>~ IU IMS*, i^l SICILY THE LITTLE GUIDES Pott Svo, cloth, 3s. ; leather, 3s. 6d. net Oxford and its Colleges. By J. Wells, M.A. Il- lustrated by E. H. New. Fourth Edition. Cambridge and its Col- leges. By A. Hamilton Thompson. Illustrated by E. H. New, Shakespeare's Country. By B. C. A. Windle, F.R.S., M.A. Illustrated by E. H. New. Second Edition. The Malvern Country. By B. C. A. Windle, D.Sc, F. R.S. Illustrated by E. H. New. Westminster Abbey. By G. E. Troutbeck. Illus- trated by F. D. Bedford. Brittany. By S. Baring- Gould. Illustrated by Miss J. Wylie. Sussex. By F. G. Brabant, M.A. Illustrated by E. H. New. Suffolk. By W. A. Dutt. Illustrated by Miss J. Wylie. Norfolk. By W. A. Dutt. Illustrated by B. C. Boulter. Cornwall. By A. L. Salmon. Illustrated by B. C. Boulter. Kent. By George Clinch, F.G.S. Illustrated by F. D. Bedford. Hertfordshire. By H. W. Tompkins. Illustrated by E. H. New. Buckinghamshire. By E. S. Roscoe. Illustrated by F. D.Bedford. Surrey. By F. A. H. Lambert. Illustrated by E. H. New. Derbyshire. By J. C. Cox, LL.D. Illustrated by J, C. Wall. Rome. By C. G. Ellaby. Il- lustrated by B. C. Boulter. The North Riding of York- shire. By J. E. Morris. Illustrated by R. J. S. Bertram. Hampshire. By J. C. Cox, LL.D. Illustrated by Miss M. E. Purser. Sicily. By F. Hamilton Jackson. Illustrated by the Author. The English Lakes. By F. G. Brabant. Illustrated by E. H. New. Cloth, 4s.; leather, 4s. 6d. net. IN PREPARATION St. Paul's Cathedral. Il- lustrated by Miss Beatrice Alcock. Oxfordshire. By F. G. Brabant. Illustrated by E. H. New. Shropshire. By J. A. Nick- lin. Illustrated by E. H. New. The East Riding of York- shire. By J. E. Morris. Illustrated by R. J. S. Bertram. SICILY By F. HAMILTON JACKSON With Illustrations by THE AUTHOR " O glorious race, Which Hiero, Gelon, Pindar, sat among, And praised for weaker deeds in deathless song." W. Savage Landor LONDON METHUEN & CO. 36 Essex St, Strand MDCCCCIV PREFACE r J**HE traveller in Sicily who desires to see the island with a tolerable degree of comfort must perforce make a longer stay in certain cities and from them make excursions. This necessity arises from the poor quality of the ordinary Sicilian inn or hotel : indeed it has been said that there are but five or six hotels in Sicily in which an Englishman can live, a rather too sweeping assertion since Baedeker Stars 1 6 : though the writer's experience of difficulty in getting enough to eat in two of the starred hotels makes him doubtful how far the commendation may be trusted. The plan of this book has been arranged in accord- ance with this necessity, the various places described being grouped round centres at which a considerable stay may be made ; and the possibility of reaching the less important places with some degree of ease has also been considered. The historical interest of an island placed as Sicily is, between Africa and Europe, must needs be very great, and as a matter of fact it has been fought over again and again till one may almost say that every stone has been bathed in blood. Here, too, one of vi PREFACE the most ancient of religions, the worship of Ceres, had its seat, and remains of the prehistoric period are frequent, while the natural structure and scenery of the island are most interesting and attractive, some of the landscapes being perhaps unsurpassable in beauty, and at all events having a world-wide repu- tation. Nor do these points exhaust its interest, for the remains of man's handiwork are quite as astonish- ing as the works of Nature. Here are Doric temples, some of which date from as early as the 8th century B.C., and several of which are in very fair preservation ; here are mosaics of the nth and 12th centuries of extraordinary beauty ; here are examples of an archi- tecture in which diverse elements — Norman, Arabic, and Byzantine— are blended with most happy effect. Thus there are at least three Sicilies for the traveller to enjoy and dream over — the Sicily of legend and poetry, of historical antiquity, and the Sicily of the Norman dominion, without taking into account the modern Sicily, which captivates one with its ever-present attractiveness, with its marvellous sun- sets and sunrises of almost oriental splendour, with its delicate opalescent distances and jewel-like sea, its strange. .and beautifully shaped mountain ranges and the brilliancy of unfamiliar plants and flowers : with its eastern-looking towns perched high upon the hills or nestling by the stony river-beds, amid PREFACE vii the luxuriant green of groves of lemon and orange, diversified with the greyer olive and the victorious palm, the whole bathed in the brilliant sunshine, which not only falls on it as in our colder northern climes, but suffuses and enwraps everything as with a silvery mantle. Here it was that Ulysses was captured by Polyphemus and escaped by that craft which so pleased his goddess protectress, and there in the sea are still to be seen the rocks which it is said that the blinded giant hurled after him. Here it is that the loves of Acis and Galatea are fabled to have passed, and here the fountain of Arethusa still gushes. Hence Proserpine was rapt to the under- world, from meadows which still are covered with the many-flowered narcissus each spring, and here Demeter commenced her heartbroken search for her lost daughter. Beneath the mountain which domi- nates the island Enceladus lies chained, and as he stirs uneasily rumblings are heard and his tortured breath breaks forth in steam and smoke, and Vulcan works at his godlike forge, assisted by his Cyclops, forgetting his wife's infidelity in the fascination of creation, like a true artist. These streams have, been the haunts of nymph and naiad, and in the woods which once clothed the hillsides oreads lived ; through them satyrs have rushed joining the wanton rout of the Bacchic dance : and beneath the shade of viii PREFACE slim trees like those yonder the shepherds sung by Theocritus have contended for the well-wrought beechen bowl or the goat which was the prize of success in song or poem. This island was his home as well as that of Pindar, of Empedocles, Stesichorus, Carondas the law-maker, Archimedes and many another great man. Nor were its cities lacking in patriots and warlike leaders, or enlightened rulers, while it was on these shores that the power of Athens was broken. Carthaginian and Roman fought over the land from end to end; Byzantine, Goth and Vandal have contended here for empire, and the Saracen wrested it from the loosening grasp of the effete rulers of Byzantium. Here the Normans per- formed wonderful feats of arms, and when the land was conquered ruled it with wisdom and toleration, encouraging arts and manufactures and holding the scales of justice with even hand between the various races who acknowledged their sway. Here was ac- complished the dreadful vengeance of the Sicilian Vespers, which left no one of French birth alive, man, woman or child, and here after centuries of oppression the " noble thousand " under Garibaldi drove out the troops of the Bourbon, and made the fulfilment of the dream of a united Italy possible, which the Sicilians accepted with practical unanimity and enthusiasm. No excuse need be pleaded for lingering over and PREFACE ix drawing special attention to the beauties of so richly endowed a country, and the writer hopes that while giving information which those who may project a tour in Sicily in the future will find useful, he may also be happy enough to renew the memories of those who have had the good fortune to visit it in the past. Besides the ordinary sources of information many Italian and French books upon the history and antiquities of various parts of the island have been consulted, among which may be named first the many valuable articles in the Archivio Storico Siciliano 9 and then Amari's History of the Mussulmans in Sicily ; Dr. G. Pitre's books on Sicilian traditions, popular feasts, etc. ; I. La Lumia's Stotie Siciliane ; Hugo Falcandus ; G. B. Siragusa's Reign of William L ; V. di Giovanni's Sul Porto Antico di Palermo; F. S. Cavallari's books on the ancient topography of Syracuse and on the Cappella Palatina, Palermo ; Salvo di Pietraganzili's / Siculi and La Sicilia Illus- trata ;. the Duke of Serradifalco's Antiquities of Sicily and Cathedral of Monreale ; G. V. Auria's Origins and Antiquities of Cefalu ; G. Chiesi's La Sicilia Illustrata; G. Vuillier's and Rene Bazin's books on Sicily ; De Bazancourt's History of Sicily under the Normans ; D. Scina's Report on the Madonie Moun- tains (flora, etc.) ; Alongi's La Maffia ; and books by b X PREFACE N. Colajanni, A. di San Giuliano and G. Ciotti on crime and modern conditions of life in Sicily. An anonymous Italian book entitled Sictlia has also been very useful in the same direction. Among English books reference has been made to Gaily Knight's books on the Normans and their works in Sicily, and to Angell and Evans' account of the metopes discovered by them at Selinunt. Sir Ch. Forbes's book on the campaign of Garibaldi has furnished authority for that portion of the historical sketch, and I have to thank Mr. Douglas Sladen for very kindly allowing me to make use of matter contained in his valuable work, In Sicily, with which I have supplemented the deficiencies of my own notes on the flora of Sicily, on the mediaeval palaces of Syracuse and on Castrogiovanni. I have also to thank Mr. Phene Spiers for lending me some private photographs from which the drawings of the vaulting of La Badiazza, Messina, and the temple at Selinunt, described as Temple E, have been made. F. H. J. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGK OlClLY • . . • • • • I Pat DDiun J 1 From Palfrmo TO GlRGENTI J vj i k.s jeol [[ffidmG ri\>jfiw rr t #nmi\ii The Spanish dominion, though called for by the people, was no less bad for the country than the French. With the establishment of the Inquisition under Ferdinand the Catholic the decadence began. The Jews were driven out, then the Greeks, the c 33 SICILY Levantines, the remains of the Mussulmans, and so all commercial activity was killed, and the country became poor as the ecclesiastics fattened. The Castilians were worse than the Aragonese, the Austro-Spaniards worse still, and the Bourbons worst of all. All of them looked upon Sicily as a pro- vince to exploit, a kind of milch cow. By the Peace of Utrecht the island was awarded to Victor Amadeus of Savoy (171 3-1720), but he was forced to exchange it for Sardinia after seven years. Charles III. won the Sicilies from the Austrians, and was the last king crowned at Palermo (1735). The French Revolution again disturbed matters. From 1 806 to 1 81 5 it was a separate kingdom under British protection, and in 1 8 1 2 a constitution was established, but in 181 5 Ferdinand returned to his continental kingdom as Ferdinand L, King of the Two Sicilies. In 1820 and 1836 Sicily again tried for freedom, and in 1848 became independent for a twelvemonth or so, but was again subjugated until the deliverance by Garibaldi in 1 860. This is the last heroic period of Sicilian history, the expedition of the " glorious thousand ". Garibaldi landed at Marsala on 1 1 th May, and on the next day pushed on towards Salemi which had been seized by Bixio. The Nea- politans had 3600 men and four guns at Calatafimi, but a frontal attack with the outflanking movements of the Sicilian Volunteers caused them to fear for their rear, and they fell back in disorder after three hours' fighting, in which Garibaldi lost 200 men. The next fortified posts were at Monreale and Parco, held by 6000 and 4000 men respectively. By a series of feints and flank movements he slipped round to the south-east., On the 23rd he feigned an attack on Parco and then retreated towards Corleone by 34 HISTORICAL SKETCH Piano dei Greci ; leaving Carini to continue the retreat and draw on the Neapolitans, he made a forced march over the hills to Misilmeri, and on the 27th attacked Palermo by the Ponte del Ammiraglio. To encourage the Sicilian Volunteers a young Genoese carabineer coolly took a chair, and sat down in the centre of the street under the cross fire ! The citizens became almost sorry that they were being delivered when under the bombardment from the warships in the harbour and from the castle. When it ceased in the evening Garibaldi had not nine cartridges per man left ! An armistice was concluded on the even- ing of the 28th, and finally Palermo was evacuated by the Neapolitans twenty-six days after the landing at Marsala. Only one more important action was fought, that of Milazzo, commanded by Bosco with the pick of the garrison of Messina under him. Garibaldi attacked on the 20th of July, " always in the thickest of the fray, cigarette in mouth and walking-stick in hand, cheering on his guides and Genoese carabineers ". He was nearly killed during a charge by the Neapolitan cavalry. The Garibaldians divided and opened fire from both sides and the Neapolitans halted and endeavoured to return, but Garibaldi, Missori, Statella and a handful of guides barred the way. Summoned by the Neapolitan officer to surrender, he sprang at the horse's bridle, and cut down the rider. Three or four troopers rode at him, one he wounded, Missori killed three others and shot the horse of a third, and Statella killed another. The remnant of the cavalry charged back and escaped, leaving the guns in Garibaldi's hands. In an interval for rest he took off his shirt, washed it in the brook, and hung it on the bushes to dry, while he ate his lunch of bread, fruit and water, and smoked his cigar 35 SICILY bare-backed. After pushing the attack to a point from which Bosco's main water supply was cut off, on the 23rd a Col. Auzano came from Naples to treat for the surrender of the place. Garibaldi allowed the troops to leave with arms, baggage, the honours of war, and half a battery of artillery, and on the 24th the evacuation of the island commenced. An anec- dote of Bixio will show the sort of man he was. He was sent to Bronte to trample out a communistic rising there. He shot thirty-two ringleaders before 1 2 o'clock, and imposed a fine of 10 " onze " an hour as long as his presence was necessary. For the payment of this sum he held the lives of the principal inhabitants responsible, who, he said, should have taken arms to resist this batch of brigands and adven- turers. On arriving at Bronte the arch ringleader was brought in prisoner, while his own troops were at breakfast, after a long march. Having satisfied himself of the man's guilt, Bixio said, " Well, I can't disturb my own men now," and drawing his revolver shot him though the head ! The people after Garibaldi's expedition elected by an enormous majority to become part of the kingdom of Italy. 36 PALERMO The modern name of the city comes from the Arabic " Balarm " or " Balarmuh," but the Greek name was " Panormos " (all harbour), which some think applied rather to the district than to the city. A 14th-century writer, Pietro Ranzano, asserts this quite plainly, and as at that time it only occupied a point of land and the sea washed the greater part of the circuit of the walls, it may be held to be fairly descriptive of the facts. This name first appears during the war between Athens and Syracuse. It is generally considered that the city was one of the Phoenician settlements, and coins found there bear in Phoenician or Hebrew letters the word " Sis " or " Tsits," which means " flower ". On tetradrachms the Carthaginian horse and palm appear, perhaps referring to the Neapolis which Polybius says they built to the right of the southern lagoon defended on one side by the sea, on the other by the river Oretus. It is prob- able that there was a Sicanian town here first, or why should the Phoenicians, a trading people, have troubled to establish themselves in the place ? The promontory upon which Palermo stood in ancient times started from St. Antonio and may be traced by the monastery of Sta. Caterina, the Martorana, the Theatine convent, the monastery of Sta. Chiara, the Benfratelli, the Ospedale Grande and the Royal Palace up to the Porta di Castro. On 37 SICILY the north it went by the Porta Oscura, St. Rocco, Via de' Candelari, Monte di Pieta, and Chiesa della Mazzara, up the Fonte Dainsuini. The port ex- tended over the Cassaro from Sta. Maria della Catena to the corner of the Via de' Fornari. The south branch scarcely reached the Porta Babelbahr between St. Antonio and Sta. Caterina, near the Via degli Schioppettieri, and the north branch went up to the Papireto, covering the piazzas of St. Onofrio, of the Monte di Pieta, and of St. Cosmo, disappearing in the marshes which went round behind the castle, in the park now belonging to the Due d'Aumale. The central part was called " Citta Vecchia," the ancient city, at least as late as Norman times, and Polybius calls it " urbem veterem ". There was then a suburb to the east called Neapolis, a name preserved by the Arabs. Edrisi says the city was divided into two parts : the Cassaro (Kasr), or fortress, and Borgo, or suburb. The Kasr was surrounded by walls and towers. Of these towers and walls there are still some remains, and of the gates several may still be seen. Behind a shop in the Piazza Nuova (No. 33) are remains of the Porta Oscura, an arch and a piece of the wall ; between the Papireto and St. Giacomo la Mazzara a small piece of the wall and a string-course of the Porta Rutah (Bab-ar-Rutah) remain, a portion of the arch and the impost of the Porta Busuemi, the whole of the Porta St. Agata which is still in use, a pointed arch externally with a segmental arch below and within, while internally the pointed arch is changed to a circular form. It has an ancient shrine above its inner face and a lantern swinging beneath the dark arch ; at each side are pieces of the city wall and rope walks. It is named in a deed of 1275 a.d. The Porta Mazzara 38 PALERMO is, however, the most picturesque as well as the oldest. Externally above the pointed arch is a little panel with three shields beneath a trefoiled arch. The inner arch is segmental, and has been rilled up with stone above a wooden lintel at a lower level. Here the pointed arch goes through the wall. The Khalesa, on the other side of the harbour, had four gates, of which one still remains in the Church of the Madonna della Vittoria. The arsenal occupied the site of the Piazza della Marina. There are some re- mains of the Porta Patitelli in the Cortile Caracciolo. The Porta Busuemi was the Bab as Sudan. This was at the corner of the Via de' Biscottari, by the western angle of the Spedale dei Benfratelli, on the north of the palace of Count Frederic, which some think to be a portion of the gate. Villa- bianca says the lower part of the tower is Phoenician. It has traces of pointed windows without mouldings, which have been filled up, and a rather fine two- light window inserted in the 14th century, decorated with inlays and shields beneath a corbelling and some carving. The Porta di Mazzara is perhaps that built in 947 a.d. by the Emir Abu-al-Hasan to replace the Porta Ibn Qurhub, which was lower down and subject to inundations. It was restored in 1325 by Frederic of Aragon, and closed in 1639, when the Porta di Montalto was opened. Ibn Haukal says that in 972 Palermo was divided into five regions, two of which were walled and had towers to make them separately defensible. The Kasr, one of these, was inhabited by merchants and the municipal nobility, the other, the Khalesa, was the dwelling of the Sultan and his followers, and had neither shops nor warehouses, but contained baths, public offices, the arsenal and the prison. The 39 SICILY unwalled region, called "Degli Schiavoni," more populous and larger than the two splendid cities of the government and the municipality, afforded room for the shipping and the foreign merchants. Two other unwalled regions, the Regione Nuova and Delia Moschea, provided space for the shops and workshops, money-changers, oil-merchants, sellers of corn, drysalters, tailors, chestmakers, coppersmiths and every craft and trade ; each by itself, divided from the rest, except the butchers, who had 150 or more shops in the city and many more outside. Two districts called by Ibn Haukal " regioni," without including them in the five, were called "of the Jews" and "of Abu-Himaz". In the same way the " Mesker," or soldiers' barracks, appears to have been separately enclosed. The suburbs stretched on the south-east from among the gardens by the Oreto to the shore, and on the south in a continuous line from Mesker to the village of Baida. He compares the city to a ship anchored in the Greek manner with its prow to the north. The sea evidently once entered by a narrow mouth and washed both sides of the promontory, since the marks of the waves are plain on the rocks on which St. Giovanni degli Eremiti stands, but by the 10th century it had retreated to the main channel and the two basins. La Cala is the only portion of them now remaining. Ibn Haukal says that several large brooks, each one large enough to turn two millstones, cut up the land between Kasr and Schiavoni, and were useful for the mills. They spread out into little lakes, where they made marshes in which sugar-cane grew and where they cultivated vegetables. Among places thus made, he says, " is one covered with papyrus, which I thought came only from Egypt, 40 PALERMO but here they make cables for the ships of it and a few leaves (of paper ?) which are sent to the Sultan ". This was no doubt where the Piazza Papireto is now, for we know that the papyrus grew there till i 59 1 . Near Monreale was an iron mine, the produce of which was used for the construction of ships. Some parts of the city were dependent on surface wells or rain-water cisterns for their water, which shows that it was the Normans who provided the fine service which now supplies the houses up to their topmost floors. The Kasr, of an oval shape, was cut in the greater axis by the straight street which is still known as " Cassaro," though officially titled Corso Vittorio Emanuele, then called " Simat," the Row, which consisted of shops and warehouses and was paved, a most rare thing in the Middle Ages. There were 500 mosques, 300 in the regions and 200 in the suburbs, all much frequented. The butchers' mosque on one day contained 7000 persons, the whole " art," with their families. This gives a probable population of 700,000 for the whole city on the basis of the present proportion, viz., 1 in 100. The population was very much mixed in mediaeval times. There were besides the Greeks, Moham- medans, Jews and Normans, commercial colonies of Sclavonians, Amalfitans, Venetians, Pisans, Cata- lans, Genoese, Lombards, etc. The Greeks were near the Piazza Vittoria — La Galga — from the Church della Pinta to that of Sta. Barbara Sottana and the monastery of St. Theodore. Outside La Galga, from St. Andrea and St. Nicolo in Kemonia to Sta. Maria della Crypta and the Forty Martyrs of Lydia, to the Teatro Bellini and Sta. Caterina, all the churches are Greek with a few 4i SICILY exceptions, showing that the district was inhabited by them except for a few Latin groups, such as those round St. Nicolo Latinorum de Albergaria. In the Via de' Biscottari was a mosque and a Jewish warehouse. The Sclavonian was a large quarter against the wall of the Kasr, and on the other side of the Papiretum were the foreigners' houses, from the upper part, where the Venetians were, to the lower, just by the port, where the loggia of the Pisans was, close by those of the Catalans and Genoese. Among these were also Jews and Mohammedans, and there was a mosque near the Porta Patitelli. Sta. Cita belonged to the Lucchese. The Mohammedan quarter was on the other side by La Kalsa. The Jews practised as doctors in the Cassaro till 1312. The Ghetto was near St. Giovanni dei Tartari, a portion of the Albergaria. The Pisans had a settlement under the Mussulmans, and the Venetians in 1-114. as ked King Roger to rebuild the Church of St. Mark, " built by the Greeks and destroyed by the perfidious Saracens ". The Amalfitans were at first in the Cassaro, but in the second half of the 12th century occupied the street by the port called Borgo degli Amalfitani, with the churches of St. Andrea and St. Nicolo de burgo, close to which the loggia of the Catalans was built in the 13th and 14th centuries in the street which ran from Sta. Eulalia to the Cala. The Loggia de' Pisani stood close to the Piazza la Tarzana until the 1 5th century. The Sclavonians included merchants from Illyria and Dalmatia. Except for them and a few Mussulmans and Jews the Seralcadio was entirely inhabited by Latins, Romagnols, Neapolitans, Pro- vencals, Aragonese, in addition to those nation- alities already mentioned. La Magione is at the 42 CAPPELLA PAI.ATINA, PALERMO PALERMO extremity of the Moorish and Jewish quarters of the ioth century, Khalesah and Dell'JHarat-al-Gadidah. The Cassarus or Citta Vecchia was in the main Greek on the south side and Latin on the north. Sta. Maria de Latinis and St. Antonio were on the extreme point, on which was also the convent of St. Theodore for Basilian nuns. Outside the city Greeks, Latins and Mussulmans were together in the villages of St. Ciriaca, St. Silvestro, Balhara and Baida. Greeks were in the groups of houses round the church of St. Pietro de' Greci alia Guadagna and higher towards St. Nicolo de Gurguro, now La Grazia ; Latins and Greeks towards the north shore and Monte Pellegrino ; Arabs and Latins in the country outside the Porta d' Iccari as far as Colli and Biddemi. The most prominent buildings in Palermo, except for the great modern theatre, are in the main the work of the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Spanish viceroys ruled the island. As a sample of their work the Quattro Canti or Piazza Vigliena may be taken, situated where the Corso Vittorio Emanuele crosses the Via Macqueda. It was con- structed by the Marquis de Vigliena in 1609, and close to it is the church of St. Giuseppe de' Teatini, of the same period, with an extraordinary roof of stucco work which it is scarcely possible to surpass in extravagance. Leaving such monstrosities on one side, let us seek the buildings of the Norman period, which are also unsurpassable in a different manner, and commence with the Cappella Palatina, which is in the Royal Palace at the top of the city, and is profusely decorated with marble inlay and fine mosaics ; generally considered the most beauti- ful palace chapel in the world. It was founded by 43 SICILY King Roger I., and a document of 1132 a.d., still extant, signed by Peter, Archbishop of Palermo, declares it a parish church " by special desire of King Roger ". The consecration did not take place however until 1140, when, according to a homily delivered on the occasion, it must have been nearly complete, " the roof wonderful to see, the pavement ornamented with very varied pieces of marble in a masterly manner, the walls covered with various marbles, the upper parts of which are ornamented with golden tesserae with scarcely a space between, with the venerable figures represented upon them ". A Greek inscription gives the date of 1 1 43, but this must refer to the mosaics about the sanctuary. Romuald the Salernitan says that William I. decorated the chapel with splendid mosaics and clothed the walls with precious marbles- — the nave probably. They were restored in the 14th century under the Aragonese. An inscription remains on the left side dated 1345, which perhaps refers to the royal throne where the Aragonese arms are placed and the figures of St. Gregory and St. Silvester in the great apse, later in date and with a Latin inscription. Other restorations are noted in inscriptions dated 1460, 1462 and 1463, under John of Aragon, and another in 1478, finished under Ferdinand the Catholic in 1482. In later times figures were added replacing those saints who had gone out of date or at least were eclipsed by newer glories. Such are the St. Andrew in the vault of the Chapel of the Sacrament, probably of the 16th century, and St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene in the great apse of the 1 7th. A further restoration took place in the 18th century, a Roman being called in at a salary of 50 lire a day. In 1753 Charles III. 44 PALERMO established a school of mosaicists in Palermo to repair and restore them. The Virgin in the apse and St. Joseph with the infant Jesus and St. Anna in the side apses are by Cardini of Arezzo, who was the second head of the school. The plan is a com- bination of Latin basilica and Greek cross. The nave has five bays, and at the choir arch the columns are coupled and the level of the floor rises by four steps, and three more steps approach the altar, which is in a semi-circular apse. The choir en- closure is of marble, pierced towards the nave and inlaid in other places with elaborately interwoven forms composed of many small pieces of coloured marbles. The aisle walls are sheeted with marble in their lower portion and covered with mosaic above, a band of inlaid work dividing the two. The roof is most elaborately painted with ara- besques, figures and animals which have a curiously Persian or Indian look. It is " artesonado," portions being sunk and others raised, and has other Moorish features. It was restored or replaced in 1498. Beneath the choir and apse there is a crypt which is reported to be the primitive church where St. Peter stopped on his return from Africa ; on an altar is a jewelled crucifix which used to be in the judgment-hall of the Inquisition. There is a large dome over the crossing and small domes at the sides. All the arches are pointed and stilted ; the columns and capitals appear to be antique for the most part. Beneath the pulpit and in the chapels at the end of each aisle are six columns of peach-flower marble, of which there are only two even in Rome. Outside is a portion of a portico of similar columns which is said at one time to have surrounded the chapel. The large slabs of marble were added in 1 506. An 45 SICILY inscription of Ferdinand the Catholic which is now in it was originally over the great door, and another of 1 142 records the erection of a water clock in Greek, Latin and Arabic. On the right are a 12th- century pulpit with marble inlays and a carved Easter candlestick of the same date added to at a later period. The subjects of the mosaics are chiefly taken from the lives of Christ, St. Peter and St. Paul, and Old Testament histories. Those in the choir are the most ancient, and were probably exe- cuted by Greek craftsmen, since the lettering of the inscriptions is Greek. The altars are rather late and the choir stalls are modern. At the other end of the nave the royal seat is raised on five steps, orna- mented with panels of small inlays and the royal arms. Several doors in the chapel are interesting. One is of wood with large nails in the Moorish fashion, one of hammered iron and two of bronze. The sacristy contains the archives with documents in Greek, Latin and Arabic. In the treasury is an ivory casket of Arab workmanship and a 17th- century enamelled ostensorium. The palace occupies the site of the ancient castle. The nucleus is Saracenic, but additions were made to it directly after the Norman Conquest and by later sovereigns. Of this work, however, the only portion now apparent is the tower of Santa Ninfa, which contains the royal observatory and the "Stanze di Ruggiero," a room decorated with mosaic and marble, said to have been chosen by Roger as his own after the siege, with another ad- joining, the details of which the guardians date with the most appalling inaccuracy ! The tower is orna- mented externally with the flat pointed arcading which is so characteristic of the period, and appears 46 PALERMO in La Cuba, La Favara, La Zisa and other buildings of the Norman kings. The rest of the royal palace is absolutely uninteresting, but the Porta Nuova, which is attached to it, though baroque, is pictur- esque from inside, having a well-proportioned loggia above the gate and a pyramidal roof decorated with painted tiles, a mode of decoration which Sicilian examples make one sometimes wish was possible in our climate. A short distance to the left is the curious church of St. Giovanni degli Eremiti, founded in 1 1 32, and incorporating what was probably a mosque in its structure. It has five domes, plastered externally and painted red. The plan shows an Egyptian cross with three apses, of which only the central one shows externally ; the nave is divided in the middle by a pointed arch which affords partial support to two of the domes. On the south are the remains of the mosque divided by a row of five square piers into two naves. It has pointed windows widely splayed which appear as mere slits on the outside. Under the Normans the whole building was used as a burial-place for the nobility. Attached are some pleasing cloisters of rather later date now laid out as a garden, with a pointed arcade and coupled columns. During the restoration some fragments of plaster pierced with ornamental forms were found which were in the nave arch, a reproduction of a pattern used similarly in the mosque of Ibn Toulun at Cairo. Some have considered this as a survival of the monastery of St. Ermete, one of the six founded by Gregory the Great in Sicily ; but the present name is sufficiently explained by the fact that the monks whom Roger established there were of the order of hermits founded by St. William of Vercelli 47 SICILY and Giovanni da Musco, and came from Monte Vergine in Apulia. Other churches of the same period are La Mar- torana, St. Cataldo and St. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi. The last is the earliest church near Palermo, having been built in 1071, while the siege was still in pro- gress. It is called " Dei Lebbrosi " because the laza- retto was afterwards established there by William the Good. The approach is through a tan-yard and a garden, for the church lies back from the road. It has the usual dome over the crossing and three apses, piers in the nave, not columns ; the roofs are vaulted with a barrel vault and finished above with concrete and tiles set as a slightly sloping terrace. The west door is between two low towers, one of which is occupied by a staircase which leads to the roof and to the custodian's rooms, and the other by the baptistery. It lies outside the Porta St. Anton- ino, beyond the Ponte dell' Ammiraglio. The two churches of La Martorana and St. Cataldo stand close together behind the Piazza Pretoria. St. Cataldo was for some time used as the post-office, but has now been cleaned out and re- stored in a discreet manner. It is most interesting as showing the construction of buildings of the type, since the walls are bare of mosaic or marble incrustation. It was probably founded shortly be- fore 1 161, since in that year a daughter of Count Marsico was buried there, to whom the church and some houses near belonged, which were once the property of Majone di Bari, sold by the king's ex- chequer among the things which he possessed at his death. The inference is that it was founded by him, which the Greek plan makes all the more pro- bable, since at Bari, which remained Byzantine till 48 S. CATALDO, PALERMO PALERMO the end of the 1 1 th century, Greek forms were in use. Majone di Bari was Grand Admiral of the kingdom under William the Bad, a man of whom Falcando tells the most shocking stories, though his information has been proved false in one or two instances. What is certain is that he was murdered in the Via Coperta, and that his prospective son-in- law, Matteo Bonello, was the first to plunge a sword into his side. The remains of the sword may still be seen hung at the door of the archiepiscopal palace. The populace dragged his corpse about the city in jest, Falcando says, who evidently hated him as much as the people must have done. The pavement of St. Cataldo is of the usual opus Alexandrinum kind, and the altar front is of semi-transparent marble with incised emblems. The Spaniards removed the mosaics in the seventeenth century, replacing them with stucchi, now in their turn removed. The nave is covered with three hemispherical cupolas, and the aisle roofs are supported on pointed arches which bind the four central columns to the wall. The sanctuary is raised two steps above the nave floor. An Arabian battlemented frieze runs round the summit of the wall outside. La Martorana is so called because in 1433 it was given to the Benedic- tine nuns, whose convent close by was founded in 1 195 by Aloisa, wife of Godfrey of Martorana, but it was founded by George of Antioch, Admiral to King Roger I. in 1143, and was then called Sta. Maria dell' Ammiraglio. A bilingual deed of 1143 exists relating to the endowments of the church, and another of 1 1 46, in Greek, referring to the sale of certain houses to the clergy. As might be expected from its parentage it is a typical Greek church in plan, exactly like others which may be D 49 SICILY seen at Athens or Constantinople — at the latter the Theotocos church and at the former the Catholicon and Panagia Lycodimos and others. The architectural decorative features recall Cairo, and especially the mosques of Ibn Toulun and Hassan. The pierced parapet, the columns attached to the arches, in front of the apses, as well as the portico and windows and the slightly pointed arches are all Arab features. It was served by Greek clergy. It is square with three eastern apses (one of which was destroyed in the 17th century), the dome sup- ported on pointed arches which spring from four columns as at St. Cataldo, and the other arches sup- porting the vaults arranged in the same manner, but the central dome and nave are higher than the aisles, and the nave has a low roof instead of three domes of equal height Against the triumphal arch of the apse are four colonnettes of porphyry and granite, and others in a similar position to the smaller apses ; in front of them the pavement is raised. There is a door to the north and another to the south, and no doubt there was one also to the west from the atrium, which was in front of the church, and where the judges of the city sat, and a notary, by name Enrico di Martino, exercised his profession. In 1588 the church was lengthened to the west, taking in the atrium and the portico. At this time the external mosaics were destroyed, except two showing King Roger before Christ and George of Antioch before the Virgin, which still remain inside, together with those of the ancient interior which cover the vaults and the upper part of the walls as in the Cappella Palatina. As there were not quite enough columns 5° PALERMO in the atrium for the fresh requirements, some were bought, and the registry notes the buying of two for 6 " onze " from the rectors of St. Antonio, and of three (two of marble and one of granite) for 38 "onze " from the Confraternity of St. Catherine of Olivella, with bases and capitals. (The granite one was cut up into four to heighten the others.) In the course of restoration fragments of plaster window-panels were found, proving, together with one found in situ at St. Giovanni degli Eremiti, that this was the usual manner of filling the windows at that time. We know historically that at Mon- reale and the cathedral also the windows were closed with leaden slabs pierced with ornamental forms in the Eastern fashion. After the Sicilian Vespers, in 1282, the parliament met in this church to receive the ambassadors of Peter of Aragon and to swear fealty to him. The Chapel of St. Benedict on the north, which masks a great part of the church, was put up in 1683. The great apse was then thrown down, and this work necessitated the destruction of part of the side apses, and a few years later the high altar was put up ; though baroque in design it is beautiful by reason of the exquisite colour of the precious Sicilian marbles of which it is constructed. In 171 7 other baroque marble decorations were added. In 1728 some of the mosaics were restored, and in 1730 the rest of the ancient marbles disappeared. Fortunately con- siderations of expense caused the nuns to use the crosses of serpentine and porphyry as well as the slabs of marble with mosaic insertions belonging to the old work, and they have been recovered and placed on the walls. In 1738, when the pavement was remade, the ancient pavement of the atrium was 5 1 SICILY found beneath it. Two of the smaller columns have Cufic inscriptions upon them. The upper storey of the campanile and the cupola were damaged by an earthquake and taken down in 1726. Mongitore says that Fra Giacomo Amato, a worthy architect, " cried with grief" over it, saying that the damaged foundations ought to have been looked to, not the top of the building. It has a pointed arched entrance on the ground, and the first floor is decorated with inlays and the curious transverse rustication often found round the arches of the period. Another ancient church very much altered in later times is the church of La Magione, founded in 1 1 50 by Matteo Ajello, Admiral to Roger II., whose son enriched it in 1 194. It was at first held by the Cistercians, but Henry VL expelled them because they favoured Tancred, and placed Germans there instead. It was at one time superior to the cathedral in riches and in the extent of its jurisdiction, and St. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi was under it. Works of restoration have revealed the existence of a pointed wooden roof, apparently of the 14th century, painted like that of Lo Steri principally in red and white with coats of arms, and a broad cornice with Arabic letters, and of some frescoes in the cloister. It has three eastern apses and piers in the nave. The dome which they once supported has been replaced by a waggon vault which covers the whole nave. There are three bays in it and the usual two steps to approach the solea, the space in front of the three apses. Alterations made in the 17th and 18th centuries damaged it, and finally, in the beginning of the 19th, a ridiculous and ugly Doric facade was added by D. Leopold de 52 PALERMO Bourbon, to provide a loggia for the royal family to use on the festival of Corpus Domini. All. these churches are of the kind of which the Normans found remains when they came to Sicily. The principal divisions internally were the solea, which divided the sacr avium and presbyteriutn from the nave or aisles by a low wall, a compartment on the north called matroneum for women, the men being on the other side in a space called the sena- torium y and the three apses, the two side ones of which were called diatonicon and protasis, and were used for the sacred preparations. The exterior narthex divided the nave from the porticoes, an intermediate space for catechumens. The baptised entered the church by the central door. The " confession," the semi-crypt in which the bodies of martyrs were placed beneath the altar, appears in the 8th century and disappears again in the 13th. The Normans found at Palermo a Greek archbishop, Greek priests at Troina, and six or seven monasteries in different parts of the island. The ancient cathedral of Palermo was used as a mosque by the Saracens, and though restored and richly endowed by Count Roger it was not thought magnificent enough. King Roger therefore added Sta. Maria Incoronata, a chapel dedicated on 1 5th May, 1 1 29, where he was crowned two years later. Here also the two Williams, the unfortunate Tancred, Henry VI., Frederick II., Manfred of Suabia, Peter of Aragon, and all the Aragonese down to Martin were crowned. After 1410 the kings of Sicily were crowned in Spain. Close to the chapel was a loggia in which the king showed himself to the people, some remains of which are still to be seen in the Via del Papireto* The chapel 53 SICILY itself was unfortunately destroyed in the bombard- ment of i860. The cathedral, a building quite southern in appearance, owes its erection to an Englishman, Walter of the Mill, who was arch- bishop under the two Williams. An inscription formerly existed in the apse which gave the date of the dedication of the cathedral to the Virgin of the Assumption as 1 185. Two slender towers flank the apse, and two more very similar rise at the angles of the western facade. Three doors are in this facade : above the centre one is a very rich two-light Gothic window, while above the side doors are large windows divided into lights with slender columns. This facade is of the early part of the 14th century. The bell tower, the lower part of which dates from the 1 2th century, similar in style, is on the other side of the street, forming part of the archbishop's palace, which is united to the cathedral by two large arches thrown across the Via Matteo Bonello. The south porch has a large central arch and two smaller arches at the sides ; the gable above has sunk panelling of elaborate Gothic design : it was added in 1450. The door within, with the mosaic panel of the Virgin and Child, is a little earlier. One of the columns here bears a Cufic inscription, and, no doubt, came from the old cathedral. Round the top of the walls runs a fanciful battlemented cresting, and the eastern end has inlaid arcading, something like that at Monreale. The exterior has many curious inconsistencies : for instance, pointed arched panels with mouldings enriched with the egg and dart, Greek honeysuckle forms inlaid above a corbel- ling the arches upon which are pointed and filled in with Renaissance shell forms, and, on the north 54 PALERMO side, a colonnade with an arch in the centre, beneath a broken pediment, the architrave of the door beneath which, after passing the corner, suddenly shoots up into a pointed arch, terminating in a scrolled key- stone of late Renaissance type. The interior was ruined by Ferdinand I. of Bourbon, the works occupying thirteen years, and being completed in 1801. Ferdinand Fuga was the instrument. Ships were laden with porphyry, granite, jasper and lapis-lazuli torn from walls and pavement and sold over sea. The chefs £ ceuvre of the Sicilian school disappeared or were destroyed and the sepulchral slabs and monuments broken up. The only remains of the ancient splendour are the sepulchres of the kings in the first two chapels to the right of the nave. Of these, four consist of porphyry tombs under canopies and two are of marble — one that of Constance of Aragon, an antique sarco- phagus with hunting scenes, and the other that of Duke William, son of Frederick III. of Aragon. The slabs with crouching figures which support King Roger's tomb show the height of Sicilian sculpture in the latter half of the 12th century. The tomb is of simple form and made of slabs of porphyry cemented together. Those of Henry VI. and Frederick II. came from Cefalu, where they were probably provided by Roger for himself and his wife. He died in Palermo, and was buried there in spite of the protests of the bishops and canons of Cefalu. Frederick II. 