mosaics from Villa Romana
Sicily is full of incredible food,wine and art.
It is a blend of cultures, each of the invading countries that passed through left their mark, filling Sicily with museums and churches,their art and architecure, Roman amphitheaters, ruins of Greek temples, Roman and Byzantine mosaics and Baroque palaces all in one small island.
view from Ragusa Ibla
Sicily is one large museum a feast for the eyes!
interior of the Duomo in Noto
Having started my student life as an art history major, Sicily feeds both my stomach and my soul.
I adore markets of any sort and we always search out flea markets as well.
We found a flea market in the Sunday market in Catania, with food stalls bordering the outside edges, but we returned to Palermo for the wonderful flea market held on the weekend in Piazza Marina, down near the port.
I am tempted to drive down and fill up a small van with the treasures I have seen!
But I need to buy a bigger house!
Ebay anyone?
fabulous flea market finds in Piazza Marina in Palermo
Stendahl’s syndrome, discovered in Florence, hits me hard when I visit new places.
I am constantly on sensory overload. Not only from eating food and wine, but the smells and sounds that accompany the experience, bombarding the senses. Sicilians raise their voices a lot and speak a difficult dialect. Walking through the markets, and hearing the vendors yelling to get clients, the TV and radio’s playing in bars, horns blasting in traffic. It can exhaust even the most experienced traveler.
mold for making Mostarda, molded fruit pastes.
Found at market in Catania.
Stendhal’s Syndrome? and to think, all these years I thought it was just trying to do too many things at once! I love having an official syndrome! Sicily looks like a wonderful place to get it…
It all sounds wonderful Judy. My sons are half Sicilian, but have never visited yet. Loud?..sounds like my inlaws’ house..haha