Day 5 April 7th (Good Friday) in Sicily: Today we traveled a short distance to explore Mazara Del Vallo. We toured the Kasbah, visited the Dancing Satyrus and met the Captain of the ship who found it! We were hosted for lunch by locals Antonio and Vita Calamusa who treated us to a feast from their gardens.
Mazara has the second intact Kasbah in Europe and is a fully integrated town. There are beautiful tiles everywhere. For more on the history see: https://www.italythisway.com/places/mazara-del-vallo.php
We went into the Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and like most Italian churches has gone through many renovations. It was originally constructed between 1086 and 1093, built on the ruins of an ancient basilica destroyed by the Saracens in 828 AD.
There is very intricate detail on the altar in the Cathedral. Mazara was known for having over 100 churches at one time, although that number is significantly reduced now. The ceiling of this cathedral was amazing. Imagine painting this!
When was the last time anyone in the USA saw banns of marriage published? We have seen these in many churches in Sicily.
Walking through the Kasbah, which is a labyrinth of narrow streets in Mazara, we spotted this colorful balcony.
The Kasbah was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1968, and beautiful tiles were added by local artists.
This walkway in the Kashab has three separate arches designed to act as part of the town’s defense system if they were invaded. Invaders on horseback had to dismount and were then vulnerable.
The former Mayor of Mazara initiated a contest to enrich the city with art. It involved local artists painting garage doors with themes reflecting on the culture and history of Mazara. This was the winner which depicts a crying child remembering his father who was lost at sea.
The Triskelion, known in Sicily also as the Trinacria, is the three-legged woman that symbolizes Sicily. First adopted in 1282 by the Sicilian Vespers, it is currently the official flag of the autonomous Sicilian region. Officially, the Trinacria became the Sicilian flag in 1943, during the World War II.
The Dancing Satyr Believed to be a Greek bronze created between 2 and 4 BC and dragged from the sea by fishermen from Mazara in 1998. See https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Dancing_Satyr_of_Mazara_del…
We were thrilled to meet the Captain, Francesco Adragna, of the fishing vessel that found the Satyr and he told us about their find and answered all our questions.
Mary had her photo taken with Captain Francesco Adragna, who led his team of fishermen to find the entire statue of the Satyr, 5 months after finding part of the leg of the Satyr.
At our hosted lunch we had Granita di limone, homemade lemon ice with strawberries and homemade Dolcetti alle mandorle (Almond Cakes). Yes! We did get the recipes.
Our host Antonio on the left and his wife Vita, and traveling friends on the right, in our hosts’ lemon garden.
Vita told us that she has lemons growing all year.
There of Marsala’s procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, which was very quiet and reverent. Each church’s religious organizations quietly marched behind their banner of Our Lady to a single drum beat. Thousands of the faithful lined the streets silently watching. Except for the drum beat to keep the participants in step, there was no other sound. This is the first time the procession was held since COVID.
We were treated to a Sunset from Masala looking toward Favignana, and island of Sicily off the western coast.