Sicily’s Famous Clock Tower

After we finished our extended trip at sea, our next stop was Sicily. It is the largest and most populated island in the Mediterranean Sea. And it’s located just to the west of the toe of Italy’s boot shape. It is separated from the continent by the Strait of Messina, and its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna – the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world.

As I mentioned in my last post, there were several activities available on the ship that were designed to educate the passengers about the ports we would be visiting. One of the most interesting things about Sicily is that it’s primarily a volcanic island. And the volcanic nature of the island contributes to much of the island’s primary production. From the fertile soil contributing to the island’s agriculture, to the wine produces on the island to the production of jewelry, the volcano plays a role in just about everything.

Sicily was the second stop on our journey where we opted not to see ancient ruins. (We didn’t want to get overloaded by too many similar sights.) Instead, we took a tour of the local town and spent some time wandering and shopping on our own. But even without visiting ancient ruins, we learned a lot about the local history. And Sicily’s history is long and detailed, so there was quite a bit to take in!

Between Scylla and Charybdis

I have a confession to make. And it’s incredibly geeky.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a huge fan of ancient mythologies of all sorts. One of the ones I have studied most, of course, is Greek Mythology. In part because it’s so prominent. It just so happens, shortly before we took this cruise I read Bulfinch’s Mythology, so the most famous Greek myths were fresh in my mind.

Among them are stories of Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla started life as a beautiful naiad. But like many other women in Greek mythology, jealousy resulted in her being turned into a wretched monster with many long necks. The origins of Charybdis are a bit more nebulous. She may have started life as a sea creature, but she was eventually banished by Zeus to the bottom of the sea.

These two ended up occupying the straight of Messina. One was a representation of a whirlpool and the other represented the rocky shoal. Both of which were incredibly dangerous obstacles for sailors in ancient days. Both are also featured prominently in the Odyssey. Odysseus, warned of the monsters, ‘ran close to Scylla to avoid Charybdis.’ As a result, the long necks of Scylla were able to snatch several sailors from his ships, but they were spared the danger of the whirlpool.

Why do I mention all this? Well one of my favorite parts of our visit to Sicily was being able to see the place where both these legendary sea monsters were said to dwell, as well as several statues dedicated to each.

Of course today, large, modern sailing ships have less difficulty navigating the waters of the Strait, but it was still cool to visit a mythological site.

A Brief History of the Port of Messina

Sicily was also the mythological home of Medusa, and she appears in the center of Sicily’s official symbol. In addition to a woman with snakes in her hair, the symbol includes 3 legs to represent the 3 corners of Sicily.

Sicily was also home of Archimedes, the famous Greek mathematician and inventor.

Much of what we learned about Sicily was imparted during a bus tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, and there was a lot to take in. This area has a long and rich history of being conquered by various different factions which has led to a rich mix of styles inherent in their construction. And despite so many different changes in leadership, they have maintained a rich culture and pride in their history; they even consider themselves Sicilian first and Italian second.

The history of Sicily is too detailed to fully relate here, but here are some cliff notes. Greeks first arrived in 750BC, though the island was already inhabited by three groups of ancient people. Eventually, the island came under Roman rule, though they were allowed to maintain their own government so long as they paid tax to the empire. They were also ruled by the Byzantines, the Arabs and the Normans (to name a few). Each left their unique mark on the culture and construction style of the island.

Unfortunately, much of the port of Messina was damaged in an earthquake and bombings during World War II, so many of the original ruins were lost and the city was rebuilt on top of them. The church contained only a small portion of its original construction. The rest was restored, preserving only the medieval style of construction (which is why it doesn’t match the hodgepodge style of the rests of the port).

The Second Most Famous Clock in the World

By far the highlight of the tour was the church’s clock tower. The sections are designed to move at different times throughout the day. But at noon, every section participates in the show (except for the base window which moves only at midnight to represent the day of the week).

The second window moves every quarter hour and represents the progression of life from youth to death. The window above that represents the foundation of the church, which is dedicated to Virgin Mary of the letter. She sent a dove, which flies through the window, then the church rises from the sand, where it stays for the rest of the day.

Above that is a window that changes according to the yearly festivals. When we saw it, it was a nativity scene for Christmas. It showed the adoration of the shepherds to the baby Jesus. Above that window was the procession of the wise, stating with the Virgin Mary, who blessed the church. The figures inside ring bells every hour and half hour.

The cock crows 3 times at noon and flaps his wings. The lion waves the flag and roars 3 times at noon also. The order was: figures ringing the bells, the procession of life, the lion, the cock, the church rising, the nativity and, finally, the procession.

As if the clock isn’t impressive enough, on the side of the tower is an astral clock measuring the phases of the moon and position of the planets. It also has the dates of holy festivals, which an angel points to.

A Taste of the Local Treats

Sicily is known for painted ceramics. Our guide showed us a pair of vases shaped like heads that are commonly used by locals. You can get any combo of skin tones, but usually they buy a pale lady and a dark-skinned man. They represent an Arab lord and Greek lady who fell in love.

In the romantic version of the tale, the lady’s brothers murdered the man because they didn’t want them to marry. She preserved his head to use as a vase, crying tears of love into it each day. The non-romantic version of the story states that the woman discovered her lover was already married in his home country. So she cut off his head as a warning to other men.

In addition to the clock tower and the bus tour, our guide arranged for us to taste some local pastries. We tried cannoli filled with ricotta. I had never had ricotta in a sweet context before. It was very subtle but also delicious! We also had flavored granita and made sure we were able to sample all the flavors among the family by sharing.

When the tour was over, we wandered the town for a little while. It’s obviously a tourist town. As soon as the tours clear out for the day, pretty much everything shuts down. We did a little shopping; I wanted a volcanic stone bracelet to bring home with me, and my family wanted to acquire some food items. Then we spent some time observing the local statues before heading back to the ship.

Our final stop was Pompeii – the highlight of the entire trip!