Spring Break Adventures in Sicilia

Hello everyone! I am finally able to use the internet in our house, as it has been very tempremental for about a week now! I have to hurry and finish this before a cloud sweeps across Mt. Etna and ruins my connection!!

Phil and I have been on Spring Break since last Friday, and rather than jump on another plane and head off somewhere exciting, we decided that we hadn't spent enough time traveling around the beautiful island of Sicily. We began on Tuesday morning by driving down to the southwest corner of the island where the ancient city of Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples lies overlooking the coastline. We didn't go into Agrigento, because our real interest was with the ruins in the valley. The ruins are Roman in origin, with the oldest having been constructed in the 3rd century B.C.!! It felt really strange to be climbing and exploring over things with so much history and age. The temple that is in the best condition is the Temple of the Concord, which owes its well preserved state to the fact that it was transformed into a Christian basilica in the 6th century. Other ruins include those of a Early Christian necropolis, a Hellinistic-Roman quarter where the people lived, a rock sanctuary of Demeter, the Temple of Juno Lacinia, Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Hercules, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. This is a must see if you ever travel to Sicily!

Next we drove north along the coast and stopped in the cities of Marsala (home of Marsala wine) and Trapani (known for its sea salt extraction and fishing), but we settled overnight in the medeival mountain town of Erice, located on the mountain of Erice above the city of Trapani. We stopped for directions while in Trapani, but a man at a hotel said we shouldn't go to Erice then because it was surrounded by a giant cloud. We went anyway, but it was really spooky and mysterious. As we drove up the winding road to Erice, we began to see less and less of the beautiful aquamarine water and sunset below. First came a light fog, which became a very dense fog shortly, then the rain and wind. I felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie--it really was like medieval times. It was only 7:30 at night, which for those of you who have been to Italy, you know that is usually when everyone is starting to come out. Not here--there wasn't a person or car to be seen anywhere! As we manuvered our car through the narrow and winding streets, we finally found a little motel called The Edelweiss, which my friend Leslie had mentioned, however we decided not to stay there as it was a little "rustic" (as Leslie later mentioned to me). We opted for a place called Il Moderno, which was nice and had a restaurant. The next day it was still very foggy outside, but we managed to find some of the castles and churches nestled in the small town. Another neat feature are the streets in this town. They are constructed of interlocking stones cut to form an octagon with the inside of each octagon filled with smaller stones. Very bumpy and a bit slippery when wet, but beautiful! Of all the medeival towns in Sicily, this one definitely has the most authentic look and feeling. This is also a place we will be revisiting, but hopefully it will be a sunny day next time!!!

Lastly, we stopped at the city of Segesta, which is home to another well preserved temple, Greek theater, and church. It was founded by the Elymians in the 5th century B.C., but eventually fell under Roman control in the first half of the 3rd century B.C. The temple is of the Doric style (as are almost all of the temples in Sicily), but was never completed. It is, however, among the best preserved temples in all of Italy, and sits among a beautiful landscape of green hills and colorful wildflowers. The theater and church are located atop a hill which is quite a hike from the parking area (this trip was a major workout!!). It is partially built into the hillside and has a lovely view of the countryside and the sea beyond.

We were only gone for about a day and a half, but we managed to see a lot of Sicily in that time! Here are some websites where you can find more info about these places:

http://www.bestofsicily.com/agrigento.htm for info about Agrigento

http://www.bestofsicily.com/segesta.htm for info about Segesta

http://www.bestofsicily.com/erice.htm for info about Erice

http://photos.yahoo.com/ajaphilip too see our photos