's is sustained by four great lions of porphyry seated on their haunches ; on the cover are six circles carved with the figures of the Saviour, the Virgin and the Evangelists with their symbols. The columns and roof of the canopy are all of porphyry. Henry VI. 's (from which he 55 SICILY had cast out the bones of Tancred and his eldest son) is similar, but the cover of the sarcophagus is smooth, and it is not supported on lions but on slabs elegantly shaped. That of Constance, his wife, is later in date ; its canopy is of marble and the columns have insertions of mosaic like those of King Roger's canopy. These tombs were originally near the Chapel of the Sacrament, but in 1781 they had to be moved, and were then opened. Frederick II. was well preserved. He was wrapped in a mantle embroidered with Arabic letters and designs ; the crown, sceptre and orb were laid beside him. With him were found the bodies of Peter II. of Aragon and of Duke William, son of Frederick II. of Aragon. Henry VI. was wrapped in a robe of yellow silk, with the imperial mitre with Arabic inscriptions at his feet. The sepulchres of King Roger and his daughter had been already rifled of everything valuable. The choir is paved with porphyry and verd- antique and has statues of the Apostles by Gagini. In the treasure of the sacristy there is a Gagini statue of the Virgin, the crown of the Empress Constance, part of her diadem, a piece of Henry VI.'s mantle, a fine Spanish pallium and MSS. in Greek, Latin and Arabic, the earliest of which is of 1083. On the left wall of the chapel of the kings is a St. Cecilia by Antonio di Crescenzio with a pretty angel playing the lute. A holy-water basin and reliefs of the Passion of Christ by one of the Gagini and the stalls of the choir are other noticeable things remaining in the cathedral. To the right of the choir is the chapel of Sta. Rosalia, the tutelary saint of Palermo, whose grotto is on Monte Pellegrino. Her shrine, which 56 PALERMO is carried through the streets in July, is heavy and extravagant in design, and weighs over 1400 lb. of silver. The crypt beneath the choir is thought by some to be the most ancient church in Palermo. It is square, with eight columns of granite in the middle, but may have been larger before the present cathedral was founded. The arches are very strong and are pointed now, though the capitals suggest Lombard carving. Twenty-four archbishops lie buried in it, some of them in early Christian sarco- phagi. The city of Palermo is divided into quarters by the Via Macqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the ancient Cassaro. They intersect at a piazza called the Quattro Canti, already referred to, the corners of which are decorated with 17th-century sculp- ture. Quite close to this, in the Piazza Pretoria, is a monumental fountain made by the Florentines Michelangelo Vogherizzo and Francesco Camilliani in or about 1 5 50, who set to work intending to surpass the fountain of Orione upon which Montorsoli was then engaged. It is of Carrara marble, and is nearly 400 ft. round and 35 ft. high. Fifty-six jets throw water from figures, monsters and heads in the frieze. It has quite a population of statues, some half and many full length, and cost 20,000 scudi. It was the gift of Don Pietro Garcia of Toledo, the Viceroy, who straightened and opened a new piece of the Cassaro towards the sea in the hope of linking his name to it. In the lower part of the city are several other interesting churches, such as St. Francesco, which has a fine but rather over-decorated Gothic rose window in the facade (the eight Moorish columns once in the doorway are now in the museum). A 57 SICILY church in which the Council of Priors met until the Commune had a house of its own, and in the convent annexed to which the House of Deputies made by the Constitution of 1812 sat. St. Agostino, above the Via Macqueda, has a similar facade, built in 1278, and also a side door of great beauty, made in I 506, the rich carving of which recalls the design of Spanish embroideries of the period. The interior has been quite spoilt by alterations made in 1627. St. Antonio is another church of the same times, now much restored and modernised. The little church of Sta. Maria della Catena, so called because the chain with which the harbour was closed at night was attached there, dates from the end of the Aragonese dynasty, but stands on the site of an older church of the same name. It has a curious mixture of late Gothic and Renaissance forms which is not unpleasing. The columns of the nave arcade are Classic in intention ; the quadripartite vaulting from the choir steps eastward is raised and the walls above the transverse arches are pierced with Gothic traceried openings, the apse arches are pointed, while those of the nave arcade are segmental, mounted on stiltings, down which the mouldings return. In the Gothic chapel at the end of the south aisle are two columns of cipollino rosso, of which there are only three others in Western Europe. St. Giacomo alia Marina, called also Sta. Maria Nuova, has a facade so much like it as to make one think the same architect was responsible for both churches. St. Domenico is an enormous 1 7th-century church, capable of holding 12,000 people, and the West- minster Abbey of Palermo, where many distinguished men are buried. Its cloister is not much later than 58 SOUTH DOOR OF S. AGOSTINO, PALERMO PALERMO Norman times. Below it is Sta. Cita, in which is some good Renaissance sculpture by the Gagini, especially behind the high altar, where there is an arch decorated with arabesques and with two saints in the spandrils, beneath which is a nativity in the centre and a saint on either side in a shell-headed niche ; a half-length angel in a circle holds a crown above, and below is a predella of evangelists who sit writing, resting their books upon their symbols, flanking the tabernacle for the host ; there is a frieze of cherubs and an upper storey with the death of the Virgin. She lies in a tester bed with the curtains tied up. Higher still is God the Father above another cherub frieze. Saints flank the central composition under arches and angels are mastheaded on Renaissance pinnacles — a very grandiose and successful composi- tion. In a chapel at the end of the south aisle is an altar to St. Eustace, also fine. A large arch with arabesques and half-figures of kings and saints spans the space ; in the tympanum the Emperor Octavian kneels before the Cumaean Sibyl. The figures are in high relief upon a ground which has a fine Bur- gundian pattern incised. There are also several tombs. The Gagini are seen at their best in this church which belonged to the Lucchese. Nearly opposite is SS. Annunziata with a pretty Renaissance facade bearing on it the emblems of its dedication, made in 1497 by "Maestro Gabriele de Roma, Palermitan ". The entrance is through the Conservatory of Music, which has an early door decorated with Norman zigzags, and occupies the place of the cloister where on 8th September, 1 5 1 7, some Palermitan nobles assembled with the captain of the city, William Ventimiglia, before going into the church, where they killed Giovanni Luca 59 SICILY Squarcialupo and several of his supporters in an unsuccessful rebellion, with the approval of the Viceroy Pignatelli. On the other side of the piazza at the side of SS. Annunziata is the church of St. Giorgio dei Genovesi, which has the curious feature of the arches being sustained by groups of four columns in place of piers. It dates from 1 591 . Before 1576 there was a church of St. Luca here. A little west lies the church of St. Nicolo dei Greci, arranged for the ritual of the Eastern Church. Other churches which may be mentioned are St. Nicolo d' Alber- garia, below the Via Benfratelli, which has a Norman tower formerly a watch-tower of the ancient port, Sta. Maria di tutte le Grazie, near the Piazza Rivoluzione, with a 15th-century Gothic facade, and the monastery church, "Delia Gancia," a 15th- century building with Gagini sculptures and carved stalls and a fine Spanish -looking side door. The monks of this monastery took an active part in the revolution of i860. In the church of Piedigrotta, by La Cala, is the great terminal in form of an eagle which decorated the poop of the Sicilian captain's galley at the naval battle of Cape Corvo, where the Admiral Octavius of Aragon defeated the Turkish fleet. In the centre of the triangular Piazza della Rivoluzione, where the revolutionary standard was unfurled in 1 848, is a grotesque figure known as the Genius of Palermo. This statue was removed in 1849 kv the Bourbon government, but restored in 1 860 by the people. The piazza was formerly called Fiera Vecchia, or ancient market. In the Piazza Croce de' Vespri, not far away, is the marble column with a cross erected in 1737 to the memory 60 PALERMO of the French who are said to have been buried here in 1282. The original is in the museum, this is a copy. The Piazza Marina, in which is the fountain " Del GarafFo," made by Amato in 1698 and named from the Arabic "El Gharaf" (a bowl of water), occupies the site of the ancient arsenal. The Giardini Gari- baldi are in the centre, and round and near it are a few ancient palaces. Of these the most important is the Palazzo Chiaramonte, called Lo Steri, com- menced in 1 307 by Manfred of Chiaramonte, Count of Modica, on the foundations of the ancient marine villa of the Saracen princes in the suburb of Khalesa or Kalsa (Arabic, the pure, or the excellent), and com- pleted in 1380. The great room has a fine wooden ceiling, panelled and painted with coats-of-arms, hunting scenes, battles and grotesques. In 1392 the house became extinct through the ill-judged ambition of Andrea Chiara- monte, who, being vicar of the kingdom, thought to make himself king. He was beheaded in front of his own house, and, his property being confiscated, the palace became the residence of kings and royal princes. This was the period (141 2) when Bernardo Cabrera, Coun t of Modica, Chief- Justice of the kingdom, nearly succeeded in carrying off the queen, Bianca of Navarre, whom he wished to force to marry him. She with her ladies escaped in very light costume to a galley in the port, and only just in time, for he found her bed still warm. Hither in Charles V.'s time a parliament was sum- moned which should have then met in the Palazzo Ajutamicristo ; here in 1 5 1 7 the Viceroy Pignatelli was besieged by the populace who threw the judges from the windows on to the pikes of the crowd, and 61 SICILY during the plague of 1575 those who transgressed the sanitary laws were thrown from the top of the palace near the clock tower. Hither in the 17th century the Inquisition was transferred from the Palazzo Bologni, the ground floor being reserved for prisons. The column to which they say the accused were fastened for torturing, and an iron hook which was one of the implements, are still there. The worst dungeon was called Filippino, because Philip III. prepared it for felons. When the Inquisition was abolished, in 1782, by the Viceroy Don Carac- ciolo, he opened the prison doors himself. There were only a monk and an old woman within. The archives were burnt in the piazza for three days, and only one cartload of documents was saved, which are now in the Communal library, thanks to a bookseller named Angelini. The last auto-da-fe took place in 1723 in the Piazza St. Erasmo, where the Villa Giulia now is. The victims were an ex-friar of the Augus- tines of Caltanisetta, and his lover Geltrude Maria Cordovaria " terzieria ". The palace is now the tribunal and court of assize. Behind, in the direction of La Kalsa, was the most conspicuous part of Mussulman Palermo after the Cassaro. Of this Ibn Haukal says : " One day I found myself near the house of Abu-Mohammed-el-Cafri- el-Ouataik, the lawyer. I observed from his mosque in the space of a bow-shot ten other mosques, one facing the other with a street between. I asked him why it was so, and he answered that here, from excess of pride, each one wanted a mosque to himself in which only his family and his household should worship, and that it was not uncommon for two brothers, whose houses were so near that the walk touched, to make a mosque each for himself."' 62 PALERMO Here is the fine late Gothic Palazzo Abatelli, built in 1495 by Francesco Patella, who bequeathed it to the Church, a convent since 1596, and a little further on, in Sta. Maria della Vittoria, behind the altar in the first chapel to the right (now arranged to turn on one side at will), is a strong and ancient gate of wood, probably of the 1 1 th century, and a pointed arch above, which may go back to the foundation of the Khalesa, that is to say, 937 a.d. This gate is believed to be the one through which Count Roger entered Palermo. Other interesting palaces are the Palazzo Sclafani, near the Piazza Vit- toria, built in 1330 by Matteo Sclafano, Count of Adriano, and finished in a year, as the story goes, in rivalry with the Chiaramonte, used as a hospital from the 1 5th century onwards, and now a caserne. It has an interesting early fresco of the Triumph of Death by Antonio Crescenzio, a Palermitan artist, who has inscribed his name on the sleeve of one of the figures supposed to be his own portrait. Death is a skeleton on a white horse which gallops madly on over a crowd of persons, emperors, popes, kings, queens, princes, magistrates, warriors, courtiers, people of all ages and conditions. It was restored at the beginning of the 19th century by a man who bore the name of Velasquez, but had not the talent of the great Spaniard. The eagle with the hare above the south door is a sculpture of Bonajuto Pisano's, carved in 1329. The Palazzo Raffadalli has a Gothic screen wall, and is built on part of the ancient wall of Palermo, and the Palazzo Ajutamicristo was built at the end of the 1 5th century by Matteo Carnevali Ajuta- micristo, Baron of Misilmeri. This last shows Spanish influence in its design. Near to the Palazzo 63 SICILY Sclafani is the little Spanish chapel of " Del Solidad," which owns the famous image of Christ lying on a bier which is carried round the city in the great Good Friday procession. The Cattolica palace in the Via Cintorinai, now occupied by business houses and called Palazzo Briuccia, has one of the finest cortiles in all Italy, reminding one of Paolo Veronese's backgrounds. At the corner of the archiepiscopal palace is a Gothic window. In the Piazza Croce de' Vespri is the Palazzo St. Remy in which St. Remy, assistant to Charles of Anjou, lived at that time. In the Municipio is a Greek statute of Apollo and two Roman portrait statues ; the University has important natural history collections, and the Biblioteca Comunale has a valuable collection of books and MSS. relating to Sicilian history ; but the principal collection is the Museo Nazionale, housed in the suppressed monastery of the Filippini. It is a very mixed collection, comprising objects of the greatest interest, chief among which are the celebrated metopes from the temples of Selinunt, discovered by the English architects Angell and Evans. These comprise three extremely archaic panels representing Hercules Melampygos with the Cercopes, Perseus beheading Medusa, and a quad- riga, perhaps the contest of Pelops against ^Enomaus, two fragments of metopes of a rather later date, and four more in which the art of sculpture had nearly reached its full development. In these, though the greater part is carved in yellow tufa, the flesh of the female figures is inlaid in marble. The subjects are Hercules slaying Hippolyta, Zeus and Hera, Actaeon and Diana, and Athene slaying Enceladus. Other architectural fragments are in the same room, 6 4 PALERMO which also show traces of stucco and colour. Many other antiques are in different rooms, of very various degrees of merit, and one large hall contains the mosaic pavements found in 1869 in the Piazza della Vittoria. Among the bronzes is a very fine colossal ram from the castle at Syracuse, one of the finest bronzes in existence. Vases both antique and of the Arab period, coins, vestments, portions of painted Arab roofs, metal work, and a large number of un- interesting pictures, among which, however, are two or three gems, make up the collection. The finest is a small triptych, probably by Mabuse, or Jacob Cornelissen ; Adam and Eve in a richly peopled Paradise on the outside, and within a Madonna enthroned with the infant Christ, and on the wings St. Catharine and St. Dorothea. A very fine work indeed. It is in a brown case covered with leather and with Gothic ornaments, probably of the date of the picture. A fine portrait by Holbein and one or two good pictures doubtfully ascribed to great names are also in the same room. The courtyards are very picturesque, the green of tropical vegetation contrast- ing with the carved stone of the architectural frag- ments and the marble figures preserved here very pleasantly. The port is picturesque with shipping, and defended on the further side by Fort Castella- mare, above which rises the mass of Monte Pelle- grino, while beyond the Porta Felice at the bottom of the Cassaro is a fine promenade by the sea leading to the Villa Giulia and the adjacent Botanic Gardens, filled with flowers and shady trees. The Villa Giulia was made in 1777 under the viceroy alty of Don Marcantonio Colonna, Prince of Stigliano, who wished to embellish the town and give work to the people, while glorifying his own name. It is named E 65 SICILY from his wife, but the real credit of the scheme belongs to the then praetor of the city, Don Antonio Lagina, Marquis of Regalmici and Prince of Carini. The central fountain is crowned by an Atlas carrying a dodecahedron on which the astronomer Abbot Lorenzo Federici traced twelve sundials, marking hours and half-hours according to the system then in use. Around are four hemicycles domed and decorated in the Pompeian style. The group of the brothers Ganaris, by Civiletti, which obtained the medal of honour at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, is one of the ornaments of the gardens which are considered to be among the most beautiful in Italy. The adjoining botanic garden has many palms and other tropical plants in it, and by way of contrast, a few years ago a small sickly holly nursed up in a pot might be seen. At the other end of the town is the Giardino Inglese, and La Favorita, a royal chateau with extensive grounds 3 miles from the Porta Macqueda, is also open to the public daily. Before treating of the environs, a word or two may be given to the Palermitan "giarre," or reservoirs, curious erections built or copied from the Arabs, 20 ft. high or more, and looking like irregular towers of crumbling plaster and brickwork bearded with maidenhair and dripping with moisture. There are hundreds of them, and their object is to give fresh impetus to the water brought by the aqueduct from the mountains. The carts used by the peasants are unlike those of any other nationality, and their makers may lay claim to the name of artists to a considerable degree. They are all of the same pattern, though varying in details ; painted bright yellow with red bands and green spottings. The axle is a sort of frieze of 66 PALERMO wood and iron painted the same colours and re- presenting roughly birds, flowers and other things, mixed with scrolls. Another strip of a similar pattern sometimes hangs at the back of the cart, like a stiff curtain. The harness is embroidered with wool, with pompons and copper or brass discs. The collar is like a tower, ornamented with nails and pieces of looking-glass and crowned with a bunch of scarlet plumes, 30 in. or so above the horse's back. Each side of the cart is divided into two panels, with all sorts of historical and legendary subjects painted thereon, titled in words of black letters. Such subjects occur as The Rape of Europa, The Burning of Troy, The Trojan Horse, Roland at Roncesvaux, Roland Sounds his Horn, Charlemagne and his Peers, The Treason of Ganelon, Oliver's Duel, Archbishop Turpin's Benediction, Rinaldo crowned Emperor of Trebizond, The Landing of Rodomont in France, Angelica at Paris — from legen- dary history. The Coronation of King Roger, Bonaparte at Areola, The Retreat from Moscow, The Adieux of the Old Guard, The Landing of the Thousand at Marsala, The Entry of Napoleon III. into Italy, Napoleon III. giving up his Sword to William — from more or less authentic history. Family pictures, attacks of brigands, religious sub- jects, etc., also appear in bewildering variety. The subjects are generally selected by the owner of the cart, and the painters are paid from 70 to 80 lire. The whole cart costs about 250 lire. It may be asked how the ordinary people, in a country which has such a large number of illiterates as Sicily has, become acquainted with such a range of legendary stories, and the answer is that, first, the public story- teller, the " contastorie," is not extinct in the island 67 SICILY and may often be seen and heard near the harbour in Palermo, the attentive circle of listeners rewarding him with a few centesimi each when he has finished the recital of some stirring episode, and second; that the populace is devoted to the marionette theatre, in which the whole of the Charlemagne epic is gone through. There are nine such theatres in Palermo alone, and others at Catania (3), Messina (2), Alcamo and Caltanisetta. The entrance fee is from a penny up to fourpence for the best places. Other strange sights to the English eye are the itinerant sellers of various kinds of articles with their paraphernalia. Such, for instance, as a bakery on wheels, furnace and all, with its top decorated by a row of twists, a boot hawker carrying a bamboo with boots hung on it as thick as grapes on a stalk (his customers try them on in the street), water sellers with water barrels on a trolley drawn by a donkey, charcoal sellers with their stock on a similar trolley about 7 ft. by 2 ft., linen drapers carrying their goods on their heads, done up in a dust sheet ! These may be seen at Syracuse, but the Palermitan hawkers are just as curious and picturesque. The sponge seller, for instance, with his person nearly covered with strings of sponges, dependent from every available point, the fur seller with skins of many kinds dang- ling from his back and arms, skins of cat, goat and sheep, puppy, rabbit and rat ; the water seller, who cries " acqua fresca," with bright painted table with brass-mountings, on which are arranged tumblers, bottles of syrups, and a pitcher which recalls Greek pottery by its shape. And some of the shops or stalls are as unusual and delightful — the public cook shops with large porcelain stoves and collections of the strangest odds and ends which appear to turn 68 PALERMO out excellently when nicely fried in thin batter ; the small wine shops, where excellent Marsala may be had for a penny a glass, and above all the fruit stalls, often placed beneath dark archways which throw out the jewel-like colour of their heaped-up fruit and vegetables in the most charming manner, helped very often by the steam of cooked vegetables from great copper cauldrons in the foreground. Outside the city the principal objects of interest are Monreale, the various palaces of the Norman kings, and Santo Spirito, where the Sicilian Vespers began. An electric tram runs to Monreale through the Porta Nuova and lands the traveller in the piazza just outside the cathedral. The graceful Renaissance portico on this side of the church, beneath which is the bronze door made by Barisano of Trani, who made the door of the cathedral at Ravello in 1 1 79, and one at Trani of the same date, was finished in 1562, and is the work of Palermitan sculptors (a deed of 1547 gives the names of Giovanni, Fazio and Vincenzo Gagini), and the Farnese arms upon it were coloured by Gian Antonio Nicolosi. The columns and capitals are a last relic of the portico round the piazza of the Porta del Paradiso. The great west door was made by Bonannus of Pisa in 1186, but the knocker is Sicilian work. Both are quaint and curious bits of bronze casting, with finely carved and inlaid door-posts. In front of the latter is a fine wrought railing, rather Spanish in design. The external decoration of the apses still remains, intersecting arcades and rosettes of dark stone, with pointed arches of a flatter curve beneath : the in- equality of the two curved forms produces rather a curious effect. The cathedral was commenced in 1 1 74, and it is said that Matteo d' Ajello induced 69 SICILY William II. to found the archbishopric to spite his rival Offamilio. The plan is a Latin cross, and the nave arcade consists of nine columns of oriental granite on one side and eight, with one of cipollino, on the other. The nave is three times the width of the aisles and the solea is raised by five steps. The caps are Roman in style, some Corinthian, some Composite. The sanctuary is divided into three ; the central part communicates with the sides by smaller arches resting upon twin granite columns. Porphyry colonnettes are inserted in the angles of the apse and the tri- umphal arches. The high altar is beneath the triumphal arch, raised on eight steps, and on each ■ side against the pier is a throne, one for the king and one for the archbishop, with fine inlaid marble backs to them, and pierced parapets of elaborate design at the side of seats and steps. Above the royal throne is a mosaic showing King William receiving the crown from Christ. In the same costume as King Roger wears in the Martorana mosaic, above the other he is shown offering the cathedral to the Virgin. The arches are all pointed and stilted, and the walls are sheeted with marble in the lower part, the slabs being surmounted by a frieze, a row of Saracenic trefoils of white marble upon a ground of mosaic, and covered with mosaics above. At the back of the apse, in the ancient position, is the seat of white marble, seated in which the first archbishops held their tribunal. The subject of the mosaics, of which there are over 70,000 sq. ft., is the Triumph of Christianity, in prophecy, in fulfilment, and in the majesty of the Church founded by Christ. The walls of the great cross and of the nave bear subjects from Old Testa- ment history and the principal events in the life of 70 PALERMO Christ, while on the solea and the sanctuary are sub- jects from the Acts of the Apostles and figures of angels, prophets, patriarchs and saints of every kind, magnifying the triumphs of the Orthodox Church. The colossal half-figure of Christ in the central semi- dome has written on the open book, in Greek and Latin, " I am the Light of the world, who follows Me does not walk in darkness ". These mosaics have been restored many times. The first serious restoration took place between 1495 and 1503, when a Monrealese, Masi di Oddo, undertook the work as well as the building of a new sacristy, and was assisted by his sons and son-in-law, his brother and his nephews. The pavement dates from the time of Alessandro Farnese for the most part. It was finished by Cardinal Torres, who cleared away the many side altars which then encumbered the nave. In the right transept are the tombs of William II., the founder, and of his father, William I. The latter is of porphyry like the tombs of the kings in Palermo Cathedral, and had, like them, a canopy supported on columns. This, however, was broken when the fire occurred in 181 1, which destroyed nearly the whole roof. The sarcophagus of William II. was made in 1575, at the expense of Ludo- vico Torres, then archbishop ; his tomb till then had been only of brick and plaster. Other mem- bers of his family who were buried here were his brothers, Roger, Duke of Apulia, who died in 11 60, and Henry, Prince of Capua, who died in 1 1 70, and his mother, Margaret, who died in 1 183. The ancient burial-place of the kings was St. Mary Magdalene at Palermo, but in 1187 Archbishop Walter transferred them to his new cathedral, and 71 SICILY William had those of his own immediate family re- moved to Monreale. The royal palace (now town- hall and seminary) was once attached to the church, and the kings went to the services by a private passage, but no trace of it was found when this part of the palace was demolished. At the end of the north aisle the Cappella del Crocefisso contains two small doors with carved wooden panels, and in the adjacent archiepiscopal chapel are wood-carvings of scenes from the Passion, both worthy of notice. In the north transept is a sarcophagus containing the viscera of St. Louis, whose body rested here for some time before being carried to France. The roof is of wood, painted and gilded, but the two side apses are vaulted. The mosaics in them re- present Christ in the centre and cherubim in the corners. There are cracks in the wall of the north- ern one. Close to William II. 's tomb is a double ring of sacring bells, with twenty-eight bells in the outer ring and twelve in the inner. The Benedictine monks brought by William II. at the foundation of the monastery came from La Cava, and in the vestibule is a picture by Giuseppe Velasquez which shows the legend of its foundation : William II. sleeping beneath the carob tree where the Virgin appeared to him, pointing out the trea- sure beneath, which served for the foundation of the basilica. The cloisters are on the south side of the cathe- dral, and are worthy of their reputation as some of the most beautiful in existence. The central area is laid out with palms, aloes and yuccas upon a ground of a large sedum, relieving the warm grey of the arcade inlaid with lava, and the brilliancy of the coupled columns of weathered marble, many of 72 CAPITAL FROM THE CLOISTER, MONREALE PALERMO them inlaid with mosaic. The capitals are carved very beautifully, and are better than contemporary work on the mainland. One is signed by the„ sculptor, "Ego Romanus filius Costantini marmor- arius," the ninth on the north-eastern side. It shows William II. offering the cathedral to the Virgin. In one corner is the beautiful lavabo, a zigzagged column with a crowning feature consist- ing of heads and scrolls, from which the water falls in small jets into a basin, surrounded by a similar arcade. When the coupled columns reach an angle they are doubled and the four are carved with ex- quisite arabesques, which give a further charm to the cloister. A curious feature of the arches is the large round inner moulding, which is not supported at all by the caps and gives an aspect of incompletion to the arcade. Under each cap is a plate of lead. A similar expedient was adopted by the Moors at Granada. There are 216 columns in the circuit of the cloister. Above the southern arcade rises the wall of the dormitory above the refectory, now only an arca- ded screen wall with alternate shafted windows and similar panels without columns. From a terrace beyond a fine view of the valley may be had, and from the piazza one looks across the Conca d'oro and past Palermo to the sea^ since the town lies on a spur of Monte Cuccio about the centre of the mountainous semicircle which girdles the plain. The most conspicuous building in the city is neither royal palace nor cathedral, but a huge modern theatre of ungraceful outline, a symbol of modern life and its requirements. The inhabitants are obliged to keep their windows shut when the lemon and orange trees are in bloom, the scent from these 73 SICILY and other sweet-smelling flowers being so strong aj to be overpowering. The abbey of St. Martin> above Monreale, is said to be one of those founded by Gregory the Great in the 6th century (then called St. Martino della Scala), who was son of a certain Silvia, a Palermitan lady, sainted like her son for her virtues. It lies in the valley anciently called " Gemizia .". A great part of the buildings are now occupied by an agricultural college, and nothing remains earlier than the 18th century except the stalls, which are of the 1 6th, and a holy - water basin of 1396. The grandiose staircase by Vin- cenzo Marvuglia, an equestrian statue of St. Martin by Marabitti, and the carved stalls of the choir; are what people go to see. The valuable library has been removed to Palermo. One of the palaces of the Norman kings may be! visited on the way back to Palermo, by making a detour to Altarello di Baida. It is supposed to have been the one called Mimnermus, attributed to King | Roger by a chronicler. The remains much resemble those of La Zisa, but are coarser in workmanship. 1 An inscription over the door of the chapel records its restoration in 1493 by the Archbishop of Palermo. The arches of the side niches are horse-shoe in shape, a Moorish detail not met with elsewhere in Sicily. From this place a cross road conducts to La Zisa (Arabic, " El Aziza," palace of delights). Built by William I. between 1 1 54 and n 66, it was finished by his son. There is a popular legend that the shades of the Norman kings may be seen to issue from the vestibule, gorgeously clothed, and proceed to the garden to seek the mysterious treasure of La Zisa. It once stood in the midst of a spacious garden full of fruit trees, and watered by perpetual springs, and 74 PALERMO Alberti describes it, and a beautiful pavilion in the midst of a lake, in which the ladies of the palace used to pass the heats of summer. It now faces on to a dull piazza, and nothing remains of the garden but one stone pine at the side. Battlements surmount the wall, upon which there is an Arabic inscription much defaced. The wall is panelled with a pointed arched arcade, and from the ground floor the hall is entered by three pointed arches which gave access to a corridor — the centre one has been lowered, apparently in Spanish times, when also the closing grille was probably made. The entrance arches are flanked by two columns on each side, and at each projecting angle of the Greek cross which forms the plan of the hall a colonnette is inserted. There are three deep alcoves vaulted with stalactite vaulting ; the one facing the door is occupied by a fountain with mixed Arab and Norman details. The lower part of the walls is covered with blue Spanish tiles, and the wall-panels were once of veined marble with borders of marble mosaic, but the walls have been daubed over with 17th- century frescoes, to the great detriment of the effect. Above the fountain is a mosaic panel of three circles, two of which are filled by trees with peacocks by them, while in the centre are two archers instead ; above it is a frieze of the same material, which is carried all round the room on a lower level. The water runs across the marble pavement in a sunk channel with two square basins, which become octa- gonal below the surface of the water. Behind the palace is a wretched fountain of the period of the Spanish restoration. Nearer to the Porta Nuova is La Cuba, one of William II.'s palaces, now a cavalry barrack. A Cufic inscription on the frieze 75 SICILY gives the name of William II., and the date of 1 180. Its name comes from the Arabic " Coubbah," mean- ing lakelets or ponds. It was a royal castle down to the 1 6th century, and at that time the great fish-pond was still intact though empty. The outside has the usual pointed arcading. The lower storey is vaulted with a flat arched vault, and on the first floor is a little courtyard with a niche in it filled towards the top with interlacing patterns and arabesques between. Close by is the office of the head saddler, " Capo Sellaio ". A pavilion belonging to this palace is known by the name of "La Cubola". It stands in an orange garden half a mile nearer Monreale, and consists of a dome like those of St. Cataldo, with four pointed arches below. It probably had a fountain within it, and is thought to have been the scene of one of Boccaccio's stories. The remaining palace was King Roger's, and its site was at the foot of Monte Grifone on the south-east of Palermo. It was called " La Favarah " or " Maredolce," and still preserves its exterior walls of squared stone, a fine calcareous tufa, with the usual long pointed arched arcade characteristic of the period. In the interior are some ruined vaults and a few rooms which still preserve their roofs, and at the eastern angle a chapel remains which is Norman in style, with a cupola surrounded by a singular stone cornice and a little tower above it, while outside the building to the north are some remains of baths. This was King Roger's favourite retreat, and in his day the palace was on an island in the midst of a lake (whence the name Maredolce) which was planted with oranges and lemons. Two high palm trees were landmarks in his time, and suggest a greater antiquity for the palace. Nine canals full of fish and lined with trees 76 PALERMO cut the park in every direction, which then extended to the sea. The church of Santo Spirito is interesting as having been the place where the insurrection called the " Sicilian Vespers " broke out, but the i 2th-century church, which stands in the modern Campo Santo, has been so much restored as to look as new as the monuments which surround it. It is similar in plan to St. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, except that there are four piers between the west end and the piers and steps dividing the nave from the solea, and that there is no dome. It is built of limestone with in- lays of lava. The Ponte dell' Ammiraglio, built over the Oreto by George of Antioch, looks much more venerable. It was built in 1113. The river no longer flows through it, having changed its channel, but the authorities have had the good sense to leave it as it was and construct a new road by the side of it. It has five pointed arches, and smaller ones in the piers between at a higher level to allow flood- water to pass, and is paved with cobble-stones. It was here that Garibaldi and his thousand fought an engagement in i860, before entering Palermo, on 27th May. A celebrated point of view is a mile or so beyond, Sta. Maria di Gesu, formerly a Minorite monastery. A door in the choir admits to the Cappella la Grua, where there are 1 5th-century mural paintings which may be by Antonio Crescenzio. On Monte Grifone is a cave which contains many fossil bones called Grotta de' Giganti, quite near La Favara. The grotto of St. Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, is high on Monte Pellegrino. It has a poor white facade above a worn staircase with a circle of grey stones in front of it. Within it is nearly in its original state, so damp that the necessary gutters to 77 SICILY carry off the drippings are very unsightly. In the wall at a height of about 7 ft. is a second hollow, much decorated, in which they say the saint retired to pray, and at the bottom of the grotto is a statue of her, by the Florentine Gregorio Tedeschi, lying down with her head resting on one of her hands. According to tradition she was the daughter of Duke Sinibaldo and niece of William the Good, and fled to this cave while quite young from pious motives. Her bones were discovered in the cavern by a hunter named Bonelli, covered by the droppings of the cal- careous water with a " stone as transparent as ala- baster, as hard as crystal, and with reflections like amethyst and hyacinthine stone," to quote an ancient writer. This was in 1624. when plague was raging. As her bones passed on their way to the cathedral the plague disappeared, and she became the patron saint of the city from that time. The Cappuccini ought to be referred to as being one of the sights of Palermo, though not a pleasant one. The convent lies between La Zisa and the Monreale road, and on admission the visitor passes through a hall with a fountain to the subterranean corridors at the sides of which the bodies are ranged, They are in boxes with glass in the lids, and are in; pretty good preservation. They used to be placed upright against the wall in their best dresses with dates hung on them, the society of Palermo of the years indicated. The priests and the women are in separate galleries. There seems to be some pro^ perty in the soil which prevents corruption, but burials are now forbidden. A few miles out of Palermo to the east is Bagheria, a country town which contains many villas of the Sicilian nobles of the last two centuries, now deserted. 78 PALERMO The tasteless sculpture and extravagance of design show to how low a level art may descend under evil influences. Two miles further are the ruins of Soluntum or Soleis, founded by Sicanians many centuries before the Christian era, according to some, and occupied by Phoenicians under the name of Saphara. The remains which have been excavated since 1826 are, however, entirely Roman. It lies on the slope of Monte Catalfano, and nearly the whole of the ancient paved causeway of approach has been discovered. Hannibal Gisgon destroyed it in 409, and it was after that that the rebuilding took place of which remains may be seen. The plan was regular. The foundations only of the houses remain, and a few pieces of wall with traces of paintings like those at Pompeii. There are cisterns and rain-water drains, and in the large sandstone slabs of the road are holes at regular intervals for the insertion of torches for illumination. The necropolis is towards the point of Zafferano, but the best mosaics, sculptures, etc., are at Palermo. Signore Cavallari is responsible for the re-erection of columns and entablatures. The only glory of the city is to have given birth to Aristoxenos, one of the most ancient Siculan poets, of whom Epicharmus leaves an eulogy. Eighteen miles south of Palermo on the Corle- one line are the baths of Cefala, near the village of Ogliastro. The Saracens called them " Gefalath ". They occupy a large oblong building 90 ft. in length with a Cufic inscription running round beneath the roof. The interior is vaulted and has circular open- ings in the vault for light and air, and three arches separating the upper and lower baths. The waters have a repute for the treatment of rheumatism, and are still much resorted to in spring. 