Cleared and Ready for Takeoff

Palermo: Food and Markets

2023-03-28T08:47:00.002-07:00

One of the things I was looking most forward to about Palermo were the street markets. They were highly touted on all the travel sites and videos. Unfortunately, the first full day in the city I was just getting over a cold, so I stayed home and slept in as the others went to find the fish market. They came back hours later, reporting that it was small and nothing special, but we agreed that we'd strike out for it again the next day, since markets are often better some days than others. It's a good thing we did just that, since the next morning we found the market winding its way through the narrow backstreets, packed with seafood, vegetables, and people.

Just before heading out we stopped for a quick breakfast coffee and panini, which turned out to be a mistake--if we'd only known the food possibilities waiting at the market!

John R. pointed at a large octopus on display, and it was quickly butchered and fried over open flame for us.

Though not oysters, this made me happy.

I was too busy eating to take many pictures of the market, but it's definitely a place I'd go back to if/when I revisit Palermo. I'll leave you today with random food porn from Palermo:

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

Palermo: Golden Church in the Palatine Chapel

2023-03-27T10:23:00.002-07:00

Many people end up with church fatigue after a few weeks in Europe, but not this atheist. Yeah, go figure. I often joke with my religious friends that I probably spend more days in churches each year than they do, which was often true before the pandemic. Today we're going to stop by the Palantine Chapel in Palermo, Italy.
Whenever I'm traveling overseas, as a general rule I'll pop into any church, cemetery, or museum I come across, if they don't charge admission. Feel free to pray for this cheap bastard.

The Cappella Palatina or Palatine Chapel is the only reason to visit the Palazzo dei Normanni or Norman Palace complex in my opinion. Seriously. The rest of the visit we just walked up stairs that led nowhere and stopped at locked doors. I don't know if everything else was shut down for the winter break or if the rest of the palace is a lot of nothing, but it was for me. However, the Palatine Chapel is worth the price of admission on its own.

We wandered into the chapel first, and my god what an overwhelming impression it makes. It's like the love child of a Norman church, a Byzantine cathedral, a Moroccan palace, and Greek Orthodox Church, but on a small scale. If it were on a large scale, this would be among the most visited churches in the world.

The mosaics were breathtaking.

I'm not sure why the guy in the socks is about to hit the spaceman with a candle, or why the dove is poking a spear into the guy in the hot tub, but what amazing detail (and yes, I imagine it's probably an allegorical baptism, but one sees what one sees). As art, it's amazing, and I'm sure it's very moving for those who believe.

My Roman number knowledge, beyond Xs, Vs, and Is has long ago faded, but I'm pretty sure the date at the top of this mosaic dates it to the fourth century, though Wikipedia tells me that church and the mosaics date to 1140, which makes me think I need to relearn the numbers, which would also help with Super Bowls and old movies.

The geometric patterns at the top remind me quite a bit of similar patterns we saw at the Alhambra in Grenada last year.
Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

As a whole, the chapel was very tall but shallow, so it lacked the kind of overwhelming feeling one gets in other Norman cathedrals like Westminster, but then again this is a chapel and not a cathedral so I should probably temper by expectations and just luxuriate in the golden shimmer.

Just amazing.

Through much of Italy I was reminded of much of the more gruesome aspect to church art that was meant to scare people onto the righteous pathway. That always works on me about as effectively as the Hellfire sermon by Father Arnall worked on Stephen Dedalus in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (spoiler alert: it worked for about a week, then he began rejecting the church completely). More approaches like the one above would work better on me. The soft colors and welcoming faces do more than gruesome images of beheadings and torture, but again, that's just me.

Two out of three takedowns wins the match.

A close photo reveal that these are indeed mosaics, not just paintings. s

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

As I said earlier, the rest of the palace was a big meh, but maybe our timing was off. If you've visited and thought there was more to see, let me know in the comments, and if I offended anyone here, lighten up a bit and have another Aperol Spritz.

Palermo: Square of Shame

2023-03-16T16:37:00.003-07:00

Ho hum...another ornate fountain in Italy. Let's look quickly as we pass by to head to the monastery. Wait, is that a penis?

Ok, Fontana Pretoria, aka the naked people fountain in the Piazza Vergogna--or the Square of Shame--isn't your garden variety Euro-fountain. It was originally built in Florence in the middle of the 16th century, but 25 years later was sold to Palermo when the original owner went broke.

Why the city government decided to buy the statue, and then put it in a square adjacent to a nunnery, is a good question, one that Palermitani must have asked at the time, as before too long the statue became known as an allegory for corruption in Palermo.

Once one comes to grips with the nudity, the viewer realizes just how marvelous the details of the statue are. The figures are sometimes grotesque, but they are also expressive and striking.

Take, for example, the figure below the plinth here--a satyr? who is more interesting than the woman above.

The look on the guy above, with his intense stare, reminded me of Pedro Pascal looking at Cordyceps who've just doomed a friend.

Do you think my HOA would complain if I installed something like this is my front yard? I wonder what the nuns thought when the fountain was installed.

According to Wikipedia, several of the statues were damaged in the move from Florence to Palermo, but I think the various cracks and flaws enhance the fountain.

Also according to Wikipedia, the figures are both mythological figures and representations of the Twelve Olympians, the major gods from Greek mythology.

The muscles in the forearm and the bones in the fingers are nicely depicted in this statue.

Despite the scandalous nature of the fountain, there's no denying the sculptor's skills.

Chubby iron cherubs ring the outside of the fountain.

Palermo Street Art, Winter 2023

2023-03-09T13:43:00.003-08:00

For the most part, I hadn't been finding a lot of street art in Italy. Both Milan and Taormina were almost devoid of it, and while Catania had some interesting pieces, for the most part I mostly found the kind of generic tagging found in most urban area. Palermo, on the other hand, had tons of street art.

Once we snaked one or two blocks in from Via Maqueda, there were plenty of interesting murals, wheat pastes, and stencils.

