Ciao tutti,
Happy May! (Buon
maggio!) I want to begin this month by updating you all on several big viaggi I’ve taken lately, the first
being my family vacanze (vacation) to southern Italy!
PREFACE: This was a ten-day trip where we visited over 17
cities, so I would have to write a hundred-page book in order to go into all
the details of everything we saw and did. That being said, I’m going to do my
best to condense this post as much as possible. Just sit back and enjoy the
photos and captions! Most of the photos speak for themselves anyway J
The first leg of the trip took place Easter weekend in
Sicily:
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La Processione dei Misteri (Procession of the Mysteries)
on Good Friday in Trapani |
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La Processione dei Misteri (Procession of the Mysteries)
on Good Friday in Trapani |
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La Processione dei Misteri (Procession of
the Mysteries) on Good Friday in Trapani |
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| Sant'Agostino! (St. Augustine) |
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| We found the BEST Sicilian cannoli in the town of Dattilo |
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| Palermo |
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| Ballarò open-air market in Palermo |
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| Palermo |
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| Palermo |
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| Palermo |
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| The cathedral at Monreale |
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| 6,500 m2 of mosaics cover the interior of the cathedral |
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| Monreale cathedral |
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| Monreale cathedral. I actually studied extensively this form of Byzantine art while in my BCSP Art History class here in Bologna. Notice the symbolism of Jesus' hand (the fingers grouped in 2 and 3): 2 to represent the two forms of Christ (human and immortal), 3 to represent the three forms of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). |
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| Myself, Samantha, and Stephen at Monreale |
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| Monreale |
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Madonna del Ponte (Our Lady of the Bridge) outside of
Balestrate. You can see the huge bridge in the background. |
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| il ponte |
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| Greek temple at Segesta |
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| Greek temple at Segesta |
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Heading to the amphitheatre at Segesta. Notice the temple
in the background and some ruins in the foreground. |
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The amphitheatre at Segesta. You can see a Roman-esque
winding road built on classic arches in the background. |
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| Inside the Duomo (cathedral) at Erice |
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The outside of the 14th-century
cathedral (duomo) at Erice |
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| Easter Sunday. On the beach in Balestrate. |
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| The beach at Balestrate |
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| Balestrate |
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| Balestrate |
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The beautiful Sicilian countryside we saw while
driving around the island |
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| Cefalù |
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| Giant Easter egg in Cefalù |
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| Cefalù |
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| Cefalù |
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| Cefalù |
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| A typical Sicilian street. Cefalù. |
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| Santo Stefano di Camastra |
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The view from Santo Stefano di Camastra. Notice in the
background the extremely tall elevated road
(part of the Sicilian highway system). |
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Driving across Sicily through the mountains.
Just some grazing llamas. |
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| View from our B&B in Mazzeo |
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| Sunrise over the water at Mazzeo |
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| Taormina. Mt. Etna in the background. |
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| il teatro greco (the Greek theatre) at Taormina |
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| il teatro greco with our friend Etna in the background |
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| Madonna Rocca at the top of Taormina |
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| Madonna Rocca |
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| Walking through Taormina |
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| Il Tempio di Apollo at Siracusa |
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| Siracusa |
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| Siracusa |
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| Ortigia, Siracusa |
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| Ortigia, Siracusa |
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| Ortigia, Siracusa |
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| il Palazzo Bellomo at Ortigia, Siracusa |
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| Walking through Ortigia, Siracusa |
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| Catania |
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| Catania |
As you can see, driving around Sicily visiting all these amazing cities there was
amazing.
Our next stop was to the island of Capri, off the mainland
near Naples. We left Sicily by way of an overnight ferry, allowing us to sleep
on the ferry without losing a day of travel.
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| On the ferry, arriving at the mainland |
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Arriving in Naples (we then took another ferry
from Naples to Capri) |
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| Approaching Capri |
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| Capri |
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The garden with the Mediterranean in the background
at our B&B in Anacapri (the other side of the island) |
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| Heading towards the Blue Grotto |
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la Grotta Azzurra (the Blue Grotto). Because of the wind,
the waves prevented us from actually going inside.
But it was still beautiful to see it from the outside. |
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| Walking through Anacapri |
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Beautiful sunlight shining in
the Church of Santa Sofia |
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| Taking the chairlift to the top of Anacapri |
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| Taking the chairlift to the top of Anacapri |
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| Taking the chairlift to the top of Anacapri |
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| The view from up top |
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| Looking out over Capri with the mainland in background |
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| Mom and Dad |
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| Walking back down (instead of the chairlift) |
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| Walking back down towards Anacapri |
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| Walking back down towards Anacapri |
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| la Casa Rossa in Anacapri |
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Fried zucchini flowers and Caprese salads.
Two specialties of the island. |
Our last “area of travel” was on the mainland. We took a
ferry from Capri to Sorrento, saw Sorrento and Pompei, then visited Naples
before my family went back to the U.S. and I went back to Bologna (to take my
UniBo final exam! Eek!)
As you'll see, it rained a lot during this leg of the trip. The rain certainly put a damper (pun intended) on things, but we still enjoyed all the sites southern Italy had to offer. Take a look:
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| Sorrento in the rain |
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| The ruins at Pompei |
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| A street in Pompei |
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| A street in Pompei |
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Huge marble statues at the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples |
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| Piazza Gesù Nuovo, the location of our B&B |
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| Castel Nuovo |
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| The Bay of Naples, as seen from Castel Nuovo |
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| la Galleria Umberto I in Naples |
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Spacca Napoli. This street divided Naples
in ancient times. It's also the name of my
favorite pizzeria here in Bologna! |
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| Da Michele. The BEST pizza in Naples... or the world. |
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The decorative pillars and citrus trees in the courtyard at Santa Chiara in Naples (with the Church of Santa Chiara
in the background) |
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| The courtyard at Santa Chiara in Naples |
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| The Roman bath ruins at Santa Chiara in Naples |
Okay. Basta! (enough!) But seriously, I hope you've enjoyed this little
sampling. It was an absolutely fantastic trip, full of great memories. I’m so
happy to have shared this experience with my family J
Ciao for now,
Augusto
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