Ruins to Islands
Hi Everyone-
I just wanted to give those who are interested an update on my travels, as I hit the three week mark today. I'm currently in Trapani, where I'm getting my first taste of Italian rain (which, unfortunately, makes it quite challenging to do a job that consists largely of writing things down on a pad of paper outdoors). I'm staying in Trapani for four nights (tonight is my last), as I do a number of day trips to surrounding towns and islands.
Over the past week and a half I have seen a number of truly amazing sights. Sicily never ceases to impress me-- this tiny island is absolutely packed with Greek temples, Roman theatres, and Medieval castles, not to mention the ubiquitous Sicilian Baroque style that is found in the historic centers of all the cities.
(more after the jump)
Last week in Piazza Armerina, I was able to see the mosaics at the town's famed Roman Villa. They were preserved under a mudslide for many hundreds of years, and then excavated earlier in the 20th century. For something that was thought to have been built in the 4th century, these mosaics are remarkably intact. The viewing experience, however, is somewhat unusual-- the villa's original roof is long gone, and little remains of the walls, so a greenhouse-like glass ceiling and walls were constructed to prevent further damage to the mosaiced floor. Then, you walk through the expansive site on a series of raised metal walkways, allowing full viewing of the floors below. Despite the somewhat unorthodox setup, the sights are well worth it. Each room paints a different vivid picture with its floors-- some telling of famous hunts and battles, others of exotic locales, and many others devoted to important mythological figures. Some of the mosaics are extremely iconic: if you saw a picture of the Sala delle Dieci Ragazze (the Room of Ten Girls-- portraying ten bikini-clad women), it would immediately look familiar, as the image has been widely reproduced and parodied elsewhere.
Right after I left Piazza Armerina I was treated to what are probably the most impressive ruins I have seen as of yet-- a site called the Valley of the Temples in the southern town of Agrigento. The valley contains six ancient Greek temples, some now merely ruins, and others almost completely intact, all ranging from 6th to 4th Century BC. They are open to the public (for a fee of course), and you can walk among the ruins, actually touching the columns of some of the less intact temples, and still getting quite close to those in better condition. It is hard to describe the euphoria in seeing such impressive buildings so close-up. I visited twice, once during the day, and then (at the recommendation of a friend) again at night, when the temples are backlit, creating a truly stunning image. My archeological knowledge is extremely lacking, so forgive me for the lack of a more accurate explanation, but these temples look just like the Parthenon-- large, imposing, picture-perfect Doric buildings-- extremely memorable, and certainly one of the highlights of my trip so far.
This past week, however, has been less oriented around the ancient world. I have been in Trapani, a large port town on the western tip of Sicily. I have been exploring an archipelago called the Egadi Islands-- three beautiful islands just off the coast of Sicily, an easy ferry/hydrofoil ride away. Both Trapani and the islands are closer to Africa than to mainland Italy-- if I wanted to I could hop on a boat to Tunisia and be there in mere hours. The Northern African influence is well represented in both the cuisine and culture of the area. On every menu in Trapani, you'll find "cuscus con pesce", a delicious spicy fish and couscous dish that is unique to this part of Sicily. Additionally, many of the signs, particularly those near the dock, are written in both Italian and Arabic-- this certainly adds an interesting, exotic dimension to an area that is already so culturally rich.
Overall I have been getting more used to traveling alone. I have been mostly just staying in hotels (the areas I have been haven't had any hostels), but I'm still managing to meet people. Sometimes my Italian is good enough to strike up a conversation with a local, but usually I seem to find people who speak English. A couple of days ago I actually met someone from Harvard-- he graduated when I was a freshman, but he recognized me from around campus (crazy!) and introduced himself. It has been nice to meet such an interesting variety of people here in Sicily, although I've also been emailing and phoning friends from home quite frequently. It has been nice to have more time to keep in touch than I did during the hectic school year.
Tomorrow night I will be heading to the chic resort island of Pantelleria (Sting and Giorgio Armani both have summer homes there), where I will be spending two extremely pricy nights (unfortunately Let's Go doesn't give me a bigger stipend for the more expensive parts of the trip... I just have to cut costs elsewhere to make sure I don't go broke). After that I will be going to Sicily's capital, Palermo, for the better part of a week before exploring the islands off the Northern coast. I have plenty of my itinerary still ahead of me, but it is reassuring nonetheless to see that I am making progress-- I'm about 40% finished by now!
I hope everyone else's summers are also going well. Keep sending me emails.... I've really enjoyed keeping in contact with everyone while I'm on the road. If you sent me an email last week and didn't get a response, tell me-- I've been hearing that some of my emails haven't been coming through... I think webmail doesn't work as well when it has to cross such a long distance or something. Anyway, I want to hear how your summer is going, so if you have the time to drop me a quick email, I'd love to hear from you.
