Around Etna to Catania (27/9)

We packed our bags and headed off to Catania, our last Sicilian city.

Our first (almost) view of Etna - lucky clear day.

We virtually circumnavigated Mt Etna to get to Catania. It was certainly the long way around, and we were lucky because the mountain had very little cloud on its summit. The first part of the trip was quite fast but once we were on the western side of the mountain the roads narrowed. The vegetation changed as well, especially in the areas which had experienced "recent" lava flows. All that seemed to grow here were prickly pear, which is a fruit crop here in Sicily, and pistachio trees, definitely a crop for Sicilians. As our route turned east towards the coast, there was an abrupt change in the landscape again. It was quite green, with areas of low forest interspersed with farm land. The topography did get steeper though. There was also a distinct change in geology - one side of the road was limestone hills, the other lava flows. 

So many Sicilian towns are perched like this.
We think it is upper Ragusa

We took a wrong turn at one stage and really ended up on back roads, but it brought us to the town of Randazzo. We only drove through it, not stopping, and found out later that it is a city of two parts, new and old, and that the medieval city is contained within its city walls. Geographically it is in a very strategic location, being at the node of the trade routes between Catania, Messina, Enna and Palermo. It has been settled by all the nationalities we have come to expect, and at one stage it was divided into three sections along ethnic lines, the Greek quarter, the Latin quarter and the Lombard quarter. Each section had its own cathedral and subsidiary churches, and all up, at one stage the town had 110 churches!!!!! It really is NOT a large city. It must have been a case of we have more than you. 

Looking up the coast to Taormina

Anyway we reached a point where we needed to head south towards Catania, but we had time up our sleeves, so we decided to go north to Taormina, and investigate that town. This was easier said than done. It is a real tourist resort, and the traffic and number of people reflected this. We wanted to get to some more spectacular Greek ruins, but misread the sat nav and ended up near the top of a hill we didn't want to be on. We decided that Catania looked a good option, so took the slow route south along the coast. The Mediterranean Sea was as blue as in the photos, but you are hard-pressed to find a beach. We finally had to pick up fuel as the gauge beeped at us, but also because the car had to be returned with a full tank. This was the only time we had to buy fuel, so we almost manage our twelve days on one tank.

We set the sat nav to find our B&B for the last two nights in Sicily. After missing a couple of turns which meant more circles in the car, we found a car park near the B&B and walked the last couple of metres to introduce ourselves. It was up two flights of stairs in what was probably originally an upmarket Baroque townhouse when it was built around 1700. Catania was another city wiped out and rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. Our hosts both spoke English which made life a little easier. Having received the keys to our room, we brought the bags up, then set off to the airport to drop the car off. Oh it was a relief to leave it behind. I don't think either of us realised how stressful it was driving in Sicily, but we had no option, and would not have done it any other way. We signed on the dotted line, then walked away leaving them to deal with the scratches. At least we left it without any dents in the body work. We then caught the bus back into Catania. 

Castle Ursino

We were lucky in that our room actually overlooks the road that leads down to the cathedral, so we had a great landmark to navigate home by. We found out that the castle was open until 7.00pm tonight but not open tomorrow, so headed off to take a look. It is one of the few medieval buildings left in Catania, and that is because it has survived both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It was built in 1239-50 on the coast, but became landlocked after a lava flow surged around its walls. It became a home, a prison, was left to rot, then restored in the 20th century to become a museum. The restoration work has been done very well, leaving much of the original internal structure intact. The museum contains artefacts from every phase of Catania's history and more religious paintings. Jill is quite intrigued with the way that some of the museums show their paintings. Many of them are in non-airconditioned environments. They experience the daily changes in the weather because the galleries have the windows flung open to let the breezes blow through to cool the rooms down. If the paintings were still in the churches that they were intended for they would be experiencing the extremes anyway. 

Style or one-upmanship?

It was back to our room for a bit to freshen up before heading out to find dinner. There were lots of people around, and the square was obviously the place to have your wedding photos taken. There were four brides in various parts of the square, having arrived in an assortment of limousines, when they were trumped by an apparition that left you with your mouth open. Pulled by two black horses (surely they should have been white?) with white plumes attached to their harnesses, was a coach that was lit up like a pumpkin-shaped christmas tree. It was a white open carriage with large LED-lit hearts forming the superstructure. People flocked to take a photo of it, and even some of the Sicilians were shaking their heads at its tackiness. Amazing! 

We left them to it, and found a restaurant specialising in fish. I decided to go the whole hog and select the (dead) fish, sea bream, that was then baked in a salt crust and served with grilled vegetables. If I had it again I would order salad instead, but the fish was beautifully moist. I had stuffed sardines as an entree, a very fish- oriented meal seeing as how we are in a coastal city and cooking fish is a Sicilian specialty. Allan had melon and prosciutto, and spaghetti marinara baked in foil, which was also very good. The house wine was better than the last few we had had. We followed this up with lemon sorbet, and waddled back to our room.