Eterno – Giovanni Caccamo (Eterno, 2018)

14 Marzo 2018
“Penso che questo momento rimanga nel tempo, rimane da solo, rimane un regalo, rimane un tesoro che non potrò mai lasciare”

Today we visited an archaeological museum located in the coastal city of Selinunte. While in Selinunte, we were able to see various temples that were built at around the same time and very close to one another, but each with a different level of reconstruction and destruction. As can be seen in the first image above, Temple E was reconstructed by architects in a way they believed Temple E once stood. Along the way, we passed by a destroyed Temple F and the completely destroyed pile of pillars that belonged to Temple G, that we got the chance to climb into and explore from within. We closed our trip to Selinunte with a visit to a temple off of the coast. Temple C, along with the acropolis surrounding it. After our visit to Selinunte, we headed to Racalmuto, which is the city in which the famous Italian author Sciasica was born.

While in Racalmuto, we visited the Sciascia museum, where he stored all of his favorite art pieces given to him or purchased by his friends and favorite artists. At this museum, we also saw copies of his most renowned books in various different languages. That was super cool, as I was able to observe the difference in title selection between Latin American and Spanish copies of the books. After our museum visit, we got an exclusive tour of one of the oldest theaters in the city, most commonly cited in Sciascia’s novels, that was closed for reconstruction.  We ended our visit to Racalmuto by visiting the Sciascia statue and taking a group photo.

Side note: I am very happy and blessed to have this group of wonderful people around me ♥ I have gotten to know a handful of them very well within the past couple of days, and I am happy to have done so!

“Volevo dirti che ho sognato
di avere molto più tempo
per capire fino in fondo
la parola acanto'”
-Ermal Meta

Tra la strada e le stelle – Thegiornalisti (Completamente Sold Out, 2016)

15 Marzo 2018
“Mi manca già l’aria di questa notte, dove tutto è sospeso in bilico tra la vita e la morte… tra la strada e le stelle, tra noi”

Today we visited the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, and got our daily fix of ancient temples. Great sights all over as can be seen in the images above, especially in the second image. During this trip, we were  able to see a very different and interesting pillar type for these ancient temples, pillars that took the shape of a human holding up the temple’s roof. This archaeological site houses a temple dedicated to the goddess Juno, and also forms part of Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage sites (I’m starting to notice a trend here).

After visiting the archaeological site, we took a trip to the Scala dei Turchi, which is a mountain along the coast believed to be climbed by the Turks during an invasion of Agrigento. It is now a beautiful tourist spot with beautiful blue waters. This sight is one of the many waiting to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in Italy, and rightfully so.

We ended our scheduled events of the day by going to the main piazza in Porto Empedocle, where the author Andrea Camilleri based most of his Commissario Montalbano mystery series. We arrived to the piazza just in time to see the sunset-illuminated statue of what, according to Camilleri, Montalbano looked like and is described to look like in his books. Before convening for a group dinner, we were given free time to relax and unwind from a busy day. A majority of us decided to kick back at a local gelateria, the group below played a round of table soccerl, I ate gelato and generally had a good time. Not to get all emotional but it was a beautiful moment, that I was allowed to share with some of my favorite people. A wonderful feeling really.

 

La felicità – Canova (Avete ragione tutti, 2016)

16 Marzo 2018

“L’hai mai provata, la felicità? L’hai mai provata, la felicità? L’hai mai trovata, la felicità?

Today we woke up bright and early to embark on the longest trip of our trip in Sicily, traveling from Porto Empedocle to visit the city of Ragusa. This was one of my favorite cities to visit, as it was located at the top of a hillside and was the home of one of the most aesthetically pleasing cathedrals I have ever laid my eyes on, the Duomo di San Giorgio. This part of Ragusa is known as Ragusa Ibla, due to the fact that after a devastating earthquake in the late 17th century destroyed the city of Ragusa, after its reconstruction it was divided into two parts, one being Ragusa alta just above Ragusa Ilba. This is one of the many cities recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, due to their prominent Baroque structures (see image of the Duomo San Giorgio). A beautiful city definitely worth a visit!

Soon after leaving Ragusa, we headed to the next city on our list: Noto, another city recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its Baroque structures. This city was also one of my favorite cities to visit, as it was once again very aesthetically pleasing and calming as well. Noto was once a single city, but just like Ragusa was split into two after the 17th century earthquake, the highest and newest part being the site we visited. Noto also has a very important history both before and after the unification of Italy in the mid-19th century. One of the main historical landmarks that earned Noto its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site is the Basilica di San Nicolò, a beautiful basilica with prominent Baroque features.