I just wanted to give those who are interested an update on my travels, as I hit the three week mark today. I'm currently in Trapani, where I'm getting my first taste of Italian rain (which, unfortunately, makes it quite challenging to do a job that consists largely of writing things down on a pad of paper outdoors). I'm staying in Trapani for four nights (tonight is my last), as I do a number of day trips to surrounding towns and islands.
Over the past week and a half I have seen a number of truly amazing sights. Sicily never ceases to impress me-- this tiny island is absolutely packed with Greek temples, Roman theatres, and Medieval castles, not to mention the ubiquitous Sicilian Baroque style that is found in the historic centers of all the cities.
(more after the jump)
Last week in Piazza Armerina, I was able to see the mosaics at the town's famed Roman Villa. They were preserved under a mudslide for many hundreds of years, and then excavated earlier in the 20th century. For something that was thought to have been built in the 4th century, these mosaics are remarkably intact. The viewing experience, however, is somewhat unusual-- the villa's original roof is long gone, and little remains of the walls, so a greenhouse-like glass ceiling and walls were constructed to prevent further damage to the mosaiced floor. Then, you walk through the expansive site on a series of raised metal walkways, allowing full viewing of the floors below. Despite the somewhat unorthodox setup, the sights are well worth it. Each room paints a different vivid picture with its floors-- some telling of famous hunts and battles, others of exotic locales, and many others devoted to important mythological figures. Some of the mosaics are extremely iconic: if you saw a picture of the Sala delle Dieci Ragazze (the Room of Ten Girls-- portraying ten bikini-clad women), it would immediately look familiar, as the image has been widely reproduced and parodied elsewhere.
Right after I left Piazza Armerina I was treated to what are probably the most impressive ruins I have seen as of yet-- a site called the Valley of the Temples in the southern town of Agrigento. The valley contains six ancient Greek temples, some now merely ruins, and others almost completely intact, all ranging from 6th to 4th Century BC. They are open to the public (for a fee of course), and you can walk among the ruins, actually touching the columns of some of the less intact temples, and still getting quite close to those in better condition. It is hard to describe the euphoria in seeing such impressive buildings so close-up. I visited twice, once during the day, and then (at the recommendation of a friend) again at night, when the temples are backlit, creating a truly stunning image. My archeological knowledge is extremely lacking, so forgive me for the lack of a more accurate explanation, but these temples look just like the Parthenon-- large, imposing, picture-perfect Doric buildings-- extremely memorable, and certainly one of the highlights of my trip so far.
This past week, however, has been less oriented around the ancient world. I have been in Trapani, a large port town on the western tip of Sicily. I have been exploring an archipelago called the Egadi Islands-- three beautiful islands just off the coast of Sicily, an easy ferry/hydrofoil ride away. Both Trapani and the islands are closer to Africa than to mainland Italy-- if I wanted to I could hop on a boat to Tunisia and be there in mere hours. The Northern African influence is well represented in both the cuisine and culture of the area. On every menu in Trapani, you'll find "cuscus con pesce", a delicious spicy fish and couscous dish that is unique to this part of Sicily. Additionally, many of the signs, particularly those near the dock, are written in both Italian and Arabic-- this certainly adds an interesting, exotic dimension to an area that is already so culturally rich.
Overall I have been getting more used to traveling alone. I have been mostly just staying in hotels (the areas I have been haven't had any hostels), but I'm still managing to meet people. Sometimes my Italian is good enough to strike up a conversation with a local, but usually I seem to find people who speak English. A couple of days ago I actually met someone from Harvard-- he graduated when I was a freshman, but he recognized me from around campus (crazy!) and introduced himself. It has been nice to meet such an interesting variety of people here in Sicily, although I've also been emailing and phoning friends from home quite frequently. It has been nice to have more time to keep in touch than I did during the hectic school year.
Tomorrow night I will be heading to the chic resort island of Pantelleria (Sting and Giorgio Armani both have summer homes there), where I will be spending two extremely pricy nights (unfortunately Let's Go doesn't give me a bigger stipend for the more expensive parts of the trip... I just have to cut costs elsewhere to make sure I don't go broke). After that I will be going to Sicily's capital, Palermo, for the better part of a week before exploring the islands off the Northern coast. I have plenty of my itinerary still ahead of me, but it is reassuring nonetheless to see that I am making progress-- I'm about 40% finished by now!
I hope everyone else's summers are also going well. Keep sending me emails.... I've really enjoyed keeping in contact with everyone while I'm on the road. If you sent me an email last week and didn't get a response, tell me-- I've been hearing that some of my emails haven't been coming through... I think webmail doesn't work as well when it has to cross such a long distance or something. Anyway, I want to hear how your summer is going, so if you have the time to drop me a quick email, I'd love to hear from you.
posted by Andrew S. at
3:53 PM
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