Florence

The Duomo

 Florence is "The Duomo" and "The David".  The Renaissance.  Whats more, the Duomo and the David, are actually very intertwined.  There is a story there that we only learned on our visit to this great city.  We thought that Venice was overrun with humans, if possible, Florence is even more saturated.  Naturally, they are two of the most visited cities in Italy, outside of Rome.  Once you see the Duomo you can easily understand why everyone wants to see it up close.  Not a picture, but the real thing.  That is definitely how I felt about Michelangelo's David.  The lines to see inside the Duomo were far too long for our liking ... but I did manage to get tickets for a guided tour to see the statue of David.  Needless to say, I was pretty happy that we managed to get tickets on such short notice.

David

Initially, I thought " who needs a guide to see a statue"??  However, that was the only way to get tickets that "skip the line".  Again not wanting to spend the short amount of time we had standing in a line, we went for the guided tour.  Were we ever glad we did!!  The guide was actually a teacher (special education) and so knowledgeable.  It was immediately apparent that he loved sharing the story of Michelangelo and the David...we were engrossed.  

David

What we did not know before going to see the David was that Michelangelo actually had his sights on the Duomo.  He wanted to be The Artist to finish the exterior of the Duomo, but he was considered far too young and inexperienced for such a project.  He was told that he would have to prove himself first, before even being considered for such an important job.  So he said "alright then I will do a statue of David, but unlike any that has been done before".  And with that he chose his piece of marble and then built an enclosure around it.  For the entire time he worked on David he never came out of that enclosure.  He sweltered in the heat of summer and suffered the cold in winter.  He ate, slept and carved his masterpiece in that enclosure.  No one saw the sculpture until it was completed.  Folks brought him food and he had a little cot to sleep on - that was about it for comfort.  It was him and David.

Prigone

Now I ask you - do you know of any human today that has committed themselves to a project in that way?  No-one - there is no-one that displays that sort of dedication.  Remarkable does not even begin to describe it.  The attention to detail and the degree to which he studied the human body is incredible.  He carved the veins in the arms and hands!  Now why did he make David naked?  There are many answers to that question; the most obvious being we are all naked before God.  But there was some vanity there as well, it is much, much harder to carve a naked David than a clothed one.  And after all - he was auditioning for the big job!

Gates of Paradise

 There has only been one Renaissance, and from that one period in time the world has been gifted all this beauty.  Seeing Michelangelo's David was a seminal moment in my life.  And maybe, partly, it was being enlightened as to the character of the man that did it for me.  Alas, we Ioved the visit.  In addition, to the David there were other statues that we also loved.  They are called "Prigone" or prisoner.  They are said to be "prisoners of the stone" until Michelangelo "freed them" by carving them out of the stone. And then there are the Gates of Paradise - the doors of the Baptistry that took 27 years to carve.  Made of bronze with gold covering, they depict scenes from the bible.  The detail and perfection is stunning.  There are many folks wanting to glance at the doors and take pictures in front of them.  But if left alone with the doors you could stare at them for hours and hours and still not take it all in.

Florence piazza

  Sadly, the visit came to a poor end however.  As we were getting on the tram to go back to the hotel Michael was pick pocketed.  Now, he did a foolish thing by putting his wallet in his back pocket, he was rushing and just not thinking.  That has now made our lives a bit more complicated.  Thank goodness I was able to cancel the cards before the thief was able to get money.  And thank goodness I had taken the credit card and had it separate from other cards - otherwise we would have really been in a bind.  Lesson learned:  Wallet goes in front pocket only.  Never, ever in the back pocket!!  We cannot fly back to Mazzaro del Vallo from Florence so we are taking a shuttle to Pisa and will fly back from there.

 

Venizia

Venice

 Venice is, of course, iconic and unique.  Not another city in the world like it.  And everyone should visit, if possible.  Just not at the same time😉!!  Crowded doesn't even begin to describe the city.  Is it possible to be loved too much??  From our conversation with one native of Venice (born and raised) we gathered that there are problems.  He says that the locals are being slowly "relocated".  The government has no interest in helping the locals ... as a result they are being priced out of the housing market.  Much too profitable to rent all the property to tourists.  

Venice - old and wet

Of course, that is an issue in many places including the United States.  But maybe not to the extreme that is seen in Venice.  Put bluntly, Venice is a cash cow for Italy.  How many visitors is enough?  Are there too many for the city to accommodate?

Beautiful architecture and flowers

We spent two days just walking and walking.  The city is not really that large, you could walk it in a day.  It rained most of the time, the whole area around Venice was experiencing unprecedented amounts of rainfall at that time.  So we walked in the rain.
 

