Sicily, Italy

Giardini Naxos Sicily

In 403 BC the settlement of Naxos, on the coast, was defeated by Dionysius, the ruler of Siracusa. He banished the inhabitants to a plateau on Monte Tauro, 200M above sea level, which became the current Taormina. The town has become a favourite tourist destination of tours and cruises.

Tom and Betty Morris were at the bus stop in the morning the same time as we were. They were off to Siracusa, we were going to Taormina for the day. Tom suggested we include a visit to Castelmola, a village above the town of Taormina, for the view.

The bus ride up the mountain to Taormina was doubly worth the trip; for the views of the coast below us and for not having to maneuver the narrow switchbacks in our own car. Add to that the parking difficulties in Taormina and it is far better to leave the car at home and take the funicular or the bus.

To our surprise the bus to Tormina was the one headed to Messina. Messina visitors got the extra treat of the ride up the mountain to Taormina and back down to the coastal road before heading farther north.

You go to Castlemola mainly for the views of Etna and we had been warned that Etna typically clouded over in the afternoon, so we decided to go directly to Castlemola and return to Taormina afterwards. We got off at the main bus stop at the southern end of Taormina and had to wait just 15 minutes for the bus to Castlemola. Castlemola takes its name from a medieval castle that is in bad repair and not open to the public. All that remains is a portion of the 16th Century wall with an archway entry.

We did get the views of Etna. The volcanic peak continued clear and photogenic for our short visit. We wandered the steep, narrow streets, looking in the windows of the many tiny shops and finding even better photo opportunities around each corner.

The return bus ride to Taormina had us worried at first. We were on a different route than the uphill climb to Castlemola and it seemed to be bringing us right down to the coast. Fortunately we were wrong and the first stop was right at Porta Messina, one of the old city gates to Taormina. This was also the first stop for all bus tours and for cruise ships in the Giardini Naxos Port. There were more people thronged in the narrow streets than we had seen the entire trip. We took a well deserved Gelato break and just took our time.The 17th C Chiesa di San Pancrazio was near a second entrance to the city, Porta Catania. The church was built over ruins of a temple dedicated to Zeus Serapis. We peered down into an excavation of part of the temple in a roped off section in the church.

A baroque fountain topped by a female centaur, stands in Piazza Duomo, where the 13thC Basilica Duomo is located. I was fascinated with a small white sculpture, installed in a window of the church, of people climbing a pole. A kind tour guide explained that it was created in honour of the “Great Jubilee” of 2000, held between 25 and 50 years, as determined by the current pope, as a year of remission or universal pardon. Devout Catholics are required to make a pilgrimage to the Basilicas. At the beginning of this year the doors of four great Basilicas in Rome are opened and then closed at the end of the year. We saw the special door at St Peter’s Basilica, as part of our Vatican tour. From that explanation, I determined that the small figures on the pole sculpture are making their way to heaven, having being pardoned for their sins.

Jubilee sculpture in Duomo window

Ancient Theatre still in use

The streets past the Duomo as most tour groups don’t make it into the streets past that point. We had a small lunch in nice restaurant in Taormina and set off again to visit the Public gardens, a cool and peaceful place. The gardens were once privately owned by a Lady Trevelyan who amused herself building several unusual buildings on the site. She named one of the buildings the Beehive for its several stories of open rooms each fronted by an archway. She used the Beehive for bird watching.

Our last visit was to the Theatre. Built first by the Greeks and later adapted by the Romans for their games that included gladiators fighting wild animals. It is now used for concerts and film festivals but the alterations to accommodate concerts bothered Ray. He thought the authenticity of the ancient theatre was compromised by the addition of metal bleachers on the floor, wooden board seats on the upper tier, plus allowing grass to grow between the rows of original stone seating in the middle section. In my mind it was still impressive and gave a great view of the surrounding hills.

We took the first bus back to town after the usual driver’s long lunch break. It had been a good day and we capped it off with an excellent dinner in a small restaurant across the street from our room.

Lazy Day Back in Giardini Naxos

Wednessday 16 Oct 2013

Giardini Naxos Sicily

View of Taormina from the harbour

The first Greek colonists to Italy made Naxos their home in 735 BC. Now it is the summer home for thousands of visitors enjoying the long sandy beaches. We were staying in the newer part of town in one of many four or five story apartment complexes, some of which were condos, others were strictly rentals. Ours was about 100 meters down the road from a public beach that was partly pebbles, partly sand. It was strictly bring your own beach towel and/or chair but the water looked too inviting to resist. Besides, I couldn’t go home from a Mediterranean visit without at least having one swim.

That morning we had gone for a long walk along the beach promenade almost as far as the train station and then back through one of the two streets that paralleled the promenade, stopping to buy picnic lunch makings at a local grocery. It was still sunny and warm out; perfect for a swim. We dropped our lunch supplies in our room and changed for the beach. We found a good place at one end of the beach where a natural black lava outcrop created a protected swimming area and went in to test the waters. There were very few people on the beach, unlike the summer time, when families come to enjoy the sea. The water felt a bit chilly at first but was perfect temperature for swimming. The waters were clear enough to see the small rocks at the bottom and the waves were non-threatening. We both had a good swim, enjoying the extra buoyancy of the salty Med.

The afternoon was perfect for reading, catching up on blogs and doing nothing. Late in the afternoon we walked to the Hilton to find Pat and Bruce had returned from their tour of Siracusa. They were as impressed as we were with the old town of Ortigia and the Archaeological Park. Their tour group had arranged to have dinner in the hotel that night and we were invited to join them. We sat with two couples from New Jersey and had a good time chatting about our experiences.