Now if only my watercolor looked like this picture...
One of the more interesting things about Pompeii is that today its only full time residents are the dogs. Where Rome has temple cats, Pompeii has dogs. Everywhere you go there are dogs lounging about, walking along side you playing the role of Man's Best Friend, or running around barking up a storm. While working on a sketching assignment in the Forum, there was a group of three of four dogs that just wouldn't leave me alone. They kept barking and walking around me the entire time I sat there. I realized later the reason for this was because they probably wanted the sandwich I had left in my backpack with the intention of eating later. One of my friends made the mistake of eating a sandwich in front of them and ended up losing half of his sandwich and his watercolor assignment to a hungry dog. It has to be one of the few time the "my dog ate my homework" line was actually applicable.
Me and a couple of my dog friends
From Pompeii we traveled to Naples and were greeted almost immediately by two of its most famous features: beautiful churches and lots of trash. I haven't quite figured out the reasoning for the trash but according to our professors and other sources, the piles of garbage all over the place can be blamed on plenty of sanitation worker's strikes and insider mafia deals with sanitation departments in northern cities. Naples was definitely a bit grungier than most of the places I have been this year but the beautiful architecture of its churches and other important buildings more than made up for the dirt and grime. Many of the churches, such as Gesu Nuovo and the Sansevero Chapel (look it up, you won't be disappointed) rival the architecture and sculpture of even the most famous churches in Rome. Although there was a persistent cold rain during most of our visit, walking through Naples and seeing its wonderful interiors, artwork, and museums was well worth it.
San Domenico, another beautiful Neapolitan church
After completing our tours of Naples we headed to the port to catch a boat to Sicily. It was a fun evening of rocking back and forth across the Mediterranean aboard the large ferry. We stayed up on the deck until the lights from the mainland fell out of our view and a cold rain began to fall. So, we retreated to our rooms below and lay in our bunks chatting and eating cookies until we eventually fell asleep. The next morning, I awoke to brilliant sunshine pouring in through the porthole of our room. The clouds, rain, and wind of the night before had moved on, leaving a bright sunny morning to welcome us to Sicily, where we would be for the rest of the trip.
After a long time waiting in the corridor on the ship, they let everyone walk down the gangplank and we stepped foot into the city of Palermo where we spent the day exploring its various architectural sites including its beautiful cathedral and a wonderful 19th century theater called Teatro Massimo. Although Palermo is a very historical city with architecture dating back hundreds of years, it was heavily bombed during World War II causing much of the city to rebuilt in a less architecturally pleasing style during the 50s and 60s. It would have been nice to see Palermo the way it looked a hundred years ago, but even the various pockets of architecture spread throughout the modern fabric were pleasant surprises to stumble upon.
The Sicily leg of our trip found us walking up our fair share of hills, and this was very true of our next two stops at Segesta and the hill town of Erice. Segesta was an ancient Greek settlement similar to Paestum other than the fact that was set on top of a hill a couple miles inland from the sea. After a pleasant walk up the entrance, you are greeted by one of the most well preserved temples anywhere. Its surprising to think a building could stay in such great shape even after a couple of thousand years. The just don't build 'em like that nowadays. We also took a hike up to the top of the hill were the old fortifications and theater stand. It wasn't an easy hike but we all made it to the top without incident. The views from the top of the hill to the valley and ocean beyond were epic. I thought it was one of the most beautiful views I'd ever see, but I was proved wrong when we arrived at the top of the mountain that Erice is located on later that day.
The beautiful temple at Segesta
The theater at Segesta
The bus ride up the side of the mountain towards Erice seemed to go on forever. The road continued to climb and climb along the edge of the mountain, and the towns and homes beside the ocean below continued to grow smaller and smaller. The bus finally pulled into the little parking lot at the entrance of the town, and upon getting off the bus we noticed it was much colder. Erice, because of its location on top of a mountain, has a micro-climate different than the rest of Sicily. Its one of the few places on the island were pine tree forests grow naturally. We also had the experience of having a sunny day turn into completely foggy when a low lying cloud decided to run into the mountain late in the afternoon. Besides interesting weather, Erice had beautiful architecture and even more stunning views. We got lucky and arrived when the weather was clear, affording us great views of the ocean and the rolling green hills of Sicily has far as the eye could see. We spent the night in that wonderful town and even got a free dinner at the hotel. A pleasant experience to say the least.
