-Hi, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe -- and this time, we're filling up on some unforgettable culture.
Holy cannoli!
We're in Sicily.
Thanks for joining us.
To better understand what you see here in Sicily, you need to understand its story.
Over the last 2,500 years, the island of Sicily has been ruled by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards before becoming part of Italy.
The island's complicated past makes it distinct from Italy.
It's got its own cuisine, a more festive lifestyle, people who are Sicilian first and Italians second.
In this episode filled with Sicilian delights, we'll go backstage for some traditional puppetry, stay on a farmhouse B&B and enjoy a gourmet local feast.
We'll explore an ancient quarry and venture to the Isle of Mozia with its ancient Carthaginian ruins.
We'll ponder the meaning of life in an unforgettable crypt before sipping cappuccino with a Capuchin.
The island of Sicily is the southernmost part of Italy.
We start in Siracusa, visit Cefal, stop in Palermo, sail to the tiny isle of Mozia, before finishing in Trapani.
Like so much of Sicily, Syracuse has ancient Greek origins.
The great city-states of Greece were expansive, searching the Mediterranean for more fertile lands.
Athens and Sparta dominated, but lots of other Greek cities, like Corinth, were establishing colonies as well.
These new settlements created a broader Greek culture known as Magna Graecia, or "Greater Greece."
Greek culture flourished here in Syracuse.
Founded in 732 B.C.
by the Corinthians, it grew to become an even greater, more important city than Athens.
In fact, Syracuse eventually defeated the Athenians in battle in this very bay.
The Temple of Apollo, marking the center of old Syracuse, was the first stone Greek temple in Sicily.
It dates from 600 B.C.
And Syracuse nurtured the brightest minds of the ancient world, like Archimedes.
The inventions of this scientist-physicist- philosopher-genius from the 3rd century B.C.
helped his hometown defend itself from invasions.
Modern Siracusa sprawls across the mainland, but the city was born on the fortified island of Ortygia.
That's where you'll find many of the ancient sites and most of the medieval charm.
With its shabby-chic vibe, delightful back lanes and breezy sea views, old Siracusa is, for me, the most enjoyable urban environment anywhere in Sicily.
Just a generation ago, Ortygia was a rough and unwelcoming zone, almost empty of commerce, and today, stoked by its influx of tourism, it has a bohemian energy that fills it with a joyful and relaxed ambiance.
The long and narrow side lanes are part of a street plan dating way back to ancient times.
Balconies festooned with laundry are reminders that this is still a real neighborhood.
I always say, "If you like Italy, you'll love Sicily," and I especially feel that in its markets.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -Each morning, this street hosts a lively fish and produce market.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -This shop is jam-packed for its beloved specialty -- jam-packed panini .
-[ Speaking Italian ] -To be sure we maximize the delights of our Sicilian experience, I'm joined by my friend and fellow tour guide Alfio Di Maro, and Alfio is expert at connecting with the local characters.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -Nice.
- Buongiorno , Angelo.
- Ciao!
Ciao!
Come stai?
-[ Speaking Italian ] The swordfish... Angelo always has the best swordfish.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -He just caught it.
This was used until not long ago to make needles to mend the nets.
-Oh, for knitting the nets together?
-Yeah.
And even to do knitting needle.
-This is really remarkable.
-It's very resistant.
-Look at that.
-Very resistant.
- Ancora.
Wow.
-When you have a fresh fish like this, the meat is delicious.
-Fantastic.
Angelo.
- Si?
- Buon lavoro.
-[ Conversing in Italian ] -Sicily is brutally hot in the summer.
I like to visit in spring or fall, and even in April -- when we're here -- a stop for a drink at the kiosk can be really refreshing.
What's this?
-It's a specialty... Ciao!
Ciao.
-Ciao.
Buonasera.
- Due seltz limone e sale .
-So what is the name again?
-It's a refreshing drink.
It's seltzer, lemon, and salt.
-Okay.
Good.
-Ideal in the summer.
- Molto rinfrescante -- very refreshing.
Then, with a spoon, salt.
-Rinfrescante.
-Rinfrescante.
- Perfetto!
-All right.
Grazie.
Mmm.
Nearby, the facade of the cathedral provides quite a contrast.
