The City founded by Legends - Trapani

Piazza Mercato del Pesce

Legend has it that Trapani was founded on a piece of land that arose as a result of Demeter's Scythe falling off her chariot as she desperately search for her missing daughter Persephone. The alternate myth features Saturn, who eviscerated his father Uranus, god of the sky, with a sickle which, falling into the sea, created the city. Alas reality is so much more mundane as Trapani was founded by the Elymians, who used it as an agricultural centre for their hilltop fortress town of Erice. Trapani was transformed into an important port by the Phoenicians, whom scored a famous naval victory over the Romans here.  Ultimately the port became even more important for tuna fishing and salt production.

Tourism has grown in recent years due to the city's proximity to popular destinations such as Erice, Segesta, and the Egadi Islands. Today, Trapani is still an active port exporting salt and wine (Marsala wine which is a Sicilian fortified wine has long been a stable in my wine cabinet for cooking), and its industrial activities include tuna fishing and canning, marble working, and food processing.  

What a beautiful entrance to a Bed and Breakfast
B&B Il Vecchio Messina 

Chiesa del Collegio dei Gesuiti (Church of the Jesuit College)
Baroque Style started in 1614, consecrated in 1705.

Always Look up..
Church of the Jesuit College

More details on the Church of the Jesuit College

Palazzo Cavarretta 1672
Trapani’s City Hall

Madonna of Trapani  (Giuseppe Nolf 1700)
Statue on Palazzo Cavarretta 1672 

Saint Albert of Trapani (1240-1307)
 (Giuseppe Nolf 1700)
Statue on Palazzo Cavarretta 1672 

Saint John the Baptist (Giuseppe Nolf 1700)
Statue on Palazzo Cavarretta 1672 

This gem that is easily missed unless you look up and is known as the Dark Door (not in photo)  and Clock Tower (Porta Oscura e Torre Dell'orologio).  With the Dark Door below the Clock Tower, built around the fourteenth century, this city gate marks the boundary between the original fortified city and the expansion to the west during the Aragonese period. The astronomical clock was designed and built by the Trapani master Giuseppe Mennella in 1596.  The marble used was extracted from the Rizzuto quarry in Valderice.  The two clocks are the Sun Dial and Dial of the Moon.  Details on the two clocks can be found at:  https://www.itregolfi.com/cosa-vedere/trapani/torre-oscura-e-orologio-astronomico.

Torre Dell'orologio (Clock Tower) 1596?

Street in Trapani.

Casa del Mutilato 1937
National Association of War Invalids and Maimed building

Cathedral San Lorenzo (Basilica of St. Lawrence the Martyr)
Originally Built in 1421 with numerous renovations;  the last in the 1800's.
The bronze gates by sculptor Ennio Tesei replaced wooden ones in 1990. 

Cathedral San Lorenzo (Basilica of St. Lawrence the Martyr)
These bronze gates by sculptor Ennio Tesei replaced wooden ones in 1990

Cathedral San Lorenzo
A baroque styled cathedral decorated in neoclassical plasterwork and frescoed vaults.  

 Princess Iolanda (Iolanda Margherita di Savoia)
 daughter of the king of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III
Piazza Principessa Jolanda

Former Sant'Agostino Church (Former Chapel of the Templars 1101)
Today it is used as an auditorium

Fresh Seafood Anyone!
Seafood Market Trapani

Fountain of Saturn 1342
The fountain and aqueduct was built in 1342 to supply water from Mount Erice.
In the 18th century a Baroque style statue of Saturn, mythical founder of Trapani, was added to beautify it.

Trapani Salt Pans. 

The following websites provide more information on Trapani, Sicily:

https://www.italythisway.com/places/articles/trapani-history.php

http://www.turismo.trapani.it/en/home.html

http://www.turismo.trapani.it/it/home.html

Cefalù

Duomo di Cefalù

Cefalù is a popular tourist resort on Sicily's northern coast. It's an ancient fishing port at heart, that in recent years has become the beachside resort of choice for those seeking sun and sand along the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily. You definitely won’t be overwhelmed with lots of things to do in Cefalu but at the heart of the historic centre lies a beautiful Arab-Norman cathedral. Now a UNESCO World heritage site (part of the Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale designation), the cathedral dates back to the 12th century and boasts elaborate Byzantine mosaics.  The Cathedral of Cefalù is an example of a socio-cultural syncretism between Western, Islamic, and Byzantine cultures. The similarities between the Cathedral of Cefalù and the Cathedral of Monreale are striking particularly with respect to the depiction of Christ Pantokrator in the main apse. The elaborate Byzantine mosaics predate those of Monreale by 20 or 30 years.

Duomo di Cefalù

Duomo di Cefalù

Duomo di Cefalù

Ostaria del Duomo in Piazza del Duomo

Capo Cefalù Lighthouse
Cefalù, Sicily

Laundry Day!
Cefalù, Sicily

Lunch Anyone?
Cefalù, Sicily

Road in centre of Cefalù, Sicily

A spot of colour
Cefalù, Sicily

A bit of shopping
Cefalù, Sicily

The Generation Gap
Cefalù, Sicily

The following web site provides more information on Cefalù, Sicily:

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/sicily/cefalu.html 

All that glitters is not gold.

