A Month in Bella Italia

[Flutterby]

Looks like an out of the world place in the middle of the green Must have been nice clean air after Rome

I love figs, especially if eaten with raw ham

Typical big Italian family table

Cute kitties

We absolutely loved it there Lis.

Reminds me a bit of the SA countryside atmosphere somehow?

Looks lovely. Quite a bit of booze there...

Did you learn how to make a rice ball, Flutts?

Who is the godfather?

There is no godfather!! We make rice balls quite often...and nicer than most that we had there.

The view from the house is lovely and the figs do look yummy

Thanks Flutterby

The wine cellar is brilliant

Thanks Pumbaa.

[Flutterby]

On our second day in Sicily we went to the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples). In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the Greeks began a large colonization drive and Greek colonies were established in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. The Romans called this area of Italy Magna Graecia ("Greater Greece"), since it was so densely inhabited by Greeks.

The Valle dei Templi is an archaeological site outside the town of Agrigento, and is one of the most outstanding examples of Magna Graecia art and architecture. The area was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1997. Much of the excavation and restoration of the temples was due to the efforts of the Sicilian archaeologist, Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1783–1863). The Archaeological and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples is the largest archaeological site in the world with 1,300 hectares! The Valley includes the remains of seven temples, all in Doric style, but we only went to the area where there are 2 temples.

An ancient olive tree!



The Temple of Juno Lacinia was built around 450 BC. The building was burnt in 406 BC by the Carthaginians and restored in Roman times. There are six columns on the short sides and thirteen on the long sides. The temple's floor plan is around 38.15m long by 16.90m wide. The northern colonnade with the architrave and part of the frieze is completely preserved, while the colonnades on the other three sides are only partly surviving, with four columns missing and nine severely damaged.



The preserved northern colonnade.



The Mediterranean in the background.



A view of Agrigento from the temple.



The Temple of Concordia in the distance, where we still had to walk!



There were lots on interesting ruins along the way.



Nearby are arcosolia from Byzantine times, belonging to the late 6th century AD renovation of the Temple of Concordia into a Christian church.
An arcosolium is an arched recess used as a place of burial.



There were prickly pears everywhere!



Due to its good state of preservation, the Temple of Concordia is ranked amongst the most notable edifices of the Greek civilization existing today. It has 6 x 13 Doric columns built over a basement of 39.44m x 16.91m. The temple was turned into a church in the 6th century AD.



The tympani are also perfectly preserved. A tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window.



The Temple of Juno seen from the other side, with a storm brewing.

[Lisbeth]

Another long walk
The Temple of Concordia is better kept than the Parthenon in Athens; much smaller though.

The Parthenon

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Agrigento looks ugly. The Italians with all their good taste for fashion and arts, build the most horrible, cheap looking houses (most likely because they are cheap ) which look as if they will fall to pieces any time soon

[Flutterby]

I agree...we didn't like Agrigento very much!

[Richprins]

Very interesting, Flutts!

Prickly pears are invaders too there, aren't they?

More food?

[Lisbeth]

I don't think so

[Pumbaa]

Love the temples - Very impressive

Flutterby

[Flutterby]

Very interesting, Flutts!

Prickly pears are invaders too there, aren't they?

More food?

Actually, I think you're right about the prickly pears. As far as I know they originally came from Mexico or somewhere around there.

Love the temples - Very impressive

Flutterby

Yes, quite amazing to see.

[Flutterby]

The next morning we up at the crack of dawn as we had to drop the one cousin and his girlfriend at Catania Airport, which is about 2 hours away from the village. They are both English teachers just outside of Rome and were heading back after the summer holidays.

Sunrise from the house.



On the way to Catania we drove past Mount Etna. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is in an almost constant state of activity. It erupted 2 days after we left!! It's on the east coast of Sicily, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It is the highest active volcano in Europe outside the Caucasus, and is the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. It covers an area of 1,190 km2 which makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.



After dropping cousin Max at the airport we headed to Noto. Noto is a city and comune in the Province of Syracuse. In 2002 Noto and its church were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its fine buildings of the early 18th century, and is known as the capital of Sicilian Baroque architecture.

The main road in Noto.



The church of San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata was built between 1704 and 1745. It is considered one of the most important religious buildings in Noto together with the adjoining convent of the Friars Minor.



This was the first church we'd seen in Italy that was painted white inside.



Whilst we were in the church it started to pour with rain so we took a pew and waited it out.

A view from the church entrance.



When the rain had subsided a little we made a dash for it to continue exploring. The Sicilian cart is an ornate, colorful horse or donkey-drawn cart native to the island of Sicily. The carts were introduced to the island by the ancient Greeks.



Noto Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the style of the Sicilian Baroque. It's contruction began in the early 18th century and was completed in 1776. In 1996, a large part of the cathedral collapsed including the dome and the entire roof and vault of the nave. This was as a result of structural weakening caused by an earthquake in 1990. It has since been rebuilt, and was reopened in 2007.



The interior is now simply painted white, as the 18th century interior decoration was destroyed in the collapse.



Whilst walking through the town we unexpectedly came upon an art exhibition...the Brat was ecstatic!! Picasso and Kahlo are two of his favourite artists!! I won't bore you with the 100s of pics we took inside, but it was a very enjoyable interlude.



After Noto we tried to visit Syracuse but it was so busy, there was not one parking place to be found so we headed back to the village.

[Lisbeth]

Surprising that there is an exposition of Picasso in a place like Noto

Frida Kahlo has painted some lovely stuff


The church looks nice all white inside

In Sicily I have only been to Catania, Messina, Taormina and the Eoli Islands. Both Taormina and the Islands was a great experience