding similar threads of Sicilian ancient history woven into the culture we would be experiencing.

On day 9, we went to Etna!!! Definitely didn’t expect to see snow up in a volcano but I guess that’s what made it that much memorable. A friend pushed me in the snow and I think someone even accidentally threw a snowball at my professor. I ended up bringing back some rocks for some vulcanologist friends at Bowdoin.

After we went to Etna, we stopped by Aci Castello to eat lunch. Here’s a cute picture of me and my class! woo!

Then we arrived to Catania where we took a quick walking tour of the city. The buildings here looked so different from any other buildings we had seen before because they were made from volcanic rock. Etna was so visible from the city center and it felt like you couldn’t get away from the vulcano. An interesting fact about Sicily though is that in Sicilian dialect, the future tense does not exist because they weren’t sure if there would be a future with the constant threat of Etna looming over the island.

 

Mt. Etna has a unique relationship with Sicily, particularly with its surrounding towns. In 1669, Mt. Etna erupted, killing tens of thousands of inhabitants in Catania and other nearby towns. In the aftermath of this catastrophe, Catania rebuilt itself using the dark, volcanic rock from Etna’s eruption (giving much of Etna’s old center is dark color). Today, Mt. Etna serves as a popular ski location and sees visitors from all across Europe late into the spring. Riding a gondola partway up, I could not help but feel that there is something sad about the taming of this great natural landmark. Still, the sight of pure-white snow next to the absolute black of volcanic rock towering above the green hills and blue Mediterranean add a final layer of contrast in this great island. Who could imagine that we would end our incredible journey with spring break snowball fight?

It is nearly inconceivable that thousands of miles away you might have the chance of bumping into other Bowdoin friends and faculty. We were fortunate enough to bump into Professors Franco and Pearlman on the steps of a Greek theatre in Syracuse. If anything, this coincidence reminded me that the world of Bowdoin is larger than initially imagined. As a nearing graduate, I am comforted in the thought that Bowdoin community promises to support all of us even when we move beyond the comfortable, drowsy hills of Brunswick. The people we meet and the knowledge we gain through our travels and trials will serve us throughout our lives. There are few greater gifts out there.

As we stumbled through the winding streets of Ragusa Ibla, we came across the building that once housed a high society club entitled “Circolo di Conversazione.” This building served as a meeting place for the aristocratic elite, where conversation and luxuries were enjoyed away from the ordinary masses that cohabited the city. This division between the well-to-do and downtrodden demonstrates a second but equally important contrast in the historical fabric of Sicily. As we learned earlier at Racalmuto, Sciascia comments on the extraordinary social disparities between the miners and aristocrats. (Clearly his observations extend across Sicily.)