I loved this piece, which I'm guessing was a combination of a stencil and some quick spray work.

Bad photo, but I'm always down for the clown.

Yes, Vucia, he gets sad, I will dance and ?

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

Google translate tells me this is "if you feel sad, go on a dance tour".

Striking images.

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

I'm guessing the cow is here because of the meat market, but not sure what the dogs signify.

These were fairly gritty side streets in old town, near where the long street market is held. I love long, gritty side streets.

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

Palermo 2023 , © jimread99

I'm guessing a celebration for Chinese New Year?

I love the Picasso-like quality of these faces, and am guessing this translates as "where there is love, there is live".

Bob Ross?

Now that's a good name for a cat.

Palermo: Back to the City Life

2023-03-08T10:27:00.003-08:00

As beautiful as Taormina is, I was happy to take the train to our next destination, Palermo, which is the biggest city in Sicily. Not Italy, mind you, but Sicily, which is not Italy according to the stenciled street art across from the entrance to our flat. Deep down I'm more of a city guy, though I've spent most of my life living in the countryside (go figure). I like the variety of activities and bustle of city life, and for those taking notes, in my next life I'll come back as a Parisian.

We'd chosen an AirBnB just off Via Maqueda, the long, straight principal street running through the heart of the Old Town, and after throwing some dirty clothes in the washing machine, we took off to grab some food and drink.

There were dozens of restaurants on the Main Street, so soon we were tucking in to buffalo mozzarella and drinks, watching the world walk by.

John and Terry, happy to be in Palermo, which would be our group's home for the next four days. Coming up: street art, fountains, monasteries, and one of the best bars we've ever visited.

Taormina: The Roman Theatre and Walking Around Town

2023-03-01T10:22:00.004-08:00

I've always been a sucker for ancient ruins, so I knew that one of the first places we'd have to go see in Taormina was the Greek theatre, overlooking the town and coastline. It didn't fail to wow us!

Can you imagine watching a play in this venue? Even Socrates would have had trouble keeping my attention on the play, rather than on Etna in the distance and the coastline.

sYou can just see Etna shouldering through the ruins here. The theatre was built in the 3rd century B.C., and remains fairly intact.

A view down towards the coast and the train station. We'd briefly toyed with the idea of hiking up to Taormina. Thank god we thought better of that.

Stunning view of Etna.

John R., pondering eternity and Aristotle's poetics.

After the theatre we headed back to town, where there were just a couple things to do--namely, stroll down the shopping street, eat, turn around and stroll back the other way.

Taormina reminded me of some of the small boutique towns I've visited in the states--good for a weekend visit, but I get squirrelly after that.

There were lots of quirky things to see on the Main Street, mind you, but I actually found myself missing Catania.

This is going to be the part of the trip where you sigh and say "first world problems", and you're not wrong. I hate to complain, but I just wasn't feeling Taormina. Even the cannoli was so big and so stuffed with, well, stuff, that I longed for a simple croissant.

Or, if not a croissant, 3 euro Aperol Spritzes and complimentary snacks. After walking outside the town wall, we found a decent little place the last full day we were in town. Inside the town wall prices were substantially more. Yeah, I can afford it, but I'm a cheap bastard you know.

If I ever go back to Taormina, it would have to be with my wife, and during a warmer time of the year.

With the funicular heading down to the beach, having all the ocean activities available could be the kind of supplement that would make the town a bit more interesting to me. Of course there's always the real possibility that there were lots of other activities waiting near the town, and I just hadn't done enough prep work prior to the trip (since I felt like I already knew the area thanks to White Lotus.

In January the beach and nearby island were almost deserted.

I think I already posted this picture from the Bam Bar, but I like it, and this is my blog :-)

Teste di Moro spotted in the wild.

I did find this bit of street art.

Despite all my nit-picking, I have to admit Taormina was beautiful, and as we stood waiting at the train station for our train to Palermo, I wondered what that city would be like. By the way, this train station was used in Godfather II.

Taormina: First Day in the Land of the White Lotus

2023-02-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

After a short train ride from Catania and a cab ride up a very steep hill, we found ourselves in the land of the White Lotus, Taormina. For those who aren't familiar with the show, White Lotus is a limited series that's been airing on HBO, focusing on the lives of the excessively rich and bored. Everyone in our group had watched the series before traveling, though we'd chosen Sicily as a destination long before we knew about the show. The three-legged image above is often seen in the show.

These heads are known as teste di moro in Italian, and can be found in souvenir shops throughout Taormina. They also played a role in White Lotus. The heads came from a legendary tale from Palermo. In the tale, a young woman was watering plants on her balcony when a young man on the street called to her. One thing led to another, and they became lovers. Soon the young woman learned that her lover was actually married and planning to leave town, so she cut off his head and used it as a planter on her porch, and it soon sprouted basil. All her neighbors saw the planter and wanted their own, so a tradition was born (no, they didn't have mass beheadings--ceramic planters in the style of heads were made).

The Bambar also played a role in White Lotus. It was just down an alley from us, and most mornings we started the day with the Sicilian granita, sort of a cross between a sorbet and ice cream, in a brioche. There are several common flavors, but I preferred a mix of coffee and almond flavoring. Though I never really got over the idea that I was eating ice cream for breakfast, I figured when in Rome (or Taormina). John and Terry seemed to like it.

Speaking of our apartment, this is the road leading up to Bambar. The old town's remains, including a Norman Castle, were above us.

One of the many decorative touches to be found on our street.

Our apartment consisted of three floors, and on the first floor were pieces of local art.

More examples of the art.

This is our patio on the top floor, with a smoking Mount Etna in the distance.

Another view of Etna from our terrace.

The views in Taormina were amazing--here we overlook the ocean and the railroad station we'd arrive at, below. Coming next time--the ancient Roman Theatre.

