Catania—The Diamond of Sicily

We have arrived in Catania, the diamond of Sicily. I have always wanted to come to Sicily and had thought that all of the towns here were very small and rural. What a surprise to see Catania, with its large churches, numerous office buildings, and busy airport. It gives me some pause to see Mount Aetna, still an active volcano, sitting majestically on the horizon. Not too long ago in a different cruise ship 100 miles out into the ocean we could see the volcano blowing her stack.

I am riding a bus down to Syracuse, and I have been remembering the ill will that developed here between U. S. General George Patton and British Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II. The British near here were ordered to fight their way northward to Messina at the northeast corner of Sicily, but they encountered what Montgomery considered impossible German resistance. While Montgomery continued to complain and ask for more time and more help, Patton ripped eastward from Palermo along the northern coast and was already in Messina when Montgomery finally arrived. The American General had covered twice the distance required of the British, and he did it in less time and against heavier German resistance than that facing Montgomery. Patton’s early arrival was a huge insult to the prickly Montgomery because Patton had not even been assigned the task of occupying Messina. His successful operation, however, was technically a violation of his orders and won the general a half-hearted reprimand from his boss General Eisenhower.

So we’re on our way to Syracuse. Both Catania and Syracuse started as Greek colonies, and the Phoenicians were here before the Greeks. This place is very old and rich with history, culture, and art. The old ways die hard here. We won’t be able to go west to see the town of Corleone, but the name of the town gives some insight into its history. It was this part of Italy that provided the basis for the series of Godfather movies. The political turbulence here following the nineteenth-century wars of unification set the stage for such organizations as the Mafia and the Cosa Nostra. While this is a period the local residents do not like to remember, Sicily even today gives a glimpse into the past and into one aspect of the character that shaped the Italian republic.Read more