Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog
Posting original art
Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas has examples of Punic (Carthaginian), ancient Greek, as well as a rare Phoenician sarcophagus. It contains some of the fine work from the Greek temples of Selinunte, built by the Elymians.
Yes, those are turtles!
April 1, 2019
Erice is perched atop Mount Erice, about 750 meters/2400 feet above the Sicilian coast north of Palermo overlooking our previous nights’ stay in Nubia’s salt flats. It was founded by the Phonecians. It’s stone houses offer charming looks while the dramatic views of the land and sea below its steep sides bring tourists from around the world. It’s one of the world’s magic spots. It is still occupied. Residents can drive down to nearby towns in less than 30 minutes, or go by bus up and down the steep and winding road. The town’s economy is tourist oriented, the shops offering post cards and local foods, as well as bars, cafes and restaurants. There is a science conference center as well. It’s a pleasant and easy walk around the town, with views galore.
There are remains of Phoenician and Elymian walls indicating different stages of settlement and occupation in antiquity. The Pepoli Castle dates from Moorish times. Venus Castle is from the Norman period. Beneath it is a Temple of Venus.
We know little about the Elymian people. They lived in this region, founded Segesta which has important Greek era ruins, and were probably assimilated into the Roman empire.
March 31, 2019
On the coast just 20km from my ancestral town of Partanna and 50km from the port of Marsala you find the archaeological area called Selinunte. http://selinunte.gov.it/ It dates from 450 BCE. It has some of the finest Greek ruins anywhere.
Selinunte was a moderately-sized town, surprising given the scale of construction they undertook. The Greeks founded it in the seventh century BCE, locating it on the coast. In 409 BCE Carthaginians sacked Selinunte, then earthquakes in the middle ages damaged or toppled the remaining structures. English archaeologists began excavations in the late 1800’s. Excavation continues. Sculpture panels from a temple frieze are in the archaeological museum in Palermo.
There is an excellent museum which contains well translated exhibits as well as various remnants including a pediment atop tall columns. Upon this structure they project a slide show. It is superbly done and the highlight of our visit. We videoed part of the show. The handheld camera can not duplicate the experience for you but at least gives you some idea of what it’s like.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q57WGNYAg8M[/embedyt]
There is an extensive wiki on the town https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selinunte
If you want to thoroughly explore the site you need 3-4 hours if you walk. There is a motorized vehicle if you prefer, with a taped tour.
March 31, 2018
My grandparents were born in the small towns of Partanna and Santa Ninfa, emigrating to the US in 1914-15. I am the first time on the US side anyone has visited these places. The two are in the province of Trapanni between the cities of Trapanni and Marsala but inland, and in an agricultural zone that today produces mostly grapes and olives. The area was inhabited by the Greeks, and not far from these towns there are some fine examples of Greek temples, which I will show in a subsequent post.
Partanna is by far the more interesting, having a palace, some ruins and a great view to share. It is on a hill some 400 meters above sea level and 50 kilometers from the coast. Here it is on the approach with our excellent Canon zoom.
Today there are about 10,000 inhabitants. Its most notable architectural feature is the Castell Grifeo, now the Museo Regionale di Preistoria del Belice. The castle dates back at least to 1453 and perhaps to 1400. It contains mostly items excavated locally at a site called Contrada Stretto. Per their website the “Skull Drilled,” discovered in the Contrada Stretto, dates to the early bronze age, 3500-2000 BCE. The skull has a large hole, drilled while the person was alive. It is evident that the subject survived. This “magical-surgical” procedure was probably used to cure mental illnesses. There is also an 18th century fresco showing King Roger II, a Norman nobleman, defeating the Arabs near Mazara. Later Roger and his soldiers liberated Sicily from the Arabs. Mazara is not far from Partanna. We passed nearby today.
The family name is Palermo, of course I can not be totally certain if this street is named for the family or the city, but nearly every town in Sicily has a via Palermo.
This church, The Church of Purgatory, is a mere facade. The Grifeo family built it in 1722.
The damage ocurred during an earthquake in 1968. Also damaged was the Church of San Francisco, although the clock tower survived and it still in use. San Francisco dates from around 1500, while the tower was added in 1650.
We are in Partanna on a Sunday and not a creature is stirring. We could not even find a restaurant for lunch, so we drove the 6km to Santa Ninfa only to find the same situation, although luckily we ran across an open bar. He had some tasty if floppy small round pizzas and arancini, rice balls, that in this joint are stuffed with beef in one and ham in another. They roll them in corn flour and drop them into a hot oil. The white wine was quite good. It was a men’s only place today, watching soccer on tv while a few had something to drink.
Santa Ninfa was founded in 1605. Largely rebuilt after the devastating 1968 earthquake, its appearance is largely modern. Today there are 5000 inhabitants and like Partanna is surrounded by farms, also mostly producing olives and grapes judging by what we saw on the way from that town. There is a huge olive oil silo on the edge of town, a towering witness to the efforts of farmers and their employees.