Catania: Last Day (I Had Sads)

2023-02-17T08:38:00.006-08:00

By the end of the four days we spent in Catania, our little travel group had grown to 5, as Tony and Shelley P. had joined us, although staying in a separate hotel. One of the last things we wanted to see in our last couple of days was the Greco-Roman theatre ruins.

Like most of the places we wanted to visit in Catania, the walk was less than five minutes from our flat. I often teach Greek drama in my college classes, so I never miss the opportunity to grab so photos so I can use them in class. Spoiler alert: though we visited more impressive ruins in Taormina, I really liked the way that Catania's ruins were surround by buildings from many different eras and styles.

I think we spent about 20 minutes in the ruins and in the small museum attached to the ruins.

All these images will be used in my courses, eventually.

I always like to imagine what Greek statues might have looked originally, painted in polychrome.

The expression on the cherub's face is pretty detailed.

If it weren't for my damned HOA, this would totally go over my front door.
Each building in Sicily seemed to tell a story of its past.

We also wandered up to a Benedictine monastery, only to find that we'd just missed the daily tour in English, so we wandered the grounds on our own. Though the cloister was pretty enough, the monastery was underwhelming on its own. There weren't really any explanatory signs, and since it's still a working school it just felt like wandering through an old campus.

On the way back to our watering hole, the Cafe Bellini, we came across this plaque honoring Bellini's birthplace.

I hadn't even had a negroni yet, but this picture seems to suggest otherwise. It's just a bad pic, but I love the view of the cathedral behind me.

The negroni finally showed up.

There are so many twisting and turning alleys and streets in Catania, and we decided to try one last alley by our apartment--and it was full of street art!

Sally from Nightmare before Christmas, I think.

I love the look on her face.

The small side lane led back to the fish market, so for our last meal we bought some sardines and had the vendor quickly fry them up.

And just like that, it was time to head to the train station and make the quick journey to Taormina. Catania turned out to be so much more fun than I thought it would be, and all the warnings friends had given me about the town seemed to have not panned out. When I return to Sicily, I'd be very happy to fly into Catania and spend a couple days there again. It's a fun old city--unpretentious and affordable. In four days I'd become a fan.

Catania: Churches, Views, and Knockers

2023-02-15T09:58:00.003-08:00

Vincenzo Bellini is Catania's most famous native son--but not the person the Bellini cocktail is named after. That Prosecco and peach drink was named after Guiseppe Bellini, owner of Harry's Bar in Venice. Vincenzo though got the best tomb in Saint Agatha's Cathedral, and plenty of watering holes, pasta dishes, and streets in Catania named after him.

Just across the square from Saint Agatha Cathedral is another church, the Chiessa della Baddia di Sant'Agata. It's a Baroque church with an attached Benedictine abbey, but the real reason to visit is to climb to the top and take in the views of Catania.

Though it was a clear day when I paid my 5 euros and climbed stairs to the top, Etna itself was shrouded in just enough cloud cover to make good views difficult, but this vantage gave me a great sense of the town layout. To the left of the square below you can see the Roman -era elephant statue.

Looking the other way, the ocean quickly came into view.

After fortifying ourselves with a bowl of Pasta alla Norma (loved it but needed more eggplant!), we were off to search for knockers.

Hah! Be I had you going there. The knockers we were looking for were actually door knockers. John R. was looking for ideas for door knockers he could use on his place back in the states.

Personally, I'd go for the lion.

I love European doors and their intricate designs. Nary a Ring Camera to be seen.

And then there was this...

Catania: Churches, Ruins, and Our Watering Hole

2023-02-14T11:31:00.004-08:00

On this day our first stop was at the Collegiata--you can read about it below.

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

I'm pretty sure this is carried around in the processions during large celebrations, like Saint Agatha's feast day.

Look, I've talked my way through enough Catania churches, so scroll through the next few pictures and I'll be waiting for you at Bellini's statue.

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

Catania's native son, Bellini, is honored throughout the town in the form of statues, cafes, plaques, drinks, and the ubiquitous Catanian pasta, pasta alla Norma, which was named after one of his operas.

There were many great statues throughout Catania.

There were two ancient ruins in the center of Catania, this Roman ruin and a Greco-Roman Theatre.

I'll never get over the thrill of seeing the ancient among the modern in a city like Catania. To think of all the different peoples who have ruled an island like Sicily calls to mind how short our stay is in this world.

After strolling up the long and straight Via Etnea, we climbed to the top of Villa Bellini, a leafy park in the center of town, and were rewarded with this view of the smoking volcano--and an al fresco concert.

On my birthday I found this bit of graffiti wishing me a happy birthday (or so I would like to think).

We always try to find a local watering hole when spending a few days in a town, and then come back several times until they know us. The Cafe Bellini was our home base for the visit to Catania. Here John R. checks his email as we ordered Negronis (if you blow up the picture, you'll see that most of the drinks were 3 Euros--a bargain). Three Euros was our ticket to watching the world file by. The building in the distance behind John is the Cathedral I wrote about in a previous blog.

Thanks to the daily fish market, seafood pasta was always fresh and delicious.

Catania: Wandering City Streets, and the story of Saint Agatha

2023-02-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

After Terry finally showed up, we hit the seafood street market (see our last post) and then decided to have a bite and explore around the city a bit more. After we had some fresh sardines grilled up for our breakfast, we were off.
I've always loved streets decorated with colorful umbrellas, like Siem's Reap's pub street or, in Catania, the entrance to the fish market. At night restaurants spill out under the umbrellas, and dinner becomes as much about watching the world pass by as it is about enjoying the fresh seafood brought into the port.

Catania reveals itself slowly, as one wanders through its ancient streets and under archways and roads.

Right below the fish market we found this lovely little park, filled up with smoke from the fish being grilled above. The mixture of the smells, the smoke illuminated by morning light, and the sound of the fountain was idyllic.

The twisted roots of this tree are beautiful, aren't they?

The lower eastern stretched of Etna are revealed as we poke our way through this arch, and head back into town.

