SICILY 2007 - Week 3

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WEEK 3 NEWS - SOUTH-WESTERN SICILY:

The tiny town of Erice nestles atop an 800m high mountain, approached by winding hair-pins, and the panoramic views northwards across Bonagia Bay to our last night's wild camp under Monte Cofano were stunning. Like Segesta, Erice was founded originally by Elymians who claimed descent from Trojan refugees, but over its history given its strategic position, the city was ruled by Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens and Normans, who all left their mark
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Despite being something of a tourist trap, the narrow streets were deserted. We threaded our way through the cobbled alleyways, exploring the Norman castle perched on precipitous crags, the 13th century Duomo and its bell-tower, remains of Carthaginian fortifications, and delightfully restored medieval churches. The church of San Giuliano contained the wooden statue-groups (Mysteri) portraying scenes from the Crucifixion, which are processed around the town during the Easter celebrations (Photo 1).

Despite being the provincial capital, Trapani is an unattractive city surrounded by apartment blocks. We did however manage to find what for us were its 2 highlights: a supermarket open on a Saturday afternoon (we badly needed weekend shopping) and the road out of town south. Glad to leave behind the urban sprawl, we turned down to the coast opposite the island of Mozia, site of a Phoenician trading settlement dating from the 8th century BC. The lagoons along this coastline still support the remains of a traditional industry, salt production. Salt is recovered from saltpans and piled in heaps covered by pan-tiles; flimsy-looking windmills once provided power to pump rich saline water from the shallow pans and to break up the dried crust of salt formed as the water evaporated (Photo 2). Here in an idyllic setting looking out through reeds and bamboo over the saltpans, we enjoyed a memorable wild-camp with a glowing sunset across the western sea.

Mozia was destroyed by Syracusan Greeks in 397 BC and the survivors re-settled on the nearby mainland at what became the city of Marsala. It was from here that later the Romans launched the expedition which finally destroyed Carthage on the N African coast. In the mid-19th century, Garibaldi landed at Marsala with his 1000 Redshirts to begin the campaign to rid Sicily of Bourbon rule leading to the unification of Italy. The city had also gained fame for its production of Marsala fortified wines, an industry established by English merchant venturers. On a sunny Sunday morning, we drove into Marsala to visit its Baroque centre and exceptional Archaeological Museum, and to taste its renowned wines.

Marsala's Archaeological Museum, in a stone-vaulted former wine warehouse, houses a unique exhibit: the remains of a Phoenician Liburnian, a light warship dating from the 3rd century BC and sunk during the First Punic War with Rome. The wooden vessel was recovered by English marine archaeologists in the late 1990s; 35m long with a crew of 68 oarsmen, it was smaller than a Greek trireme but much faster and manoeuvrable. The sections of recovered timberwork from the hull, keel and stern-post are displayed set within a metal frame to give an impression of the warship's overall shape and size (Photo 3). The display is enlivened by excellent explanatory panels with English translation; whether archaeology is your 'thing' or not, this superb piece of history merits a visit if you come to Marsala.

Marsala is an elegant place, less care-worn than most Sicilian cities, with huge palm trees gracing its lungomare (sea-front). The commemorative Porta Garibaldi leads into the Baroque centre (Photo 4), but even the churches were closed on a Sunday afternoon and the attractive streets deserted. We did eventually find a place to sample Marsala fortified wines but really could not say it was to our taste. It remained only to stand at Capo Boeo on the seaward edge of the town, Sicily's extreme western point; here we were closer to N Africa than to the Italian mainland.

After several nights of wild-camping and 3 weeks on the road, we needed a good campsite as the base for the next few days. Camping Biscione at Petrosino south of Marsala seemed a tropical paradise, close to the coast with green open spaces, exotic flowers and flourishing palm trees. At €15/night, it was peaceful and welcoming, and thoroughly recommended. It is important however to add the caveat that prices quoted and our campsite recommendations relate to stays in March/April. In the fierce heat of Sicilian summer, prices will inevitably be higher and campsites filled beyond capacity with insufferable noise levels. And another tip: always ask for a 'sconto' (discount) on any excuse (Camping Carnet, reduced facilities out of season); chances are you'll get a few €s off, but not if you don't ask. Biscione was an idyllic haven, spoilt only by a change in the weather: that evening, the sky blackened, the wind increased, and the forecast bad weather hit with a vengeance. Lashing rain, cold gusting winds and electrical storms buffeted our camper and ravaged the palm fronds like a tropical hurricane. This continued for 36 hours. We had chosen well for a much needed 'rest day' to update the web site and catch up with household jobs.

Mazara del Vallo, the next sizeable town along the SW coast, was the first Sicilian settlement to be captured by the Saracens and after prospering for 250 years, was the last to surrender to the Normans in 1087. Arab links have been revived in recent years with Tunisian immigrants flocking into the port as cheap labour for Italy's largest fishing fleet based at Mazara. Unsure about the town traffic, we parked along the sea-front and walked into town. The façade of the bulky Duomo, mainly Norman but elaborated by a lusty Baroque make-over, bears a satisfyingly politically-incorrect relief of the Norman King Roger trampling underfoot a Saracen (Photo 5). We recommend the incongruously named Lo Scoiattolo (Squirrel) for an excellent value lunch; try the local Couscous di Pesce (swordfish with a piquant tomato sauce). Behind the busy port crammed with old hulks, the kasbah-like Tunisian quarter is filled with dingy alleyways and Arabic shops, an interesting if not comfortable place to wonder. The town's highlight should have been the Museo del Satiro, displaying a superb 4th century BC bronze statue of a satyr in ecstatic Dionysian revel, and dredged up from the seabed in 1998. The notice on the locked museum door stated that just last week, this treasure had gone on display at the Paris Louvre; so disappointed, we had to satisfy ourselves instead with a provisions stock-up at a supermarket on the town's outskirts.

