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Thursday, October 27, 2022
We spent the morning in the apartment. Deborah made chicken cutlets for lunch and then we went out. Our first stop was La Rinascente. It’s a high end department store that we first encountered in Rome a few years ago. It was the only place we knew where we could get Clinique products in the area.
Next we walked over to an office supply store. We needed to print some tickets for portions of our upcoming trips.
Friday, October 28, 2022
This morning we headed over to Palazzo Biscari. We’d tried to go when Lauren was in town but it was closed for renovations. We arrived around 10:30 am. They told us that we could explore the palace by ourselves but if we wanted to we could come back at 11:30 am for a guided tour in English. We killed the hour in a cafe drinking coffee and returned in time for the guided tour. Entry to the palace is €6.00, €10.00 for the guided tour. Credit cards are accepted.
The palace was built on top of the city’s 6th Century AD walls shortly after the earthquake of 1693. At that time the palace abutted the shoreline. Over the centuries the Princes of Biscari acquired a huge collection of ancient artifacts and art. The collection was on display in the palace until 1924 when it was donated to the city of Catania. Today, it can be seen in Castello Ursino.
The tour starts in an entryway where wooden panels on the walls show the territories that were controlled by the family. The next room has a large number of ancestral portraits. The guide told a funny story about one couple. The wife found out about her husband’s mistress. She had the mistress buried alive. As a consequence her husband decided never to speak to her again. Forevermore they communicated only by written word.
The next room was a grand ballroom. Unlike other parts of the house that were in obvious need of maintenance, the ballroom was in magnificent shape. There was bold and colorful frescos along the walls and ceilings. High above were Mirano glass chandeliers and along the dome was a balcony designed to accommodate musicians. The guide said that the room is often used for celebrations, weddings and special occasions.
The next rooms were a sitting room, a bedroom, a dining room and a bath. These rooms were surprisingly small but fitted with exquisite inlaid wooded paneling. Outside we could see the edge of a roof garden. We were only able to visit half of the palace because the family still lives in the other half.
After the tour we had lunch on our minds. We tried to visit a restaurant that was recommended on a tourist website but it didn’t open for another hour and a half. We opted instead for another restaurant that was around the corner, located in the middle of the artists’ district. I was interested in trying a local dish called Pasta alla Norma.
Pasta alla Norma, a dish that originated in Catania, is made with penne or rigatoni, tomato, fried eggplant, salted ricotta and basil. There are several stories about its origin but the one I liked best involves Bellini. It is said that he was very fond on this dish and ate it frequently when he was composing his opera Norma. The dish was named in his honor. I enjoyed it very much. Deborah had breaded chicken cutlets that had been grilled. It was an unusual treatment but it, too, was very good. The waiters constantly circulated with plates of freshly made cannoli and casata cakes. They looked really good but we just didn’t have any more room.
Back in the apartment we booked our accommodations for Malta and drank most of Lauren’s limoncello. We’re now completely booked with travel and accommodations until the end of November.
Saturday, October, 29, 2022
Today’s agenda was to see the churches on Via Crociferi. It’s a rather short street near our apartment that is famous for having six 18th Century churches on it. The first church we came to was closed. It seemed odd. This street is well known for its churches and places of worship are normally open on Saturday. In any event we passed it by and continued down the street.
Next was Chiesa di San Giuliano. (This one was open one of the first days we were in town but we found that a wedding was taking place so we couldn’t visit it then. I took a couple of pictures from the entry area and we left.) Today it was open but surprisingly we were charged to enter. This is a rarity for Catholic Churches. It sometimes happens that there is a treasury or a crypt that they will charge to see but never the church itself – unless that church is now really a museum. In any event we paid the €4.00 per person (cash only) and went inside.
We found a medium sized Romanesque style church. It was not Baroque as we expected. We were given a small pamphlet describing the church but it was little more than a map telling us where the chapels were. It didn’t describe the artwork at all. We also visited the sacristy where there were tributes to Saint Rita and Saint Benedict. Finally we climbed the stairs. We had hoped to be able to walk the balcony that went around the top of the church but it was closed to visitors. Further up we came to the roof. From there we had a panoramic view of most of the city. The Duomo and the neighboring abbey were in full view and sported the sea as a backdrop.
We continued down the street and found several more churches, monasteries and abbeys. All of them were closed. At the end of the block we came to a lovely stone gate. The accompanying sign said that this was the entrance to Villa Cerami, an 18th Century palace that had hosted the royal family during their visits to Catania. It fell into neglect and was purchased in 1957 by the city. It has been restored and is now part of the University of Catania.
On our way to the grocery store to restock our supply of cookies we ran into the Crypt of Saint Euplio. The crypt was part of a 3rd Century Roman church that was destroyed during WWII bombings. One of the original walls was still standing and there was a staircase from which you could still enter the crypt. Several very bored guides were standing around trying to entice people into a guided tour. We politely declined.
Deborah decided to take a quick look at one of the outdoor markets. She was hoping to find some new clothes. While there we noticed Basilica dell’Annunziata e Convento del Carmine, a large church that we’d never seen open before. It was built on the site of an ancient acropolis. We couldn’t resist looking around.
Leaving the church we headed back towards the main shopping district on Via Etna. We were looking for Giardino Bellini (Bellini’s Garden). It’s the oldest of the city’s four large public parks. The property once belonged to Prince Ignazio Paterno Castello – a prominent member of the family that still owns Palazzo Biscari. The city purchased the property in 1854 and named it after its favorite son. It’s a large, tiered park in the Neo-classical style with manicured gardens and, on the top level, a place to hold public concerts. Fittingly, there is a statue of Bellini in the center.
At last we decided to head to Gelateria Peligrino for lunch and dessert. When we finally arrived we found a sign saying that it was closed for vacation and wouldn’t be open again until November 6. We’ll be gone by then. Damn! Our second choice was Cafe del Duomo; we’ve eaten there many times before.
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Our last full day in Catania. We started the day by going to the Duomo. We were hoping to catch a mass in which the organ was playing. When we got there a mass was in progress but the organ bay was empty. We didn’t stick around for long.
Since it was Sunday we thought we might have a better chance of seeing some of the churches on Via Crociferi. All but the one we’d already seen were closed. We were very disappointed.
We zigged and zagged down a few streets we hadn’t been on before and saw an interesting looking church up on a hill. We went to investigate. It was Sant’Agata Al Carcere or the Prison of Saint Agatha. This was the place where the saint was imprisoned after having her breasts mutilated and where Saint Peter came and healed her. It’s a pretty little church. On one wall there is an impression of the saint’s feet. To the side is a small crypt. We found a small altar and a few nice statues there.
After leaving the church more zigzagging took us right by the crypt of Saint Euplio again. This time we decided to take a look. There is a small courtyard where the church used to stand. On the far wall, where the main altar would have been, was a display of the 12 apostles carved in marble from the 1880s. We paid €3.00 a piece to have a guided tour. Cash only.
A group of about 15 descended the stairs into the crypt. A woman described what we saw in Italian and a couple of young men standing near us translated. It seems that the saint was buried there but his body was stolen by the Romans. It was later recovered and now rests in Avalino. There wasn’t much to see. One could imagine where the altar was but the rest was just a rough hewn cave.
We continued to zig and zag around town purposely going on streets we hadn’t seen before. After about two miles of this we headed over to the supermarket to get some prepared foods for dinner. Nothing really appealed to us so we decided to have lunch at the Cafe del Duomo and get something there for dinner late. Along the way we found an appealing restaurant and had lunch there although we still stopped at Cafe del Duomo so as to have something for dinner.