Statues, down by the waterfront. We were looking for a street art spot, but could never quite find a walking path to the port.

More statues

So, anyway, I promised to tell you a bit more about Saint Agatha, who is the patron saint of Catania, Sicily, Malta, and many other places, and is also the patron saint of breast cancer, bakers, nurses, victims of torture, and many other entities. She's also who the cathedral in Catania is named for.

Catania just celebrated the festival of Saint Agatha last week, on February 5, when processions are held throughout the city and small sweet cupcakes resembling her breasts are consumed. Saint Agatha was tortured on the order of the Roman prefecture in Sicily (whose advances she spurned since she'd take a vow of chastity), and her breasts were torn off with tongs, which is why today she is the patron saint of breast cancer.

Early Christian martyrs are a major theme in the churches in Sicily.

I'm guessing the woman in white in this painting is Saint Agatha, given the way she crosses her hands over her breasts, and her white outfit symbolic of her vow of chastity.

The touches of blood have always felt gruesome to me, but I suppose they drive home the sense of sacrifice.

Sant'Agatha is a beautiful cathedral, with frescoes behind the altar.

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

Catania Winter 2023 , © jimread99

One last look at the central square and the elephant statue that dates back to Roman times, and then we were off to have a spritz at the Bellini cafe.

Catania Fish Market

2023-02-08T09:56:00.003-08:00

As soon as Terry made it to Catania, we dropped his bags off at our flat and made directly for the famous Catania fish market. Terry is a seafood specialist with a big multinational grocery conglomerate, so we always make it a point to see the local fish markets.

Being an island, Sicily is well known for its seafood, and Catania is one of the central ports where the boats unload. If you like seafood, this is the place to come.

I can't imagine fresher seafood--much of it was still alive in pans.

That's not to say there weren't other things for sale, like the limes and peppers above.

I was quite interested in the large purple cauliflower, and briefly entertained the idea of lugging one back to our kitchen. There was just so much good food in Italy that we never really cooked at our flats as we usually do on occasion in Europe. Heck, we didn't even pick up any wine to take home, because it was just to easy to grab a table on the street and sip on a spritz.

The sheer number of types of fish was astounding. If I ever go back to Catania, I'm just eating fish for the duration. Several times we stopped and order fresh seafood that was then quickly cooked for us, but I wish we'd done it more often. I was a bit disappointed that the oysters seemed to be imported from Brittany, but I suppose the waters may be a bit warm off the coast of Sicily, and French oysters are some of my favorites.

When I first moved to California in the late 1980s, we could always buy shark at the grocery stores, and I loved the taste of the meat (especially the lack of bones), but overfishing has done away with that practice. Apparently it's not an issue in Italy.

Coming up next...the story of Saint Agatha, patron saint of Catania and Sicily.

Welcome to Sicily: Two Aperol Spritzes, please

2023-02-07T08:01:00.001-08:00

Milan was in our rear-view mirror, as John R. and I took the short flight down to Catania Sicily. Flying over the island I quickly realized just how large and rural much of the island was, and not for the last time found myself wishing we were going to rent a car and explore more of the island. A few minutes before landing in Catania I had my first view of Mount Etna, the active volcano that would dominate our views in Catania and Taormina. Though it was a beautiful 67 degrees when we landed, there was snow at the top of Etna.

Just when I thought I'd left Milan behind, I found these silver statues in the Catania Cathedral, looking every bit like the "silver surfers" I'd grown fond on in Milan's Duomo back in 2015: http://clearedready.blogspot.com/2015/02/rtw-milan-around-duomo-pizza-wine-more.html

John and I checked into our AirBnB, which was a wonderfully quirky place just a five minute walk from the main square. Splitting an apartment between three guys is a fantastic way to save a little money on these trips, as we were getting a three bedroom place with multiple bathrooms, a kitchen, and laundry facility for less that $50 each per night. After checking out the digs (did I mention it was quirky, as in a mixture of exposed beams and corkscrew stairs that looked to be out of a post-apocalyptic video game?), John and I headed out to do a little exploring while we waited for Terry to arrive. The main square, centered around Catania Cathedral (Cattedrale di Sant'Agata to be precise), was beautiful in the afternoon sun.

To the left of the cathedral is the smaller but equally gorgeous Chiesa Sant'Agata, where we'd later climb to the roof for views of the city and Etna. We'll look a bit more closely at this church (and the real St. Agatha) in a later post, but I was already falling in love with the way the afternoon sun caught the buildings in the square.

There were many lovely churches in Catania, but I preferred the cathedral.

A bishop's tomb. It was a mitre impressive statue (I heard that groan).

After a brief exploration of the center square, John and I realized we were starving, so we headed over to Piazza Mazzini and grabbed an outside table at La Pizzoleria, where we had the first of many pizzas on the trip, as well as the first of many Aperol Spritzes. Spoiler alert: every damned one of the spritzes and pizzas was good, except for a stuffed broccoli pizza which was a horrible mistake. We'd found out that Terry's initial flight was canceled, so John and I would be on our own this first night, left to explore more of the area and indulge in a few more Aperols and Negronis. I could already tell that Catania was my kind of town. When I'd researched the city I often found it described in negative terms (my dentist warned me that it was "a fascinating city, but a bit, er, gritty"), but other than some superficial clutter, there seemed to be a lot to see and do, and I felt the kind of comfort and buzz I never felt in Milan. By the end of that first night in Sicily I was pretty sure I'd enjoy myself.

In the next post we'll poke around a bit more as we await Terry.

San Bernardino alle Ossa: Milan's Bone Church

2023-02-06T09:53:00.001-08:00

In a side chapel of San Bernardino alle Ossa in Milan is an example of an ossuary, a place where human bones have been rearranged into various patterns and put on display.

From this angle the display seems huge, but it's actually a pretty small chapel, only a few minutes walk from the Duomo.

