Sicilian getaways
Sicily’s
rugged beauty and chequered heritage make it an attractive getaway – in the
romantic, not in the Mafia sense of the word. In fact, far from being a shadowy
underworld populated by secretive families and deadly vows of silence, this
beautiful Mediterranean isle – with its eclectic mix of history, culture, cuisine
and laid-back living – is a charming, if often crumbling, retreat.
December 2006
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©2006 K.
Diab |
The (s)word of
faith
The Quattro Canti (Four Sides) is the best
place to start savouring Palermo’s rich history. This ostentatious square is
flanked by symmetrical fountains and ornaments on the walls of the buildings on
each of the four sides. Off to one side, on Pretoria square, is a flamboyant
and totally over-the-top fountain with a standing army of nude marble nymphs
and angels bathing themselves.
Overlooking the fountain, are the weathered
walls of Santa Caterina, which is said to be one of the most beautiful churches
in Sicily. The catch was it was open to the public only on the hallowed saint’s
day in November and we were standing outside its doors at the end of September.
We tried to peek in through the enormous keyhole but saw only darkness. When we
turned round the building, we found that the doors there were open. Feeling
blessed, we wandered sheepishly into the gloomy and empty interior. Not being a
connoisseur, I could not see precisely what about the interior, beside its
roominess, was so impressive as to qualify it in the major league of Sicilian
churches. But it was too dark for us to see much. Our enjoyment was tempered by
a sense that we were trespassing and that one of the reclusive nuns in charge
of the maintaining the church would appear suddenly and tell us to leave.
Near St Caterina was La Marotorana, a church
built by Muslim architects and artisans for the island’s new Norman overlords
in the 12th century, was originally intended as a mosque. Next to it
is the Chiesa di Santa Cataldo built in the Arab style and topped with three
camp-looking pink domes. In fact, pink (and black) is the national colour in
Sicily, and men and women everywhere love to dress in it.
We happened upon a classic wedding procession
on the steps leading up to the church. It being our fifth anniversary that day,
we kind of felt a personal connection to the festivities and watched the
festivities until an opportunity moment presented itself for us to enter the
church and look around. Strangely enough, although it was a Thursday, we came
across three weddings that day and decided the newly weds had made good
choices. Either the Sicilians had kept the Arab custom of marrying on a
Thursday, or the city’s young population was rushing down the aisle.
Inside the church, I was struck by the Islamic
feel of the place and was reminded by the Pope’s bigoted ideas about Islam. I
thought to myself that he should come to Sicily to see the overlap and symmetry
between Church and Mosque. Perhaps it would remind him that both Islam and
Christianity were spread by the (s)word.
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©2006
K. Diab |
Moor architectural grandeur
After a walk around the souq-like
mercato, we wondered over to the Norman-Moorish palace, the magnificent Palazzo
dei Normanni. We sat amid the swarming groups of students and young lovers on
the massive square outside the palace, to admire its bizarre and beautiful
architecture, to rest our sore feet and watch the locals.
The building showed that the crusading Normans
– who proved to be surprisingly tolerant of their Muslim subjects – were not
loath to take on the refinements and customs of their Arab predecessors, and
the palace retained the grandeur and elegance of the Saracens (as they were
called by the locals) and mixed it with their own austere and plain
architectural tradition.
Today, the palace doubles up as the autonomous
region of Sicily’s national parliament. Although the sign at the bottom of the
stairs informed us that the parliament was closed to visitors that day, we
decided to see if our luck at Santa Katarina might not be replicated here.
At the top of the pink marble staircase, a man
in a bodyguard’s suit and a woman dressed in a tight black executive skirt and
precariously high heels asked us to wait till the last group came out. A
quarter of an hour later, the woman in the fashion stilts led us around the
facilities and, wilfully oblivious to the fact that 90% of the group was made
up of foreigners, she conducted the entire tour in Italian, not waiting to see
if anyone understood. Although Katleen and I could follow a fair bit between
us, I was completely miffed at one point when our guide sat us all down in a
big hall and started directing a lot of her commentary at me as if I could
understand her perfectly.
ã2006
K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website is the
copyright of Khaled Diab.