Messina: A Day in Castelmola & Taormina

Saturday, 17 September 2016
Messina, Sicily
Temps: Hi 83F (28C) / Lo 75F (24C)

The ship was on approach to the dock in Messina, Sicily when we got up at 6:00a — still pitch dark outside, the twinkling lights of the city like stars against the inky darkness.  A quick breakfast, and then we returned to the cabin to get ready for the day ahead.

A panoramic look at Messina from our veranda before we disembark for our tour.     

Today’s stop was our second visit to Sicily … the first one being a port of call last year in Trapani.  With pleasant memories of that day, we were looking forward to today as we disembarked Silhouette.  Since we booked this cruise last minute, I did not have time to research Messina unfortunately.  So I took the easy way out and signed us up to join a private tour organized by a fellow-passenger.  Our destination: Castelmola and Taormina … an hour’s drive south of Messina.

Left: The bell tower of the Cathedral of Messina.
Center: The façade of The Santuario Santa Maria di Montalto.
Right: The dome of Il Sacrario di Cristo Re (shrine of Christ the King).

The Viator tour was operated by Discover Messina.  There were eight in our group, plus another couple who had booked independently … in a minibus that could have accommodated a much larger group … plenty of room to spread out for the 55-mile (88 km) drive.  But before we got going, Chiara (our guide) asked the driver to make a quickie photo stop at the Cathedral of Messina.  Ahhh yes … we’re on a tour aren’t we … no time to dally at our leisure … sigh!

The 12th century church was devastated during the 1908 earthquake.  It was rebuilt
in 1919-1920, only to have to be rebuilt again after it was destroyed in 1943 by fires
triggered by WWII Allied bombings.  The figures in the belfry put on a show at noon.

To say that the land we traversed on the drive was mountainous would be an understatement.  To make it easier and faster to get from one place to another, a series of viaducts and tunnels have been built.  Fast … yes; scenic and charming … not so much.  But that changed once we started climbing up the curvy road to the top of the mountain where Castelmola is situated.

A quickie shot of the scenery as our minibus negotiates the curvy road up the
mountain to Castelmola.  Veiled by the haze, Mt Etna is on the distant horizon.

Around another corner in the road and the view now includes the Bay of Giardini Naxos.

Castelmola is a tiny little town with a beautiful panoramic view of the region.  Unfortunately, a heat haze veiled the scenery … and the position of the sun didn’t help either, so we didn’t necessarily get the full wow effect.  Nonetheless, we wandered around for about 30 minutes.  It was quiet ... the ambiance that of a sleepy town slowly awakening to the day.  We wrapped up our short visit with Mui sipping a caffè Americano at the Antico Caffè San Giorgio overlooking Piazza Antonino … and tasting the first of several cannolis he would be succumbing to before the day was out.

The ancient city gate overlooks San Antonino Square.

Scenery from an overlook we stumble upon during our meandering walk.

Charming Street	Chiesa Madre di Castelmola	Charming Color

The Icon of the Madonna della Scala (Madonna of the Staircase) is easy to miss if
you don’t walk down the hill a short distance from Piazza San Antonino.  It is
inside a small chapel in a cave carved out of the rock wall of the castle.

From Castelmola, we headed back down the mountain to Taormina.  We were dropped off just outside Porta Catania, which serves as the entrance to Corso Umberto, the city’s pedestrian-only street lined with shops, restaurants, patisseries, and a few of the city’s landmarks.  Chiara first took us on a guided walk along the length of the street, stopping at various landmarks to give us information about what we were seeing.  Once we reached Porta Messina at the far end of Corso Umberto, she sent us off on our own … with instructions to meet up at 1:30p back at the starting point.  That gave us about three hours on our own … not nearly enough time, but we made every minute count.

Porta Catania	Fountain in Piazza del Duomo	Charming Streetscape

Seeing as how we were near Chiesa di San Pancrazio just outside the Messina Gate, Mui and I walked in that direction first to take a quick peek inside. Then we slowly made our way back along Corso Umberto.

Chiesa di San Pancrazio is across the street from some ancient Greek ruins.

The Church of San Pancrazio was built over the ruins of an Egyptian temple to Isis and Serapis.

It really was too hot to be ambling about 3rd century BC ruins, but we took a detour anyway to check out the ancient Greek theater.  The crowds at the site sealed the deal … we weren’t going to join the melee.  Instead, seeking shade where we could find it, we returned to a slow stroll along Corso Umberto.  Along the way, we stopped at one of the many pastry shops lining the street so Mui could taste another cannoli — when in Sicily and all that ;-).  While he enjoyed his fresh-filled pastry, I wasn’t overly impressed with the chocolate and mango gelato I ordered.  And the arancini we shared … well, Mui’s recipe is better.