We weren't allowed to take photos at the ossuaries in Rome and Palermo, but of the three Palermo's was certainly the most macabre and interesting. In that ossuary the whole bodies were displayed. You can read about it here: https://www.palermocatacombs.com/

You'd think these ossuaries would be sparse, but we'd later visit ossuaries in Rome and Palermo.

Whoever first came up with idea of using human bones as building blocks to form new designs must have shared some DNA with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. Milan's ossuary dates back to 1210, when new construction meant that part of the church cemetery had to be removed.

The ossuary itself is just a small side chapel off to the side of a fairly small church, and when I visited I was the only one there--and yes, it did feel creepy. However, at the top of the chapel the fresco Triumph of Souls and Flying Angels is quite beautiful. It was painted in 1695 by Sebastiano Ricci.

Another view

Part of the purpose for constructing ossuaries is to remind visitors of the presence of death, serving as a momento mori.

The other purpose throughout the years has been to fundraise for the church. There is no fee to visit the ossuary, but there is a donation box as you enter.

Cimitero Monumental di Milano, Part 3

2023-02-02T11:00:00.002-08:00

This is the third and final blog on Milan's Monumental Cemetery, and it's unique and interesting funeral at. The first blog can be see at https://clearedready.blogspot.com/2023/01/cimitero-monumentale-di-milano-visit-to.html, and the second at https://clearedready.blogspot.com/2023/01/cimetero-monumentale-di-milano-part-2.html

A broken tree usually symbolizes a life cut short. I grew up next to an old cemetery in West Virginia, and often saw broken trees, lambs, and other images of grief from losing children, often due to the various cholera and disease outbreaks in the 19th century. I know some people might find it morbid, but I was always heartened by the depictions of love and loss--it made one feel like life matters.

Dogs in funerary art usually symbolize fidelity or devotion, and are meant to remind us that the dead left connections on the earth that will remember them and keep them in their memories.

Ok, I'm not sure what naked guy hammering represents, but I hope he watches where he strikes. For me this would be the moment right before I start cursing in pain.

I love the way the statues is just sitting there, as if he's catching the sun as it peeks through on a cloudy and cold morning.

Speaking of cloudy and cold, I couldn't help but shiver a bit seeing all the scantily clad statues standing out in the misty morning fog.

So many of the tombs evoke the connection between the living and the dead, reminding us of the grief the dead leave behind.

These two, on the other hand, look like they're on their way to the park.

Isn't the look on her face amazing? I love the color of the patina on this statue, as well as the artistry of the folds in the angel's dress.

My guess is the trees represent the family tree, which is represented here by over 100 years of this family.

I encourage you to click on some of these photos and enlarge them--the look on the face here is amazing.

A young girl is depicted here, with rain beading off her chin and arm.

Overall, Cimitero Monumental di Milano is one of the most amazing cemeteries I've visited, right up there with Pere Lachaise, the Key West Cemetery, Highgate Cemetery, or Oaxaca's main cemetery. I was amazed at the level of artistry, and how well the sculptors had managed to memorialize the lives represented by the tombs. Terry tells me I need to visit Bologna's main cemetery, and after visiting Milan's I'm definitely interested in more Italian cemetery visits in the future. And, spoiler alert, when I get around to describing my week in Rome during this trip I will be stopping in one other cemetery.

Cimetero Monumentale di Milano, Part 2

2023-01-31T12:23:00.004-08:00

In the last blog post, I introduced readers to Milan's main cemetery and showcased some of the amazing tombs to be found there: (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6098175064565143495/5155481846433933396). Today we'll look at a few more of the tombs. By the way, the tomb above is for the Campari family, makers of aperitifs and spirits, and is meant to evoke DaVinci's Last Supper.

This seems like a perfectly natural place for the grim reaper to hang out.

The tomb above was made for an Olympic swimmer on the Italian national team. Danielle Samuele swam the butterfly. Unfortunately, she and her fellow teammates were lost in a plane crash crash on January 28, 1966, near Bremen, Germany.

This beautiful statues depicts Samuele mid stroke, depicting her in her glory.

I loved the unusual nature of this sculpture.

Obviously the man depicted was a man of science, though I worry about the rabbit's future.

I liked the birds and angels carefully set in different quadrants, framed by the cross on this tomb.

As I walked through the cemetery, I kept turning a corner only to see somebody seeming to be waving or beckoning to me.

...or holding up their hands. Touchdown!

"I didn't do it."

I have no idea what's going on here.

I've looked all over the internet for information on the tomb above and drawn a blank. Is the propeller from a plane or ship? Does the one broken propeller suggest a fatal wreck, or did some thoughtless vandal break it? Ok internet, do your best and let me know in the comments.

I've always loved typesetting and fonts, so this stone spoke to me.

I was quite taken aback by this beautiful piece of art.

A closer view reveals the morning mist beading up and dropping from her nose and chin. I love the pensive look on her face.

Another statue with beading water on the nose.

This is quite an interesting cross design, isn't it?

I wonder what the significance of covering the person's eyes is on this statue?

This is one of the more amazing sculptures in the cemetery, and a daring choice for one's funerary art.

She looks almost lifelike, sitting and waiting for someone to visit.

The next blog post will be the final one in the Milan Cemetery series. Probably.

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano: A visit to Milan's Amazing Cemetery

2023-01-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

As I wrote in my previous post, the main thing I wanted to do on my return trip to Milan was visit its main cemetery, Cimitero Monumentale. From research I knew it was one of the great "Monumental" cemeteries in Italy, and though the only inhabitant I really knew of was the conductor Arturo Toscanini, it was the amazing tombs that I wanted to see. So, on a cold and misty New Year's Eve morning I hopped a tram and headed to the northern limits of Milan's City Centre, and was immediately greeted by the statue above. I couldn't help but wonder if she was cold.

To be honest, I think I'd rather spend eternity staring at the young woman above rather than a skull, but to each his own.

This lovely statue was made even better by the addition of a single yellow rose.

