Friday, November 29, 2024

9/24/24: Santo Stefano di Camastra and Santuario di Tindari

 

Earlier in the day, Steven and I had spent a long time - way too long in hindsight - exploring part of the Fiumara d'Arte sculpture park, which was spread over hell's half-acre south of Castel di Tusa. Unfortunately, that meant we didn't have time to wander through the beautiful inland town of Mistretta, located near Parco Regionale dei Nebrodi, as we'd have liked.


The town was known for its noble palaces, churches, fountains, and archways due to its long history as Mistretta has been inhabited since paleolithic times and was founded by the indigenous Sicians, the island's first residents. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the ruins of the Arab-Norman Mistretta Castle perched high above the town. The castle had been connected to the walled perimeter that encircled the town.


As it was located at over 3,000 feet above sea level, there would have been spectacular views out to the coast and the nearby mountains' highest peaks. But we missed seeing those because we were playing catch-up time-wise. 


We understood why Parco dei Nebrodi is billed as one of Sicily's most stunning national parks because of its stunning mountain landscapes, lakes, and vibrant evergreen forests. 


We made our way back to Sicily's northern coast and drove east toward Santo Stefano di Camastra, a seaside town as well known for its beaches as its ceramics. Since the art of ceramics has been practiced since Roman times, the town was chock-a-block full of ceramics studios and factories. On the town's main street, virtually every shop had outdoor displays of artisans' tiles, mosaics, plates, and sculptures!




I had great fun traipsing in and out of the shops looking for irresistible treasures, Steven not so much!




After seeing hundreds of ceramic pine cones by this point in our trip, we looked up their meaning. According to an ancient Sicilian folk tradition, a ceramic pine cone cannot be missing in a house as it signifies health, good luck, and prosperity. Since Sicily is known for its ceramics, you can guess we saw thousands more of them before we left the island. And yes, we did bring a small, red one home with us!




One of the oldest ceramics factories in Sicily was Antica Fabrica di Ceramica La Giare, which sells everything from souvenirs to more substantial pieces of art and is still run by the same family who originally founded the factory. Steven and I had hoped to visit their large showroom, which had every possible form of Sicilian ceramics, from basic terra cotta to intricate hand-painted Baroque designs. Alas, the factory was closed.


A short distance away was Ceramiche d'arte Antonino Piscitello Maioliche Santo Stefano, a family business that has been around since 1683. 


The Chiesa Santo Nicolo' di Bari was a 17th-century church on one of the town's main plazas. I popped in there while Steven waited at an outdoor restaurant a few steps away for our mid-afternoon lunch to arrive. After waiting and waiting, it never came, so we left.



Across the street was the attractive Societa Operaia, a historical society.



We walked over instead to the Museo Civico delle Ceramiche to learn about the ancient art of ceramics that has been practiced in Santo Stefano di Camastra since the Greeks colonized Sicily. The museum was located in the Palazzo Trabia, an aristocratic palace that the local government took possession of and converted to house extensive ceramics exhibitions. 


However, after paying the admission, we realized time was again getting away from us, and we left without being able to appreciate its fantastic collection.


On the way to Patti, a port of call for religious pilgrims since the Middle Ages, we drove through the picturesque community of Zappardino, nestled on the coast. 



The proverbial IF we'd had more time, we would have liked to tour Patti, whose sandy beaches and natural lakes have enticed tourists since Roman times. The German writer Goethe was a guest of Patti's religious brothers on his famous 18th-century tour of Italy. A spot that sounded of interest was La Villa Romana, which was accidentally unearthed in the early 1980s during construction on the nearby Autostrada. The archaeological site recovered a complete Roman aristocratic home, including mosaic-tiled floors, walls, and doors.


We only had time to tour the Sanctuario di Tindari, an important place for religious pilgrims since the Middle Ages, after a mysterious statue of a dark-skinned Madonna was recovered from a nearby beached ship and declared to be a miraculous image by locals. 


Religious visitors still visit Tindari and Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass there in the 1980s. The modern cathedral was built around the original tiny medieval church. 






We'd read that we could access the old church from a side gate near the altar, but we couldn't find it. Even though that was disappointing, we still admired the cathedral's stained-glass windows, impressive organ, and mosaic art.




The night before, we'd 'closed down' the cathedral in Cefalu. This time, we were the last visitors to tour the Santuario!



As Tindari was located high up in the mountains, there were gorgeous views along the coast from there.


On a side road from the church and past a slew of tourist shops was an archaeological area that included an ancient Roman theater and a handful of ruins of bathhouses and villas that once accommodated Roman visitors. 


About an hour later, Steven and I sat down to a jug of wine and dinner in a delightful trattoria in the bustling ferry port city of Milazzo, our home away from home for the next two nights. After the long day we'd had after leaving Cefalu and no lunch, we were so happy to sit, drink, and eat at last!



Next post: A scenic drive around the Capo di Milazzo before hopping on a ferry to the Aeolian Island of Lipari.