Feeling the effect of the water

 

Venice is, of course, a very old city surrounded by water.  It seems odd that a city built on a lagoon, which is actually 118 small islands all connected by bridges, would be such a powerful force throughout history.  But there you have it, Venice has not only been very powerful but also very wealthy. Eventually, Venice lost some of its prominence and now is more tourist destination than commercial or financial titan.

Rialto Bridge

Sadly, Venice like everywhere is feeling the effect of the changing climate.  The water rises with the tide and floods the city.  It that were not bad enough the city is also sinking.  Efforts are underway to address all the issues, hopefully they will be successful.  In the meantime, their lives are surrounded by and linked to the water.  

DHL delivery guy

 The canals are their roads.  Packages are delivered by boat, groceries and everything else imaginable.  Even trash pickup is by boat.  The only roads are for walking.  Needless to say the water on the canals gets pretty churned up.

Out for a gondola ride

Amazingly, the gondoliers do not get tossed off their gondolas by all the other boats whizzing by.  The smarter ones take the side canals where they don't have as much traffic to contend with.  Regardless, of the route they all have Popeye arms!  

 It was a great visit but now we move on to Florence.  And no doubt more crowds of tourists.  We really hate being tourists preferring to settle in to a place for awhile.  But for a week we are tourists- like it or not.  

 

 

 

Safely tucked in as the bad weather catches up...

 

We knew the weather was coming but we needed to get as far as possible as we have lingered too long in Sicily.  After a brief stop in Porto Empedocle, we made it to Mazara del Vallo and prepped the boat for some high winds.  When the wind arrived our wind instruments clocked it as high as 50 knots, this was while to weather stations were showing 25 knot winds.  Oops... wrong again!  We were reassured though as the marina workers were busy as can be walking the docks and making sure all boats were secure.  At one point, they knocked on our boat and gave us an extra lazy line to attach.  So... in all, we had six lines for the bow of the boat and three for the stern.  It was bouncy, but we were secure.

 

Porto Empedocle

 Porto Empedocle is just a fishing port... yet holds an important place in history.  In July of 1943, Porto Empedocle was the site of the landing of Allied forces in Sicily (one of the sites).  The Axis troops were taken by surprise as the landing took place in horrible weather, but the Allied forces pulled it off.  Two months later the Allied troops had control of all of Sicily.  It was the beginning of the fall of Mussolini.  And now in 2023, for the good folks of Porto Empedocle seeing an American sailboat show up in their harbour was quite surprising.  One person asked us, "how did you get here"?  We replied, "well, we sailed here, of course".  Needless to say there were lots of stares and picture taking by the locals.  

Interesting bench in Porto Empedocle

 

Its a very nice little town which we enjoyed, even though it was just a short stopover.  I had a chance to practice my Italian and get yelled at by crazy Sicilian men who had a hard time understanding my Italian😳.  More practice required!!

 

Pup is ready to get off the fishing boat after a long day

Once we had Talaria secured in Mazara del Vallo and it was clear that the weather was not going to allow us to sail for a few days we made the decision to take a road trip.  The fact that we lingered too long in southern Sicily combined with the weather delay forces us to adjust our sailing plans.  Sadly, you are only allowed to stay in the EU for 90 out of 180 days.  From day one in the EU it is a race against the "Schengen" clock.  And it is a long way from Montenegro to Gibraltar!  

Mazara del Vallo

 

We put together some plans for a few days in Venice, Pisa and Florence as it was now clear that we would not make it up the western coast of Italy as far as Rome.  Initially, that was to be our staging ground for visiting that part of Italy.  Instead, we will make the trip by train and plane. 

Mazara del Vallo

The very good folks at Mazara del Vallo agreed to keep a close eye on Talaria for us.  Being a very small marina we felt completely comfortable that they would indeed watch things closely.  The fellow on the boat across spoke good English and was nice enough to give us a ride to the bus stop.  First a bus to Palermo and then a short flight to Venice to start our little excursion.

 

Mazara del Vallo

 

The weather has kept us from sailing and also from spending much time looking around Mazara del Vallo.  We plan to spend a bit of time in the town when we return from our road trip.  And then its on to Trapani and likely on to Sardinia from there.  Plans are still evolving!

One of the many churches in Mazara del Vallo

 

Valle dei Templi

Temple of Concordia

 Imagine driving down the road, just looking around and suddenly you see this magnificent Greek temple up on a hill.  Just driving down the road and there it is bigger than life.  Amazing! 

Temple of Concordia

 

We took the bus from Licata to go see the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.  Our intent was to do that the first day we were in Licata, but we missed the bus because we could not find the bus station!!  As it turned out it rained all day, so we were glad we didn't find the bus station.  However, once it quit raining we set out walking to make sure we knew where the bus station was for the next day.  We did not want to miss the bus two days in a row.  Don't you know we still could not find the darn place.  Fortunately, for us when we stopped to ask someone, this Italian fellow decided it was easier to just show us where to go.  So he kindly took us by the hand and led us to the bus stop.  We were very grateful because we definitely would have missed that bus a second time!