79 SICILY The route usually followed by the Saracens in their incursions made from Palermo passes Termini and ascends the Fiume Torto to Cerda, crosses the mountains and descends to the valley of the Fiume Grande at the small town of Sclafani, which has hot springs of some repute, and in the church of which is a sarcophagus with Bacchic reliefs. The next town on the road is Caltavuturo, a place of Saracenic origin (Kalat-Abi-Thaur), which when taken by Roger I. was bestowed by him on his daughter Matilda. To the east on a lofty emi- nence lies Polizzi, near which the Himera Meri- dionalis, now Fiume Salso, and Himera Septen- trionalis, now the Fiume Grande, rise, thought by the ancients to have a common source. Further on is Gangi, representing the town destroyed by Frederick II. in 1 299 for the rebellion of its feudal lord, the ancient Siculan Enguium, at one time a Cretan colony, where a celebrated temple of the Cretan mothers stood in Cicero's time and was despoiled by Verres ; and Sperlinga, which alone showed partiality to the French in 1282, 300 French finding refuge in the castle. The Sicilians walled up the gates and let them die of hunger. It is this incident which is referred to in the inscription on one of the gates : " Quod Siculis placuit, sola Sperlinga negavit ". Not far away stands Nicosia, whose inhabitants still speak a Lombard dialect, as do those of St. Fratello, 69 miles from Messina, Piazza and Aidone. These places were peopled by Lombard colonists who accompanied Adelaide of Monferrat, wife of Roger I., to Sicily. Others established themselves at Randazzo, Sperlinga, Capizzo and Maniace. Nicosia has the reputation of being more behind the age than any other town 80 PALERMO in Sicily, and still preserves much of its mediaeval appearance. It has a Norman cathedral and several works of the ubiquitous Gagini in it and St. Maria Maggiore. The road then passes Rocca di Sarno, where the brave Norman Serlo, nephew of Count Roger, met his death through treachery, and leads to Leonforte. The story is that a certain Brachino laid an ambush for him, and told him that a small raiding party was coming out, which Serlo went to meet and discomfit with only a few followers, thinking that the Normans had often fought against long odds and could do it again. But when the men were weary with fighting and dispersing the band, other Saracens came out and surrounded them, and they were cut to pieces to a man at this rock to which they took to cover their backs from danger. A visit to Segesta may be accomplished in a day from Palermo by starting at 5 a.m. from the central station. At Sferra Cavallo (so called because the roads were so bad as to unshoe horses brought along them) the 1 sea is reached, and is seen on the right more or less distant, with mountains on the left of the line, till Castellamare del Golfo is reached. The coast is well cultivated and populous, the Due d'Aumale's property at the Zucco particularly so, and the conca of Partinico is very fertile. Near Carini, 17 miles from Palermo, a picturesquely situated place, was formerly the free Sicanian town of Hyccara, from which the Athenians in 415 b.c. carried off the celebrated courtesan Lais, then a girl of twelve years of age. Its feudal castle was erected in the 14th century by Manfred Chiara- monte. The Fiume St. Bartolommeo is formed by the union of the Fiume Freddo and Fiume Caldo, the cold and warm rivers, and on its farther F 81 SICILY side at the foot of Monte Inice stands Castellamare del Golfo, once the seaport of Segesta. The line now turns inland up a rather ugly valley, in which there is scarcely a house to be seen between the stations. Alcamo-Calatafimi is a station which serves these two places and is about five miles from each. Alcamo is a town of Arabian origin, and takes its name from Abd-Allah-Cam, leader of the first band of Saracens. In 1233, after -an insurrection, Frederick II. substituted a Christian for the Saracenic population, but it still has a somewhat oriental appearance. Martin I. of Aragon also dismantled it. There are a few mediaeval and Renaissance remains, though the house pointed out as that of Ciullo d'Alcamo, the earliest Sicilian poet (13th century), is much later than the date ascribed to it. The ancient castle, the door of St. Tommaso, the campanile of the cathedral, inside which is a cruci- fixion by Antonio Gagini, and Renaissance sculptures in the church of St. Francesco may be mentioned as worthy of notice. In Sta. Maria di Gesu is a picture of the Florentine school. This church is earlier than the town. Above the town the Monte Boni- fato, or Delia Madonna dell' Auta, rises (2705 ft.). From the station of Calatafimi carriages may be taken to Segesta — ramshackle vehicles which suggest the fear of their going to pieces under any sudden shock, with harness industriously tied together with multitudinous pieces of string. The country is wild and deserted, few figures being seen either on the road or in the fields. Those few who are not of the poorest class wear heavy boots (for protection against snakes as well as on account of the rough paths) and carry guns. The district is frequently disturbed, and a party of carabineers may be encountered who are 82 PALERMO escorting a Iprisoner, handcuffed and 'well guarded. The ascent is very steep, with aloes at each side of the road. The town suddenly appears at a turn of the road like a citadel on its rock, strange and feudal in appearance. Within its narrow walls all those who work for six miles round return each night, for the narrow streets, frequently arched over and not over clean, are at least more healthy than the malaria- stricken land around. It takes its name from the castle CaFat Eufimi. The road from Calatafimi itself is the Castellamare road, and from it there is a good view of the temple for a long distance before reaching the stream which has to be forded. It stands on the slope of the hill above the river Gaggera, anciently the Scamander, whose banks witnessed the atrocities committed by the tyrant Agathocles upon the unfortunate citizens of Segesta. It is thought to have been dedicated to Ceres, the patron goddess of fertile Sicily, and is the grandest in the whole island in general opinion. It is a peripteros-hexastylos of thirty-six columns, six in front and rear and twelve at each side. The columns being unfluted and the steps of the basement un- finished — for the projecting studs for the attachment of ropes for lifting the blocks have never been chiselled off, while the cella is absent — indicate that it was never completed, but the remains existing are among the best preserved in Sicily. The length, including the steps, is 200 ft., the width 85 ft., the columns with their caps are 29 ft. in height and 6 ft. thick, and the intercolumniation is 8 ft. It stands in a magnificent position on a hill nearly 1000 ft. high, backed by mountains of fine form and facing a grand view over hill and valley. The grey rock, studded with dwarf palms as at Girgenti, rises steeply up to 83 SICILY it, and from a little distance away, before crossing the ford, it is seen over a wooded slope gorgeous in autumn with orange and green. The temple itself is warm in colour and seems to be built of much the same stone as those at Girgenti. From one point of view the rock near it falls so nearly perpendicularly as to suggest scarping by the hand of man. The structure of the masonry is unusual, the mass being of large stones set with intervals between each which are filled by the insertion of three smaller stones one above the other. From within the view is very impressive, the columns giving scale and contrast to the scene spread out before the spectator. An amphitheatre of blue hills in the distance, at one side of which one catches a glimpse of the sea, and an undulating plain rising to a ridge upon which appears the little town of Alcamo ; from this plain the ground appears to dip towards the ravine below the rising ground upon which the temple stands, while to the right the rock rises steeply to the theatre, situated high on Monte Barbaro, facing the temple. It is not very large, only 205 ft. in diameter, while the stage is 90 ft. across and the orchestra 5 3 ft. The seats are complete in shape, fitting to the sitter's form and with a channel behind for the feet of the row above and perhaps also to carry off rain-water. The steps are nearly all preserved up to the twentieth from the bottom, where there was a " praecinctio " and a balustrade for those beyond to lean on. The semicircle is divided into seven sections called " cunei ". There are three narrow entrances to the scene, each about 6 ft. wide. Some small remains of carving over the entrance into the orchestra appear to be figures of satyrs and to date from Roman times. In itself not so interesting as the theatre at Syracuse, 84 PALERMO it must be considered superior to it in situation, and its only competitor in this respect is that at Taormina. In front rise mountains of nearly 4000 ft. in height — first Monte Inice, to the left Monte Sparagio, and to the right the Bosco di Calatafimi; while below in the valley are the remains of the Thermae Segestanae, supplied by four warm springs which cross the road to Castellamare after- wards. Away to the left is a mountain called Pianto dei Romani, to which a modern legend of Roman defeat has lent fictitious interest, and below Calata- fimi may be seen the monument and the grave crosses marking the site of Garibaldi's first victory over the Bourbon troops on 15th May, i860. The earliest Greek coins struck here bear the name " Segesta," afterwards changed to " Aigesta ". The city was probably Elimean in origin, and shows some remains of Cyclopean building bearing a likeness to Eryx and an ancient city above Castronovo. All sorts of legends were, however, current as to its founding and founders, several of which were evidently intended to arouse Roman sympathy by claiming a common origin. It was the dispute about boundaries between this city and Selinus which brought about the Athenian expedition to Syracuse. The deceit practised upon the Athenian envoys by showing them borrowed riches in the temple of Ceres was avenged by Nicias before marching on Syracuse, when he exacted a heavy contribution, sacking Iccara and the surrounding country, and then left Selinus alone. This resulted in the Segestans calling in the Carthaginians, who with Punic faith carried the people away to Carthage and destroyed their city. Rebuilt, it was again destroyed by Agathocles in 307 B.C., who killed 10,000 of the 85 SICILY inhabitants and changed its very name to Dicaeopolis. This tyrant showed diabolical ingenuity in the torments which he invented for the unfortunate citizens who had refused the heavy contribution which he had imposed on a friendly city. First he ordered that all the poor should leave the city, and conducted them to the banks of the Scamander, where he had their throats cut. Then came the turn of the rich. With the object of forcing them to reveal their hidden treasures, real or imaginary, he put them to the strangest tortures. Many he had bound to the spokes of chariot wheels, which he had drawn at high speed by fiery horses ; others were shot through the air by catapults, whence they fell, shattered, at great distances ; some had their heels cut off, were stripped naked, whipped and set to run ; and, to finish his work, imitating Phalaris of Akragas, he invented a bed of bronze in the form of an open chest of human shape, within which the victim being held by chains and bars of iron was slowly cooked by fire. Nor did the women fare better, but a veil must be drawn over their sufferings. Terrified at the fate which seemed to await them, the Segestans thought it best to cut the torment short and to die in the city, which they set fire to — so Diodorus relates. The Romans favoured it for a time, but when the Arabs became masters of Sicily it was ruined for the third time and never was inhabited again. If the excursion' be prolonged to Selinunt, Marsala and Trapani, the country is found to become more fertile and better cultivated after a time. Salemi is passed, the ancient Halicia, and Sta. Ninfa with its fine old castle. Castelvetrano is seen on its hillside, a large and rather fine-looking town on 86 PALERMO one of the sites ascribed to the ancient Entella. It is owned by the Dukes of Monteleone, the family of Aragona-Pignatelli. It contains several fine convents and Gothic palaces. The church of St. Giovanni contains a statue of St. John the Baptist by Antonio Gagini (1522), a late Gothic tower of five storeys and a Gothic window, and in St. Domenico, an early church with frescoes around the pointed arch of the apse, is a curious sarco- phagus. A small museum of antiquities found at Selinunt is in the grammar school, the best of which are an archaic bronze statue of Apollo and some terra-cottas. The modern theatre is a curious erec- tion. The facade is Doric, and the decoration of the interior is copied from the ruins of Selinunt, except the central box, which is from the tomb of Archi- medes at Syracuse. It is open to the sky. Two miles to the west is the little church of La Trinita di Delia of the 12th century. Its plan bears very great resemblance to La Martorana and St. Cataldo — a central dome, three apses beyond, four columns supporting the dome, a west door and three windows above a string-course, the central one larger, and a door at both north and south sides. The columns and caps resemble the decadent an- tique, but there is no other decoration. Castelvetrano is the best starting-point for Seli- nunt, the ancient Selinus, from which it is about ji miles distant. The temples which remain there, although in a state of complete ruin, having been thrown down by the Carthaginians as some think, while others ascribe their destruction to earthquakes, are of considerable interest, being undoubtedly very early in date, and it is principally upon them that the argument for the 87 SICILY Italic origin of the Doric order has been built by certain of the Sicilian archaeologists. The sculptured metopes, discovered by Angell and Harris in 1822, together with the other fragments excavated by Cavallari, are now in the museum at Palermo, but the plans of the seven temples may be traced, and many architectural fragments are still on the ground. Four of the temples were grouped together on an eminence surrounded with the traces of walls and evidently the ancient acropolis, while the other three are on a rising ground beyond the valley which bounds the acropolis on the east. The surface of the ground is sprinkled everywhere with the dwarf palm called " giummara," the roots of which are eaten by the country people, and is desolated by malaria, a disease which was prevalent here as long ago as the time of Empedocles, which his works for the drain- ing of the low-lying lands was intended to remove. It was called " the palmy " by Virgil, and its name is probably derived from the golden parsley "selinon," in Greek, which grows abundantly, and the leaves of which were used as a crest on the coins of the city. In ancient times it had four ports and was the second maritime power in Sicily, dominating the southern coast and only being surpassed by Syracuse. According to the Greek account, it was founded by colonists from Megara Hyblaea under Pammilus in 628 b.c. It was the most westerly Greek settle- ment, and was constantly disputing with its neigh- bour Segesta on the subject of frontier limits as has been related. In 409 b.c Hannibal Gisgon attacked the city with 100,000 men, and to encourage his troops promised them to completely sack the city. The fight was tremendous, the women assisting with pots, boiling water and oil, stones, roof-tiles, etc., but 88 PALERMO the defenders were not numerous enough, and a general massacre ensued. For a whole day the sack went on : the houses were emptied of valuables, which were carried elsewhere and divided, then the unhappy inhabitants were shut up in them and compelled to die by fire or suffocation. Corpses lay about the streets horribly mutilated, heads were carried in triumph on the points of lances or swords ; only the women in the temples were spared because Hannibal feared that in desperation they might burn them so that the rich booty which they contained would be lost ! Diodorus calculates the killed at 16,000, and only a remnant arrived at Akragas, where they were kindly received. The reliefs sent from Syracuse arrived too late and retired to Akragas, from whence they endeavoured to make terms for the release of the captives. Hannibal replied that the Selinuntines " not having known how to defend their liberty deserved to become slaves," that the gods being enemies to Selinus had left their temples, and that he considered himself as agent of their vengeance. An embassy in the person of Empi- dione, who was known to Hannibal, had more success. He was well received and obtained some restitution of property, the liberation of any prisoners recognised by his friends, clients and adherents, and that the fugitives might return to their town and rebuild it. Two years afterwards Hermocrates founded a colony, and remains of his defensive walls are still to be seen, but the town was never really prosperous again, and was finally destroyed in 263 b.c, the inhabitants being taken to Lilybaeum. A few Christian symbols carved on lintel and architrave attest the presence of hermits here in early Christian times. 89 SICILY hatK T ! ln fu 0rd i ng the arran 8^ent of the baths constructed by Drains describes them as in the country of the Selinuntines. There was there- fore a tradition that Selinus existed before Pammilus went here. These baths are those of Sciacca, 20 miles east of Selinunt, still resorted to. A ong inscription was found on the site of the large temple by Cavallan, which assigns it to Apollo, and one of the others to Hera. Jupiter was first in the estimation of the Selinuntines and Hercules next, ifte other names mentioned in the inscription are Pasikrata (perhaps Proserpine), the Tyndarides, Neptune and Ceres, called Malophoros. The grea^ temple is octastyle, pseudo-diptero-hypsethral, and is longer than that of Jupiter Olympius at Girgenti, being 371 ft. in length including the steps, and 177 ft. m width. It is much earlier than the temple at Magnesia by Ermogenes of Alabanda, to whom Vitruvius attributes the invention of this kind of building The columns are 5* diameters high, and the entablature something less than 2. The internal arrangement appears to have been similar to the Neptune temple at Pactum. This temple was never finished ; some of the columns are fluted, some poly- gonal as prepared for fluting, many quite plain, and in the quarries at Rocca di Cusa and on the road between them and Selinus are still to be seen drums of columns intended for this temple. The other two temples on the eastern hill have columns re- spectively of + |. and 4i diameters in height (the average Sicilian proportion is 5) and various other architectural peculiarities, such as differences in the number of flutings of the columns, their diameter, etc., which show that the canon of proportion was not then fixed : the entablature of one is more than 90 PALERMO half the height of the column. It is painted in red, yellow and green. The most ancient of the temples is in the acro- polis. It was dedicated to Hercules ; from it the archaic metopes in the museum at Palermo came, and it has many curious architectural irregularities. Some of the columns are monolithic, while others are made up of several drums of a different tufa, suggesting that use was made of the remains of still more ancient structures. One of these early temples has no antae but columns attached to the walls in place of them, and their peculiarities point so strongly to a period when the architects were still seeking a thoroughly satisfactory proportion between the various component parts as to almost justify the contention of the Sicilian archaeologists referred to before, wz., that the Doric order originated in Sicily and Latium, if it were not that there is a temple at Corinth which has the same peculiarities as those of the temple of Diana at Syracuse, which is acknow- ledged to be one of the most ancient buildings in Sicily, and has several of the peculiarities of* these temples at Selinus. The smallest temple in the acropolis was partly, if not entirely, covered with stucco of a pale yellow- ish colour, and painted in parts with red, blue, black and white. Ashen grey was also used, as well as the red, yellow and green mentioned above, and all the colours were laid without gradation, the medium employed being either gum water or wax encaustic. This temple is more like those found in Greece in proportion, and is therefore later, as is the southern one on the eastern hill which is built of the same kind of stone. The town itself lay to the north of the acropolis, and beyond it to the north is a necro- 9 1 SICILY polis of a very early period. The Greek necropolis lies to the west of the town in a place now called Manicalunga, and the objects found in each are quite distinct in character and not intermixed at all. The houses are very small, though built of great stones, and have front and side doors ; the crosses on the overthrown architraves show that they are of the Christian period. A table of comparative measure- ments is appended. TEMPLE. ABC D E F G Length of temple in- cluding steps . . 139 28J 230 192 228 216 371 Width of temple in- cluding steps . 60 15 88 89 91 90 177 Height of columns with capitals ... 20 28 24^ 33 30 53^ Diameter of columns at the base . . 4J 6 5 7 Si Ir i Diameter of columns at the top . . . 3i 5 3f 6 4 6i Height of entablature . 9 14 13J 14J 13 22 Intercolumniation .6 8| 9 8 9 io| 5 l\ 8J 7 8§ 9 { Length of cella . . 82 1 if 131 124 135 133 228 Width of cella . . 25 n| 29 \ 26 \ 2>l\ 2 3 59 (These measurements are in English feet.) On the other side of the Madiuni another temple has been discovered and excavated by Professor Salinas and Signor Patricolo. It has a propylaea con- sisting of a columned facade with wings and the temple behind. Between the two stands a large altar. Beyond Castelvetrano the train passes over a moor, the sea being visible to the left. Near Campobello are the quarries which yielded the material for the temples at Selinus, now called Rocca di Cusa. Here may be seen blocks in all 92 PALERMO stages of quarrying, and several drums of columns ready for use lie on the road towards Selinus, the measurements of which correspond exactly with those of temple G. Mazzara "La Inclita," the noble, is surrounded by a wall about 36 ft. high defended by square towers at intervals. Its plan is square and it looks like a mediaeval city from outside. The streets are narrow and dark. The cathedral was founded by Count Roger in 1093 (who also strengthened the ruined castle at the south-east angle of the town in 1073), but rebuilt in the 17th century. In the porch of the cathedral are three ancient sarcophagi, the subjects on which are severally the Battle of the Amazons, a Wild-boar Hunt and the Rape of Persephone (the last much restored), and over the high altar is a Transfiguration by Gagini. A statue of Count Roger riding over a prostrate Saracen is above the west door. Some large Arabic Majolica vases and plates are preserved in the archiepiscopal palace and in that of Count Burgio at the western corner of the Piazza del Duomo. The ancient Mazzara was a colony of the Selinuntines and was destroyed in 409 B.C. by Hannibal Gisgon. The Arabs landed at Ras-el-Belat (Punta di Granitola) to the south, in 827 a.d. It was once a place of considerable im- portance, which is proved by the principal western gate of Palermo being called Porta di Mazzara. From Mazzara the coast is monotonous as far as Marsala, and the plain skirted with small hills divided by little valleys with scanty rivulets, vines, olives and little houses, and by the sea salt-pans. An extraordinary phenomenon, called Marobbia, occurs along this coast occasionally, felt with most violence at Mazzara. It generally happens in calm 93 SICILY weather, but is considered as the certain precursor of a gale. There is a curious stillness in the atmos- phere and a lurid sky, then suddenly the water rises nearly 2 ft. above its usual level, rushing into the creeks with great velocity, and in a few minutes returns equally quickly tearing up the mud and sea- weed and stirring up evil smells. During its con- tinuance (and the throbbing lasts sometimes for twenty-four hours) the fish float quite helpless on the surface and are easily taken. From Marsala one sees the hills of Paceco on the right and Monte St. Giuliano in front, while on the left is Trapani stretching out to form the port. The cathedral has sixteen Doric columns, which were intended to be sent as a present to Canterbury Cathedral, St. Thomas a Becket being patron saint of the city. A very fine vase is preserved here. In St. Nicolo are several Byzantine pictures, and in the convent of St. Girolamo a picture of Christ which served as banner to Don John of Austria at Lepanto. The Municipio contains an antique group of a tiger devouring a bull from Motye, and there are some Phoenician sarcophagi in the Nicolini convent which were found in subterranean caves. On Sundays the costumes of the peasants are interest- ing, and on Maundy-Thursday afternoon there is a celebrated procession of which details are given in the chapter on local festivals. A fragment of the town wall of the ancient Lilybaeum is near the Porta di Trapani, and on the coast of Cape Bceo are a few fragments of walls and houses. The town wall was built by the Normans and repaired by Charles V., who added the bastions. Outside the Porta Nuova is a bust of Garibaldi, erected to commemor- ate his landing here with the "Thousand," and on 94 PALERMO the gate is an inscription to that effect. In the field to the left is the church of St. Giovanni Battista, which contains a statue of the saint by Antonio Gagini. On the promontory beneath is a little cave known as the grotto of the Cumaean Sibyl, who is said to have proclaimed her oracles through the medium of the water and to have been buried there. Signor Salinas found it to be a Christian monument, decorated with paintings retaining the classical style and with fragments of a beautiful mosaic pavement. The town is the centre of the wine trade, and the manufactories and stores are situated to the south of the town. There are many small fortified mediaeval houses. The present name is Saracenic — Marset- Allah, harbour of God. It was the ancient Lily- baeum, the principal Carthaginian fortress in Sicily, founded in 397 b.c. for refugees from Motye after it had been destroyed by Dionysios. After it passed from their hands it was the usual point of departure for Roman expeditions to Africa. Pyrrhus besieged it unsuccessfully in 279 b.c, and thirty years later the Romans commenced an eight years' siege, at the end of which, in 241 b.c, the victory of C. Lutatius Catulus at the ^Egades compelled the Carthaginians to surrender their last possessions in Sicily. It then became a Roman provincial town, and in the time of Cicero was still " splendidissima civitas ". It was the seat of Government for half the island under them. The harbour was spoilt by Charles V., who sank stones at the entrance so as to make it inacces- sible to Barbary pirates. Motye was situated on the small island of St. Pantaleo, about six miles to the north. The causeway which connected it with the mainland still exists under water and is in use by the natives ; a mediaeval tower defended it against 95 SICILY the Saracens. Foundations of walls and remains of gateways are still traceable, and some tombs and fragments of an aqueduct. It was destroyed by Dionysios in 397 b.c„, after great efforts. He em- ployed 80,000 men and 700 vessels in the siege and built wooden towers five storeys high to command the walls : the catapult was first employed in this siege. The houses proved as defensible as the walls after they were breached and the city was only taken by stratagem. Archylus of Thurii made a fresh attack one night after the bugles had drawn the assaulting force off ; passed the wall with scaling-ladders and admitted the army at some more favourable point. The Greeks slew man, woman and child in spite of the orders of Dionysios, and he told the Cartha- ginians to take refuge in shrines sacred to both nations. The raids of the Barbary corsairs on this part of the island lasted for many centuries and even to comparatively recent times, and it is said that there is a man still living in Trapani whose mother was carried off by them. Between Marsala and Trapani, at Falconaria, the greatest of the battles of the war of the Sicilian Vespers took place on 1st December, 1299. Frederick II. of Sicily then routed the united French and Neapolitan armies and took Philip of Anjou prisoner. The colour of the rocks is a dull yellow. The country looks deserted, with only a few flocks of goats and occasional white houses. The valleys are greenish with olives and other trees in contrast with the arid rocks, and the " fiumare," white and stony, wind up from the shore. The blue sea is full of fish, the principal of which are the tunny and its enemies the sword-fish and the dog- fish. Dolphins may be seen now and then. 96 PALERMO The octagonal fortress at Trapani with the light- house, called Colombaia, is the ancient Pelaide of Virgil, where the doves were bred for the sacrifices to Venus. It lies to the south of the sickle-shaped peninsula which gave the name to the place (Dre- pana, from Spe-ravr], a sickle), and commands the entrance to the port. The town extends along the north side of the port, the head and the south side of which are surrounded by the salt-pans which provide a large part of its export trade, for Trapani alone of Sicilian towns possesses the right of making salt free of duty. It is the headquarters of the coral fishers. In ancient times it was the seaport of Eryx ; Hamilcar Barca made it a fortress about 260 B.C., peopling it from that place. Here the Carthaginian admiral Adherbal defeated the Roman fleet under the consul Publius Claudius, and it was within sight of it that the great victory of the Romans already referred to was gained. In the JEneid it is said that Anchises died here, and that ^Eneas instituted games to his father's memory. The island therein described as the goal of the boat-race is now called Asinello. The " Scoglio di mal Consiglio," the rock of evil counsel, beyond the Torre de* Legni, is traditionally said to be the spot where John of Procida with the barons of Val di Mazzara formed the conspiracy against Charles of Anjou. It is an historical fact that Pedro of Aragon was here wel- comed as a deliverer on 30th August, 1282, as he re- turned from Africa with his fleet. The cathedral has some carved choir stalls and a restored crucifixion attributed to Vandyck. St. Agostino, once a Temp- lar's church, has some remains of decorations of the 14th century, though the ceiling subjects have been g 97 SICILY removed to the Lyceum. In Sta. Maria di Gesu is a Madonna by Luca della Robbia in a 16th-cen- tury carved marble frame, and some 14th-century pictures. In the Oratorio of St. Michele is a curious coloured group of the Passion, executed by Trapanese artists of the 18th century. The Via della Giudecca, the former Jewish quarter, contains a Gothic house with a tower called Lo Spedaletto with a curious mingling of styles. The tower is ornamented with a diamond pattern in relief, the doorway is pointed, built up, and square-headed doors cut out of it, and most of the windows turned to the street are early Renaissance. The Madonna della Luce, which is close by, has an early 16th- century doorway and a Byzantine Madonna, of the 1 3 th century, and in the church of St. Nicolo di Bari is a marble relief of the Resurrection by Gagini. There are many specimens of mediaeval domestic architecture, among which may be mentioned, in the Strada Nuova, the palace of Barone Scirinna, with a circular portal with angular billet moulding and round-headed windows ; in the Via St. Nicola that of Barone di Vincenzi, with a large round-headed doorway with a cable moulding resting on twisted shafts, and another with a dog-tooth moulding and angular billet ; also the palace of Prince St. Giuliano, with a pointed door with dentilled imposts and beasts for corbels. The door of the Casa di Fiaren- tino in the Via della Cubba is somewhat similar, pointed, but with greater variety of mouldings. The palace of Barone Mogata, in the Via di Gallo, has a curious arched door with archivolt and imposts studded with bosses like pine-apples. In the Via Serisso is a house with both round and pointed windows and trefoil arched corbel table. One old 98 PALERMO palace is shown as the residence of William de Porcelets, Lord of Calatafimi, the only Frenchman whose life was spared at the time of the Sicilian Vespers. The armorial bearings sculptured On the walls make this probable. On the way to Monte St. Giuliano a statue of Victor Emanuel II. by Dupre is passed in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. About a mile and a half out- side the town, where the road forks, is the church of the Madonna dell' Annunziata, founded in 1332. The church has been modernised, but the Cappella del Cristo Risorto, founded in 1476 by the seamen's guild on the north side, has been preserved and the architecture is noteworthy, and the west door seems original. In the church is a famous wooden statue of the Madonna said to have come from Cyprus, the Madonna of Trapani, perhaps by a Pisan sculptor of the 14th century, but entirely covered with jewels, chains and pearls. At her feet is a silver model of the town. The left branch of the road is that which leads to Monte St. Giuliano past pre- cipitous slopes well wooded in places. The mountain is 2485 ft. high, the Eryx of antiquity, and the town is believed to occupy the precincts of the temple. The number of inhabitants is decreasing year by year, constant migration taking place to the plain. At the entrance to the town stands the cathedral, founded in 1 3 14 by Frederick II. of Aragon and restored in 1685. It has three aisles with apses and only the western bays are old. It is picturesque and slightly Moorish in appearance with a campanile set at an odd angle, battlemented and with pointed windows built up ; the church and western porch I are also battlemented. There are two castellated buildings, one the castle proper, ivy clad and now 99 SICILY used as a prison, the other, belonging to Baron Agostino Pepoli, which occupies the site of a Greek temple, where subsequently a Roman tower was built using drums of columns which are still to be seen. It is fitted up as a residence and contains a collection of objects of art. From a little bastion of the former a very extensive view may be had. To the west is Trapani, with the iEgadian Islands beyond, which belonged to the Genoese Pallavicini from the middle of the 17th century till 1874, when they were purchased by Signor Florio of the Florio-Rubattino Steamship Co., who estab- lished an important tunny fishery there ; towards the south the fertile plain stretching towards Mar- sala. To the east are the mountains of St. Vito, and the conical peninsula of Cofano extends into the sea, which is on three sides of the moun- tain. In winter the island of Pantellaria is also frequently visible and occasionally even Cape Bon in Africa. The only remains of the celebrated temple of Venus are the foundations within the castle, near the so-called Porta or Arco del Diavolo, the Well of Venus, a bell-shaped pit lined with cement, pro- bably a reservoir for grain, and an ancient reservoir 12 ft. by 24 ft. in the castle garden. Considerable remains of the walls of the city over which Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, led his storming party in 276 b.c. exist beneath the present wall, between the Porta Trapani and the Porta Spada. It was defended by eleven square towers at unequal .intervals. The masonry is composed of enormous blocks rudely squared and in courses generally horizontal, the largest below. Professor Salinas has found letters and inscriptions on them which appear to be 100 PALERMO Phoenician. Repairs by the Romans are shown by small irregular masonry. The Porta Spada and Porta di Trapani are now spanned by pointed arches. The highest parts of the wall are medi- aeval. Diodorus says that the crest of the moun- tain was levelled by Daedalus, who built fortifications at the edge of the precipices and constructed a road up to the building ; also that Eryx was founded by a son of Venus and Butes. Venus Erycina was worshipped by all the peoples of the Mediterranean — Sicanians, Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans. The site was once occupied by a Phoenician temple to Astarte, and Melkarth was also worshipped here. The Greeks believed the temple to have been founded by Hercules, and Doriasus, brother of Leonidas, as a Heraclides, car- ried his belief so far as to undertake an expedition to conquer the district. He was defeated and slain by the Phoenicians and Egestans. Hamilcar Barca besieged the temple in the First Punic War, and it was bravely defended for Rome by Celtic mercen- aries, who, however, showed themselves bad guar- dians, plundering the treasures. After this war the Romans restored the temple, furnished it with a guard of 200 men who watched day and night, and bestowed on it the revenues of seventeen towns in Sicily. This was in consequence of the legend that the town was founded by ^Eneas. The most beauti- ful women of the island became its priestesses to the number of 1000, and Verres even enriched it with a silver Cupid ! Strabo deplores the decadence of the cult of the goddess, for Eryx was already ancient in his time. The doves which lived on the sacred hill disappeared at a certain period of the year, and it was thought that they accompanied Venus to 101 SICILY Libya. When they returned there was great joy and many sacrifices. The modern name is derived from the tradition that King Roger saw St. Julian putting the Saracens to flight with a pack of hounds during his siege of the town. y.:i Eb&nocA 'vn)l i&dt mhz ; xntblwd of qu\ 102 FROM PALERMO TO GIRGENT1 As far as Termini the route is the same as to Messina. The line then passes up the valley of the Fiume Torto and crosses the watershed between the Tyrrhenian and African seas between Rocca Pal- umba, the junction for Catania, and Lercara Friddi, where the most northerly sulphur mines are situ- ated, and where strange eastern customs still linger. It then follows the valley of the Platani, part of which is malarious, as is evidenced by the eucalyptus trees near the stations and the wire-gauze screens to their doors and windows. The hills in this valley are beautiful in form and distant colour. The strange outlines often remind one of the Spanish Montserrat or of the Dolomites. Near Acqua Viva-Platani is Mussumeli, with a 1 5th-century castle which be- longed to the Chiaramonti. Sutera, a little further on (called by the Arabs " Sotir "), is supposed by some to be the ancient Camicus, built by Daedalus for Cocalus. At Comitini Zolfare the whole air smells sulphurous. Four miles to the west of Aragona- Caldare, the junction for Catania from Girgenti, is the mud volcano of Maccaluba. The hill is about 135 ft. high and is formed of clay and lime- stone. The surface is covered with cones from 18 in. to 3 ft. high, the upper cavities of which are filled with mud. Carburetted hydrogen gas issues from clefts in them with more or less noise. The ground is barren wherever the mud falls or 103 SICILY rolls, and the desolation of the aspect of the whole place is extreme. This is the heart of the sulphur-producing district, the most valuable mineral product of Italy. There are 300 mines in operation in the districts of Girgenti, Caltanisetta, Catania and Palermo, em- ploying some 27,000 people. The sulphur is separated from the ore by fusion in a primitive kind of furnace called " calcarone," and most of the produce is exported to England, France, Belgium and the United States. The principal port for the trade is Porto Empedocle, below Girgenti, where one- sixth of the whole production is shipped, and also a great deal of corn. The sulphur workers are the lowest class of Sicilian, living in little comfort even in prosperous times, and since the depression in the trade made itself felt, suffering great misery. They are very ignorant and degraded and furnish a large number of the criminals who are so little credit to the island. The barrenness of the land around and the wretched conditions of labour in the sulphur mines always strike the visitor very keenly whether Italian or of any other nationality, and I quote a brief description of both from an anonymous Italian book entitled Sicilia : " The sulphur region is a mountainous country, squalid and upset by the hand of man ; naked hills, hollowed out and pitted with artificial volcanoes, the furnaces where the mineral is purified, streaked with whitish and yellowish stripes between the heaps of refuse, with here and there a roof or a small house. The workers are a silent crowd of spectres, brown and yellow, young, old and boys, sad, cunning, and weakened by their calling. The older ones are the 1 picconieri/ the miners ; the others the 6 carusi,' the porters. One 104 FROM PALERMO TO GIRGENTI behind the other in a line, slowly, with bent heads, they disappear into those dark holes, reascend bear- ing the mineral and carry it to the furnaces. The railway stations, the warehouses and stores are over- full of sulphur, and the streets of the towns of the district are full of starving people, owing to the depression in the trade." 105 GIRGENTI Girgenti is the Akragas of the Greeks and the Agrigentum of the Romans. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the most richly endowed bishopric in Sicily, which was considered the first in import- ance, a position which it retained for a long time. The modern city occupies a part of the ancient acropolis only, but sufficient traces of the ancient walls remain to enable one to realise how large a place it was in its prime. The great temples are the principal attraction at Girgenti, but the situation of the town is superb, and the view from the pro- menade below the " Rupe Atenea " stretches far and wide over hill and plain, over cape and sea, and is splendid whether seen when the mists of early morning half hide the opalescent distance, at mid- day when the blue African sea enforces the bril- liancy of the sunlight upon the yellow rocks and earth, or by evening light when all the colours are mellowed and blended against the lovely sunset sky. The temples stand on the edge of a precipice which gradually declines to the Porta Aurea, in the following order. At the easternmost point, over- looking the watercourse now called Fiume St. Biagio, but anciently Akragas, stands the temple of Juno Lacinia, next that of Concord, followed by that of Hercules, between which and that of Jupiter the road to the Porta Aurea passes. Beyond are those of Castor and Pollux and of Vulcan, which 1 06 GIRGENTI look down on the ravine of the Drago, anciently the Hypsas. Besides this magnificent range there are the remains of a temple in the city, believed to be those of the temple of Jupiter Policeus, and beyond the " Rupe Atenea " the Norman church of San Biagio is built upon part of that of Ceres and Proserpine. Nearly all these names are conjectural. As regards St. Biagio, Cavallari says that a statue of Akragas, son of Jupiter and the nymph Asterope, was found in a cistern below it some years ago, a young, beardless figure of white marble of good style, and resembling a figure on a coin surrounded by fishes and with the legend AKPAPA2. St. Biagio was therefore probably a temple of Akragas, who was much venerated by the Geloi, and this was the temple to which Empedocles referred when, exhort- ing his fellow-citizens, he reminded them that the dwelling of the blonde youth Akragas was on the heights of the city. Castrogiovanni is visible from this temple. The temple of Juno is a peripteros-hexastylos with thirty-four fine Doric columns, which have twenty flutings. Their height is five times their diameter, and twenty-five of them are standing ; the remaining nine, which have been re-erected, have only half their height. At the eastern end is a "thymele," a little terrace reaching to the wall of the town, upon which statues probably stood, or votive tripods, or perhaps an altar for use on great festivals when the concourse was greater than the temple would hold. It stands on a great stylobate of masonry close to the ancient walls, and nearly 400 ft. above sea-level. It was for this temple that Zeuxis painted his picture of the goddess from five of the most beautiful girls of the city who were 107 SICILY given him for models. The temple of Concord is very well preserved, perhaps because it was converted into a Christian church in the Middle Ages, at which time the arched openings in the walls of the cella were made. It is a double peripteros-hexastylos and much more complete, retaining its pediments at both ends. In the rocks below, outside, are Christian tombs, and an early catacomb is passed on the way to the temple of Hercules, the grotto of Fragapane, which has its floors covered with coffin - like tombs arranged in clusters, both the centre and the side chambers. The walls of the latter are cut into arcosolia. The remains of the temple of Hercules are slight, though it is interesting as being thought to be the oldest of these temples. It was hypaethral, peripteros-hexastylos, and had thirty-eight columns, and both in the remains of decoration on the plaster coating discovered by excavation of fragments thrown down by the Carthaginians and in certain peculiarities of plan it resembles the most ancient of the temples at Selinunt. From this shrine Verres tried to steal the statue of Hercules by night, but his slaves were repulsed by the citizens, who rose in defence of their property which was worn by the kisses of his worshippers. Here too, it is said, were kept the paintings of Alcmena and the infant Hercules strangling the serpents by Zeuxis, and from this spot the statue of iEsculapius, now in the museum of Palermo, was taken, as well as the head of a lion in calcareous stone which is believed to have formed the acroterion of the back pediment. A portion of the ancient street shows here with deep ruts worn in the stone. The Porta Aurea, marked by the modern road which still follows the ancient direction, is the gate by which the Romans 108 GIRGENTI entered in 210 b.c. At the other side are the custodian's house and the temples of Jupiter Olympius and Castor and Pollux. The former was never completed. Erected in the 5th century b.c. its special peculiarities were the colossal telamones, 25 ft. in height, one of which has been reconstructed on the ground, and the huge engaged columns, each 20 ft. in circumference, with flutings broad enough to allow a man to stand in each, as they say, but which only measure 18 in. across. Down to 1401 a considerable part of the temple was in existence, but it has since been used as a quarry, the modern mole at Porto Empedocle having been the last use to which the stones have been put. In 1832 excavations discovered remains of the polychrome decoration which had beautified it ; like one of the temples of Selinunt which resembles it in architec- tural details and construction. Traces of the de- struction by the Carthaginians were also found ; at the base of each column is a conical cut large enough to disturb the equilibrium when the roof was burnt. The blocks of stone show the U-shaped groove at each end for hoisting them into position. A little further on is the temple called that of Castor and Pollux, consisting of four Doric columns with a portion of entablature, re-erected by Sig. Cavallari from the remains of two different buildings, which stood back to back. The stucco, a white cement, which was always applied, the stone being a porous, yellow, fossil limestone which bears the ravages of scirocco badly, was also useful as a ground for colouring. The remains of the temple of Vulcan, which are rather farther on in a garden, are insig- nificant, but below them is a vast artificially cut hollow something like a latomia, now a garden. 