Built in the 18th century, it was inspired by the great baroque churches of Rome but amped up with a Sicilian architectural razzle-dazzle.
The apostles Peter and Paul greet you at street level, while Mary blesses all from above.
Stepping inside, you see the church is a lot like Sicily itself -- a layer cake of civilizations.
It was built into an ancient Greek temple.
The temple's 2,500-year-old colonnade survives as part of the church's walls, and because a pagan temple had no transepts, neither does this church.
The fine workmanship of the capitals survives from ancient times.
In Sicily, you hear the same basic story of the parade of civilizations over and over -- ancient temple, church, mosque, church.
Here in Syracuse, this was originally a Greek temple built to honor Athena.
Then, 1,000 years later with Byzantine rule, the temple was made into a church.
Next, in the 9th century, the Arabs sweep in from just over there, North Africa -- Christians out, Muslims in, and it became a mosque.
Then it's a church again as the Normans from France conquer Sicily in the 11th century.
After a huge earthquake hit in 1693, the cathedral was rebuilt in today's supercharged baroque style.
Whew.
The Cathedral Square, or Piazza Duomo, is a mishmash of architectural styles.
It serves as a delightful stage upon which the story of this community plays out.
Its graceful, semicircular design is a baroque trick, designed to give the feeling that this is a theater for life in this community.
It's the gathering place of the town, a magnet for all generations.
On one of the nearby narrow streets, Alfio is treating me to something I haven't seen since I was a kid.
Puppetry is a strong tradition here in Sicily.
This theater company puts on nearly nightly performances.
Its young troupe of puppeteers takes their art seriously.
The marionettes are lovingly made and true to tradition.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -The puppeteers skillfully bring the characters to life as the plot unfolds.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -The melodrama of an old Sicilian tale fills the theater, captivating its audience as this folkloric art form has for centuries.
The ancient Greek city of Syracuse is long gone, but wandering through its scant remains in the city's archaeological park, you pick up hints of its former power.
At its peak, around the 5th century B.C., Greek Syracuse had roughly the same population it has today -- over 100,000 people.
It was the dominant military and economic power in this corner of the Greek world.
With a commanding harbor view, the ancient Greek theater originally sat 15,000.
While it dates from 500 B.C., it's still in use today.
The terrace above the theater functioned as a grand lobby covered by a wooden roof and decorated with fine statues.
The waterfall is part of an aqueduct -- a man-made, underground river carved out of the rock -- allowing freshwater to flow 15 miles from a mountain spring into the city.
The stone that built ancient Syracuse was quarried on-site by enslaved prisoners of war.
Today, that quarry is overgrown with lush vegetation, and, while it's called the "Garden of Paradise," it's filled with tragic memories.
It's easy to forget when marveling at these ancient theaters and temples that slave labor quarried and carried the stones that made it all possible.
Back then, many soldiers willingly fought to the death because they knew that life as a prisoner of war -- or slave -- was even worse.
The quarry was like a huge underground concentration camp, a hellish place where slaves lived out their miserable lives cutting stone.
Gazing at the one tower of stone still standing, imagine that this was a pillar helping support the roof of a giant man-made cavern.
That roof collapsed with an earthquake in 1693.
A surviving quarry cavern is nicknamed "the Ear of Dionysus."
Venturing in, you can still see the chisel lines showing how it was cut over the generations from the top down.
A car is handy for exploring Sicily.
Once in the countryside, traffic is sparse.
Autostratas are top quality and make getting around faster and less stressful than smaller roads.
While most of Italy's super freeways come with tolls, Sicily's are generally toll-free -- one of many economic subsidies from the more prosperous northern Italy.
We're heading across the island, and we're breaking our journey near the south coast at an agriturismo -- an upscale B&B nestled in an olive and almond orchard.
Here in Italy, working farms with rooms to rent are called " agriturismo ."
Across Europe, small farms supplement their income by renting rooms to travelers seeking a rural refuge from fast-paced urban scenes.
The Mandranova estate comes with a rustic-but-elegant dinner, offering a great chance for travelers to share stories from the road.
And we cap our day enjoying a convivial atmosphere where, under palm trees and stars, our host enjoys sharing his olives and almonds while getting to know his guests.