Mui does a second cannoli “tasting” … I have a gelato … we share an arancini.

Left and Center: Vicolo Stretto is the narrowest street in Sicily … and a popular photo op.
Right: Mr & Mrs Urn afford Mui a photo op.

Chiesa di San Giuseppe	Mosaic Art on a Gate Wall	Charming Color

We arrived at Porta Catania with a little time to spare.  So we went into the nearby Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate, which dates back to 1330.  Like so many other structures in Sicily, it was rebuilt after being nearly completely destroyed during WWII bombing runs.  Turns out that the church isn’t a church anymore, but we were delighted to find inside a nativity diorama … a miniature creation depicting life in a Sicilian Village … with a manger scene incorporated into it.  I took some photos, but the dark interior and the smudged glass made it a nearly impossible task.

A small portion of the nativity diorama in Sant’Antonio Abate … manger scene on the right.

Another portion of the nativity diorama set in a Sicilian Village.

When we came back out of the church, we still had a few minutes before we had to join our group.  What to do?  What to do?  Of course, another cannoli tasting … after all we’re in Sicily.  Mui deemed this one the best of the cannolis he had today.  I find cannolis to be too sweet for my palate, so I had some gelato … again … chocolate fondant and mandarin this time.  Yummmm … so much creamier and tastier than the one I had at the other end of Corso Umberto.

Mui and I give two thumbs up for the sweet treats at O’sciality.

The return drive to Messina retraced our route from this morning and was uneventful.  By 2:30p, we were bidding ciao first to Chiara and then to our shipmates.  Ten minutes later we were in our cabin.  Which is how I come to be sitting on the veranda writing about our day, instead of having to do so after we leave port.

If I had to use one word to describe today’s excursion it would be mediocre.  It’s not that we didn’t have a good time, but the tour just didn’t live up to our expectations.  Maybe it was because today had the misfortune of following on the heels of our wonderful tour of the Cilento yesterday (post here).  But I think there’s more to it than that.  The tour just never clicked for us — and the crowds in Taormina were partly to blame.  We also felt a bit rushed … which is never good for us slowpokes.

I guess this day will just have to fall into the “been there, done that … don’t want the t-shirt” category.  Luckily, we’ve had very few of those in our travels.  There’s no use dwelling on what I can’t change, so I’ll just wrap up the story of our day … but that will have to wait … sailaway is upon us …

Later … Wrapping Up from Somewhere on the Tyrrhenian Sea

According to the itinerary map Celebrity has on its website, Silhouette should have turned south from Messina to follow first the eastern and then the southern coast of Sicily.  Instead, as the navigation notes in Celebrity Today indicated, we turned north and went through the Messina Strait.  Mind you, I’m not complaining.  The last time we had a chance to sail through the strait, it was pitch dark.  So I enjoyed the chance to see it in daylight.  In fact, Mui and I braved the wind and stood on deck 15 forward as the ship went through the channel.  Both the sea and the wind went a little wild while Silhouette was negotiating the strait, but once through the narrow gap, things calmed down quite a bit.

Ciao Messina!  Next time we’ll stay in town to explore what you have to offer.

The Strait of Messina dead ahead … Sicily to port … the Italian mainland to starboard.

Scilla … in Calabria on the Italian mainland as we go through the Strait of Messina.
Legend has it that the Rock ahead is the home of Scylla, the sea monster of Greek mythology.

There was another bonus to the revised route Silhouette took out of Messina — we passed in view of Stromboli, Italy’s third active volcano.  We got a good glimpse of the mountain, which was clearly puffing smoke… no lava flow, however … a good thing for the residents who live on the skirts of the mountain.

Stromboli is a smoker for sure!

Since we had time on our hands before dinner, we headed to the Sky Lounge on deck 14 forward.  This is the location for the social hour for passengers who are Elite and above in the Captain’s Club.  It’s an event that used to be incredibly popular as it means free drinks — from a specified list … between 5-7p almost every evening of the cruise … also a selection of cold and hot appetizers.  However, with the advent of the “Big … Better … Best Promotion” that has changed.  Most people pick the beverage package as their perk, thus negating the need for them to go to a specific lounge for their evening cocktails.  We don’t drink enough to warrant a beverage package, so the cocktail hour works nicely for a glass of wine before dinner.

“Two to Travel” take advantage of a photo op with an active volcano.

Tomorrow is our much-anticipated day at sea.  We only have two of them on this cruise, so we plan to relax and enjoy every minute of this first one.

Next Stop: Marseille, France … 525 nautical miles from Messina.

[To see more images from our day, click here for my online gallery.]

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