Taormina (February 20)

We left Catania around 11:30 and arrived in Taormina about an hour later.  The drive into Taormina was amazing!  It’s very much a tourist attraction because of its location right along the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Etna.  Here are just a couple of pictures that illustrate my point and they don’t really do it justice.  The day was mostly overcast, so much so that Mount Etna wasn’t visible at all.  Below is the view of Mt. Etna we would have seen had the weather been more coorperative!

We enjoyed a quick bag lunch we purchased while in Catania and then we entered the Greco-Roman theater.  Initially built in 150 B.C. (and enhanced/built up through the second century A.D.), the theater is beautifully situated on a hill well above the shoreline of Taormina.  The circular shape of the theater made for good acoustics back then, since there was no such thing as microphones!  One of the reasons the inhabitants picked this spot was because it was easy for them to use the natural terrain as the frame that would become the main level of the theater.

While in the theater, selected students performed excerpts from both a typical comedy and tragedy.  The comedy of choice was Aristophanes Clouds, a cheeky play that makes fun of Socrates, and the tragedy was Euripedes’, Medea, which depicts a mother’s slaying of her own children as a spiteful revenge against her ex-husband for divorcing her for another woman.  I was privileged enough to play the role of Child #1 and offered up a very dramatic interpretation of how he died. In the picture left you see Reggie and Brianna acting out a scene in Clouds, where Reggie portrayed a very clueless Socrates while Brianna played Socrates’ very snarky friend, Strepsades. 

After our very loose interpretations of Greek tragedy/comedy, the students (with some prompting by Yvonne, see right) took us through an archaeological account of how the theater was built and the various examples of symmetry, the golden ratio, and acoustic perfection were incorporated in the design of the theater.

Afterwards, the students had 3 and half hours of free time to explore Taormina.  Many of us, me included, took a hike up a cliff even higher than where the Roman theater was to a Monastery, Madonna della Rocca.  At the ends of each switchback on the path to the Monastery were bronzed Stations of the Cross (see left).  Farther up the path, was an abandoned fort (see right) which at one time was used to defend the area from Norman rule in the 9^th  through 12^th centuries.  The hike was great but we were disappointed to find that it was closed to the public once we arrived.  L

Our very last site was La Isla Bella (see left/right), just a beautiful island with a house perched on top of it just a few meters of the coast of Taormina.  Not a bad place “get-away” place, right?

Catania (February 20)

About 7:30 p.m. we boarded the Trinacria, a “small” cruise liner that took us from Napoli to a place called Catania. I call it “small” because the liner was smaller than vacation cruise liner like Caribbean or Carnival but big enough to hold 18-wheelers and busses.  Our trip across the Strait of Messina took about 12 hours and it was very pleasant.  The rooms were clean, the beds comfortable (the sway of the ship rocked me to sleep), and the shower in the bathroom was amazing!  Immediate warm water and great pressure!  Ah, the little things…..

Our main purpose for being in Catania was to get our land legs again.  We had no academic agenda in Catania.  Thus, we had some free time wander around the center of town.  Other than a port for receiving tourists, Catania is not really a tourist attraction.  Usually people get off the ship and scurry elsewhere.  However, I found Catania to be quite pleasant and inviting.  After a 20-minute walk from the ship, we made it to Piazza di Duomo, a beautiful square that includes a fountain displaying its mascot, an elephant called Elotru, and the Duomo of Catania, called Sant’ Agata (St. Agatha), patron saint of breast cancer.

The interior of Sant’ Agata is set up pretty traditionally, with two sets of pews, a main aisle up the middle with aisles on either side.  The alter was completely hidden behind a construction tapestry but through the cracks you could tell there were some amazing stained glass windows that surround it.  Along the outside aisles were some beautiful paintings depicting certain bible scenes or Jesus Christ or Mother Mary (or of both as in the picture shown), with side altars or small chapels for which to be in silent prayer or adoration.

Just off the piazza we were witness to a daily occurrence in Catania: the live fish market!  I call it “live” because some of the merchants were selling fish that were literally jumping out of the buckets, in particular eels and anchovies.  But as you can see in the picture, all kinds of sea creatures were for sale, including bass, shrimp, swordfish, and squid….all fresh of course!

