From Duomo to Duomo

Sunday, May 1, 2016 -- Piazza Armerina to Catania

We headed for Sicily's east coast today, but planned for a couple of stops along the way.  First up -- way up -- was Enna, which looms over the hills and valleys of central Sicily.  Its lofty location ensured its strategic importance; it was long considered not only impregnable, but key to territorial control on the island.  According to one of our guidebooks, after a 20-year seige, the Arabs finally crawled in through the sewers.  Even so, it must have been a long upward slog; our switchbacking trek by car was daunting enough!  Near the top, we stopped in the duomo, quiet at 10:00 this morning, when we'd thought Mass would probably be starting; not 'til later, we discovered.

We walked the rest of the way to the top of the town, where its crowning (literally) edifice is the 13th-century castle, with six of its twenty original towers remaining.  Despite the intermittent rain, and mist, the views of the town, hills, and valleys below -- even to cloud-shrouded Mt. Etna -- were impressive.

From Enna, we planned to see the Greco-Roman ruins at Morgantina, which entailed traveling through the town of Aidone.  Last night's host, Massimo, had told us that Aidone would be celebrating the feast day of its patron, St. Philip the Apostle today, and that a big festival was planned.  (It's also May 1, International Workers' Day -- a national holiday -- and the feast of St. Joseph the Worker -- to put a religious spin on it. All in all, a big deal in Italy, and an even bigger one in Aidone.)  For miles approaching the town, we saw police and fire patrols, remote parking lots, and a constant stream of people walking toward the center.  The whole scene was amazing, and we never even saw the festival!

When we arrived at Morgantina, we could see that the archeological site was extensive and would require walking quite a distance.  Tom hurt his knee a few weeks ago and our hike on Friday seems to have set back his recovery, so we decided it would make sense to skip this outing.

Instead, we took the scenic route through rolling hill country (and intermittent rain) to Catania, our base for the next four nights.  We're in a small house with a terrace overlooking a grove of olive trees, in a walled compound that also includes our hosts' home, at the other side of the orchard.

We headed out toward downtown Catania in a steady rain, which gave way to sun by the time we arrived at Piazza del Duomo, with its centerpiece elephant and obelisk fountain.  The enormous Cathedral is dedicated to St. Agatha, whose relics reside in a chapel and are paraded through the city each year on her feast day.  The duomo also has a designated holy door for pilgrims' entry during the jubilee year proclaimed by Pope Francis.

We walked around Catania's old center, streets full of Baroque buildings constructed of volcanic rock, courtesy of Mount Etna, which looms in the distance outside the city.

After a short ride around the port, we headed home for dinner -- happy to have doggie bags from last night's meals, as pretty much all the markets are closed today -- even the ones that proudly proclaim that they're open on Sundays!