This guy seemed absolutely joyful, unlike many of the others depicted on tombs. The cemetery was opened in 1866, and it seems like soon after the permanent residents decided to compete to see who could have the most ornate tomb, and over the years they just kept getting bigger, more artistic, and, often, stranger.

Like this woman, in the throes of grief.

Or this kid, beyond lowered to kiss Christ's shins.

There are some 62 acres of monuments in the cemetery, and though I was there for more than two hours, I bet I didn't see half of what was there to see--though I did find this grim reaper.

I loved the lines on this memorial.

I'll admit that my knowledge of Italian history, particularly 19th and 20th century Italian history is sketchy, so I didn't recognize a lot of the names, though I did recognize the owner of this tomb, Arturo Toscanini, the composer and conductor.

This man seemed deep in thought, and given the way he's clenching his fists, maybe a bit out of sorts.

This soldier brought to mind the amazing statue of the brooding soldier of Saint Julien in Belgium, which I wrote about a few years back: http://clearedready.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-brooding-soldier-of-saint-julien.html

As you can see in the picture above, the mist and fog on this cold morning added a welcome touch of gloom and doom to the visit.

A closer view reveals a pious young woman in prayer. I'm not sure if what looks like a tear streaming down her left cheek is a result of the rain or artistic brilliance.

The whole statue is amazing, but in the next photo you can see just how detailed the face is.

I love the green patina on this tomb, but have no idea

Some tombs just left we wondering what the heck was going on.

Like this one. Obviously it's a reference to "The Last Supper" which hangs in a church cafeteria in Milan, but I'd love to know why it was chosen.

Welcome to Milan. Where's the pizza?

2023-01-26T11:30:00.001-08:00

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

Finally, after two years of pandemic, this December I found myself on a trip that wasn't full of Covid passports and entry/exit tests. Finally back to a normal feeling trip! My plan was to visit Italy with four other good friends, spending the bulk of our time in Sicily, a part of Italy none of us had previously visited (and by the way, we chose the location well before White Lotus 2 had aired). But before we all met up in Sicily, I had some unfinished business in Milan.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

A few years back I'd been part of a group that began our Round-The-World in Milan, simply because we caught a fare error, allowing us to visit Milan/Prague/Hanoi/Japan for around $350. I'd only spent two nights in Milan, just enough time to see the Duomo and Davinci's The Last Supper. This trip my main goal was to visit Milan's Monumental Cemetery. If you've followed this blog you know I love cemeteries, and Milan's was supposed to be amazing.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

I arrived the day before New Year's Eve. One of our group, John, was scheduled to arrive the next day, so I spent the first evening wandering around the Christmas market set up in the Duomo square.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

I really didn't want to bother with reservations and a sit down meal that first night, so a quick anchovy, capers, and black olive slice from a pizzeria next to my hotel did the trick.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

The next day, while waiting for John to get in, I walked around my local neighborhood and found this park with amazing street art.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

Obviously the murals were commissioned, but I loved the detail.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

I love when a community embraces its street artists like this, creating a lively and fun park.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

There was street art of the non-commissioned type, as well. Not as much as I'd later see in Sicily and Rome, but some good stuff.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Milan. Too much of the architecture seems to either have come from the brutalist era or is high-gloss moneyed work, and I find the city lacks a lot of the charm I find elsewhere in Italy, but to be fair, I haven't explored the entirety of the city.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

Still, coming across touches like this reminded me that I was indeed in Europe.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

The second night I went ahead and made a reservation for a proper meal, which began with this amazing pizza.

Milan 2023 , © jimread99

And this plate of sausage and what seemed like collard greens. Good stuff, but of course there was much more to come in Italy. That third day John showed up, and we quickly made plans for his one day in Milan. But I'm skipping ahead--in the next blog I'll post about my unfinished business in the cemetery.

It's been a minute...

2022-11-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Aren't we all still recovering from a two-year interruption of our lives? When the lockdowns hit in 2020, I literally had my bags packed and was heading to Dublin for St. Pat's, and then on to Paris, and I was planning a fall sabbatical trip to England. Yeah, so much for that, but as things go, my pandemic wasn't bad. I just didn't travel. This year that changed. I went to San Francisco with my wife at the beginning of the year, and then went to Andalusia with my regular group of peripatetic souls, and then pushed my luck with a spring break trip to Paris (which nearly killed me, and not because of Covid). The Covid came later this last summer, in Louisville, but that proved to be a minor hiccup. There was also a family-oriented trip to D.C. back in May, and I'm now planning a winter break trip to Sicily with the usual suspects, but despite slowly jumping back into traveling, I've neglected this blog. Partly it was a sense of avoiding hexing myself; surely if I got the 'rona traveling, social media would give me shit. Head down, trudge forward, look back at a later date was my travel mantra this year. I guess this is the later date, and I do feel a need to write about travel again in this format. I think I'll tweak and repost the few Spain posts I did earlier this year, and then work my way through Paris, DC, and Louisville, before writing about what's coming up. Bear with me as I shake off the rust.

Seville Cathedral

2022-02-07T13:47:00.001-08:00

Seville Cathedral is immense. The UNESCO world heritage site claims to be the fourth largest church in the world, and certainly has seen its share of history. Amongst all that history, it claims to be the burial site of Christopher Columbus (and his son Diego).

Columbus' tomb is being carried by the Kings of Leon (no, not the band), Castille, Aragon, and Navarre.

There is some dispute regarding whether Columbus is buried in Seville, or if his remains are really in Santo Domingo. Given the shift in his reputation, it's probably not a bad thing to have a little plausible deniability. There is no debate, though, that the tomb is first rate.

Rear view

The people in the foreground help to illustrate just how tall the cathedral is. Natural light gives the ceiling that beautiful golden hue, and the light through the stain glass provides beautiful coloration.

I don't know enough about Catholic iconography to explain the three heads being stood upon.

There are 80 separate chapels inside the cathedral.