109 SICILY This is thought to have been the celebrated piscina or reservoir mentioned by Diodorus Siculus. The town had only two gates, the Porta Aure? and the Porta di Gela, which was between San Biagio and the temple of Juno Lacinia, though there may perhaps have been a gate of Heraclea on the west. Its site is still called " Civita," and it lies above St. Nicola and below the Hotel des Temples, It probably stretched from the Rupe Atenea and St. Biagio to the temples. Here it is that portions of a Greek house were discovered in 1867, four rooms, twenty-eight columns and several mosaic floors! Outside the walls are the so-called tomb of Theron, a building of Roman times, the mixture of Ionic and Doric details showing a period of decadence, and the temple of ^Esculapius, small remains built into the wall of a house and thought to be of the same date as the temple of Jupiter (420 B.C.), from the fact that the columns are engaged in a similar way in both buildings. An interesting building is passed on the way to the town from the temples, the church of St. Nicola, built in Norman times, partly with ancient material and on part of an ancient site. Behind the high altar is a little courtyard with a heavy cornice and rude painting on the frieze below, similar to the cornice on the facade, which appears to be ancient material ; the side walls have an arcade of a flat curve supported by piers with curious projecting mouldings half-way up, recalling a Roman podium. The roof is a barrel vault of pointed section with chamfered ribs above each pier. The wall against which the high altar is set has above it a row of round-headed niches, separated by small corbelled- out columns and occupied by frescoes which are 1 10 LOWER PART OF CAMPANILE, CATHEDRAL, GIRGENTI GIRGENTI dated 1574, but look at least a century earlier. The great doorway has an archivolt with fine bold mouldings and the door is panelled in an unusual and effective manner. The back of the church is in the Panittieri garden, which also contains some interesting architectural remains in a picturesque setting. These consist of a beautiful Corinthian cornice, built in at the top of a bastion-like tower which is part of a reservoir and relieves finely against the stone pines and other trees near, and the so-called Oratorio di Falaride, the cella of a Roman temple, which is perfect up to the triglyphs of the frieze, converted into an oratory in Norman times, the interior having been vaulted and a two-light window inserted (now built up), while a pointed doorway has been cut in the facade below the original archi- trave, which still remains. Cavallari excavated to the east of this building and found foundations and columns of a portico, which showed that the temple was tetrastyle and prostyle ; but these remains have disappeared. In the town there are three highly interesting things to see — the cathedral, the ruined church of St. George, and the church of Sta. Maria dei Greci, which is believed to be built upon the ancient temple of Athene. The two temples of Jupiter Policeus and of Jupiter Atabyrius are thought by Schubring to be one and the same and to have occupied the summit of the acropolis, where the cathedral now stands. This still has the original campanile of the 1 4th century, battered and weather- worn, but picturesque and individual. The persist- ence of Norman decorative details till this late date is curious. The interior has been modernised with abundant stuccoed details. It contains in the 1 1 1 SICILY Sala Capitolare a very beautiful marble sarcophagus carved with subjects from the story of Hippolytus and Phaedra, and some well-heads which were in the cathedral, beneath which there was once a large cistern, as well as a late Gothic tomb dated 1497 and a red and black Greek vase. There are two enamelled caskets in the treasury, early mediaeval in style. Many documents of the Norman period are preserved in the archives, and according to an Italian account there is a letter from the devil (!) preserved in some part of the cathedral. There is some good 17th-century ironwork in the choir, painted green and gold, and a fresco behind a column guarded by an iron door which is ascribed to 1093, but is later. There is also an indifferent Madonna by Guido Reni above the last altar on the right. The elaborate decoration of stucco shows great talent for modelling and an absolute absence of taste. For the temple which stood on this site Phalaris collected building material and persuaded the Agri- gentines that in order to keep it safe it was well to have a wall built round the place and guards set — by which stratagem he provided himself with a citadel and with soldiers by means of which to fix his yoke upon their necks. The doorway of the church of St. George is pointed and has Norman decorative details, the principal ornament being the well-known zigzag in several ranks, but with the addition of the dog-tooth and of more foliated carving than is found in England at that period. A palace near belonged to the Chiaramonti and is now a seminary. The piazza belongs to the hospital of the Oblates. From it one looks down on the ancient Jews' quarter, now called the Contrada del Rabutto : remains of the wall which divided it from 112 GIRGENTI the rest of the city may still be seen against the western rock. A fine view over the country west- ward is visible too from this point of vantage. Sta. Maria dei Greci has 13th-century features about it, such as the west door, but the interior has been made up with plaster into late Renaissance forms. Some of the Greek columns are visible in the side walls, but to see the steps of the base on which they stand and the lower part of six which are disengaged on the left (discovered by Cavallari many years ago), one enters a vaulted passage part of which is beneath the street. Schubring says that this is the temple of Athene, and that the two temples of Jupiter are one and the same and stood on the summit of the acropolis, where the cathedral now is. The " Rupe Atenea," called also " Colle Miner- vale," is thought by some to have been the site of the temples of Minerva and that of Jupiter Ataby- rius, but Cavallari says that he has examined it care^ fully several times and cannot find any trace of the preparation of the rock for the foundations of a temple. The depression between the two elevations is said to have been cut by Empedocles to dispel malaria by making a passage for the north wind. Girgenti, according to the Greek accounts, was founded by colonists from Gela in 582 B.C., but it appears certain that there was a Sicanian town here previously, identified by some with Camicus. Cavallari, however, says that Schubring and Holm have proved by historical and topographical argu- ments that it was on a mountain in the vicinity of Caltabellotta. In the hill of Monserrato near is a necropolis from which archaic vases have been ex- cavated, which with the shape and arrangement of H "3 SICILY the tombs prove the existence of a people there before the Greeks came. Diodorus gives a tradition that when Sicily was invaded by Minos in pursuit of Daedalus he was received by the King of Akragas. Minos was con- temporary with the earliest Greek civilisation. Polybius says that the Rodioti coming to Akragas built there a temple to Jupiter Atabyrius, which some very ancient coins seem to support, proving an immigration of the Lindii, bringing with them the worship of the Moloch of Mount Tabor. The brazen bull of Phalaris probably had some con- nection with this cult. This tyrant apparently resembled some of the Italian princes of the Renais- sance in his cruelty, unscrupulousness, love of art and of learned men, and has had the most varied characters given to him ; most of the older writers painting him as a cruel and licentious tyrant, while Lucian and others held a much better opinion of him. As Pythagoras knew him, who was born about 592 b.c, he probably lived between 550 and 500 b.c. Following the account of Polienus we may consider him as a rich financier who was given the charge of collecting the taxes and looking after the public money by his fellow-citizens. Agrigentum being prosperous determined to build a temple to Jupiter Polias which should be the finest in the world. To Phalaris was committed the provision of various kinds for this great work, materials, slaves, etc. A great part of the materials was deposited in Camicus (Polienus considers it to be at Girgenti), but as the walls were in ruins from age, thieves found their way in (not without suspicion of the con- nivance of Phalaris, though he publicly proclaimed that it was sacrilege, the things being already dedi- 114 GIRGENT1 cated to Jupiter). To calm the people's indignation over the thefts he insinuated that it would be better to restore and fortify Camicus so as to make it safe for the materials for the temple or for anything else which they wished to take care of. The proposi- tions being accepted, Phalaris restored and enlarged the wall of the citadel, surrounded it with towers and ditches and established himself within ; then taking the occasion of the public dancings with which the city celebrated the festival of Ceres, with the people whom he had engaged for the work of the temple he fell upon the joyful, thoughtless citizens, obliging them to submit to his dominion and killing those who resisted. To make sure of his life by disarming the citizens he made use of the following stratagem. He spread a report that he was going to give games in the valley outside the city towards the sea, where the hills formed a great palaestra which would accommodate many people, and made public preparations. The Agrigentines were delighted and on the day fixed went out by thousands, enjoying the grand and magnificent spectacle spread before them. The city was almost empty, when by the orders of Phalaris the gates were shut (so that no warning could be given to those without) and soldiers went from house to house collecting the arms. When the citizens returned they found themselves completely at the mercy of %h$t^aritl ,iJ,, T n ' »J*orn .:..nn vHqoeoi iiq fffirrog The famous bull was presented to him by Perillus or Perilaus, a craftsman of Athens or Girgenti. In it the cries of the victim who was being slowly roasted resembled the bellowing of a furious bull, an idea which pleased Phalaris and his court so much that he tried it immediately on the person of the 1 1 5 SICILY ingenious inventor ! Lucian says it was then pre- sented to the temple of Delphi ; but Cicero narrates how Scipio, having conquered Carthage, wishing to return to Sicily the things stolen by the Carthagin- ians, returned to the Agrigentines the noble bull of Phalaris. Certain stories show that his heart was open to noble and generous sentiments. The great admiration, never denied, in which he held learned men, Stesichorus and Pythagoras especially, though both were opposed to him, points to a superiority of mind and a disposition to respect merit and true virtue. He tried to gain the friendship of Stesi- chorus with gifts and demonstrations of liking. Yet when the Imeresi asked Phalaris to take command of their armies, requiring a captain, it was Stesichorus who saved them, by the fable of the horse, the stag and the man, from allowing him to have a special guard introduced into the city, and thus preserved their liberty. Even after this Phalaris retained great admiration for Stesichorus. He fared still worse with Pythagoras, whom he received honour- ably, and was pleased to hear his lessons and lectures. But the philosopher loved liberty and spoke to the citizens against despotism, so that Phalaris thought that by exciting him he might take advantage of careless words and so excuse the violation of hospi- tality. During a discussion in the Academy, Phalaris made a jest of all the principles of which the Pytha- gorean philosophy made most, disputing with a favourite disciple of Pythagoras, Abaris. The master understood that he was aimed at, and answered so warmly and well that the audience became excited. He seized the moment to incite the citizens to throw off an odious yoke. A flight of pigeons fluttered through the air pursued by a sparrow-hawk ready to 116 GIRGENTI catch one with beak and claws. Pointing it out to the excited and trembling citizens, he cried, " See what a vile fear is capable of! If but one of those pigeons dared to resist he would save his companions, who would have time to flee ! " He had scarcely spoken the words when an old man named Telema- chus seized a stone and threw it at the tyrant, a signal for an unpremeditated revolt. In vain Phalaris sought safety in flight. Followed by his guards he fell, stoned by the multitude. So says Jamblichus, but others execute poetic justice on him by making him die in his own bull. This occurred in 549 B.C. The period of greatest prosperity for Akragas was perhaps while Empedocles lived there. He per- suaded the people to have a popular government, and thus destroyed the dangerous oligarchy of the rich and the patricians, who excluded the common folk from the government of the city, and reformed the laws so that any one, no matter what his position, if not stained with crime or by dishonest actions, could take part in public affairs, thus establishing the abso- lute equality of all citizens before the law. He got rid of the mercenary troops, lessened the number of slaves and prisoner servants, and by his own authority quieted the tumults of factions. The great extension and beautifying of the city was, however, the work of Theron after the battle of Himera in 480 B.C., when the Carthaginians were defeated, great booty gained by the allied Greek cities and thousands of prisoners taken as slaves, who were made use of for the colossal works then under- taken — temples and aqueducts — some of which are still in use. The Fonte dei Greci, near the Hotel des Temples, is an example, said to be older than the aqueducts of Pheax. 117 SICILY The accounts of the splendour and riches of the citizens are fabulous. Empedocles said of them that they built as if they were to live for ever, and feasted as if they were to die on the morrow. It is re- corded that on the occasion of the marriage of the daughter of Antisthenes, the Rhodian, 800 carriages and 1600 horsemen brought the bride home at night, while the city was illuminated so that the whole district appeared alight. The Akragantines erected monuments to horses who won a famous race, and maidens built tombs for their favourite song-birds. A certain Exainetos won the 200 yards race at Olympia, and when he came home 300 chariots went out to welcome him, each drawn by a pair of milk-white horses. During the Carthaginian war a decree was issued forbidding a soldier on the march to be provided with more than two mattresses, two pillows and a blanket. In the gymnasium the utensils were made of gold. At the door of Gellias, a rich man of the city, stood slaves all day long to invite every passing stranger to rest and refresh himself ; and once, in winter, when 500 riders came from Gela, he took them all in, and in addition presented each man with new garments. In his cellars, instead of casks and hogsheads, he had 300 reservoirs for wine hewn in the solid rock, each of which held 100 amphorae, which is nearly equal to 900 gals. When the city was taken by the Cartha- ginians this Gellias collected such of his treasures as he could gather together quickly, and with his family retired into the temple of Minerva and set fire to the place, saying that he thus avoided three evils : " The impiety of the enemy towards the gods, the rapine of the sacred riches, and the murder which they would have committed on himself and his family ". This 118 GIRGENTI was in 406 b.c, when the Carthaginians were led by Himilcon. They spared neither man nor beast, nor woman nor child, and prisoners were horribly tortured, torn to pieces and crucified by hundreds. In two or three centuries they reduced its magni- ficence into a field strewn with ruins. When Hannibal was besieging it he demolished some of the sepulchres outside the town, either to fortify his camp with the material or to build non-inflam- mable siege towers. A storm came on and the lightning killed some of those at work on the tomb of Theron, and a pestilence broke out and Hannibal himself died. The soldiers thought that the gods were angry, and to appease them Himilcon ordered the destruction to cease, sacrificed a child to Saturn, and propitiated Neptune by drowning a number of prisoners and discontented soldiers. After a siege of eight months the mercenaries became disaffected, the provisions beginning to fail. The Campanians were the first to go, gained over, according to Diodorus, by a bribe of 15 talents ; then Decippus with his Lacedaemonians, and then others. The captain of the people, taking stock of the provisions, came to the -conclusion that they would only last for a few days longer, and published an order that on the following night all who could should be ready to abandon the city. So great was the despair of the citizens that many killed themselves on their thresholds or in the temples rather than become exiles. The sad procession, composed principally of women and children, left the city at night with cries and wailings and made its way to Gela, thence to Syracuse, and finally to Leontinoi. Only those who were sick and old remained, and those who refused to abandon the sacred walls of their native place. 119 SICILY The city in its prosperous days had held 300,000 inhabitants, and Laertes in his biography of Empe- docles even estimates them at 800,000 ! It appeared to recover somewhat in the time of Timoleon, and took some part in the First and Second Punic Wars, suffering sieges at the hands of both combatants, but became finally Roman in 207 B.C., after which it disappears from history. In 440 a. d. the Vandals under Genseric laid Sicily waste. They were de- feated near Girgenti in 456, and in the next year peace was made between Genseric and Odoacer, who agreed to pay the Vandals a yearly sum for the use of Sicily as a granary. In 828 the Saracens took it, the city and sur- rounding district becoming the headquarters of the Berbers, a race the peculiarities of which may still be recognised in a type of face frequently met with in Girgenti. Rebelling in 937 against their power, after three years it again had to submit, and a severe famine was the result of the struggle. In 1089 it was taken by Roger and his Normans, and four years later St. Gerlando was appointed to the bishopric. There is a legend to the effect that St. Libertino was the first bishop sent by St. Peter together with Pancrazio and Marciano, bishops of Taormina and Syracuse respec- tively. The bishopric was the first in Sicily in posi- tion and importance for a long time. The whole of the rock under the modern city is pierced by galleries and chambers into which one may descend at several points. The principal en- trance is by the side of the church in the Piazza del Purgatorio. It is disputed whether these were quarries from which the stone of which the city was built was extracted, or places of refuge, or caves in which the earliest inhabitants of Sicily dwelt before 1 20 GIRGENTI they began to build on the surface of the earth. It appears most likely that they were connected with the defensive works of the city when it was confined i to this upper part, and are therefore Sicanian. Licata can be reached by rail from Girgenti, from | which it is distant about 53 miles; it is 21^ I from Terranova. It contains little of interest be- I yond two mediaeval castles, but occupies the site of I the ancient Phintias, which was built by the tyrant ; of Akragas who bore that name, after the destruction of Gela by the Mamertines in 282 B.C., and peopled from that city. It was an ancient Phoenician- Carthaginian fortress, garrisoned by Carthage dur- ing the war with Agathocles in 3 1 1 B.C., and here Regulus in 256 B.C., before his expedition to Carth- i age, conquered the Carthaginian fleet in one of the greatest naval battles on record, in which at least 300,000 men were engaged. It is situated at the mouth of the Fiume Salso, the ancient Himera Meri- dionalis, which rises in the Madonie Mountains only fifteen miles from the northern coast. Its modern name is derived from the Arabic Linbidjadah. In July, 1553 a.d., it was sacked by the allied fleets : of the Grand Turk and the most Christian king (of j France), a curious combination, which was inimical to the Emperor Charles V. 121 FROM GIRGENTI TO CATANIA By this route the centre of the island is traversed, the line passing by Castrogiovanni, its highest and most central city, the ancient Enna. The first few miles contain little of note. Glimpses of the sea and of Girgenti on one side, and of the Madonie Mountains on the other, break the dulness ot the landscape, and there is one town, Racalmuto which has a fine situation. Canicatti is the junction tor Licata, and a little further on is Serradifalco, from which the celebrated archaeologist and antiquarian, the Duke of Serradifalco, took his title. The first place of real interest is Caltanisetta, the ancient Nisa or N issa, as has been proved by the finding of a Greco- Siculan stone inscribed Kalath-nissa. It is a pro- vincial capital. From the city, which lies on the side of a hill, there is a fine view of the mountains to the east ; m which direction, two miles away, is the monastery of Badia di St. Spirito, a Norman building erected by Roger I., and beyond it a mud volcano resembling that at Maccaluba. Above the cemetery is a ruin, the manor of the Bauffremonts, like a northern castle. At St. Caterina-Xirbi the line from Palermo joins that from Girgenti. Just before reaching the station Etna becomes visible in fine weather. Beyond Imera the Fiume Salso, the ancient Himera Meridionalis, is crossed, and the line ascends rapidly, threading the tortuous ravine which separates Castrogiovanni from 122 FROM GIRGENTI TO CATANIA Calascibetta, a favourite residence of Pedro II. of Aragon. The latter is 2880 ft. above sea-level, while the former is 2605 ft. Its name comes from the Arabic " Kasryani," itself a corruption of Enna. It lies on a hill in the form of a horse-shoe open towards the east. Notwithstanding its lofty position and the keen winds which sweep through its streets, olives and vines are not damaged by the cold of winter and early spring, and on the very summit of the mountain is a famous vineyard. The citadel, La Rocca, was repaired by King Manfred. From it there is a fine and extended mountain view. The pyramid of Etna towers towards the east, to the north run two mountain chains, ramifications of the Nebrodian Mountains, and to the north-east rises Monte Artesino beyond the hill on which Calascibetta lies. On its eastern slopes lie Leonforte and Agira ; between the two, but further away, lofty Troina. To the north-north-west on a precipitous ridge between Monte Artesino and the Madonie Mountains are Petralia di Sopra and Gangi. To the north-west, near Termini, Monte St. Calogero is visible ; to the west Pizzo di Camarata, and to the south the Heraean Mountains, Licata and the sea. Near to La Rocca, on the other side of a small ravine, it is believed that the temple of Ceres stood, and a flight of rock-cut steps is thought to have belonged to it. The site of the temple of Persephone is on Monte Salvo, near the convent of the Padri Riformati in the famous vineyard. There are no remains of either. At the other end of the town is a castle which was built by Frederick II. of Aragon. It has two windows somewhat resembling those in the Castel Nuovo at Naples. Below on the right is Sta. Maria del Popolo, built to cover a sacred spot, a rock with a painting of the Crucifixion on it ; beyond it are 123 SICILY the washing pools, and on the slopes of the mountain are rock tombs. A portico near the washing pools and a statue or two are all the antique remains left. The cathedral, La Madonna della Visitazione, was founded in 1 307 by Queen Eleanor, but retains only an apse and the south door of her period. It possesses a pulpit, some choir stalls and an ancient silver-gilt tabernacle which are interesting, and on an antique stand to the left of the entrance is a censer which also deserves inspection. In its south wall is a pillar from the temple of Ceres. There is a museum and a Communal library in the town, in which are some good incunabula and a reredos of solid silver of con- siderable size. The museum nevertheless stands open all day. There' are in all thirty-six churches : St. Giovanni has a tower of Sicilian Gothic, St. Chiara and St. Benedetto have gilded convent grilles, St. Francesco has a square Norman tower with a round- headed porch. On some of the church floors are ela- borate subjects in tiles of the 17th century. 1 A certain number of beggars, licensed by the Government, wait at the church doors ; they are sup- posed to be supported by the alms of the faithful. The men of Castrogiovanni wear fine dark-blue cloaks with a high-peaked hood and top-boots. There are no carts nor horses in the streets. The city is a wonderful natural fortress, and well deserves its title of the " impregnable " given it by Livy. It was the principal scene of the worship of Demeter- Kore, goddesses of the aborigines, and the details of the festival of the Madonna della Grazia seem to be a survival of that of Ceres. Small sheaves of ears of corn, the finest of the crop, are borne in procession. 1 I have supplemented my own notes on Castrogiovanni from Mr. Douglas Sladen's In Sicily. I 24 FROM GIRGENTI TO CATANIA Formerly they were carried by men entirely nude ; now they advance towards the Madonna in long white tunics with the ears of corn in their hands. Below the town are two caverns in the rock, one of which is called " Dell' Inferno," and the peasants say that this is the place from which Pluto issued. In ancient times dense forests, brooks and lakes made this district a luxuriant garden, a thing difficult to believe from its aspect at the present day, and it is even said that hounds lost the scent of the game owing to the fragrance of the flowers. Some assert that the city was founded from Syracuse in 664 B.C., and others say that there is no foundation for the suggestion. There is little doubt that a Sicanian town existed here at that time. In 402 b.c. it fell by treachery into the hands of Dionysios I., and Agathocles also possessed himself of it. In the First Punic War it was taken by the Carthaginians, but the Romans captured it in the end. L. Pinarius, com- mandant at the time of Marcellus, having but a small force and fearing treachery, summoned the inhabitants to the theatre and massacred them all. He thus saved Enna, but set Sicily aflame at the outrage on the Holy City. It was the centre of the Servile War. The slaves killed all the freemen except the workers in iron, whom they reduced to slavery and forced to manufacture weapons. When they took possession of the place under Eunus, it was only regained after a fierce struggle. The siege lasted for two years ( l 33- l 3 2 b.c), and to this day Roman missiles are sometimes found near the ancient tortuous approach to the town. There were 200,000 slaves under arms, and their leader Eunus was practically king of the island for seven years. They were reduced by famine more than by force of arms in the end. 125 SICILY In 837 a.d. the Saracens failed in storming the town, but in 859 Abbas-ibn-Fadhl gained possession of the fortress by treachery, a prisoner having intro- duced the Arabs by a tunnel on the north side. The booty was enormous, for the inhabitants of all the country side had taken refuge within its walls. Some of the women were then taken as slaves to Bagdad. The Normans took it in 1087. It was fortified to some extent in the Middle Ages and strongly in modern times. The visitor will probably be shown the room in which the Immaculate Conception took place, accord- ing to the local legend. The ancient room contains a little stove at which they say the Virgin was engaged in cooking when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her ! The lake of Pergusa, the traditional site of the Rape of Proserpine, lies in the fields of Enna in the plain, enclosed by a rim of mountains whose sides are streaked with meadows, and coloured in spring with the pink flush of almond trees thrown up by the dark green of the frequent cypress. It is malarious and much frequented by water-fowl. It is two hours from Castrogiovanni and may be also reached from the road between Piazza Armerina and Valguarnera. From beyond Leonforte, where the malaria is so bad that the railway officials go to Castrogiovanni by the last train and leave the station deserted every night, the line follows the valley of the Dittaino, the ancient Chrysas, passing Assaro, once Assorus, a Siculan town mentioned by Diodorus as the only one which remained faithful to Dionysios I. of Syracuse at the time of Himilcon's expedition. Next comes the town of Agira (formerly St. Filippo d' Argiro), 5^ miles from the station, the ancient Agyrium, one of the most ancient of Siculan cities, 126 FROM GIRGENTI TO CATANIA said to have been visited by Hercules and Iolaus, and certainly the birthplace of Diodorus Siculus, who praises the magnificence of its temples, of which nothing now remains. In 339 b.c. Timoleon colo- nised the town. There are the ruins of a Nor- man castle and several early churches. One of them, the Real Batia, has a crypt with a tomb of St. Philip, who is said to have lived in a sepulchre near excavated in the rock. Five miles from Catena- nova to the north is Centorbi, the ancient Centuripae, another important Siculan city very faithful to the Roman alliance. It was one of the five Sicilian cities which were free from taxation in Cicero's time. There are some remains of the ancient walls as well as a few architectural fragments. Just below the town the Simeto is joined by the Fiume Salso, the Cyanosorus of Polybius, for it looks over both val- leys. Its situation was anciently compared to that ofEryx. It was destroyed in 1233 by Frederick II. for disaffection and its population removed to Augusta. There is nothing more of much interest before reaching Catania. The valley of the Dittaino broadens out towards the plain of Catania, the Campi Laestrygonii extolled by Cicero as the most fruitful part of Sicily and still regarded as its granary, but they are not picturesque though the mass of Etna rises above them to the north. At Portiere Stella the train crosses the Simeto into which the Dittaino falls a little to the south. Motta St. Anastasia, the town of which name with its old castle is nearer to Mister- bianco, looks picturesque against the lower spurs of Etna ; the junction of Bicocca with the line to Syracuse is passed and the sea is seen, and Catania is reached by a tunnel through an old lava stream, that of 1669. 127 SCIACCA Sciacca is a difficult place to get at. It is 6 or 8 hours by road from Castelvetrano (24 miles) and 40 miles from Girgenti. The coasting steamers touch there both from Porto Empedocle and Maz- zara. Situated on a precipitous hill, it occupies the site of the Thermae Selinuntianas of antiquity, a very picturesque but miserable place with a labyrinth of little streets. Its clay vases were celebrated in an- tiquity, and the " alcazaras," which they still make of a light porous earth, are reckoned equal to those of Spain for keeping water cool. Agathocles, Fazello says, was son of a Sciaccan potter. The modern name is Saracen in origin (Shakkah, which means both the opening in the mountain by which one goes to the " stufe " of the baths, and corn which is grown on the plains at its foot). Tommaso Fazello (d. 1570), the father of Sicilian historiography, was also born here, and in the Middle Ages it was a place of some importance, being a royal borough. It has a cathedral founded in 1090 by Giulietta, daughter of Roger I., Sta. Maria delle Giumare, out- side the town, of about the same date, and St. Sal- vadore and the Spedale Vecchio of the 1 4th century, and at the end of the town, on the east side of the walls (which were built by Frederick II. of Aragon in 1330), are the ruined castles of Perollo and Luna (the latter built in 1393 by William di Luna), which gave names to the counts whose violent feuds 128 SCIACCA deluged the streets with blood in the 15th and 16th centuries, beginning in their common love for a beautiful countess, and which under the name of the " Casi di Sciacca" were celebrated throughout Sicily. ! There were three principal episodes in these feuds, which lasted from 1 410 to 1529 : (1) the poisoning of Artale di Luna with which Giovanni Perollo was credited, which naturally created great excitement among the partisans of both parties ; (2) the bloody battle during the procession of the " Spina " in April, 1455, between Antonio di Luna and Pietro Perollo, ;and the sacking of the city by the former when, cured of his wounds, he re-entered the city with a :roop of partisans to revenge himself on Perollo, and exterminated his family and adherents ; (3) the un- heard-of slaughters to which the breaking out of enmity between Giacomo Perollo and Sigismond di Luna gave cause for several days, in which the castle )f the Perollo was besieged and cannonaded ; which /vere ended by the killing of Giacomo Perollo and of Delia Stella, who had been sent by the Viceroy of Sicily, Pignatelli, to punish the guilty and make 3eace, but who was thrown from the balcony of the )alace by the followers of Di Luna. Count Sigis- nond di Luna, the unfortunate hero of these ightings, drowned himself in the Tiber at Rome, I /hither he had gone to vainly solicit the pardon of ! he Emperor Charles V. through Pope Clement VII. i The Casa Starepinto and the Casa Triolo are also ^ nteresting specimens of mediaeval architecture. I Monte San Calogero, three miles to the east, t j nciently called Mons Kronios, has within it curious fjapour baths the foundation of which has been I scribed to Daedalus, certain seats cut in the rock l a the caverns from which the vapour issues being 129 SICILY shown as his works. They are called " Le Stufe," the stoves, and the temperature is from 9 2° to 104 0 . The grottoes, which are partly artificial, contain a few inscriptions. Here Minos was treacherously stifled by the daughters of Cocalus according to legend. In the Middle Ages the re-discovery of the usefulness of the baths was ascribed to St. Calogero (from the Greek KaXoycpos, a monk), and most of the baths in Sicily are named after that saint now in the same way as Daedalus was formerly credited with their discovery. In the valley between the mountain and Sciacca are the sources of hot sulphur (133 0 ) and salt (88°) springs which attract numerous patients in summer. ♦ From the summit of the mountain (1280 ft.) the island of Pantellaria is distinctly visible. Between Sciacca and Girgenti lies Ribera, where Crispi was born in 18 19, and on Capo Bianco, between the Platani and Monte Allegro, once lay Heracleia Minoa. A Sicanian town called Macara first occupied the site. The Cretans and Phoenicians established themselves here at a later date. Their settlement was called "Ras Melkart," as is testified by coins which still exist— the Greek "Minoa". Lacedaemonians colonised it next under Euryleon, successor to Doriaeus (who was slain at Eryx), and it received the name of Heracleia Minoa. Afterwards it belonged to Carthage. The date of its destruction is unknown. 130 THE NORTHERN COAST The railway from Palermo to Messina runs along the northern coast until after passing below Rometta, where the Christians maintained their position against the Saracens as late as 965 a.d., it dives through the mountains and descends upon Messina. The views disclosed by the curving of the line as it follows the contour of the coast are constantly varying in composition and effect, but are all beautiful ; and it is questionable whether there is to be seen any- where else as pleasing and admirable a succession of views as may be enjoyed by the traveller who follows this route. It passes the sites of many ancient cities, some of which are dead and some still living ; and Cefalu with its splendid mosaics forms a possible stopping-place, if it be desired to break the journey. The commencement of the line is described in the excursions from Palermo. When Solunto is passed the first place of interest is Altavilla, a village on the hillside 13 miles from Palermo, which possesses one of the oldest existing Norman churches (called La Chiesazza) founded by Robert Guiscard in 1077 ; and at Trabia there is an ancient castle on the coast which looks rather fine. Termini Imerese is the junction fbr the line to Girgenti. The baths of Himera were extolled by Pindar, and there is still a bathing establishment at the place, founded by Ferdinand I., and made since quite modern in its arrangements. The town was ! 3 T SICILY probably an ancient seaport of the Phoenicians, and was founded as a town by the Carthaginians in 407 b.c, after the destruction of Himera. Like most of the Sicilian towns it became Hellenised. The Romans took it in the First Punic War, and some remains of their period have been excavated in the Villa della Citta, substructures of a basilica and some traces of an amphitheatre. In the old Ospedale dei Benfratelli, a building with some fine Gothic windows, a small collection of antiquities has been housed which in- cludes Roman and Greek objects, as well as some of an earlier, prehistoric date. In the church of Sta. Maria della Misericordia is a 1 4th-century picture of some merit. The site of the more ancient city of Himera, founded by Zanclaeans in 648 B.C., lies on a height to the right of the railway near Buonfornello. The remains are of the slightest and the interest of the place is purely historical. Here it was that Stesichorus, who perfected the Greek chorus by the addition of the epode, was born about 630 b.c, and it was on behalf of its inhabitants that one of the greatest battles ever fought by the Greeks was fought, when in 480 b.c Gelon and Theron sur- prised Hamilcar, who was besieging it, and anni- hilated his army. Vengeance for this victory was, however,, taken by his grandson Hannibal, son of Gisgon, in 409 b.c^ who captured the town and razed it to the ground, slaying 3000 men as a sacrifice, and no attempt has ever been made to rebuild it. - '^^B Twelve miles further the bold isolated rock of Cefalu projects into the sea, at the foot of which is the thriving town and the fine cathedral with the magnificent mosaics in its sanctuary, all of which owe their being to King Roger I. 132 FACADE OF CATHEDRAL, CEFALU THE NORTHERN COAST The ancient town, called Cephalcedium, was on the rock, and though the first historical mention of it occurs in 397 B.C., the prehistoric fragment of building which still exists proves that it is of much greater antiquity. Its name may be either a Sicil- ian corruption of the Latin version of the Greek word " kephale," a head, or a derivation from the Punic word " cefalua," which means a steep rock, either of which words describes the place very well. Diodorus says that the Sicanians, 1200 or 1300 b.c, had retired to the northern and western extremities of the island, and it seems probable that the prehistoric building is due to them, especi- ally as he mentions that they built their towns on the top of the mountains for fear of robbers. It was never very important, though it struck money of its own. It was twice besieged by the Saracens, and on the second occasion, in 858 a.d., was taken by them and became the last town of the section Val Demona. Its bishopric is fifth in point of antiquity among the bishoprics of Sicily, and in 868 a.d. one of its bishops, named Nicetas, was present at Constantinople at the eighth synod. In Norman times the bishop was appointed by the king, and sat in the eighth place in the ancient parliament. The principal attraction of Cefalu is King Roger's cathedral, founded by him in fulfilment of a vow made during peril of shipwreck in the year 1 1 29 that he would erect "to the name and glory of the most holy Saviour, a cathedral church and also endow it with very rich gifts" immediately he ar- rived safely at any place. This is the tradition related with some dramatic power in a MS. now in the archives at Cefalu, called "rollus rubeus," and compiled in 1329 by a certain Roger the 133 SICILY Notary by order of the bishop of the time. In the oldest diploma of gift, however, dated 1145, while King Roger was living, no mention is made of the vow. In that document he says the temple is erected on account of the sentiment of gratitude which he felt towards the Divine Saviour, who had entrusted to his hands the sceptre of command. U A worthy and reasonable thing it is to build a house for our Lord, and to found a refuge in honour of Him who has so benefited us and has decorated our name with the ornament of Kingship." An- other document, ascribed to Ugo, Bishop of Messina in 1 1 31, states that on the day of Pentecost of that year the church was founded by King Roger to the honour of the Holy Saviour and of the Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, for the benefit of the soul of his father of pious memory, Roger, first Count of Sicily, and of his mother, Adelasia the queen, and also for his own redemption and satisfaction for all his sins, as well as to succour the poor and travellers. This is confirmed by the inscription at the entrance of the church, and an ancient tradition relates that the king, accompanied by many people, pointed out with his royal sceptre the site it was to occupy. Also that he brought down the houses of the citi- zens from above on the rock, seeing that on account of the want of water and the difficulty of the ascent the city was dwindling. Fazello says that he had the columns for the cathedral brought from the ancient church on the mountain, and it is thought they once formed part of a temple of Jupiter which stood on the headland. The church is a Latin cross on plan. Of the sixteen columns of the nave arcade fifteen are of granite and the sixteenth of cipollino, a speciality V34 THE NORTHERN COAST of the Madonie Mountains. The external plinth of large blocks of cut stone probably also came from the ruins above. The length is 243 ft. and the width 92 ft. The nave is double the width of the aisles, and east of the transepts are three apses. The facade has two lofty towers connected by a pillared portico (restored in the 15th century), beneath which is the original doorway. Above this is an interlaced, pointed wall arcade, flanking the central window, all ornamented with Norman zigzags, and higher still is another arcade of very curious form surmounted by a slight billeted cornice. The nave is lower than the transepts and choir, around the top of which runs an arcading resembling the lower feature of the western facade interrupted at the apse by tall coupled attached columns, from which spring small arches in couples falling* in the centre on to a small corbel. Massive piers interrupt the arcad- ing at the points where the vaulting arches take their rise. The interior has been a good deal modernised, the western bays of the choir having frescoes and stuccoes of the 17th century and the side aisles vaulted and stuccoed, while almost as much whitewash has been expended upon the nave as if the authorities were English church- wardens of the 1 7th and 1 8th centuries. The greater part of the roof is a restoration of 1559, though the name of Manfred and the date 1263 were to be seen on one of the beams. The font of fossilitic marble, of a heavy cistern-like shape, is supported on a short column with twisted flutings. It is decorated with roughly carved lions in relief with highly projecting heads, is 6 ft. across and very quaint. The pro- portions are exceedingly lofty and dignified, and in the transepts the plainness of the walls is relieved 135 SICILY by the appearance of a little arcade, at clerestory height, which returns along the ends. There are two small apses projecting eastwards from the tran- septs. At the entrance to the choir are two thrones, that on the left for the king, over which are the words " Sedes Regia" and that on the right for the bishops, above which is written " Sedes Epis- copalis" an arrangement similar to that at Monreale, where, however, they are nearer the altar. Above the king's seat are poor portraits of king and queen. The other fittings are late Renaissance, but the singing galleries in the nave are supported on ancient columns. The mosaics are in the central apse and one bay of the choir westward from it. The selection of saints on one wall confirms the tradition that King Roger imported monks from Mount Athos to exe- cute them, and their splendour and excellence also make it exceedingly likely. The semi-dome of the apse is filled with a colossal Christ, rather Jewish in type and on the whole successful ; the vault of the first bay bears four cherubim and at the spring- ing of the arches four half-figures of angels. Below the Christ is the Virgin in the traditional Byzantine attitude of adoration, with an angel on either side of her. Below her again are the Twelve Apostles in two rows of six each, divided by the pointed window in the eastern wall. On the north wall, commencing from below, we have SS. Gregory, Augustine, Sylvester and Dionysius, and above them SS. Peter, Vincent, Laurence and Stephen. Higher still are the prophets Joel, Amos and Obadiah, while at the top are Moses and Hosea, with a circle be- tween them tenanted by Melchizedek. On the south side, commencing again from the bottom, we 136 THE NORTHERN COAST have SS. Nicholas, Basil, Josephus and Gregory Theologos ; above them SS. Theodore, George, De- metrius and Nestor. Above them are the prophets Jonas, Isaiah and Nahum, while at the top are David and Solomon with Abram between them in a circle. The lettering, as at the Cappella Palatina, is partly Greek and partly Latin, showing that the traditional attribution to the Calogeri is probable. The col- umns of the sanctuary are covered with mosaic, and the corbels of the vaulting shafts also, which simu- late a cap with volutes and acanthus scrolls. The vaulting shafts, which are green and purple, are continued in the mosaic with a twisted shaft to the string-course above the cornice ; the mixture of actual relief and representation of it is curious. These mosaics were finished in 1148, and carefully restored under Ferdinand II. in 1859, by the chief of the school of mosaic at Palermo. The walls of the portico between the towers were once covered with mosaics representing King Roger and his suc- cessors in their relation to the Church, but of these no trace remains. The sarcophagi of Henry VI. and Frederick II., now in the cathedral at Palermo, once stood in the transepts here, probably provided by Roger for himself and his wife. Frederick II. first astutely sent the bishop Giovanni Cicala on a mission to Damascus, and in his absence effected the removal. On his return he promptly excommunicated the king and emperor until he should return the sepul- chres to Cefalu, but finally agreed to remove the ban in return for certain advantages conceded to the cathedral. In the right aisle is a 13th-century tomb of the Marquis of Geraci with a heart at each end, four trefoils, a quatrefoil and a paschal lamb. 137 SICILY Also the tomb of Eufemia, sister to Frederick of Aragon, a Greek Christian sarcophagus. According to a book published in 1656 at Cefalu, the clothes of King Roger, woven of silk and gold, were then preserved in the church, and on 27th February in each year there was a funeral mass in commemoration of his death, when they placed the things on a raised place, singing the office solemnly in the presence of the bishop, the magistrates and many of the citizens who prayed for the soul of their benefactor. This same book says that King Roger first built the church of St. George at the foot of the hill in ful- filment of his vow, because he had appeared to him during the tempest, and at that time the arrival of the king was to be seen painted upon the wall. This church falling into ruin was restored by the seamen of Cefalu and dedicated to St. Leonard, being made a convent for poor girls who were there educated and fitted for marriage. The cloisters of the cathedral are said to resemble those of Monreale, and may have done so originally, as the arcade appears to be borne upon coupled shafts and the arches are pointed, but, what with disrepair and patchings up, they are in a very bad state. In the street which leads to the Porta della Terra is an ancient building called " Osteria Magna," stated by Passafiume to have been part of a royal hotel built by Roger, whose arms appear at the top of the windows. Other houses have windows with slender shafts and pointed heads. St. Anthony of Padua is said to have built a monastery here, that of St. Francesco, and a chalice which he used was long preserved in it. The tower of the Annunziata is early. The ancient water-gate has been walled up. Its arch was pointed. On the shore, near the mouth 138 THE NORTHERN COAST of the sewer, is a fragment of prehistoric masonry. The Porta Giudecca is Norman. The ascent to the castle is by means of very steep and slippery zigzags in the rock. The gate of the town still remains, giving entrance to a malodorous yard which goats have evidently inhabited for a long time. Passing through this one ascends by more slippery zigzags over a rock which is of a crystalline nature, called " lumachella, ,, to various remains of the ancient city, which still retains its walls round a great part of the circuit, though these are not of very great antiquity, as is the prehistoric building, the most interesting ruin in the rock. The lowest courses of this are polygonal ; above these are several courses of large rectangular stones ; and to the same period two door- ways with mouldings of a Greek type belong, within which may be seen the holes which received the pivots upon which the doors turned and those for fixing the bar which kept them closed. Within is a Roman vaulted chamber, perhaps a sepulchre, while above are remains of a building used as a Christian church, as its semicircular apse denotes. The greater part of the walling here and above the more ancient work on the exterior, however, ap- pears to be Saracenic. V \ \ rveral arch openings within and considerable admixture of Roman tiles with the fragments of stone. Cavallari groups this building with the walls of Eryx, since there is evi- dence of the use of the chisel, that is to say, that while it is not so early as the Sardinian prehistoric buildings or those of Pantellaria, it was built at a period of such antiquity as to make the Doric temples look modern ! At the summit of the rock are the remains of a Norman castle and several cisterns wrought with walls and vaults of masonry. 