Napoli (February 19)

We arrived in Napoli abound 4 in the afternoon and we had about three and half hours to kill before boarding our ferry to Sicily.  Fabrizzio, our bus driver dropped us off in the heart of town, very close to the square you see here (left), called Piazza del Plebescito.  Quite frankly, I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful Napoli was from this vantage point.  I was very underwhelmed by it the first time I visited in 2011 with the Running Through History tour.  Perhaps that part of town, which was near the train station, is better known for its crime, defamation of its buildings with graffiti and general grime!  However, near the Piazza del Plebescito, it was fairly clean, safe, and with a vibrant social scene and economy.

Napoli is credited for inventing pizza and in general it has a very good reputation for having some of the best pizza in all of Italy.  So while it was 4 in the afternoon and I usually don’t eat at this time of day, I had to see what all the fuss was about!  Yvonne, Richard, and I found a pizza place off the main piazza and ordered a slice.  One main distinction between Napolese and Viterbese pizzas is that the bread is thicker in Napolese pizza than the pizza in Viterbo.  A second distinction, which is related to the first, is the water they use to make the dough.  The water in Viterbo is considered to be much harder than the water

in Napoli, which apparently stunts the dough’s ability to rise.  That’s part of the reason why the crust on pizza in Viterbo is so thin.    In the end, the pizza was good, but I think I still prefer Viterbese pizza!

Afterwards, we met up with Brad and Danielle outside a typical pastry shop, this one was called Las Frogliatera Mary.  Again, while in Napoli we had to taste a typical Napolese pastry. Yvonne, Danielle and Brad got a rischia, which looked like a croissant, while I tried a frolla, which looked like a dinner roll.  In both cases the warmed pastries were filled with ricotta and orange peel bits fused in orange flour essence.    Simply unbelievable and certainly nothing that exists in Viterbo.  Wow!

After our afternoon of decadence, we waddled back to our bus and where it would take us to our ferry for our voyage across the Strait of Messina to Sicily!  Here's us doing just that!

Herculaneum (February 19)

Today was the first day of our nine-day school trip to Sicily!  From Viterbo, we would take a bus to Napoli, where a ferry would take us over to our first Sicilian destination, Catania.

On our way to Napoli, we first stopped in Herculaneum, a neighboring town to Pompeii, which also succumbed to the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on that fateful day in August, 79 A.D.  While not the tourist attraction of

Pompeii, Hurculaneum also was once under 9+ feet of volcanic ash and lava.  It’s not a fully excavated as Pompeii but as a result it makes for a more intimate (more manageable) tour through the ruins.  Like Pompeii, it is amazing that at one time all of what we saw was completely buried. 

In this picture, to the left are boat houses and where the grass is located below was once a river where merchants brought in their fishing boats for commerce.  The well-to-do had apartments above the boat houses that overlooked the picturesque views of the river.  Here is a picture (right) of a typical fishing boat, albeit severely charred from the intense heat from the eruption.

As we toured Herculaneum, students made presentations about how the eruption occurred (see left), a typical day for merchants or students at the local college, and how the well-to-do use to entertain their guests in their luxurious mansions. Here is a very well-preserved mosaic (below right) found in one of the highlighted mansions on our tour.  Amazing!!

Yvonne taking a moment to relax. Ahh!

The day was pretty cloudy and overcast but thankfully it did not rain on us.  There was a very brief moment in the day when the clouds thinned just enough for me to take this picture of Mount Vesuvius in the background.  While truncated today, the mountain once had an apex prior to the eruption of 79 A.D. 

Rome Day Trip - Vatican (February 7)

Today we embarked on the fourth and final trip to Rome.  Over four trips, students were exposed to the Coluseum-Palentine-Roman Forum (led by Santo Sammartino), Rome as a movie set (led by Daniele Gatti), the Catacombs of Sant’ Agnese-Tomb of Santa Costanza-Crypt of the Cappucini Monks (led by Brad Park) and lastly (but certainly not leastly) Il Vaticano (led by Yvonne Mazurek). All of the trips were great but I was really looking forward to Yvonne leading us through the Vatican Museum and the Basilica of St. Peter.  Her knowledge of the Vatican Museum, in particular, was immense.

In this picture, Yvonne is discussing this altarpiece, a triptych by Giotto, featuring St. Peter (on throne with the two keys) surrounded by four other saints, including Andrew, John, James the Elder and Paul.

Part of our tour of the Vatican Museum included a long room called the Hall of Maps, a room full of maps of different regions of Italy, all tapestries stitched in the 16^th century. Here’s a tapestry of the province of Lazio.  In the lower left-hand corner is an insert of the medieval part of Viterbo, the capital of the region (within Lazio) also known as Viterbo.  Most of the tapestries do not have this insert but Viterbo has this honor because of its connection to housing the papacy during the 13^th century.

