The Road Goes Ever On

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Cefalu

Having done Palermo--especially enjoying the little village Sferrocavallo we lived in for 4 days, the seafood, produce, houseplants sold from tuk-tuks with megaphones, the usual Sicilian "business" hours, etc.--we pressed on, taking the very interesting expressway across Palermo. It featured a 35 mph speed limit, limited access, but traffic lights at intersections here and there. Our goal for the day was Cefalu and its duomo, supposedly the third jewel in the crown of Sicily's Norman churches. We got there just as the 11:30 mass was getting over.

On main street, Cefalu, which sits under a

giant cliff, imaginatively called La Rocca; yes

that's an old Norman castle up there

Entry doors to the Duomo

Cefalu Duomo

Interior; alas, the only mosaic work was up

front around the altar

Thus

Another day, another Pantokrator

But there was this interesting feather-dancing figure, which

I remember from Hagia Sofia; must brush up on my

iconography

The beach at Cefalu; another month and it will be packed

Norman Palace Chapel

For mere tourists, the main reason to visit the Norman Palace is its 12th century chapel, every square millimeter of which is adorned in incredible mosaic. The style and stories are quite similar to the somewhat younger Monreale, but, since it's a royal chapel and not an abbey church, thus smaller, the mosaics are much closer. And they are better lit and were cleaned relatively recently.

Thus; altar, dome...

Pantokrator pose again; turns out, upon further "research," that
this term is best associated with the Almighty him/herself, and
not with JHC; the authority for this is the the good old Book of
Revelation, wherein God and Christ are generally used
interchangeably, but Pantokrator used strictly with God; just
another useful item of information, from the all-knowing and
self-correcting Wikipedia

Panning around the incredible walls

Familiar Old Testament scenes

Ditto

Ditto again

Plus some more New Testament scenes, here, the Baptism of St. Paul

The meeting of Saints Paul and Peter

And, the show-stealer for me, Peter and Paul disputing with Simon Magi, before
Nero; if you want to catch a bit of the flavor of early Church "history," look up
Simon Magi; BONUS QUESTION: what is the important (if somewhat obscure)

connection between this scene and City Slickers?

Palermo's Norman Palace

One of Palermo's other major sights is its Norman Palace, dating from the 11th or 12th centuries...

Palaces are almost always slapped-together affairs of different

era, but this one deserves an award...

There are seven or eight different buildings/styles, just on

this western facade

In the interior large courtyard...just the beginning of the

mosaics (next post)

Cats love containers, episode #463,867

One of the main reasons to see the Norman Palace,

especially if you're a Sicilian, is that it houses the highest

levels of Sicilian government; this, I think, is in the cabinet

meeting room, a depiction of Sicily's ancient and current

symbol, the triskelion

As seen on the Sicilian flag; "and now for something
completely different..."

In the Chinese Room, an 18th century

depiction of a Chinois personne, with very

interesting head-gear, possibly demonstrating

use of a small satellite dish

And, in other state rooms, much original furniture, decor,

more incredible mosaic...and this is only the beginning

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Palermo Interlude

Some less weighty subjects from our days in Palermo...

Interior of the McDonald's at the central station; they sell

pizza, and, of course, there's a bar

McDonald's is very Italian (and Romanian,

and Turkish and Greek)

Birds on a building near the Piazza Bologni, where we had

a nice lunch

At a place call Prima Vera

Sicilians, like other Italians, don't like their

prime minister...

Palermo, from Monreale

At Monreale, padlocks, tokens of commitment, something

we have not seen since Wulingyuan in China

The Bay at Sferrocavallo, where we camped 4 nights

At Camping degli Ulivi

Thus

Benedictine Cloister at Monreale, 2011

The cloisters were not particularly attractive, except for the hundred or so sculptured column capitals ranged around. They were another delight, in a completely different medium, especially knowing so little such work has survived elsewhere.