SICILY: Last stop, earthly paradise

In the 1490s. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were in charge of Sicily. They pursued their policy of 'convert or get out' and the Jewish and Islamic populations were part absorbed and part exiled.

But before then, in the time of Norman rule of Sicily (11^th to 12^th centuries), there had been a dialogue between different cultures, producing some of the most stunning holy buildings.

In our last days in Sicily, we have visited Cefalu Cathedral, then Monreale duomo, near Palermo, plus the Capella Palatina. Roman-style cosmati floors are topped by acres of golden Byzantine mosaics and panels of Islamic geometric motifs.

The different elements combine not only visually, but m

ore importantly culturally.

In every way, these Norman churches are more beautiful than Ferdinand and Isabella’s policy to Make Spain Great Again.

SICILY: Sometimes it’s better not to know

I was sitting on the delightful terrace of our B&B, attempting to sketch Castelbuono and vaguely waiting for Nigel to return with the cuppa he had gone to make. After a while, there was still no sign and I decided he must have fallen asleep in our room. After all, we’d been for a long walk in the mountains earlier.

I went in, and he was just hanging out some damp clothing to dry.

‘I’ve been washing out some stuff to see me through until the end of the holiday.’

‘What took you so long?’

‘Ah, well, I washed it out in the bidet, but then the plug got stuck and I couldn’t dislodge it, so I had to bale out the bidet.’

‘Well it’s good you solved it. And you’re okay for clothes until the end of the week now. Wait. You say you baled out the bidet. What did you do that with?’

A long pause.

‘The tooth mug.’

I stared at him.

‘…obviously I cleaned it out thoroughly afterwards.’

And yet somehow I still don’t fancy using it.

SICILY: Saved by a landslide

At Villa Romana del Casale, 3,500m2 of the most fabulous Roman mosaics are on display, if only one can get there. Luckily for me, Nigel was prepared to hire a car, drive on the right and brave Sicilian roads and moreover Sicilian drivers. 

For me, it was like meeting a film star - to see in real life these 4th century works of astonishing quality which I have often used to illustrate my teaching work. 

I loved particularly the massive mosaic showing men catching big game such as tigers elephants and ostriches and putting them in cages to take back to the Collosseum.

What really strikes me most however, is the fact that the owner of such a magnificently rich and expertly crafted villa is now uncertain. It is possible it was Maximian, a kind of deputy Emperor alongside Diocletian. 

It just goes to show that the pomp of this world will fade away. Unless of course, like the mosaics themselves, it gets trapped under a landslide. For that is the way they were so miraculously preserved for centuries.

In any case, the scale and quality of the surviving work was overwhelming and as we neared the end Nigel said,

'Well I'm glad you enjoyed that, but I am now completely mosaiced out!'

(Top pic may depict Maximian)