Day 135: Catania, Sicily … the Land of Cannoli

Sunday, 21 May 2017
At Sea — Tyrrhenian Sea … En Route to Gaeta

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:15p (CEST) … UTC 7:15p (21 May)
Temp: 67.1F (19.5C)
Position: 38.27.81N / 15.35.43E

A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.
~ John A Shedd ~

I thought it was 6:30a when I woke up.  It was only 5:30a!  So, I made myself comfortable on the veranda to write a bit for the blog in an effort to catch up.  I have a feeling it’s going to become near-impossible to keep the blog going as we continue this voyage.  My prime writing time is during days at sea.  Until we start crossing the Atlantic mid-June or thereabouts those days will be few and far between.  Oh well … I’ll just have to make sure I write copious notes in the journal so I can post later when I have time … any writing is better than no writing.

Breakfast was at the Terrace Café … where we actually sought out a table in the sun to temper the early morning chill … feels good … no complaints.  We were in the cabin when Insignia pulled into Catania, Sicily.  The maneuver to put the ship’s bow out to sea gave us a city view from our veranda.  And even better … a clear view of Mount Etna.

The mountain was clearly ‘smoking’ this morning.  I’m glad I didn’t wait until we arrived at the Bellini Gardens later to get my photos of Etna … by then the volcano was clad in a garb of clouds.  Described sometimes as the city’s “skyscraping frenemy,” Etna engulfed medieval Catania in lava in 1669 and then devastated it with an earthquake in 1693.  The city was rebuilt rapidly, making use of lava rocks — courtesy of Mt Etna — to do so.  Catania is now included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list … as part of a collective with seven other late Baroque towns in southeastern Sicily.

Etna, Catania’s “skycraping frenemy,” looms over the city.

We disembarked the ship at 8:30a dressed in layers that we could shed later … the forecast was for a comfortable high of 73F (23C) as the day progressed.   We were told to take our recently-distributed passports with us to show to the port authorities, but there was no one in the terminal, so we just kept going.  Exiting the port, we took a left through a flea market to walk into the city.  We didn’t dally along the way … this being a Sunday, we wanted to get to the Duomo [Catania Cathedral] before mass so we could take photographs.

The Roman Catholic cathedral is also known by the name of the saint to which it is dedicated — Cattedrale di Sant’Agata.  Originally built between 1078-1093 over some ancient baths, the building resembled more a fortress than a church.  But that church was damaged and eventually destroyed by earthquakes.   When it was rebuilt in 1711, it was done so in Baroque style, incorporating the 12th century Norman-style transept and apses and a few other features.  The dome was added nearly 100 years later.  It was nice to have the church pretty much to ourselves while we were there.

We left the Duomo through the front door to wander around the piazza it overlooks — Piazza del Duomo.  In the center of the square is Fontana Dell'Elefante [Fountain of the Elephant], which dates back to 1735.  The monument, consisting of a marble obelisk carried on the back of a 3-foot high Mediterranean pygmy elephant carved out of black volcanic basalt, looks quite incongruous.  I knew the elephant was the city’s emblem.  But why?  Turns out that according to local legends, the elephant belonged to a magician who lived during the 8th century.  The guy made his living by turning people into animals.  It is believed that the obelisk has magical powers that help to keep the restless Mount Etna calm.  As far as I know, Etna has not devastated the city since 1693 … perhaps there is something to these magical powers after all.

Piazza del Duomo … the cathedral is on the right; the Elephant Fountain blends
into to the scenery in front of the Palazzo degli Elefanti (City Hall) to the left.

Also on the piazza, tucked into a corner where it is almost hidden, we found the lovely Fontana dell’Amenano.  Built in 1867 of Carrara marble, it stands in tribute to the Amenano River, which once ran above ground, and on the banks of which the Greeks founded the city of Katáne.  The river is represented by the male statue at the top — shown with a cornucopia out of which water pours into the top tier of the fountain.  From here the water cascades first into the main fountain and then into a channel from which it runs into the river … flowing a few feet below the surface of the square.

The fish market behind the fountain was closed.  Either that, or we were looking for it in the wrong place.  In any event, we did not get to see it today.  But while I was photographing the fountain, Mui got to taste his first cannoli of the day at Cathedral Bar.  It was only 9:30a!

Fontana Dell’Elefante … a popular meeting spot.	Mui enjoying his first cannoli of the day.

Next we strolled down Etnea Street … I guess we can all guess at the namesake of this main drag through the shopping district.  The early bird locals were going about their Sunday morning rituals, but otherwise the street wasn’t very crowded … certainly not like it was when we walked back the same way later.  That tourists were few and far between was one of the best parts of our walk.

When we arrived at the Sicilian Baroque style Basilica della Collegiata we almost didn’t go inside.  After all, we’d just visited the Duomo and who knows how many other churches were still ahead of us.  I’m glad we didn’t skip this 18th century church, which was built to replace another one that was demolished by the 1693 earthquake.  This was my favorite of all the churches we visited today … and all because of the very impressive fresco on the ceiling.