Temple of Heracles (Hercules)

The Valley of the Temples is just outside the city of Agrigento, which was in the 6th century BC a Greek town called Akragas.  They were fairly prosperous due to good farm land so the town went about building temples to their Gods.  The fact that even portions of those temples remain after all this time is amazing.  Even more astonishing is the preservation of the Temple of Concordia.  This temple received some special care as it was later consecrated as a Christian Basilica in the 6th century AD.  Fortunately, that gave this temple some "protected" status. 

Southern walls of Akragas

The entire city was fortified by man made walls that were incorporated with the natural stone.  It had a naturally defensible position, nestled on the hill in between valleys.  The temples are spread out over a large area with the most impressive being at the top of the hill.  We made a decision fairly quickly to take a taxi to the top and walk down.  The other choice is to walk up and then back down - so starting at the top was a no brainer for us.  

 
 

Agrigento

The area around Agrigento is beautiful and the city is quite large.  We did not visit the city but spent the day instead visiting the temples... next time.  So we finally saw what we wanted to see and now will move on from Licata.  Bad weather is coming so we want to make it as far as we can up the coast before we get stuck. 

Marina di Ragusa

Events in our life are now described as before the lightning strike or after the lightning strike!  Guess that is what is meant by a "life defining event".  Pre- lightning strike we had planned to spend the winter in Ragusa, Sicily.  The marina there is a popular spot for spending the winter (among sailors that is) and at that time we needed to be in Italy as we were attempting to obtain Italian residency

Church of San Giacoma

In reserving a berth for the winter we were required to pay a deposit.  And then the lightning strike...  So we did not make it to Marina di Ragusa but it was past the time for a refund of the deposit regardless of the circumstances.  Rather the Marina said they would give us a "voucher" good through 2023.  So we decided to use that voucher and hang out in Ragusa for a little while.

Old Monastery

We have been traveling for a bit so needed to do some cleaning, change the oil on the engine, do some laundry and grocery shopping.  That all took a few days and then we rented a car and went out to do some sight seeing.  The actual town of Ragusa (both the old part and newer part are about a 30 minute drive from the coast but so worth the drive.  In particular, Ragusa Ilba is stunning.  Winding roads with multiple hairpin turns lead you to the mountaintop where Ragusa Ilba sits overlooking the Valley Irminio below.  Italy has such an old soul and nothing reflects that better than the ancient cathedrals.

Valley Irminio

The Valley

Probably the most notable cathedral in Ragusa is the Duomo di San Giorgio.  Another UNESCO world heritage site due to its baroque architecture.  Sadly, the church was closed up and we did not get to peek inside.  You can walk down just about any street and run into one stunning cathedral after another.

Duomo di San Giorgio

Ragusa Ilba is a prime example of Baroque architecture which is prominently displayed in the balcony supports throughout the old city as well as many cathedrals.  These stone carved supports are so animated and expressive.  

Baroque balcony supports

 It was a very nice day away from the boat for awhile.  Although Italians are even worse drivers than Turks.  If they decide to pass a car they just do it... passing right between the car they are passing and the one coming towards them!!  Unbelievable.  I just had to close my eyes and pray that no one crashed.  So the trip was fun... the driving not so much. 
 

Ortiga Island -- Siracusa, Sicily

 

Siracusa, Sicily

If I had to describe Italy in one word, that word would be old.  She is like your grandmother - worn but beautiful.  If buildings could talk.  Sicily was not always Italian and its actually only been a part of Italy since 1860.  Siracusa was Greek and the home of Archimedes one of the greatest mathematicians of all time and most definitely the most significant mathematician of his time.  Today Archimedes is celebrated in Siracusa but it was actually a Roman soldier that ended his life.  

Ortiga Island

We stayed at a marina on Ortiga Island which is connected to Siracusa by a bridge.  We loved this little island, our favorite place in Sicily so far.  Touristy, yet charming.  We spent a couple of days just getting lost in all the narrow, winding streets.  I love the ancient feel, beautiful cathedrals and the fresh food.  I cannot figure out why tomatoes taste so good here.  Like garden tomatoes at home only much sweeter.  Food is just normal - it has not been doctored to look nice in the grocery store.  Fruits and vegetables are not perfect to look at but the taste is so much better. 

Castello Maniace

 Perfectly situated on the promontory overlooking the entrance to the bay on Ortiga Island is Castello Maniace.  Originally built in 1232, the only way in was via a drawbridge over a moat.  Sadly, neither the drawbridge or the moat exist any longer.  A prominent feature of this castle is the amazing portal.  Beyond that it is all about the ability to shoot cannons at invaders.  