139 SICILY Pollina, a little further along the coast, is sup- posed to be the ancient Apollonia, which Timoleon delivered from its tyrant Leptines, It has a lofty ruined castle whence Maurolico watched the stars, perhaps the first observatory in Sicily after the Renaissance. In the Chiesa Maggiore are a Virgin and a St. Joseph, good works by the Gagini. Near Castel di Tusa, about the same distance further on, lay Alaesa, founded in 403 b.c. by the tyrant Archo- nides of Herbita, one of five cites which were allowed to retain their own laws and independence after the Punic wars as a reward for their fidelity to Rome. The ruins are two miles round. Marina di Caronia is the ancient Calacte, founded by Ducetius in 440 b.c. : near here is the largest forest in Sicily, 14 miles long and 6 miles broad. Near St. Agata di Militello are the baths of Misilica, which have the reputation of being warmer in winter than in summer. At Patti there are remains of mediaeval work, battlemented walls, gates and two castles, on one of which rises the Badia, an ancient convent of Norman times, and on the other the cathedral and episcopal palace. The cathedral was restored in the baroque period with the usual result. It contains two antique sarcophagi which enclose the remains of the two wives of Count Roger, Eremburga or Delicia of Mortain, and the unhappy Adelasia of Montferrat, mother of Roger II., who when a widow was per- suaded to marry Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, and found after a year that he had another wife. She died in 1 1 18 a.d., in a convent which she had founded after her return from Jerusalem. The effigy is modern. The city was put to fire and sword by Frederick II. of Aragon in the war of the Sicilian Vespers, was 140 THE NORTHERN COAST rebuilt by Alfonso, who looked on it with favour and gave it its present arms, the Aragonese red and yellow stripes, and in 1599 Philip III. gave it a title of nobility and to its patricians the right of carrying sword and dagger within and without the city. It lies at the bottom of the bay, on one horn of which, Cape Tindaro, are the remains of the Greek city of Tyndaris, founded by Dionysios I. in 396 b.c, and named by its first inhabitants after the Tyndaridae or Dioscuri. It became allied to Timoleon and remained faithful to the Romans during the Punic wars. For this reason it was much favoured by them and attained to great power and wealth. Cicero calls it "a most noble city". In Christian times it became the seat of a bishopric. The course of the ancient walls can still be traced, with their square towers, and there are the remains of a theatre, with twenty-seven tiers of seats, and a large building with columns and round arches, be- lieved to have been the gymnasium mentioned by Cicero. Several Roman statues and mosaic pave- ments which were found here have been taken to the museum at Palermo. Here the ancient church of the Madonna Nera, or Del Tindaro, stands among the ruins, a Madonna much invoked by Sicilian sailors in moments of danger. Below is a stalactite cave called the Grotto of Donnavilla, a being of the Fata Morgana type. The promontory faces north and east, looking on the left towards the iEolian Islands and to the right to the Gulf of Olivieri, with the peninsula of Milazzo beyond and the coast of Spadafora ; over the isthmus the shore line is seen as far as Cape Rasicolmo, part of the chain of the Neptunian Mountains. South-east is a mountain half-way up which is the ancient Abacaenum, now 141 SICILY Tripi, and behind it the Heraean Mountains, above which Etna towers. The cathedral and castle of Milazzo occupy the site of Mylae (where the companions of Ulysses killed the cattle of Apollo), the Greek colony in whose bay Duilius gained for the Romans their first naval victory over the Carthaginians in 260 b.c, by means of boarding platforms, thus assimilating the fighting to a land battle. There are no antique remains, but the situation is commanding and picturesque. In this place Louis Philippe lived several years in exile as Duke of Orleans, but its most celebrated modern relations were with Garibaldi, who here defeated Bosco, the Neapolitan general, and forced him to surrender the place on 23 rd August, i860 — a victory which practically decided the fate of Sicily and crowned the hazardous ex- pedition of the "glorious thousand A short account of the campaign will be found in the histori- cal sketch, for this is one of the heroic periods of Sicilian history which ought to be remembered. Castroreale, in the mountains above Milazzo, has mediaeval walls and a castle built by Ferdinand II. of Aragon in 1 3 24, who gave diplomas and privileges to the new city which he was making in the terri- tory of the ancient Crizina or Cristina. There is a Gothic-looking triptych of the Adoration of the Magi in the church of Sta. Marina and a seated Virgin of Gagini in SS. Annunziata. There are excavations beneath the city and madrepores, shells and petrified fishes are found sometimes in the soil. The places nearer Messina are more easily reached from that town and are described as excursions from kmttt.uom l ei reas&fvoS mkinuoM tmmiqiMl 142 MESSINA The harbour of Messina stretches around a curve the chord of which is about two miles, the more distant towers of the town rising above an almost continuous line of similar buildings which sur- round the port in what some consider a mag- nificent and others a rather dull fashion. The town is built on the sides and at the foot of a natural amphitheatre of hills, in a situation which is really fine, and should have excited the imagination of the builders or architects to accomplish, or at least attempt, greater things. It is from this curve, com- pleted by the mole which terminates the port, that its ancient name of " Zancle," the sickle, was taken. This harbour is one of the best in the world, and is the busiest in Italy for steamboat traffic. The citadel, a work of the 17th century, from which the bombardment of 1 848 took place (which gained for Ferdinand II., King of Naples, the epithet of King Bomba), lies across the harbour from the town, near the pier railway station. There are no remains of the antique period, although the city is of very ancient date, having been founded in 732 B.C., according to Greek tradition, on the site of a Siculan town. The name " Zancle " is, however, believed to be Siculan, so that it is probable that the city was not destroyed, but only conquered, as happened in many other cases. The name of Messina, or Messana, was given it about H3 SICILY the beginning of the 5th century b.c. by emigrants from Messina in the Peloponnesus, who came there while Anaxilas of Rhegium controlled the city. It was the cause of the First Punic War through the action of the Mamertines, a mercenary legion of Agathocles, cast out of Syracuse because of their turbulence, who came as friends to Messina, and being received in a friendly way treacherously assailed the citizens, and, terrorising them, gave a new name to the city, that of Mamerte. Their turbulent and aggressive spirit landed them in great difficulties. Hannibal seized the castle, and the Mamertines called in the Romans. Under these latter it was considered the capital of the island and had great privileges. The Saracens treated its in- habitants with toleration, according them the use of their own laws and privileges, and even their own religion. The story of the three Messinese who came to Roger Hauteville (whose first raid took place in 1060) to ask him to undertake the conquest of Sicily and liberate them from the infidel yoke can hardly be true, since their surnames are given, inasmuch as surnames were first used by the Venetians and at a later period than the nth century, though as early as the 9th a kind of second name was used, certainly in Padua and probably elsewhere, but these names did not de- scend to the children. Richard Cceur-de-Lion in n 89 wintered here with Philip Augustus, on which occasion there was fighting between the Messenians and Richard's troops, for which King Tancred rewarded Messina by conceding immunities and privileges which made it almost a free city. These were further increased a few years later under Henry VI., who made it his H4 MESSINA favourite dwelling and base of operations, and it was here that he died in 1 1 97. In the war of the Sicilian Vespers it was besieged for two months by Charles of Anjou, whose fleet was finally defeated by Roger de Lauria, the Spanish admiral, with so much effect that twenty-nine ships were captured and eighty burnt under the eyes of Charles, who " gnawed his fingers with rage " at the sight. In 1678, after internecine feuds and a period of French domination, the Viceroy Francesco Bonavides took away all the privileges of the town, picturesquely driving a plough over the site of the destroyed senatorial palace and sowing it with salt, while he left the doors of the archives of the cathedral open (from which he had removed all the precious docu- ments recording the privileges accorded to Messina from the times of the Eastern Empire, and from Normans, Suabians and Aragonese). The cathedral, Sta. Maria Nuova, was commenced by King Roger in 1098, on the site of another which had been used as a stable in Saracen times. It was consecrated on nth October, 1 1 97, and is the largest Arabo-Sicilian building which dates from those times. The nave has twenty-six antique granite columns, which are said to have come from a temple of Neptune near the Faro. The bases are made up with plaster, and the gilded caps are some of them of the antique Ravennese type, and some of the period of the foundation. The proportions are fine, but the later Renaissance work of the period when the dome was added (1682) has spoilt the effect. The pointed arches were then made round, with other alterations. The transepts are 145 ft. wide and the nave is 305 ft. long ; this terminates in a semi-circular apse, and the mosaics of the semi- k 145 SICILY dome date from the 14th century. They repre- sent : in the centre Christ, with the Virgin and St. John, and Frederick II. of Aragon (the donor) with his son Peter and Archbishop Guidotto ; to the right St. John the Evangelist with King Lewis and the Duke of Athens ; and to the left the Ma- donna with Queen Eleanor and Queen Elizabeth. They were much damaged by the earthquake of 1896, and it was found that the mastic which held the tesserae had parted from the vault in many places, necessitating restoration. Beneath is the costly and tasteless altar, made up of precious Sicilian marbles. It was made in 1628, and cost 3,825,000 lire! Above it is a frame containing the celebrated Madonna della Lettera, a Byzantine painting of the 5th or 6th century (ascribed of course to St. Luke). Behind the altar in a little cupboard is the letter of the Virgin, reconstructed by Constantine Lascaris in the 15th century, the soi-disant original having been burnt in the conflagration of 1254, during the obsequies of Conrad IV. The roof imitates the ancient roof ; along the top is a row of sunk rose panels like those of the Cappella Reale, Palermo. It is painted elaborately. The choir seats were carved by Giorgio Veneziano (1540), and are orna- mented with panels in tarsia. There are some pretty Renaissance monuments and altars and a good font with marble inlays, octagonal, and supported on little baluster columns, with a pyramidal lid surmounted by a ball and cross. The inlays are ascribed to Gaddo Gaddi. The pulpit, ascribed by some to Calamech and by others to Bonanno, is not so successful. It has upon it figures of Mahomet, Calvin, Luther and Zwingli. The only tolerable statues on the side 146 WEST DOOR OF CATHEDRAL, MESSINA MESSINA altars are the St. John, attributed to Gagini, on the right as one enters, and a St. Nicholas, modelled by Montorsoli and carved by his pupil Martino Fiorentino. There is a brass eagle lectern with a moulded stem and little lions at the foot which much resembles English 17th-century brasswork. In the choir are buried the Emperor Conrad IV., Alphonso the Generous, and Queen Antonia, the widow of Frederick III. of Aragon ; and in the transept several archbishops, the tomb of one — Guidotto de' Tabiatis, who restored the building after the fire of 1254 — having been made by Gregory of Siena. In the south-west corner a piece of the original walling shows — alternate courses of white and black marble. The western facade has three pointed doors added under the house of Anjou ; that in the centre, made by Giovanni Battista Mazzolo, is the finest Gothic work in Sicily, so far as its ornamentation goes. The general effect of the facade is pinkish-white relieved with red, with a little inlay in bands which are bounded by courses of dark-green marble, panelled sinkings sometimes replacing the inlays. The Renaissance architects played strange tricks with the facade, adding monu- ments between the doors, huge scrolls rising to a cornice in the upper part and finishing with vases, other scrolls and funny Gothic crockets standing on their tails up the gable. The south aisle was restored in very modern-looking Gothic in 1865, when the towers and a great part of the apse were also reconstructed. The fountain by Montorsoli in the piazza in front of the cathedral, who designed the side altars also, represents Orione, the pretended constructor of the city by order of Zancleo, a mythical Siculan H7 SICILY king. It was executed in 1547-51, and is upwards of 25 ft. in height, a triumph in three storeys, over- laden with allegorical figures of the Nile, the Ebro, Tiber and the brook Camaro, near Messina. His other fountain on the Marina with a figure of Neptune is poorer in conception and execution, though much lauded. Not far away in the Via Primo Settembre is the narrow facade of the Norman church of La Cattolica, or the Madonna del GrafFeo. It has been in the hands of the Greek clergy since 1 168, when the present cathedral was taken from them. The Greek ff protopapa " is nominated by the Pope and approved by the Archbishop of Messina. An inscription calls it "the Mother of the Greek Churches". It has pointed arches with zigzag mouldings and carving of a later character on the caps. Under the high altar is a column with a Greek inscription to " iEsculapius and Hygeia, protectors of the city ". A little further away in the Piazza dei Catalani is the oldest Norman church in Messina, the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani. It was al- ready an ancient church in 1 169, and was originally called " Del Castellamare," the sea-gate having been close by. The name was changed when the Aragonese princes conferred it upon their Spanish followers for their special use. The Arabic in- scriptions on either side of the entrance come from a Saracenic building, and allude to the glories of Messala, son of Haram. Half of the apse is still visible in the Via Garibaldi ; the caps are pleasing, and beneath the arcade are inlays resembling those in the apse of the Cathedral of Pisa. Gaily Knight says that the site was once occupied by a temple of Neptune and afterwards by a mosque, but this has been disputed. Antique columns are used in the 148 MESSINA interior. The effect of the openings in the facade is damaged by a finicking dog-tooth moulding. At the side is a fine doorway with a three-centred arch, now leading to the Albergo del Genio, which looks almost Spanish or Portuguese. Similar doors are not infrequent in the Sicilian towns, and many examples may be seen in Taormina. They date from the 14th century. Santa Maria Alemana, an early pointed building belonging to the Hospice of the Teutonic Knights, is now used as a storehouse. Most of the remaining churches and the palaces are the work of the 16th and later centuries, and are not very interesting. The church of St. Fran- cesco was an exception, as it dated from 125 1, but it was burnt down in 1884. Frederick III. of Aragon and his mother Elizabeth are buried behind the high altar in an ancient sarcophagus on which the Rape of Proserpine is carved. It also contains a Virgin " Dello Spasimo " by Antonio Gagini and a picture by Salvatore di Antonio, the father of Antonello da Messina ; and St. Agostino, a little to the south of the Salita di St. Gregorio, is a remnant of a Norman church, rebuilt in the 14th century. In St. Andrea Avellino is a Christ before Pilate by Caravaggio, said to be his masterpiece, and in Sta. Maria di Gesu inferiore are fine tombs of the Scaletta family. St. Nicolo was the ancient cathedral ; it is now a 16th-century church. In the museum close to St. Gregorio are some fine coins, Greco-Siculan vases, sarcophagi, etc., and five pictures ascribed to Antonello da Messina, some of which appear to be authentic. St. Gregorio, the cork-screw spire of which is conspicuous, is covered with marbles internally in very bad taste, though much admired by the natives, and has a 12th- 149 SICILY century mosaic of a Madonna and Child on a gold ground in a niche. The view from the terrace outside across the strait is very fine. In Sta. Maria della Scala is a pretty Delia Robbia round panel, a Virgin and Child with angels' heads round and a fruit and flower border. The Rocca Guelfonia at the top of the town is said by local historians to be the ancient acropolis. Here the castle of the Mamertines is thought to have been ; but, however that may be, there is no doubt that when Roger of Hauteville became master he strengthened the forti- fications then existing and fixed his dwelling-place there when visiting Messina. Frederick II. had his palace down by the harbour on the site now occupied by the Dogana. The public writer is pretty common here for the same reasons as in Spain. In a good year Messina exports 1,200,000 cases of oranges and 600,000 of lemons. After the harvest in October one may see on the quays of Messina rows of casks filled with pieces of rejected oranges soaking in sea-water. They are dried when sufficiently salted and exported for manufacture. The peels are squeezed in presses, and the aromatic oil expressed is received on sponges which are sold to perfumers and confectioners. The road to the Faro is called by the Messinese " Paradiso >> It runs at the foot of steep cliffs near the shore, and leads to the suppressed Basilian mon- astery of Salvatore dei Greci, founded by Roger I. on the harbour promontory and transferred hither in 1 540. Sta. Maria della Grotta, further on, occupies the site of a temple of Diana, and some say that there are remains of the temple in the present church. This is the most popular drive from Messina, and in summer is crowded every evening with carriages 150 MESSINA which go as far as La Grotta and turn in the peristyle of the pretty circular church. The two salt lakes of Pantani or Ganziri are connected with the sea by open channels : they were renowned in Roman times for shell-fish, muraenas and eels, and a famous temple of Neptune stood upon their banks. Thousands of birds of passage rest here. From the Faro one looks across the narrowest part of the Straits of Messina (only about two miles) to Scilla with its picturesque castle, to the left of it isBagnara, then lofty Monte St. Elia, and below the promontory of Palmi. To the north and north-west are the Lipari Islands and the open Tyrrhene Sea. Charybdis was probably close to the Faro, but there is no whirlpool there now, and indeed in the time of Strabo it had ceased to be of importance. The old bridle road to Milazzo passes La Badiazza and ascends in steep zigzags to the " Telegrafo " at the top of the pass, a celebrated point of view, where there is a ruined Norman tower. The ruined church of La Badiazza is below the ancient monastery of Sta. Maria della Scaja, founded by Count Roger almost before he had Messina in his power. William II. and Constance richly endowed it. Between the 1 2th and the 14th centuries it was one of the most famous convents in Sicily on account of the privileges and revenues which it enjoyed. After the plague of 1347 the nuns only went there in the summer, and it was abandoned when the Council of Trent insisted on reforming conventual manners and customs. The building is a mere shell, the vaults have fallen to a great extent, and the walls are cracked, but enough remains to show that it was a fine building. A rather rich pointed door and three circular windows compose the features of the west end. On the north side is SICILY another door with moulded arch, and there are pointed windows which belonged to both church and convent. At the east end are three apses. In- ternally the piers are sunk up to the springing of the arches. There are no mouldings except in the corbels and abaci, but the vaulting is very interesting as show- ing by its construction that the builders employed by the Normans were certainly Saracens. The railway to Taormina skirts the coast, crossing many " fiumare " (stony beds of torrents frequently used as roads, but showing by the strong embanking walls that there are times when the dry bed is filled by a raging flood), and penetrating the rocky points by tunnels. The sea-shcre is sometimes overgrown with masses of scarlet and pink geranium, the castor- oil plant, or the solanum with its yellow apples ; here and there a palm or a carob tree stands out. There are two specially interesting points : Scaletta, with a picturesque castle on a hill to the right, the residence of the RufFo family, princes of Scaletta ; and Capo St. Alessio, where twin castles on twin rocks jut out into the sea, a particularly beautiful view as seen from Taormina. The ancient Tauromenian passes and the frontier between the territories of Messana and Naxos were between St. Alessio and Letoianni. 152 noil ow. TAORMINA Taormina lies on the side of a hill, called Monte Tauro, above the station of Giardini, and about three miles from it by the new road, though it may be reached in half an hour by means ofa steep mule track. As it is nearly 400 ft. above the sea, extensive views are commanded by many points, both inside the town and immediately beyond the gates, looking in both directions. To the south Etna dominates the land- scape, the sweeping curves of the coast leading the eye towards it, and the lines of the hills as they de- cline towards the sea contrasting and emphasising its enormous bulk. From this side the height of the mountain is not so striking, the slope of the sides being exceedingly gradual, owing to the large space covered by the outlying spurs, and indeed it is diffi- cult to realise that its summit rises to the height of 10,742 ft. To the north the view is bounded by the mountains above Messina, while the mainland shows pale and delicate across the strait, and the coast line is broken by the beautiful capes of St. Andrea and Taormina. The town is asserted to be of Siculan origin, or even Sicanian ; at all events, after Naxos was destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse, in 403 B.C., the Siculi who were established there went up to Monte Tauro and disappeared among the inhabitants of the city which was already there, and of which they appear to have erected or rebuilt the acropolis in gratitude to the 153 SICILY gods for their release from slavery. (This was on the height above the town, where the ruins of the Saracenic castle may still be seen.) Andromachus (396-352 b.c.) was the name of the ruler who received them, the father of Timaeus the historian, whose hatred of tyranny and love of liberty were probably the result of the example and teaching of his father, whose character was a great contrast to that of the usual tyrant. He it was who invited Timoleon and his Corinthians into Sicily, and it was from his house that the latter set forth on the triumphal march which freed Sicily for a time from tyrants and Carthaginians. The ancient name was Tauromenium, a name which it bore for a long time and of which the modern name is a corruption ; but after the third taking of the town by the Mussulmans it was named Muezzya by Hassan-el-Muez, its conqueror, who also introduced a colony of Mussulmans. The second taking was by the bloodthirsty Ibrahim-ibn-Ahmed, in 902, at the same time that Mola, the inacces- sible-looking village on the hill beyond the castle, was taken and the whole population massacred. They only held undisputed possession of the town for 1 70 years, since the Normans took it in 1078, a capture which was most advantageous to the place. At one time the population, which is now but 3000, must have reached 100,000, if the size of the theatre may be taken as any criterion. It was one of the first cities to protest against the tyranny of Verres, throw- ing down the statue which the pro-consul had erected in the forum, and here a number of slaves established themselves during the First Servile War, offering a long and obstinate resistance to the soldiers. Together with Mola, it has been the scene of many romantic deeds of arms ; and when one considers their ap- !S4 TAORMINA parently impregnable position, situated far up steep rocks, one wonders how it was possible to take either before the invention of gunpowder. The most important building in Taormina, and ! the one which is the principal object of attention, is the theatre, erected in Greek times, but reconstructed by the Romans, under whom the town was very flourishing. The local authorities have the liberality to leave it open from seven o'clock in the morning to six in the evening, so that one is able to go again and again and see it under different conditions of light and shade, and even, if one pleases, follow the guide-book directions and see the sunrise from that point of vantage, for the custodian, who lives in a little house on the summit of the rock, is very civil, and makes no difficulty about leaving the gate un- locked if requested. The proscenium is well preserved, as such things go, and, indeed, there are but two others — those of Aspendus, in Pamphylia, and that of Orange — which are in so complete a state. Its greatest diameter is 357 ft., and that of the orchestra is 126 ft. The back wall is two storeys in height, and has had some of its original decorative details re-erected. Three entrances are provided, and between the centre I doorway and each of the two outer ones are three ; niches, and on the further side of each outer door- way one niche for statues. The stage is narrow, on the Greek plan, and beneath it is a vaulted channel i in which the rain-water from the rest of the theatre I was collected and through which it passed away. The seats were divided into nine " cunei," or sec- tions ; around the top ran a corridor, the upper " praecinctio," which belongs to the Roman period, since the wall (which is coved on the exterior at the 155 SICILY top) crosses diagonally the remains of a Greek house or temple. Steps remain, and some rough mosaic floors within the walls, made of irregular pieces of white marble on a ground of broken pottery, look- ing much like opus signinum. According to an in- j scription behind the stage, the theatre was destroyed by the Saracens, but the greatest destroyer was the Duca di San Stefano, who employed its marble ornaments in the decoration of his palace. Behind Sta. Caterina, close to the Palazzo Corvaia, are the remains of a small Roman theatre ; it has a few rows j of seats uncovered on one side, and a vomitorium in the middle, the vault of which is oval in section, j The church of St. Parxrazio, outside the Messina | gate, is the ceI/ao£ a Greek temple ; and, with a Roman bathing establishment called the Naumachia, without! any authority for the name, an inscription inserted! in the wall of one of the churches which records that 1 " the people of Tauromenium accords these honours I to Olympis, son of Olympis," for having gained the j prize for horse-racing at the Pythian games, and ail little Roman pavement next door to the Hotel Vic- toria, exhaust the antique remains of the city. The mediaeval buildings are almost as interesting. The first place must be given to the Palazzo Corvaia, a building perhaps of 1 3th-century origin, but which appears to be of the 14th. It has two-light windows with ogee hood moulds, and inlays of lava in string- course and cornice, while the wall is finished above with forked battlements called " merluzzi ". The inscriptions inlaid on the exterior are as follows : On the south-west side, " Deum diligere prudencis est. Eum adorare justicia." On the front, " Nullis in adversis ab eo extrai fortitudo est. Nullus illecebris emoliri temperantia est. Et in his sunt actus virtu- 156 TAORMINA am." On the north-east side, " Par domus e caelo :d minori domino". It is said to have been built y the kings of Aragon, that John of Aragon took efuge here, and that the inscription in the courtyard, Est mihi i locti refugii," refers to this. In the courtyard is a 14th-century relief repre- senting the creation of Eve, the Fall, and Adam delv- ng while Eve spins. An outside staircase ascends 0 the piano nobile, in the great rooms of which are races of frescoes of the 17th century. Here it was hat in a large hall with an oak-panelled curved roof now given up to chickens except where used for the yofr.> / wnolA mini j \ The north door of the cathedral is of the 14th j entury apparently, but the interior is rather earlier. I Fhe nave arcade consists of large columns with j j oughly cut caps. On the left, near the high altar, |, 5 a seat raised on four steps, 12 ft. long; the j i vhole of red marble, inscribed " Patres urbis " ; op- | bosite are the seats for the celebrant and his assistants, J i nade of wrought iron, a very unusual feature. There I i re mosaics in the church made of different coloured | f j narbles of the country. On festal days the first mass I js said at the early hour of 3.15 a.m. A fountain B$ the piazza is picturesque, but not ancient, though I fome of the sculpture is very much worn. The j 3 alazzo St. Stefano, called also St. Germano, is said to 1 ^e the palace for the construction of which the theatre IS7 SICILY was stripped of its marble. It belongs to the family of the Spucches, princes of Galato and dukes of St. Stefano, now living at Palermo. It is a late 13th- century building, though portions of it look earlier. The windows and the curious crowning feature in- laid with lava are similar to another facade higher up the hill, now unfortunately a mere shell, La Badia Vecchia, which has three pointed windows of two lights each with tracery above and a more lavish use of inlay. In the crypt of the Palazzo St. Stefano is a central column of Greek marble, which supports the vault, the capital of which is also of marble but with late 13th or early 14th-century carving. This room was used as a bath, though only accessible from outside, and in the wall the conduit through which the water flowed still remains, leading to a curious pit-like sinking, about 4 ft. deep, in a triangular space sunk about 1 ft. below the floor level. The whole is lined with marble. The water at that time came from Monte Venere, but the modern supply comes from a less distance. Another palace, the Palazzo Giampoli, stands at the top of an imposing flight of steps. It has a Renaissance doorway and window of graceful proportions at the side, though itself 1 3 th or 14th century. Others of the ancient palaces have either pointed windows of several lights, or doorways of the type of that illustrated. A few balconies with Spanish-looking ironwork are to be seen, but for the most part Sicily is rather bare of this kind of interest, and Taormina is not exceptional in this respect. The names of the streets were scrawled up in red paint, but neat tablets of roughened grey marble, with the letters and border polished, are superseding without destroying them. At the end of the town, beyond the Porta Catania 158 DOOR OF THE PALAZZO CORVAIA, f AOKMINA TAORMINA (1440), is a curtain wall leading to an outlook post. From this place a fine view of the town may be had, and one looks right down upon the monastery of St. Domenico (now an hotel), the sacristy of which con- tains some fine Renaissance carving in frieze, pilaster and panel ; there are also carved stalls in the monks' [choir, behind the high altar, of similar style, and in [a chapel at the bottom of the church is an interest- ing early monument. It was founded by a prince of Catania ; the monks were twenty in number and all belonged to the aristocracy. On the cloister i wall is scribbled "Barrack Master's Store, No. 2," a relic of the English occupation. The well has a j crown of ironwork, and from the sacristy one looks into a pleasant pergola. St. Agostino has a doorway and a little embattled tower of the 13th century. There is a Byzantine-looking triptych inside. The most ancient convent is Sta. Maria di Gesh, now an Englishman's villa. It dates from about 1 200. Sta. Caterina has a very delightful Renaissance cloister with a Sicilian Gothic gateway and a beautiful garden. It is approached by an avenue of yews and cypresses, and is typical of the luxuriance of Sicilian vegetation. The Porta Toca beyond the Catania gate has two pointed arches at right angles to each other, a fan- tastic outside staircase and battlements. Of the Saracenic period the remains are the castle on the hill and portions of the walls, for there is more than one line of defence, but to the untrained eye the difference is scarcely perceptible. It consists of a large outer court and a small keep with a well, a tower fringed with grass, and a battlemented walk supported by a number of pointed arches. From this court a door gives access to a vaulted lower storey. A few wall fountains make picturesque bits '59 SICILY of light and shade ; and from the main street delight- ful glimpses of sea and distant country appear down precipitous alleys, while from the two or three piazzas more extended views may be had ; for it may be repeated that the greatest charm of Taormina is the beautiful view over mountain and sea which is visible from so many points in and about the town, and the lovely sunsets and sunrises, which the early habits of the place (they milk goats at your door at 6 a.m.) stimulate the traveller into seeing many more of than he would at home. The village of Mola is high above Taormina on a lofty hill. The way to it is by a winding hill path which ascends close to the Porta Messina, the only approach. The gateway which guards the narrow staircase in which the road ends bears the date of 1578. There is a ruined castle and a church in it, but the place is very dirty and hardly repays the j labour of the climb, though the view is very exten- sive and considered fine. Near the Porta Francese are some Sicanian tombs. I From Taormina one may go to Catania either by the main line which runs on the seaward side of Etna, or by the Circum-Etnea line which starts from Riposto and circles Etna on the landward side. In the latter case a carriage may be taken to Piedimonte with advantage, the drive being picturesque and the times of the trains being arranged with the dis- regard of the convenience of travellers which the Englishman is inclined to think is usual, though it is really in all probability the result of consideration for the requirements of the climate in summer. The main line continues to run by the sea, with I the slopes of Etna on the right hand, from which I numerous lava streams have descended at different | 160 TAORMINA dates. On the northernmost of these stands the Castello di Schiso, which indicates the site of the ancient city of Naxos. This city possessed an altar of Apollo Archagetes on which it was the custom for all envoys to offer sacrifice when leaving for or returning from Greece on sacred missions ; the site is now a lemon grove. A little further on is another ancient lava stream, where the road to Catania via Randazzo diverges — one which in 396 b.c. pre- vented the Carthaginian general Himilcon from pro- | ceeding direct to Syracuse after the destruction of I Messana, and compelled him to march round the mountain. Timoleon also followed this route in I 344 b.c, and Charles V. in 1534. Then the river Alcantara is crossed, the ancient Alcesine. From Giarre-Riposto, a station which stands in the common Sicilian fashion between the two villages from which it is named and some distance from each, j it is 5 miles to the gigantic chestnut-tree called the "Castagno di Cento Cavalli,," reputed to be one of the oldest trees in the world. The stem is divided into four above ground, the total girth would be 180 ft. if it were in one. It is so called from a story that one of the queens of Aragon with ; 100 mounted followers once took refuge beneath its branches. Not far distant are two other most as- ' tonishing trees called " La Nave " and " L'Imperio," and a mile and a half further up the mountain is ! " II Castagno della Galea," which is 76 ft. round 2 ft. i from the ground. These trees are all protected by I the Government, and are believed to be at least 1 000 years old. This wood provided Dionysius of Syra- cuse with timber for his fleet in 399 b.c. This is i the place from which the Val del Bove and the i craters which were active in 1865 are best reached. L l6l SICILY It is thought that the original crater of the volcano is above this " Valle". Several more lava beds are crossed, and Acireale is reached, a prosperous health resort amid fine gardens of oranges and almonds, and with a picturesque campanile to the principal church, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693. Below on the shore is a bathing-place, La Scaletta, at the near end of which a stream, " Acque Grandi," tumbles out of a funnel-shaped hole in the cliff. This is sup- posed to be the remains of the river Acis, for here is the locality of the myth of Acis and Galatea ; while a little further on the rocks of the Cyclops hurled by Polyphemus at the escaping Ulysses may be seen at Aci Castello, where the picturesque old castle combines with them and the coast line to make a delightful picture. The basaltic rock is very strange both in appearance and structure. The castle was a fief of Roger di Loria, and when he rebelled was besieged by Frederick II. in 1 297, but vainly till he built a wooden tower as high as itself, with a flying bridge. The village of Lognina, between Aci Cas- tello and Catania, is believed to be the Portus Ulyssis of Virgil, much changed in size and shape from the lava streams. The line descends across and through these and enters Catania on its least attractive side. The Circum-Etnea line, which starts from Riposto near the station on the main line and returning northwards to Piedimonte passes round the mountain on the landward side, affords most picturesque views from its slopes over the plains and towards the mountain chains of the interior, and passes many places of considerable interest both from the historical and artistic side. The line runs at first up the valley of the Minissale along the slopes of Etna, and looking across to the lesser hills which divide it from that of 162 TAORMINA the Alcantara. Before reaching Linguaglossa the remains of the eruption of 1566 are traversed, now cultivated for the most part. Here the land is covered with vineyards, while a little further the best hazel-nuts in Sicily are grown. On the other side of the valley highly placed towns look pictur- esque on their lofty sites, almost like towns from the backgrounds of mediaeval pictures. Near Mojo station the lava descended in 1879 almost as far as the Alcantara, which runs along the valley below, and the people of Mojo, which lies on the other side of the river, became alarmed and brought out an image of St. Anthony, their patron saint, in pro- cession to stop it. This lava is not yet disintegrated at all, and presents a very ugly appearance, some- thing like the slag of a smelting furnace on a large scale, the only thing growing on it being a giant spurge. Near Mojo is an interesting little Byzan- tine church of the 7th or 8th century, the chapel of Malvagna. Square in plan, with a flat cupola roof and a small apse on each of three sides, the entrance is on the fourth. This is said to be the only Byzantine church in Sicily, above ground, anterior to the Saracen invasion, and curiously enough the peasants' name for it is " La Moschea ". Randazzo lies at the top of the valley of the Alcantara, and though it contains but 8500 inhabi- tants is a place of some importance. It was founded by a Lombard colony and was surnamed Etnea by the Emperor Frederick II. as being the nearest town to the crater of the volcano, from which it is only 1 2 miles distant. The manners of the people are rough, and the town still preserves a severe and warlike appearance worthy of its mediae- val origin. The Aragonese kings often spent the 163 SICILY summer here, thinking the air healthy. Perhaps the severe appearance of the town is partly owing to the use of lava for building relieved by plaster and whitewash in the less constructional parts, a mode which chastens the exuberance of the later Renaissance with advantage, but does not so well set off the earlier Gothic building. The choir of the church of Sta. Maria dates from the 13th century, and the side walls from the 14th. It towers up from the street like a fortress with a machicolated cornice. The ornament is based on Byzantine data roughly cut and with the addition of details which are Norman (the billet moulding and other details) and Renaissance (vases bearing flowers and arabesques on pilasters). The campanile is a curious modern concoction of the confectionery order put up in 1873, when the church was re- stored. The name of Petrus Tignosus appears in an inscription as the first architect. The interior has an arcade of great lava columns with roughly cut caps of early 14th-century type, the walls are whitewashed and the roof covered with particu- larly abominable frescoes, which, like the pictures above the side altars which vie with them, are the production of local talent, and date from the 1 7th century, when the interior was recast. The large church of St. Martin at the other end of the town was built in 1222, but the tower appears to be of the 14th century and the western facade was recast in the 1 7th. The architect was a certain Leo Cumier, possibly a German architect brought over by Henry VI. or a Comacine, since we know that Frederick II. employed them at Cefalu. It has a line tower of lava with courses of white stone here and there, and the walls finish with an interesting 164 PASSAGE TO S. NICOLA, RANDAZZO TAORMINA corbel table bearing some resemblance to the machic- olations of Sta. Maria. Opposite is the old Ducal Palace, now a prison, still bearing the spikes on which the heads of criminals were exposed. Many of the houses appear to be mediaeval, quite small places with pointed windows on the first floor and a row of quatrefoils below them, as well as the larger houses of more wealthy citizens, and there are also a good many palaces of considerable importance and of different dates. In the main street are several very picturesque 17th-century shops, consisting of a full-centred moulded arch, sometimes with a carved keystone or caryatid brackets, beneath which are coun- ters on each side of the entrance, sometimes supported by consoles of robust outline and always projecting well beyond the wall face with a boldly moulded edge of two or three members. There is also some good ironwork in the shape of fanlights of late date. The church of St. Nicolo stands in a little piazza to the side of the main street approached by a passage across which a 13th-century house was once thrown. The arches which supported walls and floor still remain, and a portion of the front wall, pierced by a graceful two-light window with twisted shaft. The church contains some sculpture ascribed to the Gagini, almost the only Sicilian sculptors known to fame ; a family which came from Bissone on Lake Lugano and after three generations returned to its birthplace. From the second half of the 15th to the middle of the 1 7th century its members reigned over Sicilian sculpture. The tradition of Florentine design is visible in their work and occasionally the workmanship also shows the Florentine tradition. The facade of this church is an example of what has been said about the chastening influence of the 165 SICILY use of lava in building upon the licence of curve used by the later Renaissance architects. From the railway the retrospect of Randazzo is charming, and an artist might do worse than stay in the town for some time, if he is prepared to rough it and to spend the usual time in bargaining. The line still ascends until Bronte is reached, passing Maletto on the way, a small town with an old castle, below which lies the suppressed bene- dictine monastery of Maniacium, founded in 1174 by Margaret, mother of William II. Maniace, the town near, which took its name from the Greek general Maniaces, who also built or recast the castle of Syracuse, has entirely disappeared. Here in 1040 he defeated a large army of Saracens, aided by Harold Hardradr and his Norwegians and a con- tingent of Normans. Bronte is said by some to be a very ancient town, while others state that it has been built since the time of Charles V. The line circles round it on a higher level, almost as if on the upper seats of an. amphitheatre, over the lava of 1 65 1, which descended close to Bronte. Its name is said to come from one of the Cyclops of Vulcan's forge, and to Englishmen it is interesting as being the place which gave the title of Duke of Bronte to Nelson. It was a royal duchy until it was granted to him in 1 799. This is a good point of departure for lofty Troina, 1000 ft. higher than Castrogiovanni, and the loftiest of the larger towns of Sicily, where Count Roger and his young wife Judith were besieged by Greeks and Saracens in the bitter winter weather when they had but one cloak between them. It is 18 miles away and the road is of the roughest. A fragment of the east end of the cathedral built by Roger when he made Troina the 166 TAORMINA see of the first Sicilian bishop in 1078 still exists. The bishop was Robert of Evroult, brother of his wife Judith, and the bishopric was transferred to Messina nine years later. St. Philaret lived here. The views are now over the beautiful valley of the Simethus, and many lava flows are crossed before arriving at Aderno, the most important sub-Etnean town after Catania and Aci Reale. Here the famous temple of Adranus stood, which was guarded by more than 1000 dogs, who are said to have honoured honest men, torn drunkards and devoured thieves. The name of Adranus was perhaps derived from " Adar," fire. The city was founded by Dionysius of Syracuse, and it flourished under the Saracens. Roger fortified it, erecting a castle of which one tower is thought to remain, now used as a prison, in the piazza. In the chapel are early frescoes. Here his niece Adalisa took the veil in the convent of Sta. Lucia, which he founded in 1 1 57. The town is on the high-road between Catania and Palermo. It is said that until the 18th century the women of the people used to dress in the Greek fashion with a long white chlamys, and the nobles used the costume of Spanish gentlemen of the 16th and 17th centuries. Below in the valley are the remains of a Roman aqueduct. The line now descends rapidly I to Biancavilla, which is inhabited by the descendants of Greeks, Albanians and Epirots who took refuge here from the Turks in the 15th century. Paterno, 7 miles furthur on, is a town said to have been founded by the great count, who built the castle I and gave it as a dowry to his daughter Flandrina when she married Henry the Lombard. The keep j still exists, but recent discoveries of coats-of-arms and shapes of windows suggest that it is 14th century. 