4/28 Our new routine is breakfast at home, then down to the bar for our morning caffè with our new friends. The same men have their espresso at the same time every morning, espresso and conversation. Today they asked us where we were from then discovered my Italian heritage of mezzo Siciliana è mezzo Abruzzese. This made them very happy so they asked me if I spoke Sicilian! Of course, you know in Sicily you are not Italian, you are Sicilian. In Italy, I am only half Italian.
Sicily has it’s very own dialect, one I was never able to understand and it made my Sicilian grandmother so angry, especially since I was named after her. It is a difficult dialect to understand but I still think it’s very interesting, especially when voices are raised and hand gestures are flying and faces are getting redder by the minute and NOPE, they are not fighting. Just having a heated conversation which is very normal. We’ve witnessed several since being here in Agrigento.
We’ll see if we can capture a photo of our new friends before we leave. If you smile at them, they smile back so smiling is a nice way to meet people and waving at them when they are sitting on their balconies gets you a wave back and a big smile. I love it!
Now for our adventurous day in Old Town Agrigento. We walked up the hill to get to the Marconi Square where we could go further up the hill toward the bus station and then up and to the top of the HILL to reach the Duomo.
The churches are different and you just have to see the Duomo’s as they are all beautiful. This one was no exception. After climbing what seemed like a giant mountain, we finally reached the Duomo d’Agrigento officially known as the Cathedral of San Gerlando.
We were asked to pay to tour this church but we were able to take the steps up to the top for a spectacular view of the inside of the Duomo and the surrounding countryside. Now these steps were a real challenge and I wasn’t sure about going up but just held on to the rope or the side of the walls and pressed on. I stopped counting steps after I reached 90 because the space got so narrow and the steps were not exactly even. The photos we took don’t do the steps justice.
The view from the top was breathtaking, both inside and out.
After taking in all we could, we headed back down the stairs and had a guide give us a tour of the sanctuary and explain the history and architecture of the cathedral.
We went to the Museo Diocesano (Museum of the Diocese of Agrigento. ) No photos allowed. Archbishops’ vestments with their gold threaded symbols, many paintings, old gold and silver chalices and crosses and crosiers or pastoral/bishops’ staffs from years ago. Really beautiful relics.
We started downhill to the next church which was Santa Maria Dei Greci (Santa Maria of the Greeks.) This was originally a Greek temple honoring Athena about 500BC. It then became a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in the Byzantine era. Then it became a Catholic Cathedral, around 1200. The Catholic Church was built inside the columns of the Greek Temple.
We decided it was time to head back down the hill to our apartment since it was already 1 PM and also time for lunch. We went to the same restaurant as yesterday and we both had the mixed fried fish and a salad. It was absolutely delicious.
After walking around for over 4 hours, we figured we did more than enough for one day and headed home.
How can you not go to the different churches. They are all beautiful in their own way. Those steps look very challenging. When you come back home and teach your class it will be a piece of cake! Of course the food looks yummy.