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Saturday, October, 8, 2022
We planned to finish up our list of things to do in town today. Our first item of business was the Museo Diocesano di Reggio Calabria. The museum is housed in a Palace built in the late 18th Century that was constructed for the archbishop. Along the way we encountered Chiesa del Carmine. When a church is open we just can’t help but take a peek inside. It’s a sickness really. We took a quick picture and left because a service was about to begin.
The museum displays artifacts from the Basilica Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Assunta in Cielo (the Duomo). Entry costs €3.00 per person. Cash only. The only cash we had was a €50.00 bill which the clerk could not break. She told us in Italian that we could see the museum and then return when we had change. We got it on the third try. She was very sweet.
Many churches have a collection that is referred to as The Treasury. That’s exactly what this was. There was a large display of monstrances, embroidered ecclesiastical clothing, reliquaries, and the like. There was also a nice collection of paintings that once hung in the church as well as architectural remnants from many antecedents of the present day building.
We left around 11:00 am. The clerk had told us that the museum closed at noon (in Italy that really meant around 11:30 am). We needed to get some change relatively quickly but we didn’t want to buy something we didn’t need. We found a nearby drug store and purchased a few items. Change in hand we went back to the museum and gave the clerk the €6.00 we owed her. She was very gracious.
Next up was the Church of Saint Paul ‘Alla Rotonda’. We were hoping this one was going to be worth it because it meant we needed to climb a pretty steep hill. We entered the church not knowing its history. It was decorated in an Eastern style from the Middle Ages but it was clear that just about everything was new. We assumed that it was old, had been destroyed and rebuilt in its original style. We eventually learned that it was built in 1932. Behind the church is also a museum, that we missed, containing a large number of icons and paintings spanning the 14th-19th Centuries. We may have to go back and check it out.
For lunch we went back to the place where we had the good arancini. We got one with fish, a small croquette with potato and cheese, and an order of the eggplant parmigiana. The eggplant, rather oddly, had layers of sliced hard boiled eggs, and ham. All three were delicious.
Afterwards we went on a search for gelato. We’d been a little disappointed in the places that had been recommended to us and so decided to try a place near our apartment. I got Nutella and Deborah pistachio. This was what we’d been looking for all along.
Sunday, October, 9, 2022
We decided to take it easy today. After breakfast in the apartment we went out for coffee and bought some sandwiches for lunch and dinner. We bought a bunch of pastries, too. They were quite delicious.