There are several regional DOP’s (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta) for wine in this area. Alcamo, Delia Nivolelli , Delia Nivolelli, Erice, Marsala, Menfi, Moscato di Pantelleria or Passito di Pantelleria or Pantelleria, Salaparuta. There are more DOP’s in this region than anywhere else in Sicily, if not all of Italy. Judging by the size of the fields we drove through I am not at all surprised. And no wonder I like the stuff! It’s in the genes.
Judging by what we saw in the area, their fast food is pizza, like most everywhere in Italy, arancini (rice balls), fries, and something called panelle or paneddi, which are flat panels just 1/8″ thick. They are made water and chickpea flour cooked into a porridge (like polenta), and then cooled until firm, cut into pieces, and fried in olive oil. They are sometimes served in bread or roll.
Finally, this story. In Valencia I happened to meet another American about a year ago. His name is Jim. One of us said, “My grandparents were born in Sicily.”
“No kidding, mine too.”
“Really! What a coincidence! My grandfather was born in Partanna.”
“You don’t say. Mine too!.”
In addition to this coincidence, we live just five minutes from one another.
After a visit to the friendliest and most helpful car rental agent at Palermo’s airport, sited at water’s edge and loomed over by a craggy steep mountain of volcanic rock, we set off in our tiny Twingo to Castelmare del Golfo to find a place for lunch. We happened across a brand new place overlooking the shore.
They’d installed glass partitions to fend off the chilly breeze, retaining the gorgeous views.
This came to a reasonable 50 euros for the two of us, including Peg’s swordfish preceded by a plate of croquettes, a flat potato filled something, and grilled vegetables.
We then proceeded to the little coastal town of Pacceco for the night. Here they have salt flats and a few restaurants. Our friendly hostess, who has seemingly perfected the Italian language, is effectively shielded from the doorbell. We were saved from a night in the car by the annoying, yapping mutt. She cheerfully and forcefully showed us around this spacious yet inexpensive flat, with lots of hot water but not a bit of heat, and a tiny cigarette lighter designed to burn your fingers when you light a burner. Outside are recycling bins, while inside there is one for organic. She grows oranges and mandarins.
We are not far from my ancestral home towns, Partanna and Santa Ninfa. The area has several Greek era temples and an amphitheater too. To the south is the ancient port of Marsala- Mars is the sea, ala is Allah. The sea of Allah. The Moors were here.
Here are photos from the last day of Fallas, March 19, 2019. Included are photos of Mary in the Plaza de la Virgen covered with flowers and one or two from earlier on while they are building. Nuria and Zoe in their Fallera dresses in the first photo. We walked about 3 hours to get these photos, leaving a little after 8 am. After around noon the streets at the larger and more famous Fallas get very crowded. Most of the morning the sky was a bright blue.
A high school mate is on my website mailing list. (you can get on the mailing list on the website or PM me with your email address) She wrote, “Thanks for sharing those fabulous photos and your latest artwork. At first I thought they were small, but after several views, oh my heavens, they are huge. Is there a theme in the designs?”
Indeed they are huge. I was standing next to a small one the other day. Bugger than I am! But next to the 15 meter high ones it looks quite small. I try to get some scale in the photos to help the viewer put things in perspective.
There are multiple themes, in fact a nearly endless variety. One major theme is national and local politics, and international as well, this year more to do with Brexit and the reburial of Franco. One showed Franco, Stalin, Hitler and Trump wearing nothing but hats.
The huge one by city hall is an ode to graffiti. There are some excellent graffiti artists here. It’s stunning!
There are quite a few fallas’ that address the treatment of women. This year Spain inaugurated a hotline for domestic abuse, you dial 116. They are now addressing the matter more seriously. I did not see that dealt with immigration. Italy, Greece and Spain are all dealing with immigration from sub-Sahara Africa. Corruption is always a topic. We saw several that talked about pollution caused by plastics. There are more, these are just the ones I noticed.
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A Passcalles is a major part of Fallas. The clubs, called Casals, assemble in Fallero/Fallera clothing to march through the street. Here is a short video of one group, accompanied by traditional Valencian reed instruments, called ‘dulzaina’
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zNCVQRcn9c[/embedyt]
During the day, aside from the Mascleta in the square in front of city hall, there are dozens of smaller but still loud and impressive mini Masletas put on by the Casals. We went to ours. You can get much closer, which does not do your ears any good, but it is something to behold!
Starting late tonight is the Crema. They burn all these amazing sculptures except for one small example. It’s a lot of unhealthy smoke and aside from the late hour – they are not done until 1 am – this is why we no longer go to any of these events. There are some 800 of these afire in the city, not simultaneously of course.
March 16, 2019
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Another impressive ending. I am about 3 blocks away. Crowd crammed together up close.
Friday, March 15, 2019
They began delivery of the Fallas’ (sculptures) last Monday and were still assembling them as of this afternoon. Here is an early look at some of the fabulous sculptures.
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There is much detail here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Mil%C3%A0