Next, we entered the Pinectoteca, a.k.a. the painting gallery.  Here’s a painting of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Rafaello and Giulio Romano).  This was Rafaello’s very last painting before his death.  In fact, he did not finish it so Romano, his apprentice, did.  The bottom half is Romano’s “response to his master’s section,” as Yvonne put it.  She used the word, “response”, to illustrate the contrast in styles between Rafaello and Romano.

Here's is a painting of St. Peter being crucified upside down (by Guido Reni).  While a disciple of Jesus Christ, Peter didn't see himself worthy of being crucified in the same manner as his teacher.  So as a last request, he asked to be turned upside down on the cross. 

Next, it was off to the Sistine Chapel.  Fortunately it was a sunny day, as the chapel is naturally lit to help preserve Michelangelo’s masterpiece on its ceiling.  Because we went on a Thursday in early February, the crowds were not huge.  This was especially noticeable in the Sistine Chapel.  People, in general, were very cooperative and respectful of the space and actually did little speaking while in there.  Yvonne and I actually were able to find seats along the wall in the  sanctuary.

Lastly, we were led to the Basilica of St. Peter, an enormous church that could overwhelm anyone but I found a serenity come over me as I entered it. The Pietá, on the right as you enter from the back, is an obvious attraction for many tourists and for good reason.  Michelangelo is a master at capturing the essence of Mary’s final moments with Jesus upon his dissention from the cross.

Also in the back of the church are St. Peter's silver and gold keys to the Kingdom (above right), which were given to him by Jesus Christ.  One of the keys opens the gates of Heaven while the other key represents terrestrial power, as stated in Matthew 16:19. "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."  It's a metaphorical offering of Jesus Christ to St. Peter that he has in his care the teachings of God and, in essence, the care of the Church in his hands.  The keys are then to be passed down to each descendant of the papacy thereafter.  Upon the death of a Pope, a symbolic set of these keys is buried with him, a tradition began back in the 16th century.

Front: Aiden and Me
Middle:  Corynne, Marlaina, Emma, Liddy, Rhyan, Rachel, Nick and Akbar
Back: Arielle, Casey, Siena, Thea, Yvonne, Savannah (Brad's daughter), Brad, Victoria, Izzy, Ethan and Quincy

Florence with the Maloney's (November 30)

First, my apologies for not getting the events out in the order they occurred!  Life got in the way!

Steve Maloney is a college friend and swimming teammate of mine from my Villanova days.  A marriage to Nikki and three children later, Steve and his family didn't settle too far from our old stomping grounds.  In fact his house sits across the street from the Villanova Law School.  I guess old habits die hard!

Anyway his kids were interested in seeing Europe, as they had never been there before.  You can imagine how expensive it is to fly five people across the Atlantic and stay in a hotel for a week.  Well, Steve found an incredible air fare/hotel deal on line and traveled to Florence with his family over of November/beginning of December.

Left: Steve, Alec, and Shawn
Right: Me, Nikki, and Tatem

I hopped on a train Friday morning after my AP Calc class was over and was in Florence by 4 in the afternoon.  The Maloneys had already been there for a couple of days and were staying in a two-story suite at the Hotel de la Ville.  I also booked a room there, once I found out Steve and his family were staying there.

Steve and me at the
Lion's Fountain

It was a nice (but short visit) with them and just cool to be hanging out with friends from back home in Italy!!  So we made the most of it!  After having a "fine Italian dinner" (that's for you M&D), we dropped their kids off at the hotel and went to an Irish Pub called the Lion's Fountain.  It's an American bar with a heavy college atmosphere to it.  It really reminded me of an old watering hole Steve and I used to go to back at Villanova, called Kelly's Pub.  It even had writing on all of the walls of former patrons paying homage to their Alma maters back in the States.  Again, it was an odd feeling sipping on a pint of beer in this bar, as it felt like I had been transported back to the U.S. and yet I was in Florence!

Brandt, Nikki, and me

Anyway, we had a great time catching up.  We had been there for about 45 minutes when a man came up to me and said, "are you Mr. Mylod?"  My heart sunk!  You have got to be kidding...not a run-in with a student from year's past.  Would I remember this student?  A clammy sweat came over me as I turned around to meet my fate.  I was in luck!  I not only recognized the student but I remembered his name too...bonus!  Brandt Barrow was his name and he was a former swimmer of mine at Westminster who graduated in 2004.  He was in Florence working for a consulting firm and would be there for about 18 months total.  How random is that??  It was good catching up with Brandt and we intend to meet up again when I travel to Florence in March for an SYA school trip.

