We reach the toe

We packed up, including some freshly cleaned clothes, whilst watching reruns of the coronation. We returned to Milazzo by ferry. From there, our esteemed driver brought us to Messina at the northeastern tip of Sicily.

Click and enlarge!

Messina looked like a city worth exploring. On the tour, we were there primarily to see the astronomical clock of Messina at noon.

On our way walking from bus parking to the cathedral piazza, we waited to cross the street while a whole lot of people of all ages and abilities rode by on their way to the same clock show. As we arrived at the piazza, so did a second parade, this time of classic cars.

Then everything settled down as noon approached and the biggest daytime show happens. It happens over time, and I didn't get good video of it. There has to be some on YouTube.

It's quite a spectacle on multiple levels: (going upward) a window of chariots and drivers that turns; one of various figures, including death, that also turn; one where the basilica appears; one where Christ rises from his tomb between two Roman soldiers (and then disappears back in again); one with more figures that turn; two bell-ringing figures; a cock that crows; and a lion rampant that brandishes its spear and roars.

On the side of the tower are astronomical and astrological clocks from which you can get date, time, and astrological season. The whole thing was built by a German company in 1933 modelled on the previous tower that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1908.

Modern apse in Byzantine style

The Duomo, the Basilica Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta, dedicated to the Madonna of the Letter (long legendary story). The cathedral is mostly a 20th century reconstruction. The original Norman cathedral was built at the end of the 12th century, says Wikipedia. The 1908 earthquake started the job, Allied bombs in the 1943 invasion finished it. The reconstruction is beautiful, though, including the imitation but convincing Byzantine decoration.

We had a somewhat unsuccessful lunch at a diner on the waterfront by the train station, frequented on Sunday (when we were there) by families and other small gatherings. The restaurant seemed to have some difficulty handling a party of 24. My pasta alla Norma was delicious and cooked al dente. Some others' pasta, however, fell short of al dente. Someone miscounted as well, because we were two plates short. When those plates arrived, they were huge, but the pasta was also on the overly firm side.

We were soon past that and proceeded with our bus onto another ferry. I fell asleep during the extremely short crossing of the Strait of Messina to a landing on the tip of the toe of the boot of Italy. I awoke in Villa San Giovanni, and soon we were in the countryside of Campania, with more vegetable farming than in Sicily, and fewer citrus trees, which blanket Sicily (along with olive and almond). We saw more and more varied agricultural presence than in Sicily, I think.

Capo Vaticano looking southwest

The drive took us to Capo Vaticano, a stunning viewpoint high on a cliff on the Tyrhennian Sea. Even better was the truck selling produce and cheese. The sellers gave us samples of the pecorino (the local sheep's milk cheese), and it was to die for, buttery and with some ovine sharpness. Our tour guru had a discretionary budget, and some of it went to buying a kilo of cheese and two dozen blood oranges (she was a pretty outstanding tour guru) as negotiated by our tour guide (outstanding as well). The experience alone was worth the stop.

Shortly thereafter, we tucked in to the Tropis Hotel in Tropea in Vibo Valentia province. Restaurant service was impeccable and gracious. They let us begin the meal with chunks of our pecorina and several bottles of excellent white wine that our guru had procured back at the Tenuta del Gelso vineyard (without telling us). The "antipasto" was a feast in itself!

This was followed by gnocchi (not pasta!) with speck in a sauce, and then a sort of pot roast of beef, tender and flavourful. Apparently there was a big street party in Tropea to which a few of our more adventurous souls went, but the two of us retired early and slept well.

Grotto church

The next day, we were out in the drizzle to visit Pizzo Calabro, a town just north of Tropea. Our first stop was at the Chiesa di Piedigrotta, a cave carved into a cliff by the sea in which is housed a painting of the Virgin linked to a miraculous rescue. From the 19th century on, a family of sculptors expanded the church with many more statues and features. The church was vandalized in the 1960s and then restored by a descendant of the original sculptor. Photographs don't do the place justice.

We then bused to the town of Pizzo itself. Despite the light rain, we enjoyed the walking tour and the town in general, with its narrow streets, even narrower lanes, and large population of feral kitties.

We had a great lunch at a restaurant called SPQR (an abbreviation that refers to the Roman republic) of papardelle with Tropea red onions and nduja sausage, a soft, usually spicy sausage typical of Calabria. Delicious!

More deliciousness was to come at a shop across the piazza called Ercole. We watched a demonstration of the making of Tartufo, a gelato treat that originated in Pizzo, and then got to sample the wares. Sweetie and I took some free time to retrace our steps up a narrow street and do a bit of shopping before we returned to Tropea.

Tropea city walls

Like so many buildings in our travels, the Tropis hotel is built on a slope. They have incorporate that into the design in ways that lead to unexpected steps in the hallways and elsewhere. The worst for us was in the bathroom where there is a step up to the shower and toilet area, thus a step down to the bidet and sink area, on the floor made of hard tile. That afternoon, Sweetie slipped and landed hard on the bidet, bruising her leg in two places and generally causing pain and shock. It was no one's fault, just suboptimal design (that we noted in our feedback).

Sweetie stayed behind to recover while I went on a brief, fairly informal walking tour of Tropea. I liked the town, though not as well as Pizzo. It's larger but also more touristy. I walked down to the base of the city walls but did not make the climb to the Santuario di Santa Marie dell'Isola on a rock in the harbour, saving my knees for the climb back up. I visited a stark but lovely church dedicated to the Madonna of Romania (another long legendary story). The town and the church were shelled during the Allied invasion but somehow the six bombs did not explode. Two of the disarmed unexploded bombs are displayed at the back of the church.

Genuine WW2 ordnance

When I got back to the hotel with a tiny jar of nduja, Sweetie was feeling much better, so we both walked back to the town centre for a larger jar of nduja, a couple of small bowls from a wonderful ceramic shop, and an aperitivo.

The hotel served another excellent dinner of shrimp risotto followed by swordfish Sicilian style, thin, breaded, and fried. At least it came out moist and flavourful, unlike a certain hotel restaurant in Siracusa. Other than the bathroom, we very much enjoyed our stay at the Tropis.