A view of the Mediterranean from Erice. Now, that's a view.
Although we didn't want to leave the beauty of the secluded mountaintop, there was still plenty of Sicily left to see. So, we piled back into the bus and headed back down the mountain to see some of the towns in the southern and central parts of the island. Our first stop was in Salinute were we saw more temples, completed another watercolor, and took a plunge (at least I did) in the still cold Mediterranean. The weather was spotty at best. It was chilly, windy, and cloudy for most of the day, but at least the sun came out when it was time to watercolor.
Besides the temples, the thing I will remember most about Salinute was getting directions from a sheep herder. There are a bunch of different temples at Salinute organized in two different areas about half a mile apart, one area is in the ancient town center near the sea and the other is across a deep gully that was once an ancient riverbed that has long been silted up. We had to walk across the gully to get between the two areas, and to be blunt the paths didn't really take you where you needed to go. We found this out the hard way as the path we were on suddenly veered off in the wrong direction leaving us to trudge through a bunch of nearly impassible bushes and trees in search of the temples that lay somewhere beyond. I'm sure 44 architecture students trudging through the brush was quite a sight to behold, especially if you're a simple sheep herder. There was a guy herding sheep (yes, people still do that) down into the gully, and I'm sure he had a good laugh watching us try and find a way through the bushes. I remember looking over and seeing him wave his arms in our general direction and point to a little break in the undergrowth up ahead where we found a narrow dirt path led all the way the the ancient town and its temples. The sheep herder ended up doing double duty that day as he not only herded his sheep but also a lost group of lost architecture students.
We spent the next couple of days exploring the rest of Sicily, seeing Enna, the highest elevated city in Sicily, more temples in Agrigento, the lovely town of Taormina, and even the Carnevale parade in the city of Acireale. Those towns were great to visit, but what put the icing on the cake was the day we spent in Catania. Catania is one of Sicily's largest cities and is nestled beneath one of the most beautiful natural features in Sicily, the snow covered peak of the volcanically active Mount Etna. We had a wonderful time in Catania exploring its wide variety of religious and secular baroque architecture. We were all care free and just enjoyed each others company and the architecture as we walked up and down the streets and alleys. While it was a sunny and warm day, it was kind of bittersweet because it was the nicest day on our entire trip. I finished the afternoon by sketching the cathedral and playing some hackysack in the piazza in front of the cathedral. A good way to end a great week in Sicily.
The cathedral in Catania
Later in the afternoon we boarded a plane bound for Rome and that was the end of our field trip. In all, we had visited a dozen or so different towns and cities in a week and a half. While it was great to see all the great architecture throughout Sicily and southern Italy what I'll always remember are the interesting, odd, and funny things that happened along the way. I'll always remember sampling octopus in Salinute and actually liking it and watching a friend accidentally kick a soccer ball onto a hotel roof and then climb over a balcony railing to retrieve it. I'll never forget getting lost in the wrong part of Acireale looking for the train station or exploring an abandoned castle perched on the edge of a cliff with some of the guys. It's not everyday that you can do stuff like that. That is what made my trip to Sicily, like this whole year, something I'll treasure for a long, long time to come.
San Domenico, another beautiful Neapolitan church
After a long time waiting in the corridor on the ship, they let everyone walk down the gangplank and we stepped foot into the city of Palermo where we spent the day exploring its various architectural sites including its beautiful cathedral and a wonderful 19th century theater called Teatro Massimo. Although Palermo is a very historical city with architecture dating back hundreds of years, it was heavily bombed during World War II causing much of the city to rebuilt in a less architecturally pleasing style during the 50s and 60s. It would have been nice to see Palermo the way it looked a hundred years ago, but even the various pockets of architecture spread throughout the modern fabric were pleasant surprises to stumble upon.