After a good night's sleep and some breakfast in the hotel, I met up with the Maloneys for a stroll toward the piazza that La Chiesa di Santa Croce is in.  It's a huge piazza and hosts a Christmas market/festival every December.  Merchants were there selling ornaments and other Christmas trinkets, while others were selling food.  There was also live music at the end of the piazza closest to the church.  Very festive, indeed!

The Maloneys took a tour of Santa Croce, which I had already done a couple years prior, while I headed back to Viterbo.  Great visit and I know the kids enjoyed it too.  They would stay three more days before returning to the States.

IL Sacro Fuoco di Sant'Antonio

While I plan to get back to my November trip (which includes Venice, Padova, and Bolognia), I thought I'd strike on my current "doings" while the fire was hot!  And while I do not mean to be, the subject of hot fire is just what this subject is about.

Il Sacro Fuocco di Sant' Antonio means "The Sacred Fire of St. Anthony" and it's a festival that is celebrated every year on January 16 in Bangaia, Italy.  As I found out today, it's a 25-minute uphill bike ride from Viterbo.  So while I was getting a little exercise, I stumbled upon this centuries-old tradition in Bangaia.  The picture at the right shows an 8 meters tall by 30 meters in circumference tower of logs that will become "The Sacred Fire" on the 16th.

The bonfire from the feast of
Saint Anthony, 2013

The Feast of St. Anthony Abbot is quite common, especially in rural areas and towns of the province of Viterbo (not the city of Viterbo…two different things) where the traditions are more deeply rooted than in large cities. Despite being born into a rather wealthy family, from an early age Anthony showed little interest in the opulence of worldly life.  When his parents died Anthony distributed all his bequeathed wealth to the poor and took up the life of solitude prayer. He spent many years living in an ancient tomb carved out of stone, struggling against the temptations of the devil, who often appeared to display his powers. These provocations lead Anthony to fast and give penance, always managing to triumph. Despite living a life of suffering, his life was very long-lived: in fact, he died at the age of 105 years.

The rituals that are performed every year on the feast of St. Anthony are ancient. He is considered the patron saint against outbreaks of certain diseases, both of man and of animals. While in Bagnaia, the townfolk had cordoned off a space in front of the church on the main square, where animals (in this case, chickens, hens, and roosters) could receive a blessing from the local priest. 

Anthony also is regarded as the patron saint of fire, as fire is an element of good wishes in this context. A party, therefore, which is meant and means to be celebrated at the beginning of every year, unleashes positive forces and, thanks to the element of fire, defeats evil and disease that may always be lurking. 

UPDATE:  January 16

So I recruited one of the Italian teachers from SYA to come with me (Alesandra, a.k.a. "Ale").  She had never been to Il Sacro Fuoco so it was just as exciting for her as it was for me!  We arrived right at 6:30, just after they had lit the bonfire.  As we were watching the smoke billowing out of the middle of the teepee of logs, the announcer provided more accurate stats of it than I had reported a few days before:  close to 9 meters (almost 30 feet) high and 35 meters (over 100 feet) in circumference at the base.  

As evidenced from the pictures, the logs didn't get going right away.  Lots of smoke in the beginning (see picture progression on the left), so Ale and I positioned ourselves upwind as to avoid being smothered.  The smoke was thick and very grey.  After about 45 minutes, we started to see a few flickers and cracklings here and there.  By the hour mark, we had ourselves a massive bonfire!  To put this spectacle in perspective, Pat (the SYA director) took his family to see Il Sacro Fuoco one year and stood about 100 feet away from the bonfire.  Even at that distance, little embers of the fire showered down on them to the point that they went home with singed coats.  "That night out cost me 300 Euros in new coats," he told me, "so whatever you do, don't wear any valuable clothing and stand farther back!"  

Ale and I took his advice, probably standing close to a football field away from the bonfire and still, a few little "fire drops" landed near us (no singed coats, however).  Wow!  As we continued to watch this amazing fire display, we treated ourselves to a dixie cup of wine and a porchetta (or sliced pork on a hard roll), a festive Viterbese sandwich.  The fire will probably burn all night and into tomorrow (unless the fire department has had enough and extinguishes it), but Ale and I had our fill of the scene after about an hour and a half.  It was, after all, a school night!