Our next stop is Cefal, beautifully situated on the north coast.
Cefal is Sicily's most romantic port town.
With a golden crescent beach and sitting safely under its dramatic rocks -- still capped by a fortress -- Cefal cradles its past in a way that's easy to enjoy.
Since the town was founded, its streets have lined up with the prevailing wind to catch the cooling breeze, and to this day, laundry flaps in that breeze.
And for a thousand years -- whether ruled by Arabs, Normans, French, or Spanish -- the women of the town gathered here on these very stones to scrub their laundry.
In Sicily, there's history everywhere.
In the 11th century, Sicily's Arab rulers were booted out by the Normans from France.
This cathedral is Norman.
Built to double as a fortress, it's crenulated like a castle, and it comes complete with slits for shooting arrows.
Inside, columns that 2,000 years ago supported a pagan Roman temple now support Norman arches.
They lead to a serene mosaic portrayal of an Orthodox Christ.
During this complicated age, it was intentionally Eastern in style to help make Norman rule easier for locals to accept.
Here in Cefal, like anywhere in the Mediterranean, early evenings bring out a parade of people.
It's like cruising without cars, a multigenerational scene from families to grandparents.
Old-timers remain part of the action.
And anyone's attention can be hijacked by tempting window displays.
All this strolling stokes my appetite, and we're ready for some Sicilian cuisine.
Here, surrounded by the Mediterranean, menus are rich in seafood, and courses come in waves.
Thank you.
After the appetizers, or antipasti , the first course, or primi piatto , is generally pasta.
We're having spaghetti with clams, risotto with mussels on flatbread and the Sicilian favorite -- pasta with sardines.
The second course, secondo , is our entre, and no surprise, it's more seafood -- fresh local shrimp, calamari, and swordfish rolls, and, while I'm certainly enjoying my calamari, I'm not above a little shrimp thievery to make sure I enjoy everything Cefal has to offer.
One of Sicily's quirkiest charms -- nearby in the city of Palermo -- is in a crypt below its Capuchin monastery.
The Capuchins, a branch of the Franciscan order, have a passion for reminding people of their mortality.
Historically, when their brothers died, their bones were saved and put on display.
The Capuchins of Palermo took this tradition a step further: Rather than just saving bones, they preserved the bodies in their entirety.
Back in the 16th century, the monks here found that this particular crypt preserved bodies almost miraculously.
They later realized that they could actually charge wealthy parishioners for the privilege of being mummified here with their brothers, and this helped raise money to support their monastery.
This maze of corridors contains thousands of skeletons and mummies dressed in the clothing of their choice.
Each area features a different group: monks in their brown robes, women with their favorite dresses, priests with their vestments, soldiers still in uniform, and children looking almost as if taking a long nap.
The oldest body -- Brother Sylvester -- has been hanging here since 1599.
One of the brothers gave me a lovely little sermon.
He explained that our time on Earth is short and what really matters is what comes next.
These "bodies without souls," as they call them, are a reminder that we're all mortal.
For this monk, being with all these bodies brought him great joy and peace, as it caused him to focus not on our earthly existence but on eternity.
Today, the public is welcome to wander thoughtfully through these halls of haunting faces, which seem determined to tell us a truth that perhaps we've yet to learn.
I'm not quite ready for a Capuchin crypt, but I could go for a Capu-ccino, and I'm joined by my Capuchin friend -- who, in good Franciscan style, enjoys embracing the moment as well.
-[ Speaking Italian ] -So, we have the same colors?
-Yes, same color.
This... -Brown... -Brown.
-...and the white in the robe.
-Yes.
-So, we got the white and the brown.
Enjoy.
Sicily comes with dramatic coastal scenery, and we're heading west.
Distances are short, and the island is dotted with fascinations.
The shallow lagoon surrounding the island of Mozia is ideal for extracting salt from the sea, and for thousands of years, locals have labored in salt pools like these as part of this essential industry.
A short boat ride gives us a closer look.
-So, Alfio, this is, like, a mountain of salt with tile to protect it from the wind.
-It is.
It is.
-Salt must have been a very important industry.
-It was a vital industry.
In ancient times, if you didn't have salt, you'd die.
There was no refrigeration, and the food was preserved mainly by salt.