The lighting in the cathedral is amazing. Gothic cathedrals can be rather dark and cold inside, but that's not a problem here.

There is a lot of impressive art, much of which is even identified on nearby wall plaques.

A bishop's tomb.

Along with entrance to the cathedral, your ticket offers access to the bell tower, the minaret that was turned into a bell tower. Rather than steps, a solid incline provides access. It's steep, and apparently the incline allowed for pack animals to transport workers to the top. The view from the top is spectacular.

Not quite as impressive as the bells at Notre Dame, but not too shabby.

Another city view.

And yet one more.

Looking up at one of the side domes.

I couldn't help but think of bobble heads.

A faithful dog waits at the feet of his mistress.

Can anyone place this story?

I'm guessing this is Jesus with the money changers in the temple.

I thought this view of John the Baptist was gruesome enough...

And then I saw this angle. Nightmare stuff.

Pious looking guys.

Impressive painting--no idea what the story is being illustrated.

The courtyard behind the cathedral. Take a left at the yellow building, then a right at the next cross street, and you'll come to where our apartment was, and a block past that our local pub. Quatro cervezas, si, grande pro favor. Time to take a break from all that grandeur and piety.

Seville, City at Night

2022-02-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

On our trip to Andalucia we visited Seville (twice), Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, and Rondo. Each city had its charms, and over the next few weeks I'll briefly talk about those charms, but of all the cities we visited, Seville was the one I'd most like to revisit. It's a fairly big city, and to me felt like just the right combination of urban buzz and city centre charm. Above is the view from our outside table, where we watched the parade of people passing in front of the Seville Cathedral bell tower, which had, at one time, been where the Muezzin would issue the call to prayer for the Islamic faithful. The mixture of Christian and Islamic architecture speaks to the many changes the city has seen. If you remember our post on Marrakech from 2013, you may think the bell tower looks familiar--that because it was built to resemble the minaret Koutoubia from that city.

Here we can see the backside of the cathedral. Until 1248 it was the Almohad mosque, but when Ferdinand III captured the city he had the mosque converted to a Christian building, and in the 15th century most of the original mosque was replaced with the Cathedral we see today. Today it claims to be the fourth biggest cathedral in the world.

Another image of Seville at night.

Seville is a great city to explore at night, when many of the tourists have emptied out, leaving the streets and buildings to those exploring the city.

It's not all old town charm in the city--who knew there was a need for erotic waffles?

I took a pass, but I must admit that I think differently of waffles now.

One of the quirkier buildings in the city is the Setas de Sevilla, a structure made of wood, resembling large waffle fries.

During the day one can take a tour of the roof top, with expansive views of the city, but by the time we wandered by it, the rooftop was closed.

Despite that, the colorful display was well worth visiting.

Coming up...Seville Cathedral, the interior during a day visit.

Andalucia: Tapas and So Much More

2022-01-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

This was my very first meal in Spain on my recent trip. It was New Year's Eve, and most of the restaurants were closed, but I found one very packed place, and grabbed a spot standing up at the bar and ordered the meat plate. This set the tone for trip, as we were constantly eating delicious food--mostly in the form of tapas, small plates with Costco sample sized bits of food. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This was breakfast most mornings. A large toasted slice of bread, slathered with olive oil, and a healthy dollop of blended tomato puree and bacon bits. This simple breakfast, along with a cafe con leche, was standard breakfast fare for most of the trip. Olive oil was pretty much on everything we ate on the trip--If I'd swallowed a quarter at breakfast, it would have come out the other side well before lunch time.

Another breakfast with a slightly different meat selection.

Most of the time we had tapas for lunch and dinner, with the exception of a couple of orders of Paella.

Here's a standard two-person order of paella. Pro tip: if they don't warn you that it'll take a half hour to make the paella, order something else. The best paella is made while you wait.

One of the great eating traditions in Spain is tapas, small portions of food meant to accompany your drink. This way one could sample many more types of food. If you really like something, you can always order a slightly bigger order (racciones), or a full sized plate. Above is a bocadillo--a small sandwich with pork.

We visited five cities, Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, and Ronda, and each city had its own unique style of tapas. Granada was the best city for tapas, since they are served for free with a drink order. The other four cities all charged a slight fee (2 or 3 euros), but unlike in Granada where you get whatever they bring you, in the other places you could order what you wanted. Above is stewed oxtail that fell apart on the fork.

Small cheese and ham croquettes were also common.

Yummy stuff.

Terry's small, strong espresso to start the day.

A salad in Malaga, with a glass of beer.

The salad consisted of sliced tomatoes, topped with anchovies, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and, of course, lots of olive oil. On our train trips we'd pass olive orchards that would go on for ten miles quite frequently.

In Malaga, we stopped at a place that served wine directly from the barrel.

The wines tended to be way too sweet for me, but it was a fun experience.

Here's a typical meal in Seville: fired anchovies, meat pieces with fries, and shaved Iberian ham.

Accompanied with a beer, of course.

Grilled artichokes with bacon, drizzled with olive oil.

Occasionally we have to switch things up and order a wine instead of beer, particularly on some of the chillier days (of which there were few).

I'm a big fan of anchovies--here's a free plate in Granada.

Breakfast churros with a bocadillo.

Feel free to caption this.

I'm not even sure what this was, but I'm guessing some sort of fried meat.

Hummus and nuts on toast, I think.

Free paella in Granada, with a Cruzcampo, our preferred beer on the trip.

Botanico in Cordoba was our go to spot for evening drinks.

Potatoes bravos with some sort of stew.

Shrimp on small chunks of lettuce, and octopus on mashed potatoes, I think.

Gazpacho is an Andalucian speciality.

One more breakfast shot.

By the end of the second week, I think we were all starting to burn out on tomato bread, as much as we liked it.

Somehow, despite all the good food, beer, and wine, I ended up losing 8 pounds on the trip. I'm guessing all the walking did the trick, but I was shocked when I hopped on the scale back in the states. I'm trying to get my wife to start serving me tapas twice a day, with a beer, but so far she remains skeptical.