Today has been one of my favorite days and one in which I have felt random surges of happiness throughout the day, not sure why, but I’ll run with it! :)

Comunque andare – Alessandra Amoroso (Vivere a colori, 2016)

17 Marzo 2018

“E allora andare che le spine si fanno sfilare, e se chiudo gli occhi sono rose e il profumo che mi rimane”

Today we woke up in Siracusa, more specifically the island of Ortigia (once again another UNESCO World Heritage site) where we were able to spend most of our day and explore. In the morning we visited another archaeological site, known as the Parco Archeologico Neapolis (Neapolis archaeological park), where we saw a gigantic theater on one side of the park (under construction for the spring-summer theater festivals held at the park) and a smaller Roman amphitheater on the opposite side of the park. While at the archaeological park, we entered the cave known as the Ear of Dionisio which legend says Dionisio used to spy on his prisoners with the use of the echo produced by the height and formation of the cave. While in this cave, I sang a piece of Giovanni Caccamo & Deborah Iurato’s “Via da qui” (the song proposed for the 2015 Sanremo song contest), which started off pretty good but took a turn for the worst as I continued singing.

For the rest of the day, we were given free time to roam and explore the city of Ortigia. I didn’t take many pictures because I was really trying to enjoy my free time by absorbing the sounds, sights and aria (air and environment) of Ortigia. Dino, Frankie, Giovanni, Sarah and I then went into a store dedicated to Sicilian specialties, such as Sicilian Limoncello, pistachio butter, cheese spreads and tons of pastas. The saleswoman was very kind and spoke to us all in Italian, Spanish and English! She complimented our Italian, made us laugh a lot but most importantly reminded us to never give up in what we do and to never be afraid to dream big! She said she didn’t know us well, but that she knew we were up to great things. Not sure if she really meant it or if she just wanted us to keep purchasing goods, but it worked and it was nice to hear such encouraging words from a stranger. (I later ran into her as I was on my search for a music store to purchase Ermal Meta’s new album, which resulted in a wonderful 15 minute conversation about Italian music and Ermal Meta’s career path and the significance of his music.)

One of the things that I loved most about this city was that the streets were lined with these nice flowers that only opened up when the sun was out, and would close after sunset! For the rest of the day, I visited FlyingTiger and a couple of my other favorite Italian shops, and then took a break at a café called Biblios, which was super cool! I couldn’t really photograph the shop at a good angle or do it justice, however it was a space dedicated to relaxation and the exploration of creativity. While in the café, one would be able to purchase a book to read (they had a large selection of books written by Sicilian authors), tons of postcards and beautiful bookmarks, as well as paper and markers for those more interested in creating art during their free time. I spent about 2 hours in the café, working on job applications as well as writing letters and drinking Sicilian green tea (which I had no idea even existed). This was a pretty nice second-to-last day in Italy.

Vulcano – Francesca Michielin (2640, 2018)

18 Marzo 2018

“V, come vulcano, e mille altre cose: La paura di vagare per troppo tempo a vuoto.”

Today en route to Catania, we made a quick stop at one of the rest stops on Mount Etna for about 45 minutes. Mt. Etna is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is one of Italy’s few active volcanoes. While here, we attempted to climb up a steep hill of volcanic rocks to see one of the craters created by the Etna’s eruptions. Emilia and I made it half way up when we realized how much of a challenge the descent would be. Dino and Sarah made it to the top, but Emilia and I visited another crater that was much closer. Giovanni decided not to climb up either of the craters and relax with Prof.ssa Gavioli instead.

Before arriving in Catania, we made a quick stop at Aci Trezza, which was the setting of the short story Fantasticheria by Giovanni Verga. This was a very beautiful and relaxing place to visit, as the sound of waves hitting the rocks filled the air. For this picture I got up and close to the water, I was tempted to dive in and float away, but it wouldn’t have been a good idea.

We ended our day in Catania, a wonderful city rich in history and also the home of Vitaliano Brancati and setting for his novel Il bell’Antonio. One of the interesting oddities of this city, is that many buildings such as the one pictured above were constructed and painted with volcanic rocks to get the gray-ish rocky color. For most of the day, we were given free time to explore Via Etnea, full of clothing stores, a FlyingTiger and a Feltrinelli. I also got pooped on by a bird this day and Frankie witnessed the entire scene, but he also helped me clean my hair while laughing #ThankYouFrankie (you a real one pal). I can gladly say that Catania was a wonderful place to spend our last day in Italy.