167 SICILY Antique sarcophagi and sepulchres discovered here prove it to be older, and it seems probable that it is on the site of the Siculan city of Hybla Minor, since two arches of an ancient bridge are still standing and the road from Catania to Centuripae passed by Hybla. Motta St. Anastasia has an ancient Saracen castle something like La Cuba at Palermo, restored by the Normans. In it the rebel Don Bernardo Cabrera was imprisoned during the 15th century, and nearly drowned in a dungeon which had been a cistern. Passing Misterbianco, near which there are some Roman baths with a tolerably perfect pavement and two circular sudatoria surrounded with seats, the environs of Catania are soon reached. 168 CATANIA i Catania, the most populous city in the island after Palermo, is the seat of a bishop and of a court of tppeal. Its celebrated university was founded in t+44 b y Alphonso of Castile. Being a prosper- >us town and having suffered, as it has, from earth- quakes and eruptions, there are very few antiquities )f interest left, but among the few are two or three vhich make it worth while to stay there for a short jime, and the history of the place demands a few jvords. The cathedral is dedicated to St Agatha, vho was martyred in 93 a.d. under Diocletian, as' jome say, or as others assert under Decius in 252 a.d. fhe veil with which she is said to have covered her jreasts is now considered the most powerful talis- pan of the city against the flowing lava. After the ■Jarthquake of 1693 the claims of St. Agatha were leaded by lot to be superior to those of the Virgin nd the dedication was then changed. The first jrthedral was built in 1092 by Count Roger, but he greater part of this fell in the earthquake of 169, burying bishop and congregation, after which ie east end was probably built as it now exists. ] The chapel of St. Agatha is to the right of the tar and contains her shrine and the half-length ; atue of her, which bears the crown said to have lien given by King Richard Cceur-de-Lion, most aborate and beautiful examples of the goldsmith's jt of the 14th century. The statue is very finely 169 SICILY worked with a good deal of enamel about it and two little angels who sustain the raised arms, the right of which holds a cross bound with lilies ol pearls and filagree, and the left a small tablet of blue enamel bearing in golden letters the words : " Men- tern sanctam, spontaneum honorem et patriae libera tionem ". It is signed by Giovanni Bartolo of Siena and was made by order of Bishop Marziale in 137(1 at Avignon, from which place his successor Bishof Elias had it brought in the next year. The shrini] used to be attributed to him also, but recent inves tigations make it probable that it was made in Ca; tania by Giovanni and Bartolommeo Vitale and thei 1 father Bernardo, Sicilians who had gone to Limoges t< learn enamelling and returned to Catania in 1396s The two bishops, Marziale and Elias, were Limousinj The cover is two centuries later and is dated 1579 It bears fourteen saints in basso-relievo. The shrin itself is late Gothic and is elaborately niched and pin nacled, with seven seated figures on each side and come figures under the angle canopies which have pierce and hammered traceries. The bier on which it carried on the festival is a 16th-century work wit 17th and 18th-century additions. It is like a littl temple with Corinthian columns, a stylobate an many reliefs in silver (the work of Paolo Avers; 1634), covered with a dome and with statuettes ( the Apostles and Christ on the cornice. It has bee restored to repair damage done by thieves in 1 891. The apses of the cathedral are decorated external! with a pointed arcade without mouldings ; they an part of the eastern transept may perhaps belong 1 the original cathedral, and may have escaped tl earthquake of 1169. The six granite columi in the present facade came from the Gret 170 CATANIA theatre, from which King Roger seems to have obtained most of his building materials. In the choir are two sarcophagi, at the two sides of the I high altar, containing the remains of several of the jAragonese family. Frederick II. (died 1337), his ! son John of Randazzo, King Louis (died 1355), ; Ferdinand III. (died 1377), and his wife Constance (died 1363), Queen Maria, wife of Martin I., and j her young son Frederick. The choir stalls, of the 1 6th century, show the story of St. Agatha. The J organ is supported by four columns from the Teatro Greco. By the second pillar to the right in the nave is a monument to Bellini, the composer, who was a native of Catania. His remains were brought from Paris in 1876. The fountain of the elephant in front of the cathedral consists of a figure of an elephant in lava, of extremely ancient date, bearing on its back an Egyptian obelisk of granite which was found on the site of the circus, surmounted by an iron cross, crown and lilies, on a base of marble with figures of the rivers Simethus and Amenanus. The door- way of the church of Santo Carcere, a fine Greco- Norman piece of work, was taken from the cathedral, to which it belonged, after the earthquake of 1 1 69. In 1734. it was removed to the Palazzo Publico and in 1750 placed in its present position. It is said that St. Agatha was martyred here, and they show her cell and the print of her foot on a piece of lava. The only other mediaeval monument is the Castel Ursino, built by Frederick II., at both sides of which the lava flowed in the eruption of 1669. It is square with round towers at each angle and one extra flanking the entrance, covered with a sort of bombproof roof from which a little dome rises. 171 SICILY The whole building is now plastered and no details show. The Greco-Roman theatre from which Roger took the materials for his cathedral is within the precincts of houses built upon portions of its walls. The seats, of which only twenty-six rows remain, are hewn out of tufa and covered with limestone slabs, and have still a few pieces of the marble which overlay those in situ. Part of it is underground, and the stage, which probably exists under other houses, has not yet been excavated. Adjacent is the Odeum, a Roman building only partially preserved. The neighbouring church of Sta. Maria Rotonda is a ; circular Roman building. Behind the high altar are remains of an ancient structure of lava and brick, and a Romanesque holy-water vessel is to the left of the door. Of the amphitheatre still fewer remains exist, a few arches in the Via Archibusieri, which is perhaps scarcely to be wondered at, since as early as 498 a.d. a decree was issued by Theodoric allowing the citizens to use it as a quarry wherewith to repair ! the walls and other buildings damaged by earthquake and the barbarians. Its length was 138 yds., the breadth 116 yds. Near to it are a few remains of the Greek aqueduct, which once brought water from below Licodia, 17 miles away. The modern town has broad streets as well as squalor and dirt, and the florid belfries in the baroque churches which frequently rise at the end of a street contrast strikingly with the straight lines of the 1 street fronts. The Via Stesicoro Etnea, the longest and most important, starts from the Piazza del Duomo and passes several piazzas which contain the University and Municipio and the Prefecture, lead- ing to the Villa Bellini, the show-garden of Catania. There are Roman baths under the Piazza del Duomo, 172 CATANIA *l>ut a much more interesting example is the bath i |vhich lies under the Carmelite church " All' In- \ ; jlirizzo It consists of apodyterium, dressing-room, I! \ypocaustutn, furnace, tepidarium, tepid bath, caldar- i \um 9 hot room, and balneum, warm bath. The sup- 1 5 pressed Benedictine monastery of St. Nicola has two arge courts, now used for barracks and for scholastic J purposes. The immense unfinished facade of the i : j hurch, which possesses an organ which is one of I j he finest in Europe, looks upon a dreary and squalid •piazza. It was rebuilt between 1693 and 1735. 1 >ome of the rooms of the monastery contain a jif museum of the mixed kind common in country i| blaces, which includes a Madonna and Child at- 1 ributed to Antonello da Messina. The library I has 20,000 volumes and 300 MSS., and there is , jilso an observatory. J j The Piazza Mazzini has a colonnade with thirty- I jwo antique marble columns found beneath the mon- astery of St. Agostino, and in the Via Cestai is a ji ine Norman window found built up in the little ll|J:hurch of St. Giovanni di Matteo in 1894. The I University possesses a large library of 91,000 volumes, i founded in 1755, and a fine collection of shells. I 1 The Villa Bellini is a public garden from which I petty views may be seen through the intervals i between the clumps of trees, and which is much jll Appreciated by the natives. To the north-west of J t is Sta. Maria di Gesu, near which are remains Jpf Roman tombs. The church contains sculptures j| py the Gagini. f I The plain of Catania was the spot in which the I irst cities of the Sicanians were built, and here the a irst historical ideas of Sicily commence with Xutho, J on of iEolus, king of the Ephestads or Solids, called 173 SICILY by the Sicanians with his brothers to govern them This was some time before the Greek epoch begai with the Trojan War. Catania was the centre of Sicanian culture, am here was the great temple of Ceres, as celebrated as th' Ceres of Enna. The festivals of the Catanian Ceres called Ambarvalia, preceded if they did not surpas in fame the Eleusinian mysteries. The 6th centur} 1 b.c. was for Catania a century of splendour anc liberty in which it rivalled Syracuse and Agrigentum It was enriched with temples, it had a hippodron* for Olympic games, celebrated the most solemr Bacchic feasts in all Sicily, had a naumachia fo naval shows and a theatre for comedy and tragedy an odeum for music, a basilica, public granaries, 0 mint and an armoury. The gymnasium and academj were then the most celebrated in Sicily. Here Stesi I: chorus lived, the great poet who perfected the Greel theatrical chorus by the addition of the epode t( the strophe and antistrophe, and invented the form; of epithalamium, elegy and hymn to celebrate the' glory of heroes, of poets and of his country, anci here he died and was buried, according to tradition somewhere within the present Piazza Stesicorea Here too lived Charondas the legist, whose laws fo] Catania were adopted by many of the cities of Sicilj and Magna Graecia, and to whom the glory o establishing free education is due ; whose respect foi law was so great that having unwittingly transgressec one of his own laws by entering the Forum armec while the Senate was deliberating, the penalty for doing which was death, he turned his own arrm against himself and fell dead. In 474. b.c Hiero I took the town, removed the citizens to Leontinoi colonised it with 10,000 Syracusans and Pelopon- 17+ CATANIA hesians, changed its name to ^Etna, and died in it. This was the first of several conquests of Catania by ! he Syracusans. Between 396 and 339 b.c. it was juider the Carthaginians ; in the latter year it was ilelivered from the tyrant Mamercus by Timoleon. The city also suffered much at the hands of the Romans during the civil wars, although at first it prospered under their sway and became one of the nost populous towns of the island. Reduced to nsignificance during the early Middle Ages, and lestroyed by the troops of Henry VI., the Suabian, t was restored and fortified by his son Frederick II., \ nd under the Aragonese sovereigns of the 1 4th cen- ury was the usual residence of the Court. After the foundation of the University it was long egarded as the literary capital of the island. Since I he Aragonese dynasty expired, except for the revolu- ionary disturbances of 1848 and i860, it has had nore to suffer from earthquakes and eruptions than rom the fury of man. The great eruption of 1669 vas the worst. It threatened the town with a stream )f lava 25 ft. wide and 14 miles long, but finally he lava descended into the sea to the south-west of he town, partially filling the harbour. This was he occasion on which the exhibition of St. Agatha's eil was thought to be so effectual. The river Ame- • nanus mentioned by Pindar comes to light just before it falls into the harbour, but all this part of he town has been covered by lava to a consider- able depth. The earthquake of 1693 practically destroyed the town, and nearly all the buildings re subsequent to that date. The places on the Circum-Etnea line to the south- vest of Randazzo may be most conveniently visited rom Catania, and the same remark applies to Aci «75 SICILY Castello and the places near to it, but the most celebrated excursion to be taken from that place is the ascent of Mount Etna, the starting-point for which is Nicolosi, z\ hours' drive from Catania. Here is the Hospice of St. Nicolo d' Arena, founded by Simon, Count of Policastro, in 1 1 56, and the parent house of St. Benedetto, Catania ; and here the Alpine Club has established a post of nine guides who follow their calling in the summer, but in the winter cut the snow from the flanks of the mountain for the manufacture of ices. The mountain is green for two-thirds of its height, and the white houses and villages upon it can almost be counted, so clear is the air. Its sides are covered with old craters, some smaller, some larger, and some filled with vegetation, their summits coloured in patches of white, brown, red, black or violet, about eighty in number. The desert region commences at a height of about 6300 ft., most of which is without a sign of vegetable life, lava, scoriae and ashes, with sulphurous discolorations, composing the whole sur- face up to the summit, except where hidden by snow, which in winter covers the whole surface and even extends some distance into the forest region below. This extends on the north down to some two miles from the base of the mountain, while on the south the cultivated region which succeeds it reaches 10 miles or more up its slopes. Here are many trees, the kinds varying with the district, beneath which flocks and herds find pasturage and wild animals and game shelter. Near Paterno the oak, the ilex, the beech and the lime flourish ; near Maletto are oaks, pines and poplars, and pines of large size are found near Bronte. Near to Catania oak, fir, beech, cork and hawthorn are found, and on the 176 CATANIA north are extensive groves of nut trees. The large chestnut trees on the east side have been referred to ; there are also many cork trees of large size. The flora of Etna reckons 477 species. The cultivated slopes which die away into the plain are most productive and yield the best corn, wine, oil and fruits in Sicily. No part of the island is so thickly populated nor so prosperous, and the people live in careless plenty beneath the volcano knowing that the eruptions rarely affect the cultivated region with their ravages. When this does occur, however, the results are most disastrous, as the history of the great eruption of 1669 testifies, when a great part of Catania was destroyed, the lava in one place making a breach of 120 ft. in the walls and in another rising to a height of 60 ft. and tumbling over them in a cascade of fire. At this time the light emitted by the lava was so bright that the smallest print could be read with ease in any part of the city at night — a prodigy which was surpassed during one of the mediaeval eruptions mentioned by Abu-Ali-Husan, an Arab geographer of the nth century, who says that Etna erupted lava on the eastern side, descending like a river to the sea, and so brilliant that for several nights it was not necessary to use lights in Taormina and other places near (!), and that one could travel through the country as if it were day. Near Albanelli the lava lifted up and transported to a considerable distance a clayey hill covered with cornfields, and then an entire vineyard, and penetrated beneath the wooded cone of Mom- pilieri by subterranean caverns, causing it to sink and rending it into long open fissures. This was the eruption which formed the Monti Rossi, the waste ashes, sand and scoriae which formed them being so M 177 SICILY plentiful as to cover the houses in the neighbouring villages to the depth of 6 ft. At Catania the lava made cliffs 30 or 40 ft. high. In places it was 100 ft. deep, it covered 50 square miles, destroyed the dwellings of 27,000 persons and 14 towns and villages. Two years after it had ceased to flow, on the mass being broken open flames issued from the aperture, and vapour rose from the surface after a shower of rain even eight years after. It was the eruption of 1693 which was the most destructive to human life, however, by the earthquake which ac- companied its commencement. At Catania 18,000 inhabitants lay beneath the ruins, and 50 cities and towns were destroyed causing a loss of 60,000 lives. From Nicolosi mules may be taken to see the Monti Rossi by those who do not care to make the great ascent, which is about 30 miles in length. To reach the summit at sunrise it is best to leave Nicolosi at about 7 p.m. Two hours bring one to the Casa del Bosco, where a halt of half an hour is made for rest, and then by I a.m. the Osservatorio may be reached. Another hour's rest for coffee, etc., will leave time to reach the summit by sunrise. This is supposing that you have sufficient guides and mules. It is possible to go up on foot, and a party of English, including several ladies, did it a few years ago, but the natives thought them very foolish, in which opinion they were inclined to concur themselves, and it took considerably longer. The Osservatorio is built on the site of the Casa Inglese, so called because it was erected (of lava) by the English officers who were in Sicily in 181 1. The Torre del Filosofo, near to it, thought by the natives to be due to Empedocles, is of Roman origin. Travellers must expect to suffer from cold in this 178 CATANIA excursion, and sickness is often experienced in the final ascent from it and the mephitic gases ; the guides then often cover the sufferers with warm ashes to help to recover them. The weather is generally unfavourable if one may judge from the visitors' book at the inn at Nicolosi kept by Giuseppe Mazzaglia, but if it should happen to be fine the spectacle of the shadow lying across the island at sunrise, with the little spectre-like pyramid on the mist in the distance, gradually withdrawing as the sun gets higher, with the panoramic view of all below is most impressive. The name " Mongibello," by which Etna is known to the country folk, is partly Italian and partly Arabic : " Monte " and " Djebel," a reduplication of the same idea. The H Val del Bove," thought by some to be the original crater, may also be reached from Catania, by carriage to Zafferano in 4! hours, and then by mule. 179 FROM CATANIA TO SYRACUSE In going from Catania to Syracuse the railway at first traverses the plain of Catania, still regarded as the granary of the island, and crosses the Simeto at Passo Martino. This river formed the boundary between Leontinoi and Catana. It was one of the most important in the island in ancient times. Passing Valsavoia, the junction for Caltagirone, the Lake of Lentini is approached, the largest in Sicily, varying from 9 J to 1 zi miles round according to the season, and abounding in fish and wild-fowl, but malarious. This lake did not exist in ancient times. There are no remains of Leontinoi, which claims to be the most ancient town in Sicily, the abode of the Laestrygons, the site of which is to the south-west of the present town, according to the account of Polybius. It was founded in 729 B.C. by colonists from Naxos under Theocles, at the same time as Catana, and here a century later Panae- tius is said to have established the first tyranny in Sicily. It was alternately free and subject to Syra- cuse until the 3rd century b.c. Gorgias, the great orator and sophist (480-380 B.C.), through whose eloquence the Athenians were induced to meddle with Sicilian quarrels, was a native of this place. It was at Leontinoi that Hieronymus, the last tyrant of Syracuse, was assassinated. Both town and medi- aeval castle were almost totally destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. Diodorus Siculus says that in his time wheat grew wild near Leontinoi. Between 180 FROM CATANIA TO SYRACUSE Lentini and Syracuse the line approaches and follows the coast, discovering many delightful coves, where the barren-looking rocks are relieved by the deep blue of the sea, upon which little fishing boats show their white sails like sea-birds floating on the waves. At the mouth of the Porcari, the ancient Pantacyas, lay Trotilon, one of the earliest Greek settlements in Sicily. Next comes the headland of Xiphonia or Santa Croce, so called from a tradition that St. Helena landed here with the true cross. It forms one horn of the bay of Megara, but the prominent feature the landscape is the town of Augusta with its citade on a little hill overlooking the harbour. It makes a picturesque and splendid appearance backed up by the blue sea which almost surrounds the promontory. Augusta was founded by Frederick II. in 1232, and peopled with the inhabitants of Centuripas (which Cicero mentions as the richest town in Sicily), destroyed the next year. It has suffered every possible misery from earthquakes, sieges and fires. Its whole population were stripped and mass- acred for faithfulness to its founder's family, and the buildings razed to the ground by the captain of Charles I. of Anjou's troops, Guillaume d'Est- endart. It suffered several times in a similar way, and in 1693 was severely damaged by the great earthquake, in fact almost entirely destroyed. Its fortifications were thrown down into the port, and made it difficult of access for a long time. The harbour probably occupies the site of Megara Hy- blaea (between the mouths of the Alcantara and San Gusmano), founded in 728 b.c. by colonists from Megara in Greece, and destroyed in 483 b.c. by Gelon of Syracuse, who removed its inhabitants thither. It was re-erected after the Athenian War 181 SICILY as an outlying fort of Syracuse. At one time Au- gusta enjoyed the privilege of making biscuit for the ships of the Knights of Malta, and there are now extensive salt works close to the town. Two small Spanish forts, Garzia and Vittoria, defend the ap- proach. The port is used for quarantine. The railway follows the coast and traverses an ancient burial-ground near Priolo, from which many objects both prehistoric and historic have been taken to the museum at Syracuse. To the left is the peninsula of Magnisi, the ancient Thapsus, to the north of which the Athenian fleet lay. A mile and a half inland is an ancient pedestal 20 ft. high, formerly surmounted by a column, from which it is called " L' Aguglia," or the needle, or the " Torre del Marcello," commonly reputed to be a trophy erected by Marcellus on the site of his camp after the con- quest of Syracuse. The " Telegrafo " hill above Fort Euryalus is here in sight, and the train skirts the bay where the fleet of Marcellus lay, the Trogilus, and approaches the rocky terrace which bore the north Dionysian town wall of Achradina up which the Scala Greca led to the Catania gate. It runs round the coast, and passing the Porto Piccolo, arrives at the station of Syracuse beyond the remains of the Agora. The railway from Valsavoia to Caltagirone is the easiest route by which to reach Mineo, the ancient Menas, founded by Ducetius and taken by the Sara- cens in 840 a.d. There is a good hotel at Calta- girone, which is about 20 miles beyond Mineo, and is considered the most civilised provincial town in Sicily. It has an ancient castle to which a long flight of steps ascends from the market-place, and its lofty position ensures extensive views. The road from Mineo to Palagonia leads past 182 FROM CATANIA TO SYRACUSE Favarotta, near which is situated the Lacus Pali- corum, generally nearly 500 ft. round and 1 3 ft. deep in the middle, but in dry seasons sometimes disappearing entirely. This lake was held sacred by the ancients, owing to the terror impressed upon their minds by the phenomena of the carbonic acid gas issuing from the craters and driving up the water above them to the height of a couple of feet, the whole surface of the lake appearing to boil. Rabbits and other small animals are suffocated when trying to drink the water, oxen and horses gasp for breath, and even birds cannot fly across the lake. The apertures through which the gas issues were known as the Fratres Palici, the Dii Palici, believed in later times to have been the sons of Zeus by the nymph Thalia. The word " Palici " seems fairly derivable from the Italic "Pale," the earth, and Hesychius makes them sons of Adrano. A sump- tuous temple stood on the shores of the lake, and Cavallari says that it was a sanctuary for slaves during the Servile War. Solemn oaths were taken there in this manner. Dressed quite simply and with a crown placed on his head by the priest, the devotee who asked for the testimony of the Palici in the most solemn manner possible bent near enough to the water to dip his hand in it while he uttered his oath. If he was sincere and his affirmation true he returned home safely, but if false he was " struck by death or at least blinded ". Another mode was by writing the oath on tablets which were thrown into the water : if true they swam, if false they sank, and in the latter case the lie being clear punishment followed. Ducetius founded the town of Palica near, but there are no traces of it nor of the temple, unless the name Palagonia may be so : but the town is mediaeval. 183 SYRACUSE Syracuse was in ancient times the most important town in Sicily, and consisted of four walled cities which lay close to each other, and several suburbs. Of these only one is still inhabited, the ancient Ortygia, where the original settlement probably was. The great harbour, the Porto Grande, is a bay to the west of the modern town, the entrance to which is 1 300 yards wide, between the southern extremity of the island and the opposite promontory of Massolivieri, the ancient Plemmyrium. The northern bay is called the Porto Piccolo, the small harbour. Its ancient name was Laccius. From the island the city gradually spread over the whole adjacent promontory, on which the districts of Neapolis, Tyche and Achradina were situated, and a detached suburb arose on the outlying hill beyond the Anapus, called Polichne ; the marshy ground between was not suited for building upon. At the time of the first settlement of the Greeks, under Archias the Corinthian, in 734 b.c, the island was inhabited by the Siculi, whom he had to " drive out Syracuse and Carthage had relations which were not usual between Greek and " barbarian " cities, which suggests that there may have been a Phoenician settlement here also. The fact of the temple of Olympian Jupiter standing in Polichne, and having the custody of the register of Syracusan citizens, has made some suppose that the original 184 SYRACUSE settlement was on that point, but the temples in Ortygia appear to be of an earlier date. The Siculi were reduced to the condition of serfs, according I to the custom of the Greek Republics, whose splendid freedom was built upon the foundation of slave labour ; but there are no dates or details of history I till the 5th century b.c. The aristocratic common- j wealth became by turns a tyranny and a democracy. The " Gamoroi," the aristocracy, conducted the government at first, and there was constant ferment 1 and lighting between them and the common people, the "Cilliri". In 485 b.c. the latter joined with I the Siculan serfs to drive the " Gamoroi " out, who appealed to Gelon for assistance, as a result of which Gelon took possession of the city without opposition and made it the seat of his power. It now grew by the depopulation of conquered cities and by the giving of citizenship to his mercenaries as well as to settlers from old Greece, so that it became a city of mixed race. Achradina was his creation. His greatest glory is the terms which were offered to the Carthaginians when they were conquered at Himera by the Syracusans and Agrigentines, after which he is said to hive been greeted as king. These terms stipulated for the return of the Carthaginians to Africa and the cessation of their attacks upon Syra- cuse, for an indemnity of 2000 talents of silver > and the erection of two temples in Syracuse to the ! Grecian gods, and "that the Carthaginians shall (henceforth abstain from sacrificing human victims to their Saturn, a holocaust which cannot be ac- ceptable to a divinity and offends against the rights of men The treaty was to be engraved on brazen plates and fixed up in the temple of Jupiter. The Carthaginians were so grateful for these humane 185 SICILY conditions that they sent a golden crown of the value of I oo talents to Damareta, Gelon's wife. After the reign of Hiero I., brother of Gelon, at whose court ^Eschylus, Pindar, Simonides, Epi- charmus, Sophron and Bacchylides flourished, and the expulsion of Thrasybulus, the mercenaries were got rid of (in 461 B.C.), and for fifty years it was a democratic commonwealth. In 451 the de- feated Ducetius took refuge in, the hostile city, and the common voice of the people bade "spare the suppliant". The supremacy of the city gradually extended over nearly the whole island during this fifty years, but the Athenian War made sad inroads on its prosperity, and the final success was owing more to good fortune than valour or generalship. The failure of the Athenians was due to the blunder- ing dilatoriness of Nicias, the general in command. By the spring of 414 b.c. the Syracusans had built a wall from the great harbour to Panagia, and so screened themselves from attack on the side of Epipolae ; but their subsequent operations were cleverly counterworked by Nicias, and if he had not made the mistake of being too confident of success and allowing Gylippus to land in Sicily and enter through the Euryalus Pass, which he had neglected to close, the end would probably have been very different. Gylippus brought military skill and the confidence of support from Greece to the Syracusans, and after this the Athenians suffered disaster after disaster. He took the fortified position of Plem- myrium from them, and Nicias reported to Athens that his army was rather besieged than besieging. In the spring of 413 b.c. seventy-three warship arrived from Athens with large reinforcements under the command of Demosthenes. A night-attack was 186 SYRACUSE i decided on, which, at first successful, became a rout, jand though Demosthenes wished to abandon the expedition, Nicias could not bring himself to face the home authorities, and so lingered. The fleet at last made a desperate effort to break out of the harbour, and was defeated and half destroyed . The demoralised army, thinned by fever, began a hopeless jretreat^ and after a few days of great suffering laid I down its arms. The stronger prisoners lived for ! seventy days in the latomie . Dionysios L pursued Gelon's policy of filling Syracuse with the population of conquered cities, so that Plato says he " gathered all Sicily into it," and in it the greatness and glory of the Greek world in the west were concentrated. This was the period at which it was larger than Athens and the greatest city in the world. At the time of the Athenian siege it consisted of "the island" and the "outer city" of Thucydides, generally known as Achradina, and bounded by the sea on the north and east, with the adjoining suburb of Apollo Temenites farther inland at the foot of the southern slopes of Epipolae. It now grew into a city of four quarters. Temenites was expanded into Neapolis ; a district stretching down to the sea to the north-west of Achradina was taken in and subsequently enlarged into a separate fortified town, called Tyche, as Cicero says from a temple of Fortune somewhere within its limits (which is not mentioned by Thucydides). It was the most populous quarter in Cicero's time. The walls were constructed of huge, well-cut blocks of stone from the neighbouring quarries. IJnder Dionysios the | fleet of Syracuse was the most powerful in the Medi- j terranean, including quadri and quinqueremes. His son Dionysios the younger was dethroned by i8 7 SICILY his uncle Dion, who only ruled for three years, being assassinated in 354. His was a military despo- tism. Confusion followed him, and then Timoleon appeared, who re-established the Republic and intro- duced fresh colonists from Greece. After his death in 336 twenty years of revolution sapped the pro- sperity of the country. Agathocles usurped the su- preme power in 3 1 7, killed the oligarchs and did much for the relief of the poorer citizens at the expense of the rich. In 279 Pyrrhus of Epirus, son-in-law of Agathocles, was invited by the murderers of Hicetas, who had been tyrant for nine years, but after con- quering nearly the whole island he returned to Italy ? in 276, and the general Hiero II. became king, and i during his long reign, which lasted till 216 b.c, Syracuse enjoyed prosperity and tranquillity. He carried out many public works, temples and gym- 1 nasia, and improved the defences of the lesser harbour, ! He was the ally of Rome, and Theocritus and Archi- medes adorned his court with their presence. Under his auspices was constructed a magnificent and famous j vessel of which the description by Athenaeus is extant. ! His grandson Hieronymus allied himself to Carthage. He was murdered, but the Carthaginian faction got the upper hand and held the city. The result was the siege by Marcellus, following on the sack of Leontinoi, which had also joined the Carthaginians. The defence was much aided by the talent and invention of Archimedes, and the siege lasted two years ; but in 212 b.c. Marcellus heard that a great festival to Artemis was being celebrated, and sent a forlorn hope to scafc the walls of Tyche by the Trogilus harbour, and by this night-attack forced the Hexapylon gate which had been erected by Dionysios, establishing himself in Tyche, Neapolis I 188 SYRACUSE and Epipolae. Achradina and the island still held out. The besieged from the island helped to repel an attack along the whole west front of Achradina, and a traitor took advantage of this to admit the crew of a Roman vessel into the town. Archimedes perished during the sack, calmly studying, Livy says. ! The booty, including many valuable works of art, ! was conveyed to Rome, and Syracuse sank to the I position of a Roman provincial city. The Roman remains being in the island and the I adjoining part of Achradina point to this being the i part occupied by the new settlers sent in 2 1 b.c. by Augustus to repair the damage inflicted by Sextus Pompeius, son of the Triumvir, during the civil war. The exactions and spoliations of Verres gave oc- casion for Cicero's splendid oration, in which he describes the condition of many parts of Sicily, and among other towns mentions Syracuse and enumer- ates the precious objects of which it had been robbed ; and this description shows that great splendour still remained to it since he calls it "the largest of Greek, and the most beautiful of all j cities ". ; St. Paul spent three days here on his journey to Rome, and tradition says that St. Peter in 44 a.d. sent St. Marcian from Antioch to preach Christi- anity to the Syracusans. Belisarius took the city in 535 a.d. and made it the capital of the island, and under Constans II., who was killed here in 668, it was the seat of government of the Byzantine j Empire. It was taken by the Moors under Ibrahim- I ibn-Ahmed in 878 a.d. after more than nine months of the greatest privations. All the soldiers (4000) were killed in cold blood a week after the taking of the city, so that there might be no mistake made, 189 SICILY and the citizens were made slaves. The booty amounted to over £500,000, the richest prey which they got from any Christian city. For two months they went on destroying fortifications and despoil- ing temples and houses, and finally set fire to the place and went away. It remained a labyrinth of ruins without a living soul to inhabit it and has never been of much importance since, though it had recovered sufficiently to be worth capturing by the Normans in 1085. Here De Ruyter died in 1676 after the battle of Augusta. The Greek theatre was the largest structure of its kind after those of Miletus and Megalopolis, and is nearly 165 yards in diameter. Forty-six tiers of seats may still be traced, but there were probably fourteen or fifteen more. The nine " cunei " or sections were intersected by a broad and a narrow "pr»- cinctio" or gangway following the same curve as the seats, and on the broad one are Greek inscrip- tions recording the names of King Hiero, the Queens Philistis and Nereis, and Zeus Olympius, after whom the different compartments were named. The eleven lower rows were covered with marble, and above the upper rock-cut ones may be seen the holes for the masts which sustained the velarium. This theatre was constructed in the 5th century B.C., probably by Gelon, after the victory of Himera in 480 b.c, to whom it is ascribed, but the first mention of it occurs in 406 b.c, and here Dionysios I. (406-367 b.c) came to see his dramas produced, sitting in a place which is still pointed out as his chair. This was the man who so much extended the fortifications of the four cities, who was regarded as the most powerful prince of his time next to the King of Persia, and who died at the age of sixty - 190 SYRACUSE §i three from a surfeit, caused by feasting to celebrate tiis victory at Athens in a tragic contest. He was 1m atheist and despoiled the temples of the gods. IjComing away from the temple of Proserpine in liLocris after a visit made for this purpose, the tjweather continuing favourable, he said, " Friends, | jdo you not see what a good voyage the gods grant I co the sacrilegious ? " At another time he took a jfigolden mantle worth 25 talents from a figure of ■Jupiter, and justified the act by saying : "That , mantle is too heavy for summer and too light for ■winter, so it is useless to the divinity". He cut off Bthe golden beard from the statue of iEsculapius in JrjEpidaurus, and carried off from the temples of cities ilwhich his armies passed through (whether as friends I or enemies) the silver tablets upon which were j lengraved dedicatory inscriptions and laws of the 5 (cities, together with the sacred utensils, proclaiming I them useless things. He played a practical joke l|upon the matrons and maids of Syracuse, inviting || them to a feast at the temple of Ceres in Neapolis, when they wore their jewels and best clothes, ■j which he made them take off to make money of, saying that it was the will of Ceres. Above the theatre is the nymphaeum, a grotto Hinto which two water conduits issue, and higher still is the Street of Tombs, now without any decoration and with empty tomb chambers. From ! this place the eye ranges over the fertile plain ! towards Ortygia, on one side of which is the I smaller harbour, and on the other the greater, in II which the great sea fight took place in 413 b.c. between Athenian and Spartan under the eyes of jthe citizens of Syracuse, whose cries to the com- batants are said by Thucydides to have been like 191 SICILY the strophe and antistrophe of the theatre, and some of whom no doubt viewed the fight from this very place. Between the two harbours modern Syracuse glitters white against the blue African sea. The Roman amphitheatre is a little to the east. It is not mentioned by Cicero, and Tacitus is the only Roman writer who refers to it, so it is probably of the time of Augustus ; no architectural features of importance remain. Its length is 77 yds. and its breadth 44 yds. The steps were covered with marble, and on the edge of the arena the names of the owners of the places were marked, and still remain here and there. It had a balustrade wall of marble, remains of which are placed in the centre of the arena, and under the podium is a vaulted corridor with eight gates probably for the entry of wild beasts or gladiators. The great altar lies just below. Hiero II. built one which was a stadium long (202 yds.). This one is 215 yds. long and 25 yds. broad, and is probably the same, and it was upon it that the annual sacrifice of 450 oxen which commemorated the expulsion of the tyrant Thrasy- bulus was offered. It has a projecting cornice and base and looks like a long podium. Under the church of St. Nicolo close by is a cistern sustained by fourteen thick piers. From the theatre it is a walk of from \\ to 2 hours across the site of Neapolis (where the temple of Ceres referred to above was situated, which was celebrated for the perjuries committed before its altar) and Epipolae to Fort Euryalus, where the two walls of Dionysios met, which were built by him thirteen years after the Athenian War. Here there are five massive towers, flanked by two deep fosses cut in the rock, and from these 192 SYRACUSE fosses a number of subterranean outlets connected with each other and united by staircases, some of them magazines, some stables, etc., communicate with the great court behind the towers, while another leads to a fort on the wall further to the north. The rings cut in the stone for tethering horses are still visible in many places, and the Greek numbers by which one part was distinguished from another. These subterranean chambers and passages received light either from great circular apertures in the roof or from openings cut in the rock almost on the level of the soil. The walls are formed of blocks about 4 ft. 6 in. long, 2 ft. high and 2 ft. 4 in. thick, being themselves generally rather more than 10 ft. thick, but increasing sometimes to nearly 1 5 ft., and occasionally lessening to about 7 ft. The joints are carefully worked and a line is chiselled along them. On the north side, where the Cartha- ginians attacked, the work is rougher. They are supposed to have been 20 ft. high, and are said to have been built in 20 days by 60,000 workmen, using 6000 oxen, to the length of 3^ miles. Ac- cording to Livy, Marcellus burst into tears when looking from the summit of Epipolae over the fine city which he was going to give up to the horrors of war. High walls also divided Epipolae from the next city, Tyche, but a subterranean way along which four horses could go abreast united the two. The aqueducts entered Epipolae beneath Euryalus, passed through almost parallel to the wall of Dionysios, and after having furnished Tyche and Achradina with water crossed the sea by the Porto Piccolo, terminating in Ortygia. There were a number of apertures in them, like wells, from which the citizens could draw water, and some of them N *93 SICILY are still in use. Water is now doled out to the poor of Syracuse at the rate of one barrel a day from the city cistern, which costs I soldo. Very few of the houses have cisterns. The Scala Greca is a staircase cut in the rock not far from the two little harbours where the Athenians landed the men who seized Labdalon. It scales the sea face of Epipolae, turns into a road cut in the solid rock, but becomes a stair again in the steeper places. The ancient Catana gate was probably where three roads meet at the top of the slope and where there are some remains of masonry. By it the site of the camp of Marcellus may be approached, or by the postern north of Euryalus. It is an isolated rock plateau, so difficult of access that it can be used as a fold by watching the one point where its sides are not precipitous. A few remains of Roman buildings are near. The cathedral is probably the ancient temple of Minerva, since that was used as a landmark by the Greek sailors, or at least the lofty tower behind it upon which was the brilliant figure of the goddess, and the cathedral is still used for the same purpose by sailors of the present day. If so it was built six centuries before Christ under the government of the