Dan Brown was here
15 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C
This is the real Priory of the Knights of Malta, at the intersection of via di S. Sabina and via di Porta Lavernale on the Aventine hill.
Although the property has been in their hands for centuries,Leggi altro
Bath: Royal Crescent or Diocletian?
15 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ 🌙 6 °C
The Piazza della Repubblica impressed me for what is not there any more. It was formerly known as the Piazza dell'Esedra because it was laid down on the remains of an exedra (a semi-circular open roomLeggi altro
A church I liked!
16 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Behind the scruffy facade on the North side of the Pazza della Republica, behind the scruffy ruined walls, lies the church that Michelangelo built by order of Pope Pius IV on top of part of the coldLeggi altro
More Santa Maria degli Angeli
16 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
A few more photos of this impressive church.
+ Chapel
+ Modern painting
+ Skylight
+ Front door
+ Back door to the rest of the ex-baths
+ An impressive organ, recently bought, has 5,400 tubes butLeggi altro
Just in time
16 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
In the 18th century a meridian sun dial had been built in a Spanish church that, while Christian, was not in Rome. To rectify this disparity of grandeur Pope Innocence XII had the meridian line clockLeggi altro
Amalfi
30 dicembre 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Heading South to my next job, I followed the coast road South from Rome, avoiding the hills where one is obliged to carry snow chains after Nov 11th, and expecting a beautiful and picturesqueLeggi altro
Calabria
2 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Still going South I hurry through bandit country. Well, that's what everybody told me but I had no problems with the Calabrese who were friendly, hospitable and waiting to join their relos inLeggi altro
Another ferry
2 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
After an interesting couple of hours in the ports commercial parking area, where a steady stream of cars with single people inside cruised past inquisitively but only one wound down her window toLeggi altro
Caltagirone, Sicily
17 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Caltagirone, a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the eight towns of south-eastern Sicily known as the baroque towns of the Val di Noto, which were almost entirely destroyed and rebuilt after theLeggi altro
Caltagirone views
17 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Another taste of town
+ The Taking of the Bell of Altavilla to Caltagirone, (Polychrome maiolica mosaic in the square of Santa Maria del Monte.)
+ The bank and the church, not quite joined at theLeggi altro
A subtle warning to all husbands!
17 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
The Moors dominated Sicily around the year 1100.
At that time, there lived in the Kalsa district of Palermo 'a beautiful girl with pink skin comparable to peach blossoms at the height of flowering andLeggi altro
Logos or mythos?
17 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
The Triseklion is the symbol of the Isle of Man as we all know, but Sicily has its own logo, a female version called the Trinacria.
Apparently, 3 nymphs danced around the world gathering the bestLeggi altro
Flight of fancy
17 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
What raises the blood pressure of the Caltagirone people is this big staircase, the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte, which rises from Piazza Municipio to the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Monte, at theLeggi altro
Noto bene
20 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
This hillside town was called Neas, founded by the Sicans.
Conquered by the Syracuseans, it absorbed Hellenic customs and rites, before falling to the Romans when it became a federated city. Later itsLeggi altro
Something fishy
20 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Marzamemi started and continues as a tuna fishing village. No Greek roots here! It was settled first by by the Arabs and originally called Marsa' al Hamen (which translates as "harbour of the turtleLeggi altro
The end of Sicily
20 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
+ Castello Tafuri a palace built in 1933 by marquis Bruno di Belmonte. The walls were built with the stone extracted from the cave of the Isola delle Correnti. It was never inhabited by the family ofLeggi altro
Dead space
26 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
In the second half of the 1800s the town council of Caltagirone built in a Gothic-Sicilian style his monumental cemetery, which was recognised as a national monument in 1931.
The plan is square withLeggi altro
My hosts
27 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Pinella and Luca have incorporated me into their families during my stay and have made me feel very welcome.
Luca is a criminal lawyer, (who has heard the old joke which is the same in Italian as inLeggi altro
Pinella's house
27 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Getting ready to leave this workaway in the Sicilian countryside.
The house was an old winery, converted by the present owners into a very attractive house.
Guess the name?
Prickly pears are regardedLeggi altro
Inside the winery
27 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
The old winepress, juice channels and vats have been incorporated into the main sitting room.
What used to be the animal quarters is now a large kitchen.
Pile of dirt
27 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
My first Hugel.
This is a technique for growing veggies that was developed by central Europeans and now forms part of the permaculture bible. The bed is prepared like a compost heap, but starting withLeggi altro
Stalag
29 gennaio 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
The Germans were here during WWII and left their camps behind. This one is a medium security prison, not more than 500m from the house. It is easy to see into the yard from the road outside the house,Leggi altro
Ceramics
1 febbraio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
This is an example of the sculpture produced by some masters in Caltagirone. They only sell for €150 or thereabouts which seems to me to be a bargain.
A Treasure
2 febbraio 2019, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
This site as been occupied since the Bronze Age, but the ruins look as though they are not more than 100 years old. The important part however, is the part you don't see. For buried underneath thisLeggi altro
Catania
4 febbraio 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌙 5 °C
Festival of Santa Agata,the patron saint of Catania, the town founded by the Greeks in 729 BCE.
This is the third largest display of public hysteria after those in Santiago and Sevilla. Similarly,Leggi altro


























































































































Tony HammondCertainly beats what the butler saw!