Stopping at times to window-shop along the way, we finally arrived at the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater, with the Chiesa di San Biagio overlooking it at the far end.  Catania’s Roman history dates back to 263 BC, but the ruins are from the mid-1st century to early-3rd century AD … the city’s most prosperous time.  We slowly strolled past the ruins and decided to wander into the 18th century church that was also built following the 1693 earthquake.  Legend has it that it stands on the site of the furnace where St Agatha suffered martyrdom.  Hence it is also known as the Chiesa di Sant’Agata all Fornace.  Wedding parties crowded the interior, with one leaving and another one juggling to set up for the next ceremony.  Not wanting to intrude, we left after I clicked the shutter once or twice.

Our stroll next took us to Giardino Bellini [Bellini Garden].  A sign on the perimeter fence described it as the oldest of Catania’s four main gardens … dating back to the 18th century.  It was a beautiful place, the centerpieces being a fountain and a floral clock, with a background of lush green grass and other vegetation.  We wandered up a path to where a gazebo stood.  From here we should have been able to see Mt Etna, but it had donned its cloak of clouds.  So we pressed on, finding ourselves walking along tree-shaded paths until we reached a gate at the far end of the garden.  Next stop was to have been the botanical gardens, but when we arrived there it was closed.  Another time perhaps.

At this point, we decided to head back down Etnea Street and grab a quick snack before continuing our sightseeing.  Mui wanted to go to Savia, which came highly recommended for its cannoli.  We considered getting a slice of pizza to share as well, but the crust was thick and it didn’t look appealing.  Instead, we split a ham and cheese toast.  Not very satisfying, but Mui said the cannoli was good.

From here we walked to the WWII Sicily Landing Museum.  Our route took us through some of the older parts of the city … areas that needed a lot of TLC.  We saw some locals on the streets, but for the most part the neighborhood felt deserted … except where we heard TV sets blaring.  People were apparently at home, watching a televised football game.

All we knew when we set out to find the museum was that it was in the same complex as the Cinema Museum.  Once we found that one, a guard at the gate told us how to get to the Landing Museum (admission: €4/person).

A guide was assigned to the six of us who arrived at about the same time.  Then we were directed to a small theater to watch a short documentary movie with English subtitles.  When the movie ended abruptly with the arrival of the Allied Forces in Sicily, our guide escorted us into a hall that was set up as a Sicilian neighborhood square.  Here she narrated a few words in Italian … Mui understood what she was saying, but I followed along from a leaflet in English that explained what we were seeing.  We were then given a few minutes to peek through windows and take photographs.  Next we were taken into a room — a mock air raid shelter … a simulator, if you will.  Here we sat in the dark as air raid sirens blared.  This was followed by the sound of aircraft flying overhead … dropping bombs that shook the shelter.  It was, of course, designed to give us a taste of what it might have been like for the Sicilians who lived through the air raids of WWII.  When the all clear was sounded, we were escorted into a hall … this one portraying the same square we’d seen before … but destroyed in the aftermath of the bombing run.

We were then invited to explore the rest of the museum at our own pace.  There were two floors of interesting exhibits … all in Italian, but with enough information in English that we understood what we were seeing.  Despite the language barrier, I thought the museum was very well done.

The exhibits at the WWII Sicily Landing Museum include lots of original B&W photos.

Leaving the museum, we walked through some of the old neighborhoods until we arrived at Teatro Bellini for a quick look-see of one of the city’s iconic landmarks.  It was closed unfortunately … might have been interesting to see the inside, too.  Eventually we found ourselves at the Piazza del Duomo again.  We had some time to kill before we had to start heading back to the ship, so we took a seat at I Dolce di Nonna Vincenza [Grandma Vincenza’s Sweets] in the piazza to do a bit of people-watching.  I enjoyed a refreshing lemon granita.  We all know what Mui ordered … cannoli, of course … two of them! … claims they were small ;-)  He later said they were the best of the ones he taste-tested today.

Teatro Massimo Bellini was inaugurated in 1890 with a
performance of the composer’s masterwork, Norma.

It was 3:45p when we left the piazza to return to the ship — maybe a 20 minute walk.  I was relaxing on the veranda by 4:30p … bundled up against the chill … nope, not complaining.  Insignia sailed at 5:00p as scheduled.  We grabbed a quick bite for dinner at the Terrace Café with friends before returning to the veranda for the transit through the Strait of Messina into the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It was dark by the time we completed the transit, dashing our hopes of seeing Mount Stromboli — one of the three active volcanoes of Italy.  I’m glad we had a chance see it on a cruise last year.  At least we had first a colorful rainbow — must have been raining at the north end of Sicily — and a then colorful sunset to enjoy this time.

Tomorrow is another port day … time to get some rest.  We walked almost non-stop for 7 hours today and I need to give my feet and back a break before we go out exploring again tomorrow — this time on mainland Italy.  The good news — we don’t get into port until 10a, so I have  a quiet morning to look forward to.

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