Gamoroi. Dr. Schubring, however, holds that it is the temple of Diana and that that of Minerva was at the end of the point. There was a temple to Olympian Juno there, outside the ancient walls, with an altar from which sailors on leaving the port took a cup with some offerings which they threw into the sea when they lost sight of the shield placed on the acroterion of the temple of Minerva, the highest point of Ortygia. The architect Agathocles was punished by Minerva for using the materials 194 SYRACUSE selected for the temple to build his own house by being struck by lightning. The twenty Doric columns still visible on one side or the other show that it was an ancient temple, and its size, which is about 61 yds. in length and I 24 yds. in width, about the same as that of the I temple of Neptune at Paestum, shows that it was ! an important one. It was of the kind called I peripteros-hexastylos, based on a stylobate of three steps, and had thirty-six columns, which are archaic in type with caps like those of Selinunt and Jupiter Polias, Girgenti, 28 ft. high and 6$ ft. thick. It was converted into a church by Bishop Zosimus in 640 a.d., and the font was then brought from St. Giovanni, having belonged to the temple of Bacchus which had existed on that site. It is of marble, carved into the shape of a H. krater " with two handles, and stands upon a pavement of small mosaic of the Cosmati type, with a base of bronze upon which are eight lions, each holding up his paw in an aimless manner, since the shields which no doubt were once there are gone. When the Saracens took the city in 878 it was converted into a mosque, and Saracenic battlements still crown the Doric entabla- ture on the north side. Near to the font is a finely carved marble doorway apparently of the 13 th cen- tury. Later alterations have robbed the interior and I the facade of much of their interest, though the ; gates of the chapels are good pieces of ironwork and i one has doors of bronze. The organ lofts also are rather fine examples of gilded Renaissance tracery. The high altar is a block of the entablature. The descriptions given by Cicero of the grandeur of this temple are dazzling. The walls were covered with i precious pictures showing the portraits of tyrants or SICILY governors of the city and celebrated men born in Sicily ; the equestrian battle between Agathocles and the Carthaginians, and Mentor the Syracusan who took the thorn out of the lion's foot. These were considered masterpieces, and artists came from other cities in Sicily, from Greece, Campania and Rome itself to study them. The gates were also of in- estimable value, carved, and with reliefs of gold and ivory. The other ancient temple lies near to the small harbour, and is thought to have been dedi- cated to Diana, though an inscription found on the site refers to Apollo. There are only a few fragments of columns and a step or two remaining. It had nineteen columns on a side ; part of it is still embedded in the adjacent houses. Its proportions show it to be extremely ancient, and resemble very closely those of a very early temple at Corinth which has been ascribed to the 8th century b.c. In the court of the archbishop's palace are fourteen antique columns of cipollino and granite. Several subterranean baths or cisterns exist in Syracuse to which one descends by forty or fifty steps. One is beneath the church of St. Philip and another near St. Giovanni Battista. The one already mentioned beneath the Norman church of St. Nicol6 is said to be the only Greek one in existence. The castle, which contains one of them, called the Bath of the Queen, was reconstructed by the Byzantine general George Maniaces, and some of his work still remains, though the decorative sculpture has been removed. The gate was put up in 1038 to commemorate the defeat of the Saracens. The brackets are those on which the antique bronze rams stood which bleated in a high wind. One of them is now in the museum at Palermo, a superb piece of 196 GATEWAY IN THE CASTLE, SYRACUSE SYRACUSE metal work. They were at Syracuse till the revolu- tion of 1 848, when the other was destroyed. There I are remains of the church and of the refectory. The ! former has a beautiful Arabo-Norman doorway of I black and white marble, and the latter a fine chim- I ney-piece and one column with a good capital. The celebrated fountain of Arethusa, planted with ! papyrus and tenanted by gold-fish, is enclosed in a ; semicircular pit railed round, as J. A. Symonds said, I " like a bear pit ". The fact that the water is now I salt suggests that perhaps this was one of the ends of i the aqueducts, damaged by an earthquake, though it is known that at Cefalu and in other places fresh-water springs rise on the shore as near to the sea as this is. Signor Cavallari says that the cisterns which are not rain-water cisterns are at the same level as the principal outflow (about a yard above high-water mark) and have the same brackish taste. It was walled off from the sea and full of fish in Cicero's time, but when Brydone visited Sicily was given over to washerwomen. Falcando says that it became brackish after the earthquake of 1 1 70. The city walls beyond it are mediaeval. The Passeggiata Aretusa close by is a pleasant promenade, planted with palms and other trees and shrubs which are exotic to England ; it affords an excellent view over the larger harbour and is a place in which one may enjoy the sea-breezes. Between the station and the town are the remains I of a Roman gymnasium called the Bagno di Diana ; but the bath-like part is really the flooded floor of a lecture theatre. It was excavated in 1864, and has been full of clear water a foot or two deep ever since. It was part of the palaestra, a large rectangu- lar building of white marble originally. There still 197 SICILY remain also part of the covered gallery which ran round it and a bit of the library with part of the architrave. It abutted on the wall of Dionysios, and is on the site of the Timoleonteum, founded to contain the tomb of Timoleon. Near the Campo Santo are some well-preserved fragments of the wall of Diony- sios and in the Agora a few pillars and bases. The small harbour is still sometimes called the " marble " harbour, a name which refers to the marble break- water built by Dionysios which extended it sufficiently to contain the whole Syracusan fleet. Here there are remains of his arsenal, and some of the slips upon which his triremes were built (the popular name for them is the house of Agathocles), but none of the marble breakwater. One of the special peculiarities of Syracuse is the " Latomie " or quarries, from which at different times the stone has been extracted for the building of the walls and edifices which have vanished for the most part, now turned into sheltered gardens in which trees and plants flourish with great luxuriance.; The word is used by Varro in its present form, but Herodotus and Thucydides use " lithotomia Varro says, " The prisons of Syracuse are called Latomia ". It was in one of these, thought to be the Latomia dei Cappuccini (where also Theocritus wandered in the days of Hiero), that the unhappy Athenian prisoners languished for months, till a pestilence breaking out warned the Syracusans of the wisdom of getting rid of the survivors, who were sold as slaves. The Latomia del Paradiso they say was cut by Carthaginian prisoners in the time of Gelon, the tyrant who died in 478 B.C., amid the universal grief of Syracuse and the praises of all historians of the 198 SYRACUSE time. In the " Ear of Dionysios," an opening off this latomia, some excavations made some time since to ascertain the depth of the earth disclosed, 33 ft. below the surface, the capital and lower parts of a column still upright. This gives one some idea of the ancient fertility of the country, though at the present time a great part of it appears to be barren rock. In this latomia there is a great cave which stretches far into the rock fringed above with stal- actites, which has been used by rope-makers from time immemorial. The latomia of St. Venera has a great reputation. Here near the entrance is a little shell-shaped cave fringed above with maiden-hair fern and with clear water in its lower portion. This bears an inscription : — Come l'antica tradizion rimembra Qui Venere bagno le belle membra. [As says tradition of old times, Here Venus bathed her lovely limbs.] Here in spring the ground is pink with peach and almond blossom and blue with blue-bells, while the delicate fragrance of the freezia fills the air. There are roses everywhere in their season, geraniums tall as trees, aloe blossom and arbutus, striped agave and loftily growing heliotrope against a background of mespilus and prickly pear and a perfect cataract of ivy. There is a latomia in Ortygia, under the Ghetto, but it has not been visited for years and is more like catacombs. The most important of the Christian monuments is the church of San Giovanni, founded in 1182 but afterwards frequently restored, within which are two large fluted columns which are said to have belonged to a temple of Bacchus of which there are other remains in an adjacent vineyard. Of the original 199 SICILY building the only remains are portions of the west side, including a fine rose window, and a screen wall in front of the entrance doorway, a portion of the ancient porch or narthex, It is through this church, however, that one descends to the catacombs and the crypt of St. Marcian, which dates from the 4th century, and according to legend marks the place where St. Paul preached when he landed at Syracuse and tarried for three days. These catacombs date from the same period, and the large circular chambers which are a peculiarity of them point to their having been used as places of assembly from a very early period. They contain no remains of inscriptions or architectural decoration. The fine sarcophagus of Adelphia in the museum was found here however. The crypt is perhaps the most ancient Christian church in Sicily, dedicated to St. Marcian, who was sent by St. Peter to evangelise the Syracusans about 44 a.d., according to tradition. The plan is a Greek cross, four columns with caps bearing the symbols of the Evangelists supporting the roof of the central bay. From this round-arched vaulted chapels open in each direction, through one of which the stair from the church above descends, and the angles are filled with other chapels, in which, to the right, is the tomb of St. Marcian, fenced off with a low wall covered with relatively modern painted tiles. In front of it is the bishop's seat, the first Episcopal seat in Sicily, an Ionic capital turned upside down. In the opposite corner is a column of Egyptian granite to which the saint was tied before suffering martyrdom, and here is also a rock altar at which they say St. Paul celebrated. The church also con- tains a few very early Christian reliefs and some badly preserved equally early frescoes. The church 200 SYRACUSE of Santa Lucia is not far away ; originally erected in the nth century on the spot where the tutelary i saint of the town suffered martyrdom, but so often | restored that the west door is the only portion of ; that period now remaining. It has columns made I up of several different pieces and dilapidated lions ! crouching on the caps. The carving is in many I places sharp and good, of Byzantine type, showing \ considerable use of the drill. The baptistery, half j sunk in the ground, contains a tomb in the style of \ Bernini, on the spot where she had been martyred, j according to local tradition. The floor is inlaid | with valuable marbles round the tomb, a pale green j brought from Constantinople, and oriental alabaster, j A curtain made of inlaid marbles shows misapplied j dexterity. 1 In the modern city are other remains of interest I as well as those of antiquity. The most celebrated mediaeval palaces are the Palazzo Montalto and the Palazzo Lanza (at the corner of the Piazza Archimede), both of which have beautiful windows with delicate shafting and carving. Near the former is the Opera Pia Gargallo, in the Via Gargallo, with a Gothic | arcade and staircase and a well in the courtyard. The Palazzo Bellomo, now a convent, has a fine j fortress-like facade with Sicilian Gothic windows in i the upper storey, and the Palazzo Miliaccio has a | 1 5th-century terrace decorated with a zigzag orna- j ment in black lava. In a modern-looking house in | the Piazza Archimede, with a clock over it, is a 14th- | century staircase with a lion on a newel pillar, and j a single-shafted window looking on to it, and other 1 Mr. Douglas Sladen's In Sicily contains most valuable J notes on the mediaeval buildings and flowers of Syracuse, of j which I have availed myself. 20I SICILY Gothic windows are to be seen in the Via Dione. A few churches have Gothic west doors and rose windows, St. Martino, St. Giovanni and Sta. Maria dei Miracoli near the Porta a mare. The finest Spanish balconies are in the Via Roma. The con- vent of Sta. Lucia is a picturesque example of Sicil- ian Renaissance. The courtyard of the Restaurant " Leone d'Oro " has a fine Renaissance arcading, and in this part of Syracuse are many picturesque archi- tectural corners. There is a pretty little loggia half- way up a house in the Piazza del Precursore, and the Palazzo Danieli, in the Via Maestranza, has a three-bayed 1 7th-century arcade on the first floor in the courtyard and a fine Spanish balcony with elaborate ironwork running the whole breadth of the house. The museum, which is nearly opposite to the west front of the cathedral, contains Christian in- scriptions, mediaeval and Renaissance sculptures, fragments of mosaics, cinerary urns, Roman portrait statues, Greek reliefs and statuettes, terra-cottas, vases, weapons, utensils and lamps from the tombs, etc., etc. The most noticeable objects are : the sarcophagus of Adelphia, found in the catacombs of St. Giovanni, a work of the 5th century a.d. ; the Landolina Venus Anadyomene, a beautiful headless figure ; a fine head of Zeus, found near the altar of Hiero ; prehistoric tombs with their contents, from Megara Hyblaea and the necropolis " Del Fusco " ; many architectural fragments and a case of beautiful female heads resembling Tanagra figures, and a col- lection of Greek coins, principally Syracusan. The library is in the same piazza, containing ancient MSS., medals, and valuable editions of books. The Anapus on the other side of the harbour is the only place in Europe where papyrus grows wild, 202 SYRACUSE though here it was planted by the Saracens. It is a ; sluggish stream, kept almost like a canal, with a water- * way 10 ft. wide, the water being clear and about 10 ft. deep. The papyrus at first grows only on one it side of the stream, the other having brambles and I creepers on its banks. Then it is found on both 1 sides, almost overarching the narrow stream, mixed with tall reeds 1 1 ft. high, yellow iris and common rushes. The stems may be from i o to 20 ft. long with one or two tufts of leaves at the top, and j naturally sway over. The old leaves and spear - j shaped buds are a deep red, the old stalks yellow, I and the young stalks and leaves a pale green. This papyrus avenue is about a mile long, and ends in the I blue spring of the fountain of Cyane, which is 30 ft. deep. The legend is that the nymph Cyane was changed into this spring for opposing Pluto when he was carrying Proserpine off. The Syracusans used to celebrate an annual festival here in honour of the goddess. On an elevated piece of ground near, washed by the brook, stand the remains of the temple of Jupiter Olympius, two columns in a deepish hole, j Here the register of citizens of Syracuse was kept, and near to the temple were the tombs of Gelon I and his wife Damarata. The temple existed at the beginning of the 5th century B.C., for Hippocrates, the tyrant of Gela, is stated by Diodorus to have placed his camp close to this temple when besieging j Syracuse. He says that he found it adorned with offerings and very rich gifts, and there was in it a statue of Jupiter Urius, one of the three most beautiful and famous statues in the world in Cicero's j opinion, the statue from which Dionysios took the golden mantle. In the 16th century a road was 203 SICILY discovered which led to it across the marshes, which was destroyed by Charles V., who used the large stones to build his fortifications. Although the so-called tombs of Archimedes and Timoleon have no claim to authenticity it may be better not to leave them out. They are rock-cut tombs with very poor proportion in the architectural facades, showing a period of decadence, and are a good deal damaged. They lie a little off the main road from Syracuse to Catania in a part where the rock has been hollowed into many tombs, either chambers or niches, not very far to the north of the Latomia del Paradiso. The country to the south of Syracuse, the Val di Noto of Saracen times, is best visited from that city, and it is possible to prolong the excursion as far as Terra Nova, the ancient Gela, without unbearable discomfort, though the trains are not very convenient. Noto itself is 5 miles from the earlier town of the same name (the ancient Nectum), which was de- stroyed by an earthquake in 1693, and therefore contains little of interest, except to those to whom the prosperity of modern Sicily is of importance. It was the last stronghold of the Saracens in Sicily, and was only given up to Count Roger in 1089 by the widow of an Emir who had been killed at Syracuse. Four miles to the south, between the rivers Falconara and Tellaro (the ancient Asinarus and Helorus), stands " La Pizzuta," a fragment of a Greek column 33 ft. high, on a hill covered with dwarf palms near to the site of the ancient Greek colony of Helorus. It is believed to be the remains of a monument which the Syracusans erected in the bed of the Asinarus in 413 b.c. to commemorate the sanguinary defeat of the Athenians under Nicias. 204 SYRACUSE At Spaccaforno one is close to the end of the curious Val cTIspica, which is, however, more usually visited from Modica, 5 miles away. The cliffs are full of rock-cut tombs and grottoes, many of which bear Greek inscriptions, generally illegible. They have been attributed to the Sicanians. Some of them were certainly used as dwellings at a later period, and either consist of several storeys connected in the interior by circular apertures, or of single chambers, the entrances to which are almost in- variably the height of a man above the ground. There are curious rings hewn in the stone here and there, and the inscriptions prove that they were used as Christian burial-places in the 4th century a.d. Similar excavations exist in the west of the island at Caltabelotta, Siculiana and RafFadale, in the south- east around Monte Lauro, to the north of Syracuse as far as the point beyond Cape Santa Croce, and at Maletto and Bronte to the west of Etna. Modica itself is picturesquely situated on the Magro, with a rock-built fortress towering above it. It has a cathedral, a Franciscan convent, and two palaces called " Civico " and " Degli Studj " as well. Ragusa, some 12 miles further on, is probably the ancient Hybla Heraea, all remains of which were destroyed by the Saracens in 848. Count Roger built a castle here and made his second son Godfrey lord of it ; and the title of Count and Duke of Ragusa has always belonged to the royal families. The city is in two parts, superiore and inferiore, which wage constant feuds with each other. The stations are 6 miles apart and the line rises rapidly, with many steep gradients between them* The lower part is the more modern and comfortable, the upper the more ancient, and has several mediaeval 205 SICILY churches. In front of Sta. Maria delle Scale is a quaint outside pulpit. In the Cappuccini is the sepulchre of Bernardo Cabrera, Grand Justiciar under Martin I. of Aragon, who died in 1423. At Comiso, the ancient Casmena, is the famous fountain of Diana, which refused to mingle with wine, or became turbid when drawn by women of impure character. It is surrounded by a railing now in the public piazza. Vittoria, the next station, 4 miles away, was founded in the 17th century by Alfonso Enriquez, Count of Modica, and named after his mother, the famous Vittoria Colonna. The site of the ancient Greek colony of Camarina, perhaps meaning " the stone town " (though Cama- rina was the ancient name for marshes or stagnant pools with exhalations of sulphuretted hydrogen), is some 9 miles from this town in the direction of Scoglitti, a port at which the coasting steamers from Syracuse call. It is marked by the chapel of Sta. Maria di Camarana, near which are many old walls, fragments of buildings and rock-hewn tombs. The circuit of the walls was 5 miles in extent, and it had a long history of conquest and revolt from its foundation from Syracuse in 599 b.c. to 853 a.d., when it was entirely destroyed by Abbas-ibn-Fadl. Twenty miles further on we reach Terranova, also a port where the coasting steamers call, a town founded in the 1 3th century by Frederick II., on the site of Gela, one of the most important Sicilian colonies. It was founded in 690 b.c, at the mouth of the river of the same name, by Antiphemus of Rhodes and Entimus of Crete. One hundred years later it was strong enough to found Akragas, accord- ing to the Grecian records. Between 498-491 b.c. it rose to the zenith of its prosperity under Hippocrates. 206 SYRACUSE Gelon (who was his successor) transferred the seat of government to Syracuse, carrying with him one half of the inhabitants. In 405 b.c. it was taken and j destroyed by the Carthaginians under Hamilcar, but i Timoleon re-erected and re-peopled it. Agathocles I slew 5000 of its inhabitants, and the Mamertines j finally destroyed it in 282 b.c. The only relic of j its former greatness now remaining is the prostrate i column of a Doric temple outside the Porta Vittoria, i to the east, popularly supposed to be the site of the j temple of Apollo, from which a celebrated statue of j the god was sent by Hamilcar to Tyre, where it J was found by Alexander the Great. Here ^schylus died in 456 b.c. The ancient necropolis was situ- I ated on the left of the road to Licata, on the heights. It was the birthplace of Gelon and Hiero of Syra- cuse, of the comic poet Apollodorus and the philo- I sopher Timogenes. Palazzolo Acreide lies 27 miles by road west of Syracuse, and 19 miles north of Modica. It oc- cupies a very lofty position just beneath Acre- I monte, the site of the ancient Acrae, which was a colony founded by Syracuse in 664 b.c. seventy I years after its own foundation, and which re- mained attached to it until its conquest by Marcellus. I The town appears to have escaped destruction till I the epoch of the Saracen wars. Its situation is j beautiful, and the antiquities which still remain are many and important. Many tombs of all ages j have been found here, some being Greek and bear- j ing reliefs and some of the early Christian period. An extensive burial-ground, the Acrocoro della I Torre, has yielded hundreds of sarcophagi. I Ascending from the north-east some of the Greek sepulchres are seen ; a little to the south is the 207 SICILY Latomia, surrounded by tombs, and further off is a temple and the remains of an aqueduct. West of the town is the theatre, a late Greek erection, with twelve rows of seats, and adjacent is a building variously described as the Odeon and a bathing establishment, where there are thirteen ancient cisterns. On the Monte Pineta are many rock- cut graves from which Baron Judica took vases and precious ornaments to form his celebrated collection (now in the museums of Palermo and Syracuse). The few vases preserved by the family are only interesting to the scientific archaeologist. Opposite to the Torre della Pineta is the Contrada dei Santi- celli, rock-cut niches called by the common people " I Santoni," arranged in two tiers, the upper range being occupied by figures in relief, sometimes several together, but generally by a single female figure seated. They were unfortunately damaged in the middle of the 1 9th century, but the seated figure is believed to be Cybele, and Hermes may sometimes be distinguished standing by her. 208 POPULAR FESTIVALS AND FESTIVALS OF PATRON SAINTS j In Sicily there still linger in many places rem- 1 iniscences of the customs of bygone times, usages J which have long faded from the memories of more a instructed peoples, among whom the habit of read- j ing and forgetting what is read immediately has j weakened the memory, and the fear of seeming i singular has gone far to reduce the average man to I a featureless uniformity which thinks itself far I superior to the superstition of previous ages. Thus I many local festivals have disappeared and many I curious usages which used to distinguish one period of the year from another. In such a country as I Sicily, however, the popular " feste " still linger, and even in Messina, Catania and Palermo are attended ] with not less enthusiasm than in those parts of the i island where foreigners are seldom seen. The "feste" generally begin in the spring and finish ; with the end of the summer : the proper days for Sta. Lucia of Syracuse and St. Agatha of Catania are in the winter, but the festival is repeated in the | warm weather. St. Joseph commences the season i on 20th March. His festival represents the triumph i of charity, the spirit of benevolence, as the spring I opens. Two days before fires are lighted "to warm i St. Giuseppe," as they say, fires which are certainly j pagan in origin. But except for this the feast of the ; Invention of the Cross was the best commencement, o 209 SICILY coming in May. At these times men and women had new clothes, the streets were] well cleaned, and the ground floors, which according to the phrase "Fari lu Sabbatu " ought to be washed each Saturday, were cleaned and whitewashed, also the kitchen well cleaned in honour of the patron saint. Piazza Armerina has nothing which is held more sacred than the standard of Count Roger with the subject of the Assumption of the Virgin, which Nicholas II. gave him in 1059 at Aquila, when he invested him with the kingdom of Sicily against the Saracens, according to the tradition. Its great festival is consecrated to this standard, and begins with an historical procession on horseback, com- posed of all the masters, the oldest of whom carries a copy of the standard and represents the count. Processions of richly dressed figures, some historical, some symbolical, also take place occasionally at other places, such as Ragusa, Trapani, Monte St. Giuliano, Mazzara, Calatafimi and Terranova. The festival of Sta. Rosalia dates from the time of the black plague of 1625. The relics were found by the Archbishop of Palermo, Cardinal Doria, with the senate and an elected body of citizens, and taken in solemn procession to the city on 5th June. As they passed the plague lessened, and in gratitude Palermo prepared a festival in honour of the day of deliverance and as a triumph of the protectress saint. By a decree of the Duke of Albuquerque in 1667 no penal process could be undertaken against a debtor not Palermitan during the "festa". The triumphal car was an enormous construction of great beams which was dragged up the Cassaro on the afternoon of nth July, from the Cala to the Piazza Vittoria, adorned with garlands, scrolls, arabesques, 210 POPULAR FESTIVALS silver and gold and colours, and with subjects from the life of the saint. Fifty great oxen with gilded horns drew it, with drivers clothed first in the Spanish fashion and afterwards in white. The friction of the wheels was so great that a dozen men were detailed to pour water on them lest they should catch fire. As it went up the Cassaro, the figure of Sta. Rosalia at the top, crowned with roses and robed in white, rose high above the highest buildings. There was no terrace, balcony or window which was not crowded with people, who hung on the cornices and loggie also. The grated breathing places belonging to the seven convents which possessed them were full of modest but curious faces. The street below was crowded to suffocation, especially at the moment of the passing of the car. Sometimes it caught on a balcony and pulled it down, and then what cries and flight of frightened people there were ! The next day and the day after it was illuminated and all Sicily came to see it, near the Porta Nuova. On the second, third and fourth days the races of barbs took place down the Cassaro. Till some sixty years ago they were ridden by foundlings, but afterwards they were without riders, though decked with streamers and pennons to make them run faster. The stable-boy whose horse won carried the prize (a gilded eagle of wood with great silver pieces fastened on it) in triumph, singing " stornelli ". There was also a great procession on horseback of the nobility, justices, senate, archbishop, praetor, viceroy, etc., once by night and once by day. In 1895 the festa was re- established, but the route was changed, and there were several other cars and statues of saints carried in the procession. It has since that time fallen in 21 1 SICILY estimation and become vulgar. Solemn vespers in the cathedral are now celebrated on the second day of the feast. The illumination of the building on this occasion has excited the enthusiastic admiration of foreigners. Fireworks and transparencies are shown in the Foro Italico ; they used to be exhibited in the Piazza Vittoria. They end with a building of fire of all colours in the midst of which is the motto "Viva Sta. Rosalia". At midnight the carriage " Corso a gala" takes place in the Cassaro. The last day is the day of the religious function. In the procession of the relics the confraternities take part — the chapter, the archbishop's officers, the communal authorities, and at one time all the religious corpora- tions did so. The reliquary is of silver, and was made in 163 1 under Philip IV. and Cardinal Doria. It cost £106,095, and weighs 412 kilos. Sta. Rosalia is at the top and amorini pose on prominent parts or act as supports ; in the centre is a relief showing her offering a valuable crown to the Virgin as she abandons the palace and an angel guides her to Monte Pellegrino. It goes round the city twice conducted by the quarters of Capo and St. Pietro one year and Albergaria and Kalsa the next. It is carried by the masons. The streets are illuminated and decorated profusely. Flowers and songs printed on small pieces of paper of various colours rain down on the shrine which disappears beneath a constantly growing heap, between three square frames of lighted tapers. Occasional pauses are made under canopies stretched across the street or at an altar erected here and there. The excitement of the crowd is intense and they often burst into tears ! The pilgrimage to the grotto takes place on 3rd September. It is a truly popular festival. The carts 212 POPULAR FESTIVALS hold sometimes as many as fifteen people, and it is computed that the attendance sometimes reaches 20,000. The lights borne by the pilgrims define the road up the mountain as a luminous spiral, as seen from the plain. On this pebbly plain at the foot of the mountain many people sleep in readiness for the early ascent next morning, the cart at one side and the horse or mule at the other. Balconies are illu- minated, images of saints at the corners of the streets are ornamented with gilt paper, and draperies and bouquets are fastened to iron spikes with candles and lamps alight. The great festival at Messina is in the month of August. On the first day the giants still appear, two gigantic equestrian figures, one a warrior and the other an Amazon. The former, called by the names of Cam, Saturn, Zancle, or Grifone at different times, has a Moorish head with black curly beard, ear-rings and diadem. The head is said to be the work of Calamech. The breast is covered with armour and with a white and red tunic, and on the shoulders is a starred red mantle. He bestrides a white horse, on his left arm is a shield with the historical three towers of Messina, and in his right he bears a mace. The female figure, Rhea, Cybele, or Mata, has a full-moon face larger than the man's, is clothed like a warrior and seated on a large horse. Her hair is tied . back with a crown of leaves and flowers with a star in front and the three towers ; she wears a collar and a large blue mantle covered with stars, which lies on the back of the horse. A mace of flowers is in her right hand and a lance in the left. The horse is barded and covered with rich trappings of red with arabesques, flowers and ribbons. A figure of a camel forms part of the procession which goes 213 SICILY round the city on I 3th August ; it is said to be the remains of the one on which Count Roger entered the city when the conquest of Sicily commenced, but the old skin has disappeared. On the third day of the feast, 15 th August, the " Bara " is drawn by a hundred or more men and women who have vowed to do it from the Marina by way of the Via Primo Settembre to the gate of the cathedral. It has no wheels, but the ground in front of it is well wetted. At the top Christ stands holding the soul of the Virgin in His extended hand ; clouds form platforms upon which are cherubs, and below are the sun and moon with figures of angels round them which rotate as the car moves on. Below is the death of the Virgin with the Apostles round the bier. The design is of the 17th century, but all these figures were once per- sonated by living beings. The whole erection is 50 feet high. There was once a galley which was drawn in the procession typifying some relief of Messina by ships, but it has disappeared. The third great festival is that of St. Agatha of Catania, which takes place on 3rd February. From early in the morning " candelore " are carried about the principal streets, colossal wax candles several yards high, grouped together and enclosed in a sort of wooden monumental tower of several storeys carved with subjects from the martyrdom, and saints and angels, gilded all over and ornamented with festoons, pennons, and little torches and tapers. They are carried by men at the trot, who stop where they will be refreshed, and there is much drinking. They go round to the houses of those who have contributed to their making, and are received with salvos of " mortaretti " and fireworks, dancing to the music which accompanies them. The procession goes up 214 POPULAR FESTIVALS the Via Etnea to the Giardini Bellini. " Partiti " or " cunturi " are groups of a hundred young men who learn hymns, to be sung on the Piazza del Duomo in competition. They then go to the prefect, the archbishop and the syndic, and sing them again. On the fourth day of the festival, after episcopal mass, the clergy of the seminary move the reliquary and the half bust containing the legs and head of the saint, a fine piece of 14th-century silversmith's work, on to the great shrine. Among the valuable jewels are the crown given by Richard Cceur-de-Lion, the ring of Gregory the Great, the pectoral cross of Leo XIII., given when he was Archbishop of Perugia, and a ring with a superb pearl given by the dowager Queen of Italy. The precious stones are worth several millions of lire, and the weight of the shrine is 80 kilos. As the relics are lifted, a great cry arises : " Citatini, viva Sant' Aita ". The costume of the bearers is a white overcoat called " Sacco," girded with a cord, a black velvet cap and white gloves, and the characteristic white handkerchief. Many of the " devoti " have bare feet. The car has no wheels, but half-moons of iron. It goes about the city for three days and receives offerings of candles at many halting-places, returning to the cathedral about midnight. Those who walk with bare feet and legs are called " nudi " ; the custom is in memory of the reception of the relics from Castel di Jaci in 1 1 26, when the greater part of the male citizens went to receive the body of the saint, girded only with a towel, following the example of the Bishop Maurice. On this occasion the women of Catania dress ele- gantly, hide their faces and half their persons with a black silk mantle, only allowing the right eye to be seen, and thus go about in twos and threes, or on 215 SICILY the arm of a relation or friend. They then accost some friend or acquaintance, and taking his arm go to a confectioner's shop, or sometimes to a jeweller's for some small gift ; and wives, sisters or daughters sometimes make use of this liberty to obtain some coveted object which they would otherwise have small chance of getting. There used to be a pro- cession at Palermo on St. Agatha's Day, in which so-called " nudi " took part ; but at Melille more than a hundred nearly naked men used to run thus with one arm raised and the other behind the back in imitation of the figure of St. Sebastian and in his honour. They ran 10 or 12 kilometres, stopping oc- casionally to drink wine, provided by pious people for their refreshment. An immense crowd waited for them along the , streets which led to the church. The statue of the saint was taken out of the chapel and placed in the nave rather to one side. On the arrival of the " ignudi " the great doors were thrown open triumphantly, and the crowd entered the church by the side doors ; the u nudi " entered the church running, and threw a bouquet of flowers at the statue, and so away to the high altar where their relations awaited them with towels, wine, and their clothes. This took place on St. Sebastian's Day (20th J anuary). In Palermo there used to be a procession of the re- ligious orders, with a statue of the saint bound to a tree and pierced with arrows. The image of St. Roch went out to meet him at the Quattro Cantoni, where they were made to salute each other. At Avola the feast of St. Corrado (19th February) used to be celebrated with curious usages. The day before a great standard of red cloth was taken round the place, accompanied by a great crowd with lighted tapers and sticks with transparencies on them, ships 216 POPULAR FESTIVALS and a star, a lighthouse and an image of St. Corrado. All the processionists fired off squibs. On returning to the piazza a naval battle took place between these transparencies. This part of the proceedings has been much reduced ; there are only three or four ships, and the standard, tapers and St. Corrado have disappeared. It is thought to commemorate the repulse of a Turkish raid. On the 19th the " poets " ; went into the church in the morning, and one after the other from a little pulpit sang the praises of St. Corrado. They are three or four contadini, without culture, and when one dies another is always found to take his place. The verses are in the Sicilian dialect and not without cleverness. They used to I deal also with the bad government and abuses and I have therefore been forbidden, but others dealing i with other matters are sung later in the day. At tj midday the statue is led in triumph round the com- I mune, and enters all the churches except that of St. Anthony of Padua, where there is a simulated contest, and it returns to the last church visited, where a short sermon is preached, after which it proceeds without hindrance. Meanwhile the poets with a violinist, and a basin in which to collect offerings, improvise quatrains in honour of those whom they meet, who are expected to throw a piece of money into the basin. At Lercara Friddi on Palm Sunday there is a pro- cession representing the entry of Christ into Jerusalem ; all carry branches of olive and some even little trees with many coloured ribbons from which oranges and egg-shells hang. The Twelve Apostles wear large blue tunics with red girdles and on their heads are I black skull-caps, to which circles of cardboard are ' glued representing aureoles. They bear their proper 217 SICILY symbols. Then follows a priest as Christ, mounted on a she-ass, generally white, followed by her foal ; his hands are folded together and his eyes cast down. On Holy Thursday he washes the Apostles* feet, and a table is laid for thirteen in the cathedral, the Last Supper. Before each plate is placed a sugar statuette representing an Apostle. After the celebration the priest and twelve persons selected by lot sit down at the table, which is decorated with flowers and bears enormous loaves. On Holy Thursday in Palermo all horse traffic is suspended for two days and the " Sepolcru " is visited in all the churches. In Salaparuta two visits are made, one after sermon (about eight o'clock) on Thursday, the other at dawn on Friday. At night the people are preceded by singers singing a Miserere and by a drum beating slow strokes. Boys cry " Misericordia " and shake tambourines. In every commune in Sicily it is the custom on Easter Eve to have a procession at twilight of the Deposition from the Cross. The confraternities take part in it, and it ends with a large number of boys and girls who represent saints, or carry emblems of the Passion, and many priests. The dead Christ is accompanied as by Jews clothed in white, and the weeping Virgin is behind. Sometimes the " Mysteries," symbols of the Passion, were in front. Sometimes the procession used to follow the " Three Hours' Agony " and the " Deposition from the Cross ". Anciently these preachings took place in the open air in a place called " Calvary ". At the end of the "Three Hours" Christ's head dropped on His chest amid the sobs and tears of those present; the body was taken down and placed in a tomb. At Castro- nuovo at Ave Maria two priests dressed as Jews and 218 POPULAR FESTIVALS with their servitors in costume, preceded by the company " De' Bianchi," went to the Calvary and with mournful songs performed the various operations of the burying, after which the procession went to the principal church. At Salaparuta the Calvary is arranged in the church, at the preaching of the death the Crucified drops His head, while some " mortai " are let off, trumpets wail, and from the silence a funeral march resounds. Then the Christ is taken from the cross and placed on the bier by three priests. After the procession two priests place the Christ in the sepulchre from which during the Mass of Easter Eve the statue of the risen Christ appears and is then raised above the altar. On Easter morning in several places two processions used to start, one with the risen Christ seeking His mother, and one with the Virgin, who was told by St. Peter, St. John and St. Mary Magdalene, all statues. After they met, the devil, chained, was led by St. Michael after Jesus and Mary. From the black cloak which the Virgin let fall when she met Christ doves or other birds flew out. In Salaparuta this used to take place at dawn ; it does so now at 8 a.m. The two statues come out of different churches and meet in a broad street, bells and bands of music sounding at the same time. The preacher who first announced the Resurrection to Mary congratulates them upon the happy meeting, then a procession is formed with the clergy and people which conducts the statues back to the churches after making a round. In many churches on Easter Eve at the moment when the priests announce the Resurrection a large cloth falls suddenly before the altar and pigeons are let loose which fly about the church, and holy images are thrown which every one tries to 219 SICILY catch. In some villages at midday on Easter Day Christ meets the Virgin in the public square with some approach to drama. The Virgin seeks Him vainly, while Jesus hidden in a corner peeps out. St. Michael who is also searching sees Him and tells the Virgin, who runs to embrace Him. Then petards are fired off, the congregations raise their standards, the bells ring madly, and all the popula- tion accompanies the Virgin, Christ, St. Michael and St. Joseph round the commune. On 19th March is held the banquet of St. Gius- eppe. The simplest form is seen in Palermo, where persons who have vowed the banquet invite several poor people and serve them with three courses or more. There are generally present the three per- sons of the Holy Family, represented by a poor old man, an orphan girl of 12 to 15 years old, and an orphan boy. The saint sometimes has a blue hat and a red mantle and carries in his hand a staff of oleander in blossom ; he holds one hand of the child, the Madonna holding the other. Any one may come in and many are invited to see them eat. A priest, and after him the child, blesses the table. In some places preaching goes on during the repast. At Aci Castello the bier of St. Giuseppe is placed in the public piazza. Round it are tables with food which is bought by public auction at high prices by the " devoti ". At Avola, before clothing the three poor people, some of the families wash their feet and afterwards send them home with a certain ritual with meat pies and money. Here there used to be great solemnities which led to fight- ing between the partisans of the two churches of Sta. Venera and Sta. Maria dell 5 Itria, each of which had an altar dedicated to the saint, in consequence 220 POPULAR FESTIVALS of which all solemnities in the two churches were forbidden. In some places these banquets take a dramatic form. At Cianciana and Casteltermini the three go from door to door asking for a lodging ; they are then driven out to make room for those who can pay, until they are recognised as the Holy Family, received with open arms and taken to the place where the tables are spread at the expense of the joiners with fruits out of season and a loaf so large that the mouth of the oven has to be broken to bake it ! At Poggio Reale and Roccamena the poor pilgrims are assailed by robbers armed to the teeth, and are freed by the intervention of an angel or of the Holy Spirit who announces that they are three Divine personages, when the robbers fall to the earth. Other charitable usages are common in other places, and in the province of Ragusa the role of St. Joseph is a calling. He lives on the results of the begging with a poor girl on his day ; the bread and food which are promised go to him, the cloth and other gifts to the girl, who sells them and thus provides her marriage portion. On St. Mark's Day (25th April) the clergy bless the fields in many places, going in procession with banners and crosses, etc. At the beginning of May the chrysanthemum coronarium is in bloom, announcing that spring has come. On 3rd May, the festival of the Invention of the Cross, in Salaparuta the children make crossed garlands of the flower, which they carry about on a pole with a bouquet of flowers on the top, singing and scattering flowers. In the evening the crosses jare garlanded and they are visited with lights and I the singing of litanies. On the night before Ascension Day the cattle are 221 SICILY bathed in the sea. Men and women also bathe at this time hoping to cure all sorts of ailments, especi- ally cutaneous diseases, for the water is held to be specially holy. The great place is the Foro Italico at Palermo, towards which multitudes of flocks con- verge often preceded by players on flutes, guitars and accordions, by dancing groups and young girls who sing. Some of the shepherds have knives at their girdles with curved blades, and round their necks various amulets. Round the necks of rams and he- goats are hung large wooden collars with bells, on one side St. Pasquale, protector of horned beasts, on the other a crucifix. Others have ornaments and figures of many kinds and bits of mirrors are sunk in the collars. Sheep and kids have artificial flowers of gilded or silvered paper and silk handkerchiefs float from their horns. The families of the shep- herds follow and fill the Foro Italico. The flocks are blessed by a priest from a rocky slope and sprinkled with sea-water. The shepherds continue the blessing after he has gone. On Whitsunday birds are let fly after mass is finished in many churches. They used to let off fireworks. St. Vitus was born at Mazzara. His "festa" (15th June) is the most lively in that town. They used to announce it by the Constable of the Senate clothed in red and mounted on a horse. Chapels of wood are raised in various piazzas with jets of water within and an altar behind upon which is placed a figure of the saint. The festa lasts five days. On the morning of the first, before sunrise, they carry a silver statuette of St. Vitus to a little church a mile to the east of the city, on the shore, which is said to mark the place from which he set out in POPULAR FESTIVALS a boat guided by angels while still a boy, passing | down a street ornamented with arches and leaves and illuminated balloons. In the evening it is carried back to the monastery church of St. Michael, where the religious ceremonies take place. There are horse-races for two days and on the fourth the I game of the geese. They were bound to a strong cord stretched across the river and the young men tried to catch them as they floated down the stream, i Other things are now fastened to the cord in pots and the game is no longer barbarous. On the fifth day the statue is carried about by sea from after- noon till sunset on a boat ornamented with flags and lanterns of different coloured paper, which are lighted at night in the midst of other boats which fire off rockets and petards. On St. Pietro (29th June) a local festivafis observed in Palermo in the fishermen's quarter near the Cala. Tables and booths are placed in the streets, the doors, streets and little squares are decorated with garlands and flowers mixed with many lights. The walls are whitened and the streets cleaned up. At night on the 28th many lamps of all colours hang among the branches, eating goes on in the streets, children and fishermen dance and sing. The har- bour is covered with boats carrying coloured lights, and the church of Piedigrotta is filled with people who kneel in front of a chapel to the left before the picture of the Madonna. At Modica two symbols, a large papal tiara and an eagle with a cross on its breast are worked out in lights on two hills above the town. The eagle is only lighted up once in ten years, but the tiara almost annually. The families inhabiting the section of St. Pietro, Modica, seat themselves on the steps of their houses in very light 223 SICILY costume from Ave Maria till eight o'clock and eat "lasagne" (a kind of macaroni) from saucers held on their knees. They also eat ices in honour of the saint. At the beginning of August the Paler- mitan children carry about a figure of the Madonna surrounded by many lighted tapers, with stars round her head and a half-moon under her feet. They sing beneath the balconies or in front of the doors and collect money for the expenses of the fifteen days of " festa There are festas in every town of Sicily. In country places they bring the grain in in sacks to be blessed. At Naro many hundreds of strings of mules may be seen adorned with ribbons and bells and with new and coloured harness collected before the church at midday to be blessed by the priest. At Canicatti the Assumption is represented in the church, the Virgin rising up upon great clouds which glisten with divine light. At the Madonna of Trapani the ceremony of the drawing of the veils is celebrated. There are seven, and at their withdrawal the church is full of cries of " Viva la Madonna " from neurotic Women and their friends who expect their cure in this manner. At this time the whole eastern front of the city, the islands and salt works are illumi- nated . At Troina, of which St. Silvester is patron saint, in May they celebrate a kind of popular mystery in his honour. A cavalcade of Troinese goes to a wood and cuts great branches of laurel, and then returns through the place in procession, two and two. The horse- men defile before the church of the saint, throw in a spray picked from the branch, and making the horse curvet go away with the blessed branch to hear a poet, who sings the praises of St. Silvester. 