The Sicily leg of our trip found us walking up our fair share of hills, and this was very true of our next two stops at Segesta and the hill town of Erice. Segesta was an ancient Greek settlement similar to Paestum other than the fact that was set on top of a hill a couple miles inland from the sea. After a pleasant walk up the entrance, you are greeted by one of the most well preserved temples anywhere. Its surprising to think a building could stay in such great shape even after a couple of thousand years. The just don't build 'em like that nowadays. We also took a hike up to the top of the hill were the old fortifications and theater stand. It wasn't an easy hike but we all made it to the top without incident. The views from the top of the hill to the valley and ocean beyond were epic. I thought it was one of the most beautiful views I'd ever see, but I was proved wrong when we arrived at the top of the mountain that Erice is located on later that day.
The beautiful temple at Segesta
The theater at Segesta
A view of the Mediterranean from Erice. Now, that's a view.
Although we didn't want to leave the beauty of the secluded mountaintop, there was still plenty of Sicily left to see. So, we piled back into the bus and headed back down the mountain to see some of the towns in the southern and central parts of the island. Our first stop was in Salinute were we saw more temples, completed another watercolor, and took a plunge (at least I did) in the still cold Mediterranean. The weather was spotty at best. It was chilly, windy, and cloudy for most of the day, but at least the sun came out when it was time to watercolor.
Besides the temples, the thing I will remember most about Salinute was getting directions from a sheep herder. There are a bunch of different temples at Salinute organized in two different areas about half a mile apart, one area is in the ancient town center near the sea and the other is across a deep gully that was once an ancient riverbed that has long been silted up. We had to walk across the gully to get between the two areas, and to be blunt the paths didn't really take you where you needed to go. We found this out the hard way as the path we were on suddenly veered off in the wrong direction leaving us to trudge through a bunch of nearly impassible bushes and trees in search of the temples that lay somewhere beyond. I'm sure 44 architecture students trudging through the brush was quite a sight to behold, especially if you're a simple sheep herder. There was a guy herding sheep (yes, people still do that) down into the gully, and I'm sure he had a good laugh watching us try and find a way through the bushes. I remember looking over and seeing him wave his arms in our general direction and point to a little break in the undergrowth up ahead where we found a narrow dirt path led all the way the the ancient town and its temples. The sheep herder ended up doing double duty that day as he not only herded his sheep but also a lost group of lost architecture students.
We spent the next couple of days exploring the rest of Sicily, seeing Enna, the highest elevated city in Sicily, more temples in Agrigento, the lovely town of Taormina, and even the Carnevale parade in the city of Acireale. Those towns were great to visit, but what put the icing on the cake was the day we spent in Catania. Catania is one of Sicily's largest cities and is nestled beneath one of the most beautiful natural features in Sicily, the snow covered peak of the volcanically active Mount Etna. We had a wonderful time in Catania exploring its wide variety of religious and secular baroque architecture. We were all care free and just enjoyed each others company and the architecture as we walked up and down the streets and alleys. While it was a sunny and warm day, it was kind of bittersweet because it was the nicest day on our entire trip. I finished the afternoon by sketching the cathedral and playing some hackysack in the piazza in front of the cathedral. A good way to end a great week in Sicily.
The cathedral in Catania
Later in the afternoon we boarded a plane bound for Rome and that was the end of our field trip. In all, we had visited a dozen or so different towns and cities in a week and a half. While it was great to see all the great architecture throughout Sicily and southern Italy what I'll always remember are the interesting, odd, and funny things that happened along the way. I'll always remember sampling octopus in Salinute and actually liking it and watching a friend accidentally kick a soccer ball onto a hotel roof and then climb over a balcony railing to retrieve it. I'll never forget getting lost in the wrong part of Acireale looking for the train station or exploring an abandoned castle perched on the edge of a cliff with some of the guys. It's not everyday that you can do stuff like that. That is what made my trip to Sicily, like this whole year, something I'll treasure for a long, long time to come.
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