-How long did they have salt pools here?
-The Carthaginians, when they came here, they established this salt flats in the 8th century B.C.
-Until today -- they're still getting the salt.
-Yeah, as we can see.
-We're heading for the tiny island of Mozia.
Along with salt, this lagoon provided a safe haven for ancient mariners.
In fact, 800 years before Christ, Carthaginians settled here.
Today, this island is strewn with the scant but evocative ruins of a once-powerful trading outpost.
Why is Mozia so historic?
-Mozia was the base of the Carthaginians in western Sicily.
They came in the 8th century B.C.
and did many trading posts around the Mediterranean, and Sicily sits in the middle.
Sicily is the stepping stone.
-Perfect place to establish a trade center.
-Yes.
-Now the Carthaginians came about 800 years before Christ.
How long did they stay here?
-They stayed for 400 years and eventually were destroyed by the Greeks.
-We don't know very much about Carthage -- why?
Because they lost all the wars?
-They lost the important wars.
We often say, "the winners write history."
In this case, if you lose a war, you lose your right to say your side of the story.
-Nearby, the town of Trapani, with its fortified promontory, marks the westernmost point of Sicily.
Its port is a shipping and transportation hub.
The old town is a salty, pedestrian-friendly delight with plenty of handy accommodations and fun places to eat.
Trapani offers a chance to get to know a workaday Sicilian town with a charming historic quarter.
The town's main streets, lined with elegant facades, provide a showcase for today's urban scene.
In the evening, locals enjoy a lazy passeggiata , which culminates with a sunset on the ramparts.
A gondola carries us above Trapani to the mountaintop fortress town of Erice.
This stony town was protected by an imposing fortress, recalling a time when its strategic location was worth the climb.
The stout medieval gate leads into a remarkably preserved old town.
While a touristy shell today, the town is fun to explore.
The church, like everything else here, is a stony gray, but as we step inside, a late-19th-century interior dazzles visitors with the over-the-top frilliness so typical of neo-Gothic architecture.
The main street leads to a humble main square, and hiding deep in Erice is the venerable pastry shop of Signora Grammatico.
Her display case tempts all who enter with its vast array of Sicilian sweets, including, of course, enticing cannoli and colorfully painted marzipan treats, but hold on, let's not ruin our appetite.
Signora Grammatico has prepared a banquet designed so we can enjoy an unforgettable education in Sicilian cuisine.
Indimenticabile.
Milli grazie, Signora Grammatico.
- Prego.
-And complimenti.
- Grazie.
-So beautiful.
Alfio, what are we eating here?
Give me a quick tour.
-The most beautiful things we have in Sicily.
Bruschetta... -Oh, okay.
-...with tomatoes and the good olive oil that we grow in Sicily.
Rice balls -- arancini , filled with meat, deep-fried, a specialty from Palermo.
Tabbouleh, a reminder of the Arabs that once were here.
Pomodori secchi -- sun-dried tomatoes, a local specialty.
Plenty of sun in Trapani.
Stuffed red peppers... -Ooh.
This looks good.
-...with breadcrumbs, pine nuts and Pecorino and Parmesan cheese.
Local tuna, fished in the islands out here.
This is one of my favorite -- caponata , diced and fried eggplant.
In Trapani only, they put toasted almonds on it.
Caprese salad -- red, white, and green, the colors of the flag -- a reminder we're Italians.
-This is Sicily, and you even remember.
-Even in Sicily.
Sometimes we forget.
- Sono molto felice .
- Grazie .
[ Speaking Italian ] Mangia .
- Mangia .
Enjoying this feast with Alfio is a great way to celebrate all we've experienced here in Sicily, and there's so much more.
With its Greek temples, boisterous markets, Roman mosaics and glorious churches, all capped by an active volcano -- Sicily richly rewards those who venture this far south.
I hope you've enjoyed our look at the endearing charms of Sicily.
I'm Rick Steves.
Until next time, keep on traveling.
Ciao.
-Is it delizioso ?
-[ Speaking Italian ] - Si .
-[ Speaking Italian ] - Mozia - Mozia Oh, Mozia Why does it matter?
Calamari, delizioso .
Arancini.
Arancini.
-Arancini.
-Buon appetito.
-Grazie .
Passport
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