Portal to Castle

It wasn't always just about the cannons... for many years the castle housed nobility.  But eventually it was turned into a citadel for protecting the bay and the city.  Like everything in life the castle evolved.  

Castello Maniace gun ports

 Italy has no shortage of beautiful cathedrals and Siracusa is no exception.  Duomo di Siracusa was at one time the site of the Temple of Athena.  When the present cathedral was built in the 7th century the doric columns from the Temple of Athena were used both inside and outside the church.  The history goes so far back at this site that it is pre-historic.  It was discovered that even the very ancient Temple of Athena was not the first structure here, as determined by excavations nearby.

 

Siracusa Cathedral

The entire city of Siracusa (and Ortiga Island) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due not only to its monuments but also its cultural significance.  "Ideas, literary works and events of outstanding universal significance" coming out of Siracusa are what the nominating committee cite as reasons for the citys inclusion as a UNESCO site.  No doubt one person was the source of many of those "ideas" of universal significance - Archimedes.

Siracusa Cathedral

 

 

 

Piazza

Just a beautiful city and well worth any visit to Sicily.  Before we left we went in a few shops to buy a gift for a very close Sicilian friend from home.  The fellow in the shop was Moroccan.  We talked for a bit, bought a gift and left.  As we were walking down the sidewalk he came out of his shop and chased us down the sidewalk.  He wanted to give us a small gift - just because.  So ... he gave us a postcard of Siracusa which we gratefully accepted.  So nice to want to give a gift to a complete stranger.  We have started to look at houses in Italy😉. 
 

Mt. Etna

Mt. Etna Crater

There are three active volcanoes in Italy, Mt. Etna is the largest.  Etna covers are area of 459 square miles and is 3,357 meters high.  Although its height varies with the eruptions.  In 2021, Etna increased in height by 30 meters over a six month period due to the volcanic material added with the eruptions.  There are several craters at the summit and down lower as well.  In addition, there are "lateral" craters that pose an even greater risk as the lava flow is more likely to reach inhabited areas.  Sicilians call Etna "Madre (Mother) because she is generous in providing for them, yet also is strict and punishes them from time to time - much like a mother.

A smaller crater

 The volcanic soil is rich in minerals making the area around Etna an important agricultural region.  Orchards and vineyards abound.  So... Etna gives them food but can also destroy the area with lava.  Given enough time without lava flow the soil will begin to support plants naturally.  You can see at the top of the photo an area that is becoming forested.  You can also see the red hue from the significant amount of iron in the soil.

Blustery day on Etna

 It is pretty cold at that altitude and on the day we visited it was very windy, which added to the cold.  They have cable cars that will not take you all the way to the summit but will take you high enough to see the summit craters.  We declined and later talked to two Spanish fellows who wished they had declined!  The cable car ride in the wind was quite an adventure and then when they reached about 2500 meters the wind was so strong they could not even stand still to take photos.  

Walking in to a lateral crater

Our bravery extended to walking around the rim of this very large lateral crater and even then we thought we might be blown off the mountain!  There is snow at the summit even though it is nearly May, in the winter they actually ski on the volcano.  Did I mention, its cold up there!  

 

House collapsed from the eruption (near the stone barrier)

The good folks from Catania and the surrounding area live in the shadow of Etna.  In the not too distant past people actually built houses and lived in the area at the lower reaches of the volcano.  You cannot see this house very well but it once was a two story house until it was overrun by lava.  The people who lived there escaped in time but the house collapsed.  It is forbidden to build close to the volcano now.  That being said when Etna erupts she can send ash and rock all the way to Catania.  And that is why they say when they wake up in the morning they look to see what kind of mood Etna is in on that day.  Always in the shadow.

Lava flow areas

There is a path that goes all the way around the volcano.  You can ride your bike or hike around it.  They have cabins along the way that you can sleep in as it will take more than a day to hike around Etna.  The different sides of the volcano are completely different depending on how the lava has flowed.  Its either all black lava rock or the beginnings of vegetation or reforestation.  Always something new to see.

Enoteca dell'Etna

 Following the trip to Etna we stopped in a little town called Ragalna.  With Etna in the background of the Enoteca dell'Etna winery, we spent the rest of the afternoon tasting wine, olive pate, pepper jelly, various amazing olive oils, pistachio cream and various liqueurs.  Michael and I left the winery with some amazing goodies for ourselves and all the great cooks in our family.  A perfect day!  Our next stop will be Siracusa, Sicily and the island off of Siracusa called Ortiga Island.  Just a nice day sail from Catania.