I have to thank a public television program for inspiring me to share this article from Virtuoso. They both referred to "Sicily’s eclectic ingredients, deep respect for tradition, and epicurean experiences" as transporting "travelers back in time". My friends the Anderson's have to share the blame for the following trip down memory lane; they visited this charmed island this week and it made me think about the memories they were making together.
I remember the first time I took the bus from the NATO base where I was stationed, to Catania, the island's second-largest city, located on the eastern coast of the island.
The bus would drop off-duty folks near Catania's historic center, the Piazza del Duomo, which is dominated by the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Agatha. I thought "So that's a cathedral." It was my first and you always remember your first. As you've read from me a bazillion and one times, this is why I help people travel: to turn the once imaginary into an unforgettable memory by seeing for themselves the things they've only seen in a book or on a screen. And that was one of mine.
By the way, Catania sits at the foot of Mount Etna which dominates the skyline and has greatly influenced the landscape and culture of the region. I remember watching a small eruption - more like a belch than an eruption - of Etna while working on an airplane one evening during my shift. Working in the shadow of a volcano was also a first; you can see I have a lot of indelible memories of the island that no book or screen can create.
So Sicily, then. I'll let you go straight to this article on the Virtuoso website. It was written in 2020, but given Sicily's milennias-long existence, I doubt it has changed much in three years. Let this article take you there. I encourage to start making your own memories, whether in Sicily or somewhere else. That's what the rectangular green thingie for.
'til next week.
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