During the planning of our 2014 Sicily trip, all references to Monreale were basically "the main, if not the only reason to visit Monreale is for its amazing cathedral".  Monreale is approximately 7 kilometers SW of Palermo and it was decided this would be our first day trip.  The general train of thought was a 30 minute drive was a good way to acclimate to driving in Sicily especially after a couple of long travel days. The driver of the group will attest to the fact there is "NO" good way to acclimating to driving Sicily, you just survive it.  https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2014/06/recalculating-is-four-letter-word.html. 

While it is essentially true that the primary reason to visit Monreale is the cathedral, we found a hidden gem of a church enroute from the parking lot to The Cathedral, Santa Maria La Nuova.  As we were walking we past a nondescript building with it's doors opened; glancing up at it we saw beautifully painted walls.  We walked up to the door called out and when we received no response, in we went. We had arrived at Chiesa Teutonica Capitolare sede dell'Ordine Teutonico di Sicilia e dell'Accademia Enrico VI di Hohenstaufen (Capitular Teutonic Church seat of the Teutonic Order of Sicily and the Henry VI Academy of Hohenstaufen; based on google translate).  

Finding information on Chiesa Teutonica Capitolare sede dell'Ordine Teutonico di Sicilia e dell'Accademia Enrico VI di Hohenstaufen has been near impossible.  All my email inquiries have been to no avail and what little I have been able to ascertain seems to indicate that this is an abandoned church no longer in use.  In fact it may have been abandoned when we visited in 2014.  As we called out several times with no answer.  All we know is it had a beautifully appointed interior that sadly was showing its age; the unexpected gem during our visit to Monreale. A fine example of "all that glitters is not gold". 

Colourful ceiling

Altar Balustrade

East meets West

Santa Maria la Nuova
Cathedral

The town of Monreale, Sicily; from the Latin "Mons Regalis" (literally 'Royal Mountain'), straddles a slope of Mount Caputo, a virtual hilltop location overlooking Palermo. The focal point of Monreale is its 12th century cathedral, a beautiful amalgamation of Arab, Byzantine and Norman artistic styles framed by traditional Romanesque architecture. The Norman-Arab-Byzantine was a unique style, part of a multicultural amalgamation that lasted several centuries.  Definitely a mouthful to us layperson, but the result was a beautiful golden mosaic cathedral with a multicultural background.

The Norman-Arab-Byzantine architectural style was a logical reflection of Sicilian society of the time. The norman conquerors deemed it prudent to keep the best of Byzantine and Arab culture, government and law in tact, augmenting it with their own northwestern European institutions when and where deemed necessary or pragmatic.  In other words, if it works, don't fix it; just tweak it to reflect your culture.

Monreale Cathedral was constructed from 1174 to 1189 on the orders of King William II of Sicily (https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-II-king-of-Sicily), whose Norman ancestors had conquered the island from the Arabs a century earlier. The most memorable aspect of the cathedral are it's golden mosaics covering virtually the entire interior. The mosaics were made from an estimated 2,200 kg (4,850 lbs) of pure gold by craftsmen from Constantinople and are a Byzantine element.  Structural details, such as the geometric inlay of the apse exteriors are Arab. Externally, the Cathedral of Monreale is not particularly striking, rather kind of plain actually.

King William II
offering the Monreale Cathedral to the Virgin Mary

The mosaics along the sides walls of the cathedral includes scenes from the Old and New Testaments; the life of Christ in the nave; as well as that of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the side apses.  Like many churches and cathedrals dating from the middle ages, the mosaics were intended to educate the largely illiterate population about Christianity. A newsletter from Planetware.com provides a great guide to the Cathedral of Monreale including a layout and descriptions of the scenes depicted along the Cathedral walls (https://www.planetware.com/monreale/monreale-cathedral-i-si-monct.htm).

The Cathedral construction was a result of King William's need to demonstrate his independence from the Matthew d'Aiello, the royal chancellor, and Walter Offamilias, the English bishop of Palermo who tried to influence the young king into granting them more power at the expense of Muslim ministers and other functionaries in William's court.

It is said that William engaged in certain practices that were unusual for a Norman christian monarch of the Middle Ages. He had numerous muslim ministers, astrologers and doctors in his court. It is also purported that William kept a harem in his palace, and to have spoken, read and written Arabic. So maybe it is fitting after all that The Cathedral, Santa Maria La Nuova built in Sicily for Normans; using artisans from diverse cultures producing a multicultural masterpiece that is essentially East meets West, not so unlike King William's life.

Christ Pantocrator

The story of Adam and Eve, Top Row

Crucifixion of St. Peter

John the Baptist

Madonna del Popolo

Tomb of King William II

Marble Floor

The following web sites provide excellent resources for information on Monreale Cathedral:

https://www.planetware.com/monreale/monreale-cathedral-i-si-monct.htm).

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art164.htm

https://www.wilderutopia.com/landscape/ecotourism/angels-and-saints-in-mosaic-at-sicilys-monreale-cathedral/

https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=1481&lang=en