Back on the Road: Traveling in the Time of Covid

2022-01-26T09:48:00.002-08:00

March 11, 2020, should have been the start of a fantastic travel year. I'd already travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia in January, and my bags were literally packed and sitting in the front hallway, ready to follow me to Dublin for St. Patty's Day, and then continue to Paris for Spring Break. I also had been awarded a sabbatical to travel to English in the fall, and had trips to Louisville and Tampa Bay already booked as well. But a virus had been spreading across the globe, and that night President Trump went on air and announced a European travel ban. From then until December 2021, I'd only traveled once for a family emergency. For the next two years, I did what many of you did. I planted a garden. I bought a spin bike and dropped fifty pounds. I binged the Tiger King. I learned to Zoom. And I stayed home.

Fast forward to Fall 2021. Fully vaccinated and sporting a new bandage on top of my booster shot, I decided it was time to dip my toe into the travel water. A show of Banksy's work was announced in San Francisco, and the prospect of visiting my favorite American city and seeing street art seemed just the right moment to cautiously try a trip again. My wife and I packed up the car and pointed it north, and soon we were in the city. Yes, it felt weird as fuck to be walking in a city, but everyone there was masked, and the vaccination rate in the city one of the highest in a state that had embraced vaccines. Restaurants and our hotel checked VAX records, so we felt somewhat safe, and soon were hiking from Union Square through Chinatown, and then over to Boudin's by the wharf.

The Banksy show was an unauthorized collection of prints and photos of his work, with cheesy photo ops like the one above.

The exhibition was held at the Palace of the Fine Arts, which was featured in Hitchcock's Vertigo and was built for the 1915 Pan-American Exposition.

The exhibition featured over 100 Banksy works, with most being prints depicting works originally seen as street art.

All told, a good catalogue of Banksy's work would have sufficed, but I enjoyed the show, even if I got nervous every time somebody got too close.

Most of the work I'd seen before in other contexts, but gathering so many works in one place helped to summarize many of Banksy's themes and his focus.

I enjoyed the exhibition, but wished there'd been a bit more explanatory or background information. Instead, the show's focus seem to be to let Banksy's work and quotations speak for themselves.

In the age of Covid, this warning seems ominous.

Always one of my favorites.

A decal of this piece was on my laptop for years.

Another favorite.

Churchill, reimagined.

All hail the monkey queen.

According to the exhibition, there were over 30 million dollars worth of artwork on display, which is quite pricy for mindless vandalism.

This was spotted in the men's room.

The Palace of the Fine Arts included numerous buildings, but only these faux Roman pillars remain of the original exhibition buildings.

Built on a small lake, these pillars are meant to resemble the Roman Forum.

Another view.

While in the city, my wife and I had a wonderful dinner at Scoma's at Fisherman's Wharf--our first true meal at a restaurant in nearly two years. The Cioppino was worth the wait, and my wife had a perfectly cooked dungeness crab that had been swimming in the local waters that morning.

We also split a fantastic beat salad.

I had a half dozen oysters, as well. I'd missed oysters quite a bit.

After two years of beard and hair growth, I'd just gotten my travel haircut, and felt good to be back among the living. As the trip date approached, the Omicron variant of Covid had been spreading rapidly, and I had quite a touch of deja vu, but we made it. Seeing San Francisco again was bittersweet--so many of the restaurants and bars that we loved were shuttered, and for the first time ever I felt a bit on edge walking the streets at night. This was just a few days before Christmas, but the city lacked the buzz we'd seen on previous holiday visits, but for a city that's survived earthquakes, Zodiac Killers, and tech bros, a little pandemic will surely pass. As Shelley asked, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

Coming up: Primavera comes early in Andalucia

Bust of Dalida, Montmarte

2020-10-07T09:25:00.002-07:00

Though she was born in Cairo, the singer Dalida found fame in Paris. Above is her statue in Montmartre, not far from where she committed suicide and near her burial spot in Montmarte cemetery.

Now, where were we?

2020-08-23T13:25:00.004-07:00

The indelible image in my mind is of my carefully packed roller bag propped against the dining room table, and my backpack, loaded with the technology that keeps me connected when I'm traveling, next to it. I was going to spend spring break in Amsterdam, Dublin (a quick trip for St. Pats), and then Paris. This would be the second trip of the year, soon to be followed to trips to Louisville, Tampa, and then the big one, a sabbatical trip to England and Germany. And then CNN cut to breaking news, and within half an hour all trips were off. Merde.

Life during the plague is hard on a traveler, but yeah, that's a small problem to have. We're healthy, have our jobs, and entertain ourselves by pretending to grow a garden and walking our dog. Many of my students have had relatives with Covid-19, and many more have had to cope with job loss and uncertainty. I've always told my wife that if I were ever on Naked and Afraid or Survivor, my strategy would be to go into hibernation mode, reserving physical and mental stores for when they were needed, and in many ways that's what I've done since the March shut down. I coped with no travel by just not thinking about it.

And then this morning I clicked on this blog...first time since March. I realized that at some point I'll be traveling again, so maybe it's time to at least start writing about travel in preparation for that moment. "How dull it is to pause, to make an end,/ to rust unburnished, not to shine in use" writes Tennyson about his version of Ulysses, stuck at home in Ithaca, missing adventure. At least writing about travel is something. I have drafts started from the January trip to Southeast Asia, including a first time visit to Kuala Lumpur, and always lots of older, uncompleted drafts from trips that never got posted.

Ok, gray hair, but scroll down to see the toll this plague has taken on me

Before I go back to the January trip, I thought I'd take a few posts to describe my trips to the backyard this summer. In lieu of actual travel, how about a glimpse into my attempts to stave off descent into Howard Hughes madness? I promise to post much more regularly about the summer, about past trips, and about what's going to happen when borders open again.

Are you going to be using those toe nail clippings?