I heart this
city. It’s dirty, and grimy, and graffiti everywhere, but there was something
about it that just felt very Italian. Of course the MASSIVE scoop of gelato I
had today might have something to do with it.
We took
another excursion today. The bulk of it was driving around Palermo in which our
guide spouted of some amazing history. I wish she would have gone more into
WWII history, but I get the feeling they aren’t as interested in it as I am.
Our first
stop this morning was at the Cappucini Catacombs. I had done some research on
the catacombs prior to leaving so I knew what to expect. It was one of the
stops on this cruise I was most excited and interested in – especially photography
wise. Turned out we couldn’t take photos. In fact, there was no way I could
even sneak a photo because it was so quite down there.
Anyhow, the
Cappucini friars started this back in the 1700’s some time. Where the
wealthiest were embalmed – ish and then put out for display for lack of a better
way to explain it. Buried in the best clothing, and really well persevered. It
was morbidly fascinating. I’ll tell you
more about it when I post the postcards I had to buy instead of photos. It
really was quite interesting. Mom wasn’t thrilled to be down there – but Bev
and I found it just fascinating. I kept saying to her, “I see dead people.” She
just rolled her eyes at me and kept walking on.
After that
we stopped at two Oratorios. I’m not really sure how to explain them other than
they aren’t churches and men who were artists, or men of influence during the
time gathered to discuss things. I’m dying to get home and look up what it
really is all about, but suffice it to say, our tour guide eluded to “families”
meeting here…as in you can’t come in unless your father before you was a
member. Almost mafia like.
The first
one we visited was the Oratorio of Santa Cita. I forget the artist’s name, but Oh…My…goodness.
He depicted the rosary prayers in these beautiful stucco (yes stucco) carvings.
It was all white with a few little accents of gold every now and then. The
artist had these little frames, if you will, in which he showed a story of the
rosary. For example, one frame showed the crucifixion of Christ and another
showed the ascension. There were twelve in total I think. He also included some
historical depictions too. There was a battle at one point where the Catholic
Church was fighting the Moor’s and the artist had a frame showing the battle.
Really fascinating, and beautiful work.
From there
we walked to a second Oratorio – whose name I completely forget. It was more
subdued. A bit darker inside, more paintings and less stucco carvings. It was
beautiful in its own way, but not, in my opinion, as beautiful as the other.
We finished
our walking tour in a little piazza where we were given some free time to have
a cappuccino or something to eat. We planted ourselves at a table at a café and
ordered cappuccinos all around. I spotted the gelato stand and decided it was
time for a gelato. I asked for one scoop of some flavor that looked good (it
had chocolate and amaretto in it I later found out) in a cup/cone thingy they
had. The scoop, turned out, was as big as my head. But man, that gelato was so darn good. I am
sure I’m going to dream about it tonight. Either that or the dead people I saw
in the catacombs.
Tomorrow is
our last day on the cruise. We hit Naples tomorrow. My excursion will be
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I’m sooooo excited to go to Pompeii. Bev, Mike
and I are the only three going on this excursion and I think we’re all equally
excited about it.
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