Posted on November 29th, 2024, from our home in Denver's foothills, the day after a fun Thanksgiving spent with family and friends. As always, I hope you will take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

9/24/24: Castel di Tusa's Fiumara d'Arte Sculpture Park


The night before, Steven and I arrived at our apartment in the dark in the hills far above Cefalu on Sicily's northern coast, so we couldn't see a thing. These were the lovely views that greeted us from our large deck the next morning!



Hint: If you're ever lucky enough to travel to Sicily, I highly recommend you give yourself a couple of days to tour the medieval town of Cefalu, nestled between the coast and the mountains. Having just four or so hours there as we did was not nearly enough.


We then headed east on the coastal road instead of the autostrada along the Tyrrhenian Coast toward the seaside town of Castel di Tusa.


Though the town's beaches are regularly praised as the best in Sicily, we didn't have the time to enjoy them except for this panoramic view.  


The town's Castello San Giorgio was constructed in the first half of the 14th century.



Another view of the immense autostrada:


When Steven and I read about the Fiumare d'Arte, an outdoor sculpture park that was listed under Castel di Tusa, it sounded just like our cup of tea. We didn't realize, however, that the sculpture park, one of Europe’s largest, was spread over a mammoth area. The history of Fiumara d’arte began in 1982 when patron Antonio Presti donated an enormous concrete sculpture that was placed in 1986 in the Nebrodi Mountains. After it was announced that an open-air museum would be created in the same location by other important sculptors, there were 25 years of legal battles. In 2007, Fiumara d’Arte was finally granted the right to protect and preserve twelve works of art pieces.

We started at one of Fiumara’s most famous and impressive works, 38° Parallelo-Piramide, created by Mauro Staccioli in 2010. The sculpture is a 38-meter-high pyramid with a split that is lit during sunset. We read that it is possible to enter the pyramid through a dark iron tube that leads to the sculpture's illuminated cavity during the Ritual of Light, which takes place a few times during the year.


The bronze pyramid was placed directly on the 38th parallel of latitude. 


Views from the pyramid over the Nebrodi Mountains, Cefalu, and the Tyrrhenian Sea:




It was then on through the mountains to view Energia Mediterranea, created by Antonio di Palma in 1989.




The sculpture was described as "a blue wave that ideally binds the mountain to the sea, a wriggle of Mediterranean energy in wild nature. The blue concrete was swollen by the wind, a solid sign of water on the mountain." Got that?! We began to wonder whether the trek and schlep to see more of the Fiumara d'Arte sculptures was worth it.


After a pretty hellish drive on some narrow roads through the Nebrodi Mountains, we reached Motta 'Affermo, another hilltop town.
                    



Far below was the town of Pettineo.


On the outskirts of Pettineo was Una curva gettata alle spalle del tempo, or A curve thrown behind time, sculpted in 1990 by Paolo Schiavocampo on a bend that connected the new main road to an old country road. The concrete piece in the shape of a sail moved by the wind was covered with iron and intended to represent the past and present.



Across from the sculpture was the old country road and what looked like an imitation of Stonehenge. We could hear cattle bells in the hills around us but didn't spot any this time, unlike the previous morning in Collessano.


Located just a stone’s throw from the village of Castel di Lucio, on a hilltop between the Nebrodi and Madonie mountain ranges, was the Labirinto di Arianna, a red spiral labyrinth created in 1990 by Italo Lanfredini. 




The sculpture was described as representing the search for purity toward a path of meditation. 


Steven waited while I entered the labyrinth and walked a fair bit through the maze until I found it too muddy to continue safely. If I had reached the center of the labyrinth, I would have found an olive tree, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.


We found the approach to the labyrinth the approach a surprising location for wedding photos.


We took a few minutes to wander through the narrow streets of nearby Castel di Lucio




I did say narrow, remember!



We made time for one more of the Fiumara d'Arte works of art. Arethusa, created in 1990 by painters Pietro Dorazio and Graziano Marini, was a graphic image on the facade of the town’s police barracks.


As we'd spent far longer than planned traipsing around to explore the Fiumara d'Arte, we didn't have time to explore Mistretta's castle that hugged the mountain at the top of the town. 


Even though modern art is generally not our 'thing,' Steven and I enjoyed viewing the various sculptures. However, I think what attracted us more was the opportunity to see a great deal of that stretch of the Sicilian countryside that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. But, since we hadn't anticipated the few works we did see being so far apart, we again ran into a time crunch later that day.

Next post: Exploring the ceramics-filled town of Santo Stefano di Camastra and the Sanctuario di Tindar later that day.

Posted on November 26th, 2024, from back home in Denver after quick trips to Chicago, Ottawa, and Toronto the last ten days. It's great to catch our breath for a bit before we escape to the Caribbean in ten days' time. For all of you celebrating the American Thanksgiving holiday later this week, I hope you will have a special time with loved ones.