The sky was still black and the squally wind gusting as we moved further round the coast to Selinunte, across the undulating coastal plain planted with vines and olive groves. With the unsettled weather continuing, we camped at Campeggio Athena near to the tiny fishing harbour of Marinella. Our reason for coming here was to visit the archaeological site of Selinunte, ancient Selinos. This most westerly Greek city along the southern Sicilian seaboard was founded in the 7th century BC by colonists from Megara Hyblaea near to Syracuse and named Selinos from the Greek word for wild celery which grows in profusion around the river mouth which formed the city's harbour. Selinos' prosperity from its fertile hinterland brought territorial conflict with Segesta and its allies the Carthaginians who in 409 BC razed Selinos and butchered its citizens. The city had covered a large area, now only partly excavated, but its wealth is evident from the 2 areas of sumptuous temples, some partially restored, others simply random heaps of debris from the city's sack and subsequent earthquake damage. The deities to whom the Selinos temples were dedicated is unknown, and they are now simply labelled as Temples A~G. Temple E was reconstructed in 1957; the limestone structure glowed golden in the fleeting sunlight, set amid bright yellow crown daisies and Opuntia (Photo 6). We clambered amid the heaps of gigantic stone blocks and column drums from the temples' debris, marvelling at their enormous scale, the mammoth task of reconstruction and the elegance of the restored temples. This was further reinforced by a visit to the nearby Cave di Cusa, the ancient quarries from which the temples' stone components were extracted . Follow the signs from the small town of Campobello de Mazara; here a path winds among tufa outcrops and olive groves where in the 5th century BC, masons worked to cut and shape blocks of stone for Selinunte's temples construction. Massive incomplete column drums, some cut, others just stumps, lay randomly scattered; one could poignantly imagine this as a busy working quarry, suddenly abandoned when the Carthaginians brutally sacked Selinos in 409 BC, leaving the temples uncompleted.

Spring weather finally arrived bringing long-awaited warm sunshine. The campsite leaflet optimistically proclaimed: Sicilia dove l'estato dura tutto l'anno. We hoped it was right as we moved eastwards past the squalid little town of Menfi which still bore signs of unrepaired earthquake damage from 1968. The road wove a serpentine course across fertile coastal plains planted with olives, vines and citrus, to Sciacca. A busy fishing port, its walled upper town is virtually untouched by tourism but preserves a number of interesting if care-worn historical buildings. Again our timing was not of the best, our visit coinciding with siesta time when streets are deserted and shops closed. The town also has a distinctive ceramics industry, and a flight of steps leading from the port to the upper town is decorated with brightly patterned tiles, each riser the work of different ceramics workshops (Photo 7).

Along the coast we camped at Camping Kameni at the small resort of Secca Grande. This would once have been a pleasant site, shaded by exotic trees and shrubs; now it was sorely neglected, crammed full of squalid statics for the hoards who during summer would be shoe-horned in to entertain one another with the noise of their satellite TVs. With minimal facilities and just a small rubbish-strewn patch for campers, it is a place to be avoided; we might as well have wild-camped. But at least it provided a base to visit 2 memorable places: one was the small unspoilt town of Ribera, billed as 'City of the Orange' from the endless orange groves in the area; the other was the most attractively positioned archaeological site in Sicily, the remains of ancient Eraclea Minoa. Ribera on a Saturday morning was delightful. We wandered through the grid of narrow streets, doing our shopping like others in the town; and of course, being Ribera, we had to buy local oranges - a whole bagful of the biggest, juiciest fruits ever seen, all for €1. The most unpretentious of towns, and perhaps less run-down than many in Sicily, Ribera left us with happy memories.

So too did Eraclea Minoa. Founded by Cretan colonists, the city flourished in the 4th century BC from when the scant remains date. But it's the setting which so overawes, perched on a headland above gleaming white marl cliffs, overlooking a glorious arc of unspoilt golden beaches (Photo 8). We followed the path around the cliff tops to the aptly named Capo Bianco, amid an exotic paradise of fearsome woody Opuntia, spiky agave with tall buds rearing skywards, bright yellow crown daisies, scented wild sweet peas, glowing yellow mimosa and bushes of acacia with vicious spines. And down at the beach, fringed with pines, eucalyptus and tamarisk and deserted at this time of year, crashing waves pounded the golden sand. This was the perfect climax to a fabulous week of travels.

It was now time for us to move on into Sicily's mountainous western interior, particularly to visit a town with chilling associations - Corleone. Follow our ventures in next week's edition of our travelogue web site.

Sheila and Paul                                                                                Published: Saturday 31 March

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