224 POPULAR FESTIVALS At Marsala the great festivals are Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Immaculate Conception and Corpus Domini. The first of these represents the last scenes of our Lord's life, the second the sorrows of the Virgin. On Corpus Domini the procession is composed of men who balance enormous Venetian masts called " stendardi " on their chins, foreheads and elbows, an old Saracenic custom. Various representations are attached to the masts — a ship for St. Francis de Paolo, a lamb for St. John Baptist, a pair of scales for the Archangel Michael, and a half- moon for the Virgin. 225 MAFIA The origin of the society called "Mafia" is difficult to discover, and different causes are assigned by different writers . Signor Crotti says, with great probability, that it arose from the corruption of government and its agents, from which silence (as prescribed by " omerta ") became a virtue when questions were asked by authority. When one considers that during most of the time from 1200 to i860 a.d. Sicily has been the victim of conquerors, who succeeded each other, except for the periods of intermittent revolts which have been impulsive and therefore isolated, without direction and without practical and lasting effect, for the most part, it is scarcely to be wondered at that the injuries, the spoliations and consequent misery and brutalisation should issue in some such combination for self-protection. The constant suc- cession of conquerors impoverished the island, for each had to satisfy his own warriors, from which arose the continual creation of large and small fiefs, among which the people were divided like sheep, passing with the land to the new master. Each government produced new torments finding fresh victims (for its only interest was the extortion of the last coin by the most hybrid kinds of taxes, by privileges and gifts to its supporters), and appeared to have neither time nor desire to better the intel- lectual, moral and economic conditions of the people as a worthy government should. Finally, being 226 MAFIA perhaps conscious that its dominion was not likely to last long, it devoted its efforts to maintaining its despotism, so that justice smote only malcontents, not evildoers. Part of the system was to prevent the sentiment of brotherhood and nationality from arising, and to this end the means of communication were kept in a bad condition, and to this day the prejudice between the town and country people continues. The shoeblack or the street hawker of Palermo calls all the inhabitants of other parts of the island " villani " (rustics), even if born at Messina or Catania and having lived in Palermo itself for twenty years ! Any one born a hundred yards outside the daziarian limit is called with disdain by the same name. The proprietors ordered about the workmen and peasants as if they were created solely for their service, and the artificer treated the peasant with like disdain. When the government wished to oppose the feudalism of the barons or to stem the current of crime the police had to be enrolled from among the dangerous classes, since honest folk were not obtainable. This police appeared in the 16th century and lasted until 1870, and the very name is still a thing of terror to some, of disgust and scorn to others. The great proprietors left off living on their estates and settled in the towns, appointing agents to collect their dues, sometimes not visiting them for twenty years and frequently being afraid to do so, not without good reason. The large properties have always been a source of danger. Pliny says of those in Italy, " Latifundia Italiam perdidere On some of those in Sicily one may travel for a whole day, at certain seasons of the year, without seeing a house, a tree, a blade of grass, a fountain or a flower which reveals the activity and 227 SICILY civilisation of man or even his existence. The labourers live in the hill towns and come down in gangs when they are required, camping out in miser- able huts in the same manner as one may still see in what was the kingdom of Naples on the mainland. The requirements of these properties were the cause of constant strife between proprietor and labourer and served as exciting causes and nurseries for brigandage, all the most famous brigands having been " contadini The farmer of the revenue, the " gabelloto," comes between owner and " con- tadino," who now do not know each other. Even in plentiful years the unfortunate peasant can only just make both ends meet, and when a bad season comes he has to sell all that he has. The "gabelloto " divides the farms into fields, and places the " borgesi " in them (the next grade), agreeing with them for the work on a certain tract. The " borgese " hires the " zapparoni," the spade labourers, who require the " piccinotti," lads, to help them. The pay of a "zapparone" is calculated at 85 centimes a day! The true oppressor is the " gabelloto," but the state of misery is such that one can understand any kind of effort, any sort of uprising which may better their condition. It is from such a state of society that the " Mafia " has originated, a kind of self-government by lawless methods, with an endeavour towards equity and the punishment of the oppressor ; though the mode in which its decrees were executed naturally opened the way for much blackmailing and outrage. Signor Bonfadini thus defines it in the present day : "It is not exactly a secret society, but the development and perfecting of a power directed to every kind of evil : it is the instinctive, brutal, interested solidarity 228 MAFIA which unites, to the damage of the State, of the laws and of regular organisation, all those individuals and those social strata which love to eke out existence and gain ease not from work but from violence, from deceit and intimidation ". Signor Franchetti calls it "a union of persons of every grade, of every profes- sion, of every kind, which without having any ap- parent regular and continuous tie, are always united to promote their reciprocal interests, certain considera- tions of law, justice and public order being left out ; it is a mediaeval sentiment of him who believes that he can provide for the safety of his person and his belongings by his personal valour and influence independently of the action of authority and law". It has no fixed rules, nor orders of rulers, but in- sinuates itself everywhere nevertheless, and the honest also submit to it with patience, holding it powerful and invincible from its traditional violences and revenges. Its intention, apart from doing justice on its own account and illicit gain, is that of im- posing itself on the weak, combining to resist the stronger, and especially the government, opposing its acts with subterfuge and a kind of inert resistance rather than openly. The word is difficult to define or translate ; in common Sicilian language it appears to mean a certain swaggering, presumptuous, insolent manner which some bullies use, proud of their physical power, of their reputation as audacious men, to be feared and ready for anything, men who determine to have their own way at any cost. The word and its derivative, " Mafioso," is also used to indicate confidence in one's own good fortune, and is even applied sometimes to women or girls who are proud of their beauty and cleverness and look at others 229 SICILY with compassion or scorn. Of a certain gentleman who passed a great part of the year in the country and had at his command a good many servants, field labourers and shepherds, it was said that he was the head of a " Mafia," apparently with the meaning that he had his people well in hand and ready to execute any orders ; certainly not that he was an evildoer or a leader of evildoers. And the word " Mafioso " was also applied to a lawyer who under- stood his business well. The "Mafia" appears to be as ingrained in the Sicilian character as the kindred society of the " Camorra " is in that of Naples, of which Villari wrote years ago in the Opinione : "Supposing all the Camorristi imprisoned to-morrow, the Camorra would be revived in the evening, because no one has created it but it grows spontaneously". The great difficulty which the government has to face is the obtaining of evidence to convict any one, for in the eyes of Sicilians it is showing " omerta," virility of character, not only to fail to denounce the guilty, but to never betray him, either in con- versation Or before justice. From their schooldays children learn that it is the duty of a man to hold his tongue on the subject of the adventures in which he may have been mixed up. The proverb says, "La virita si dici a lu cunfissuri " (Truth is told to the confessor), but it is certainly not told in court. Often the victim will not complain. If he does so, the robbed does not point out the robber, nor the wounded the wounder. Innocent people will allow themselves to be accused and condemned rather than point out the guilty. They will help him to escape, even in the case of murder — not that they approve of the crime, but the popular saying runs, 230 MAFIA "The dead are dead, and it is right to help the living". Many instances might be quoted. In i860 the Marquis Firmaturi fled to Piano dei Greci, entered into the first house he came to and asked for asylum. The old woman who lived there, and who was quite unknown to him, quickly hid his horse in a neighbouring stable and stood sentinel, helping the marquis to escape. The cara- bineers in pursuit questioned her closely and tortured her by putting her feet on hot coals, but she said nothing, though she had no interest in saving the proscribed man. When the marquis, who had become senator, heard of her noble conduct one is pleased to know that he rewarded her. At the same place two men were fighting with knives, and at the moment when one received a mortal wound in the stomach a carabineer appeared. He warned his adversary, buttoned his waistcoat and hid the knives. The carabineer passed close by ; they were talking about indifferent matters. The blood made a pool at the wounded man's feet, but he succeeded in keeping upright till the carabineer had turned the corner, when he fell dead. Inquiry could not elicit any information from those who had been present. It is the Sicilians' admiration for " omerta," which means to be a man, to be full-blooded, which is the greatest obstacle in the way of the administra- tion of justice, as it is also the cause of many of those incidents which require the intervention of the officers of the law. Public opinion demands that every man shall himself exact justice for wrongs received ; while resort to legal proceedings for re- dress is considered as infamy and is publicly execrated. The most respectable citizens consider it a virtue to protect an assassin and refuse to bear 231 SICILY witness, for the code of " omerta " says that when a man is dead one should think of the living, and that testimony is only good when it does not damage your neighbour. Any one who offends against this law, that is, does not keep silence as to what has been done, must join the police if he wishes to remain alive, and even then is not sure of dying in his bed. That the "Mafia" or the " Malandrini " who benefit by it oppress and extort blackmail from all classes is attested by numerous stories. A rich banker possessed a very fine fruit garden in the environs of Palermo, but the oranges were stolen as they ripened, the grapes disappeared and even the cactus fruits. The remedy was known and the banker did not hesitate. He went to the indis- pensable man, a neighbour of good position and reputed to be very kind, and asked him to interest himself in the ravaged orchard. These are the expressions which are used in such a case, because they are just transparent enough. The next day the depredations ceased. The guards, helpless the day before, were able to sleep in peace. " Mafia " watched for them. And sometimes people are protected without having asked for help. Ser Tramonte, named judicial agent for certain domains near Palermo, went one day in a carriage to inspect the land. The " Malandrino " observed the new- comer, approached him and entered into conversa- tion. It was a holiday— business was likely to have been stopped, but thanks to the coming of Ser Tramonte there was a fine thing coming oft". The next day, early, the " Malandrino " entered the anteroom of the knight, who was pleased to receive him, knowing nothing of the object of his visit. 232 MAFIA He stood cap in hand with a smile on his lips. " Your Excellency is satisfied with the reception which you received yesterday in the country ? " " Yes, but what — " " Pardon, I wish to know if you are satisfied and if you have been treated with respect ? " " Yes, that is to say — " " Ser Tramonte has been and will be respected by us always. He may come and go as much as he pleases, by day, by night, in winter or summer. He is to be respected all over the country, and woe to him who dares to touch him ! Always respected. And now I take my leave and ask his Excellency to give me something for the fine fellows who have respected him." The knight, confused and per- plexed, offered ioo lire to the " Malandrino ". There was nothing else to be done. This man of business was wise. See what happens to those who do not do the same. Here is Gossip Peppino, with long nose and eyes full of tears, who presents him- self before the potentate. He knows the reason of Peppino's visit but pretends to be ignorant. " What is the matter, Gossip Peppino ? " " What we have to suffer, Master Gaetano ! They leave us no peace day or night. You see in me a man who has lost his rest and comes to ask help from you." " You are surely wrong, but we will see — you are father of a numerous family — there is something to be done for you." " Ah yes ! please do something, you who have such good opportunities ! No one will say S no 9 to you, and I trust my peace and my life to you." "Everything will end with a solid peace. But, you know, to celebrate the conclusion of the treaty 300 lire are required." " Three hundred lire ! I would rather die than take 300 lire from my poor children ! " and in three days death gathers 233 SICILY Gossip Peppino, who did not choose to pay 300 lire for the life which the " Malindrino" offered him so cheaply. There was a large property in the Benfratelli and Bellia district which was attacked by one of the " Mafiosi," whose assistants stole the crops and spoilt the plantations. The police received denunciations and went to search for brigands who were supposed to be concealed on the property ; so that the un- fortunate proprietor thought that it had become worthless, especially as he received threatening letters. The "Mafioso" now visited him hat in hand and with a smile on his lips, and saying that it was a pity that such a fine property should lie waste, offered to rent it for 200 lire and two baskets of olives. Thus he obtained the value of 10,000 lire of produce each year. If the proprietor resists and does not choose to pay tribute or to accept the employees nominated by " Mafia," anonymous threatening letters are sent, and if these have no effect he is denounced to the police as harbouring brigands. Then at night the police break in and make a thorough search, which leaves the garden as though a hurricane had passed. A certain proprietor wished to sell his crop of lemons near Palermo. " Mafia " interfered for some I reason : an offer of a certain price was made by some one who was known to be supported by the society, and no one dared to offer more. The same 1 gentleman lost his gardener, who also arranged the sale of the produce for him : a candidate for the place appeared who was supported by a member of " Mafia," who had undertaken to obtain the place I for him and had not disdained to receive money for his services ! The question was asked, " Is he an *34 MAFIA honest man ? " to which the reply was made, " Probably your Excellency would not be dissatis- fied with him And the gentleman was obliged to take him to avoid very unpleasant probabilities. Signor Alongi gives numerous examples also of the way in which the " Soci " of " Mafia " draw profit from agriculture, merchandise, auctions and other sources around Palermo, always by way of intimida- tion ; and one wonders that there is any prosperity in a place where such things are common. From another source one learns some interesting details as to the " Mafiosi There are two kinds, the one who makes a business of it, called " Malan- drino," who is seldom or never caught, and the one who is attracted by the deeds of chivalry, and en- deavours to translate them into modern practice. He carries off his wife by force, loves to conquer obstacles, to have tragic amours, never kills treacher- ously but will not attack his enemy until he is armed, nor will he steal. It is the " Malandrino " who manages the form of self-government known as " Mafia " and reaps benefit from it. Nearly every Sicilian finds it best to be on good terms with it. Any one who shows himself disdainful of the law, who has a ready and brutal hand, who has committed two or three crimes without detection acquires in- fluence and the respect (!) of his equals. He soon becomes an authority among them, and is even ap- pealed to by employer and employed to judge between them. He thus acquires power and is asked to select guards for the orange and lemon groves by the proprietors, so that they may be safe. He then surrounds himself with subordinates, and the machine is made which gains greater power still by terrorism. With such associations murder 235 SICILY becomes a matter of business. The price varies from 50 to 500 lire, and the procedure is usually as follows. The victim having been pointed out, lots are cast for the executioner, though sometimes it is arranged that a novice shall be chosen to prove his courage. The members of the band are posted in a chain, the executioner takes the gun from the hands of a comrade, fires, and passes it back to him, and from him it goes to the next and so on, while the assassin making a circuit arrives on the spot where his victim lies as a simple observer. In the mountains " Mafia " is more brutal than in the coast districts, and brigandage, the holding of men to ransom, cattle- stealing, etc., are more common. The groups of " Soci " have only individual existence, not a common centre, though it has been said that one exists in the Albergheria of Palermo. Some of their proverbs show what is the strength of the combination. " An influential friend is as good as a hundred ounces (' onze,' a gold coin) in the pocket." " He who has money and friendships may laugh at justice." " The gallows is for the poor, justice for the foolish." "Evidence is good when it does not hurt one's neighbour." When one of them falls into the hands of justice " Mafia " does everything possible to save him. False witnesses appear, anonymous letters, articles in the journals, etc. ; the jurors are told that he is innocent, that he has a family and that if he is sent to prison they will starve, and that he is the victim of the manoeuvres of his enemies. Also that he has powerful friends, ready to help with their purses and prepared to avenge him at all costs. This last is a cogent argument, judges having been killed in 236 MAFIA open day, in the middle of the town, on the morrow of a verdict. At Piano dei Greci a Palermitan lawyer was once a parliamentary candidate. A " Mafioso " became friendly with him and constituted himself his elec- toral agent. One day he came to him and said, "There is another candidate, Senator, and this is a bore. Shall we extinguish him ? " and appeared much surprised at his friend refusing this most natural assistance ! A form of duel called " schi- fiusu " or * nfami " is used when any one appeals to the magistrates to redress any kind of injury. The one against whom the appeal is directed meeting the other embraces him and slightly bites his ear, thus defying him " to death ". The other returning the sign accepts the challenge. If they are on horse- back and armed they fight at once, otherwise they go together to get their arms as if nothing unusual had happened, and seeking an unfrequented place set to work to fight. Two forms of duel are used, " incascia " for grave offences, in which body blows are de rigueur, and "'n musculu," when the limbs only are attacked, for less serious ones. When the fight is over the conqueror embraces his adversary, living or dead, and goes tranquilly away. Some years ago a romantic case in which some " Mafiosi " were concerned entranced all South Italy, and after two years of trial was sent to Naples from Palermo in the hope of getting to the bottom of it. A sub-lieutenant of the ioth regiment of artillery, in garrison at Palermo, fell in love with a young lady belonging to a noble Sicilian family. One day he was found dead, propped up against the door of her house, with a wound through his chest. It was believed that he had fallen into a trap organised by 237 SICILY her brothers, who were his sworn enemies. One of them, who was believed to be the head of " Mafia," had fought a duel with him, and he had carefully refrained from wounding the brother of his inamorata. Eleven times this brother was nearly arrested and eleven times he was saved by " Mafia," and once was hidden, as was said, in the house of a near relation of the chief of police. The well-known Notarbartolo case is another proof of the great difficulties which beset the government when " Mafia " and " omerta " are interested in a matter. Considerable progress has been made in lessening the influence of this im- perium in imperio. The prefects who treated Sicily as Verres did, in accord with "Mafia," have been cleared out, and the municipal councils have been dissolved, which consisted of " Mafiosi," freed prisoners and the like for the most part. In one day 800 arrests were made in the province of Palermo. From a small town the delegate of public safety wrote to the prefect : " The municipality is a manufactory of abuses and oppression, the syndic is the protector of all the bad characters and counts among his supporters an association of evildoers ". One of such syndics sent the clerks, the school- masters and pupils to attend the funeral of a " Mafi- oso " chief who had been condemned several times. Another appropriated the greater part of the taxes for ten years and made false money with the help of his secretary. Another burnt the electoral re- turns and substituted others more to his liking, and another threatened to put all electors in prison who voted against his candidate ! Another contracted for all the communal business himself, and another read all the letters and only forwarded such as he pleased ! 238 J MAFIA I These details are taken from authenticated sources and show how barbarous Sicily was, both in its virtues and in its vices, but it is only fair to re- member that the country had suffered from centuries of oppression and misgovernment, and that in all the revolutionary movements and conspiracies which tended towards the overthrow of the Bourbon government the " Mafiosi " had a considerable part and lent important assistance, which was always disinterested, as Colajanni says. His account of the origin of "Mafia" is so clear that it is worth quoting in conclusion: "Justice under the Bourbons was so confused with political judgments that the people ended with seeing in every accused person a victim of governmental or baronial power. The police and judicial authorities in fact were at the orders of the feudatories who were in good odour in high govern- ment places. From this was born the distrust in equity and impartiality in public matters, so that all, great and small, felt that they must themselves pro- vide for the security of property and person. Thus the barons organised squadrons of 'Campieri,' a reproduction of the ancient 'bravi,' selected from the most celebrated and courageous evildoers ; and the people trusted for their revenges to * Mafia' and its code of * omerta,' and often to the brigand who became considered at such moments as a sympa- thetic and noble revenger of the weak oppressed by the strong. Private i vendetta f from being a right became considered as a duty." 239 THE CHARACTER AND ORIGINS OF THE PEOPLE In an island placed as Sicily is and with the history which has unrolled itself on its shores the modern human types may be expected to be very varied, since every nation which has inhabited or governed it has left behind some traces of its presence. The Sicilians have always displayed marked, though not brilliant, abilities. Their wit, conversational powers and power of repartee were celebrated among the ancients, and Cicero said that the Sicilian was never so miserable as to be unable to utter a jest. Greek comedy attained its earliest development in this island, and bucolic poetry originated there. The Saracenic supremacy introduced a vein of seriousness into the character of the nation, which shows itself in the melancholy of their national songs. In the west and north of the island the type is generally of medium height, with supple limbs in youth which tend to fatness as maturity comes on ; of a yellowish pallor which the Spaniards call leonine, dark-skinned, with an oval face which is rather fleshy, especially on the cheeks. Eyes small and dark, rather full, intelligent and lively rather than threatening ; mouth not too large but pro- minent, lips without much colour, more prone to seriousness than to laughter ; a mixture of Semitic and Caucasian in which the latter predominates. In the eastern parts the Greek type is most frequently 240 CHARACTER AND ORIGINS OF PEOPLE met with except perhaps at Messina. In the lower classes, especially beyond the Fiume Salso, one sees the persistence of African types, the dark skins, bronze or Egyptian yellow, the thin and spare faces and bodies which recall the types of Berber, Soudanese, Abyssinian, Erythraean or Copt. Photo- graphs of North and East Africans might also be portraits of this type. But another is often seen among them, the somewhat Semitic type already described, sometimes with a manifestly Arab char- acter, sometimes with a Mongolian tinge, given by the yellow skin, the fat cheeks, the eyes oblique towards the nose and small, by the colourless lips and the thin, rough and very dark skin. Faces may also be seen which are long, broad in the middle and narrow at the top and at the chin, which may perhaps be a survival of the type of the most ancient inhabitants of the island, since they bear considerable resemblance to the most ancient sculptures. In some places the pallor is so great as to make the stranger think that the whole population must be in bad health. The Palermitans are in general physiognomy a mixture of the Spaniard and the Saracen. The hair of the women is historically celebrated. During the Carthaginian siege it is said that the bowstrings gave out, but the women gave their hair to make them rather than surrender. The women of Piano dei Greci, an Albanese colony founded in 1488, when Ferdinand of Aragon afforded an asylum to those who were ready to abandon their country rather than submit to Mussulman rule in answer to their petition, wear knots of red ribbon in their hair and a red dress, a blue corset and a shawl of a paler blue on their shoulders, and on certain festivals appear in a costume which is exactly like that of centuries ago. Q 241 SICILY They have an upright and dignified carriage, and with their regular profiles and strange dress are like a survival of an ancient race. Other Albanian colonies are Palazzo Adriano, Contessa, Mezzajuso and Santa Cristina ; at Messina also Greek ritual is practised. The Sicilian of all classes is generally very sober both in eating and drinking — the con- tadino especially so, living on vegetables and drink- ing water, though this may be partly because he cannot afford anything else on the miserable pittance on which he has to exist. The honourable Damiani thus describes him : " The contadino is usually brutalised by suffering, having to provide for a numerous family out of very small means, as sober as a hermit perforce, patient as Job, miserable as Lazarus, without a future like a Helot or a Fellah, ignorant, distrustful, malicious, sceptical at heart, superstitious, refractory to everything which society can offer to his advantage unless this is material and immediate. One may note in the ' piccinotto,' the labourer's lad, agility and dexterity, the readi- ness to go far with long and rapid step, rather than florid health and robustness, nervous force rather than muscular. The countryman protects himself against the damp and chills with his hooded cloak called * scapolare ' or with a woollen scarf round his neck, and wears heavy clothes notwithstanding the warmth of the climate. The people appear stronger and finer in those regions where there are woods and wholesome water, such as the Monti Peloritani and Nebrodi, in the eastern part of the island, where the properties are divided and the cultivation intensified ; far from the sulphur mines and the * feudi ' where only corn is grown ; and there perhaps one may see the Lombard blood," 242 CHARACTER AND ORIGINS OF PEOPLE The Sicilian common people may be divided into four classes. Those of the coast who live by and on the sea. Those of the cities and their suburbs. Those of the country towns (the contadini and shepherds almost always live grouped in the villages near the houses of the proprietors). Those of the sulphur mines. The first trouble themselves little with what goes on on the land though they are attached to their native place and have the islander's feeling ; they are quiet and attend to their duties and have a good name among those who navigate the Mediterranean. The country people are divided as stated in the chapter on " Mafia ". The hard and cruel " gabelloto " who does not work and enjoys the fruit of the labours of others ; the " borgese," the true contadino ; the " zapparone," the day labourer, the ancient slave ; and the " piccinotto," the lad. These live a miserable hand-to-mouth existence. They are a very ignorant people, mute and quiet and most docile, to be relied on in the mass. They make good soldiers, serious, respectful, observant, of a scrupulous exactitude and an admir- able firmness in executing orders, and also intelligent enough though not educated to think ; but they also furnish those " Malandrini " who infest the country and thanks to the fear of the proprietors and the exaggerations of the press give such a bad reputation to Sicily. They are never heard to complain, and apparently feel somewhat in the manner of the beasts, which their jealousies and their knife duels prove. " They become drunk with blood and with the strife with persons and things ; if they are actors they become ferocious, if spectators they shrug their shoulders and know and have seen nothing if asked. If they are offended they know how to hold their *43 SICILY peace and wait the moment to adjust accounts, as they have learnt from the traditions of the Signori. They may have among their relations some one who was the instrument of a Signorial vengeance, and they avail themselves of the fact. They do not curse nor swear, they do not know what evil-speaking is ; but if they are excited and inflamed there is a tumult and a crowd. The Sicilian, if he loves you, will go to hell for you ; but beware of deceiving him ! A promise given must be kept, and then you may expect everything from him." The better- class Sicilian quite sincerely believes himself to be the most knowing, intelligent, educated, rich, vir- tuous, dignified man in the world. The proverb says, " Proud as a Sicilian," and he never allows a greater sign of admiration to escape him than " Non c'e male " (" It isn't bad "). An exaggerated egoism distinguishes him, a theft is taken as a slight, not as a loss, and there are cases known in which a thief, discovered by friends of the robbed, presented himself before witnesses, excused himself and threw himself at the injured man's feet, who pardoned him and gave him the stolen object, even defending him from police and justice when need arose. At Chiaramonte children played at war till the middle of the last century, dividing into parties representing French and Sicilians. The game was much the same sort of thing as the mediaeval Perugian " Giuochi di Sassi ". The weapons were stones and wooden sabres, the latter used when stones gave out, and drums and trumpets encouraged the combatants. If any one was seriously hurt, which often happened, friends came and carried him home and the troops dispersed. When they were exhausted they were counted and the side which 244 CHARACTER AND ORIGINS OF PEOPLE had fewest hors-de-combat won. Women are always in a state of almost oriental subjection, first to father and brothers, then to husband, father or brother-in-law, then to sons and nephews because they are men ; bound to the house, and guarded from sight with jealous and suspicious care. No one is to look at them who is not able or does not wish to marry them ; no one looks at them after they are married. The giving to a husband is a family matter like giving a dowry. The only way to break through this traditional tyranny, traditional itself^ is to be carried off by a lover who is not acceptable to the family and then ask for pardon through some relation or friend. "The Sicilian woman is generally good, faithful and very docile ; her life is all love and obedience. To outsiders she is modest, taciturn, close and not seldom embarrassed." The family is compact and united to admiration. The true Sicilian " Signore 99 is the perfect model of a gentleman. 245 i INDEX OF PERSONS AND SUBJECTS Acis and Galatea, 162 jEschylus, 207 Agathocles, 17, 83, 188 Ancient theatres, 155, 156. 172. 190, 192 Antonello da Messina, 149 Archias the Corinthian, 184 Archimedes, 188, i8p, 204 Athenian expedition against Syracuse, 16 A uto-da-fi, 62 B Banquet of St. Giuseppe, 220 " Bara" and festival at Messina, 213 Barisano of Trani, 69. Belisarius, 20, 189 Bianca of Navarre, 61 Bixio, 36 Blessing of cattle on Eve of Ascension Day, 222 Bonajuto Pisano, 63 Bonannus of Pisa, 69 Bosco, 35, 141 Cabrera, Bernardo, 61, I57»i68, 206 Calamech, 146, 213 Camilliani, Francesco, 57 Cardinal Torres, 71 Casi di Sciacca, 129 Castles, 80, 81, 82, 86, 93, 97. 99» 103, 121, 123, 127, 128, 1311 138, 139. 140, 141. H2» 150, 154, 159, 160, 162, 107, 100, 171, 182, 192, 196, 205 Catania, origins of the city, 174 Cavalcade of St. Silvester at Troina, 224 Cefalu, origins of, 133 Charles of Anjou, 32 Charondas, 174 Chestnut trees on Etna, 101 Chiaramonte, Andrea, 61 — Manfred of, Count of Modica, 61, 81 Churches, divisions of, 53 Cicero, 4. l8 7. i 8 9. *95. J 9& Cilliri, 185 Ciullo d'Alcamo, 82 Civiletti, 66 Climate, 4 Cloisters, 58, 72, 138, 159 Conca d'oro, 7, 73 , „ Constance, daughter of Roger II.. 31. 55. 56 Constans II., 189 Contrasts under Roger II., 30 Crescenzio, Antonio di, 56. 63. 77 Cultivation, 6 Delia Robbia, 98, 150 Dionysios I., 16, 96, 153, 187, 190 Ducetius, 15, 182, 186 Easter Eve processions, 218 Empedocles, 88, 113, 117, "8 Etna, ascent of, 178 — eruptions of, 177 — trees and flora of, 176 Eunus, 125 m Expedition of the " Thousand, 34 247 INDEX F Falconaria, battle in war of Si- cilian Vespers, 96 Festival of St. Vitus at Mazzara, 222 Festivals at Avola, 216, 220 — at Marsala, 225 — at Modica, 223 — at St. Pietro in fishermen's quarter, Palermo, 223 Flora, 8 Fra Giacomo Amato, 52 Frederick of Aragon, 33 Frederick II., 32, 55, 181 Gaddo Gaddi, 146 Gagini, 56, 59, 60, 81, 82, 87, 93, 95, 98, 139. 142, 147, I49> 165 Gamoroi, 185, 194 Garibaldi, 34, 35, 77, 85, 94, 141 Gellias, 118 Gelon, 15, 185, 207 George of Antioch, 31, 49, 50, 77 Giorgio Veneziano, 146 Giovanni Bartolo of Siena, 170 Gorgias, 180 Gregory of Siena, 147 Guillaume d'Estendart, 181 Gylippus, 186 H Hannibal Gisgon, 79, 88, 93, 132 Harold Hardradr, 166 Henry VI. of Germany, 31, 55 Hiero I., 174, 186, 207 Hiero II., 188, 192 Himilcon, 119 History, 12 I Ibn Haukal, 39, 40, 62 Ibrahim-ibn- Ahmed, 154, 189 Inlays of lava, 54, 69, 158, 201 Inquisition, 62 L Lais the courtesan, 81 Lava beds, 161, 162, 163, 166, 175 Leo Cumier, 164 Letters of Cassiodorus, 20 M Madonna della Lettera, 146 Maestro Gabriele de Roma, 59 Majone di Bari, 49 Mamertines, 17, 144 Manfred, 123, 135 Marcellus, 182, 188, 193 Marsala, grottoof Cumaean Sibyl, 95 — Maundy - Thursday proces- sion, 94 Masi di Oddo, 71 Matteo Ajello, 52, 69 Mazzolo, Giovanni Battista, 147 Messina, history of the town, 143 Montorsoli, 147 Mosaics, 44, 46, 50, 54, 65, 70, 75, 136, 141, 145 Mother of the Greek Churches, 148 Museums, 64, 149, 173, 202 N Natural features, 1 Nelson, Duke of Bronte, 166 Nicias, 85, 186, 204 Norman invasion, 25 Old houses at Trapani, 98 Oranges and lemons exported, 6, 150 Origins of the people, 12 /• P •} , ■ Himi ' Palaces of the Norman kings, 46, 74. 75. 76 Palermitan carts, 66 Palermo, origins of, 37 — population, 41, 42 — walls and gates, 37, 381 39 John of Procida, 97 24.8 INDEX Palm Sunday procession at Ler- cara Friddi, 217 Pammilus, 88 Panaetius, 180 Peter of Aragon, 51 Petrus Tignosus, 164 Phalaris of Akragas, 112, 114 Phoenician walls at Monte St. Giuliano, 100 Pignatelli, Viceroy, 58, 61, 129 Political constitution, 14 Prehistoric building at Cefalu, 138 Processions at Salaparuta, 219, 221 Pyrrhus, 17, 95, 100, 188 Pythagoras, 116 R Richard Cceur-de-Lion, 144, 169 Rock-cut tombs, 191, 205 Roger, the Count, 25, 93, 151, 205, 210 Roger, the great Count's govern- ment, 27 Roger II., the king, 30, 53, 55, 76, 133. 145 S Saracen commerce and manufac- tures, 23 — conquest, 21 — government, 23, 24 Sclafano, Matteo, Count of Adriano, 63 Serlo, 81 Servile War, 125, 154, 183 Sicilian Vespers, 32, 77 Spanish dominion, 33 Squarcialupo, Giovanni Luca, 59 St. Agatha's veil and shrine, etc., 169, 170 St. Marcian, 189, 200 St. Paul, 189, 200 Sta. Rosalia, 56, 59, 77, 210 — Rosalia's reliquary and car, 212 Stesichorus, 116, 132, 174 I Street hawkers, 68 \ Sulphur-producing district, 104 Syracuse, origins of the city, 184 T Tancred, 31 Taormina, origins of, 153 Taxes under Byzantine Empe- rors, 20 The name, 1 Theocles, 180 Theocritus, 188, 198, 204 Theron, 117 Timoleon, 154, 161, 175, 188, 198 Two Sicilies, how the name arose, 33 V Venus Erycina, 101 Verres, 19, 108, 154, 189 Vitale, Giovanni, Bartolommeo and Bernardo, 170 Vogherizzo, Michelangelo, 57 Volcanic centres, 3, 103 W Walter of the Mill, 54 William I. (the Bad), 31, 44, 71 William II. (the Good), 31, 71, 72, 75 Z Zeuxis, 107, 108 249 INDEX OF PLACES A Aci Castello, 162 Acireale, 162 Acrae, 207 Aderno, 167 Agira (Agyrium), 126 Alaesa, 140 Alcamo, 82 Altavilla, 131 Augusta, 181 B Bagheria, 78 Biancavilla, 167 Bronte, 166 Buonfornello, 132 C Calacte, 140 Calascibetta, 123 Calatafimi, 82 Caltagirone, 182 Caltanisetta, 122 Caltavuturo, 80 Camarina, 206 Canicatti, 122 Capo St. Alessio, 152 Casa del Bosco, 178 Castagno di Cento Cavalli, Castagno della Galea, 161 Castel di Tusa, 140 Castellamare del Golfo, 82 Castello di Schiso, 161 Castelvetrano, 87 Castrogiovanni, 122 Castroreale, 142 Catania, 169 — amphitheatre, 172 — Castel Ursino, 171 — Cathedral, 169, 170 Catania, Chapel of St. Agatha, 169 — Fountain of the Elephant, 171 — Greco-Roman theatre, 172 — Odeum, 172 — Piazza Mazzini, 173 — Roman baths under Piazza del Duomo, 172 All' Indirizzo, 173 — St. Giovanni di Matteo, 173 — Sta. Maria di Gesu, 173 — Sta. Maria Rotonda, 172 — St. Nicola, 173 — Santo Carcere, 171 — University, 173 — Via Stesicoro Etnea, 172 — Villa Bellini, 173 Cefala, baths of, 79 Cefalu, 132 Centorbi (Centurip«), 127 Cephaloedium, 133 Comiso, 206 Comitini Zolfare, 103 E Enna, 122, 126 Eryx, 99 Etna, 176 F Falconaria, 96 G Gangi (Enguium), 80 Gela, 206 Girgenti, 106, no — Cathedral, in INDEX Girgenti, Fonte dei Greci, 117 — grotto of Fragapane, 108 — Oratorio di Falaride, in — Panittieri Garden, in — Porta Aurea, 108 — Rupe Atenea, 113 — Sta. Maria dei Greci, 113 — St. Biagio, 107 — St. George, 112 — St. Nicola, no — temple of iEsculapius, no of Castor and Pollux, 109 of Concord, 108 of Hercules, 108 of Juno, 107 of Jupiter Olympius, 109 — temples, 106 — tomb of Theron, no H Heracleia Minoa, 130 Himera, 132 Hospice of St. Nicolo d'Arena, 176 Hybla Minor, 168 • 1 L La Badiazza, 151 Lacus Palicorum, 183 L'Aguglia, 182 Lake of Pergusa, 126 La Pizzuta, 204 La Trinita di Delia, 87 Lentini, Lake of, 180 Leonforte, 126 Leontinoi, 180 Lercara Friddi, 103 Licata, 121 Lilybaeum, 95 Linguaglossa, 163 Lognina, 162 M Maccaluba, 103 Magnisi, 182 Maletto, 166 Malvagna Chapel, 163 Maniacium, 166 Marina di Caronia, 140 Marsala, 94 Mazzara, 93 Megara Hyblsea, 181 Messina Cathedral (Sta. Maria Nuova), 145 — Faro, 151 — fountains by Montorsoli, 147, 148 — La Cattolica, 148 — museum, 149 — Rocca Guelfonia, 150 — St. Agostino, 149 — St. Andrea Avellino, 149 — SS. Annunziatadei Catalani, 148 — St. Francesco, 149 — St. Gregorio, 149 — Sta. Maria Alemana, 149 — Sta. Maria della Grotta, 150 — Sta. Maria della Scala, 151 — Sta. Maria di Gesu inferiore, 149 Milazzo, 142 Mineo, 182 Misterbianco, 168 Modica, 205 Mojo, 163 Mola, 160 Monte San Calogero, 129 Monte St. Giuliano, 99 Monti Rossi, 178 Motta St. Anastasia, 168 Motye, 95 Mussumeli, 103 Mylae, 142 Naxos, 161 Nicolosi, 178 Nicosia, 80 Noto, 204 P Palagonia, 182 Palazzolo Acreide, 207 Palermo, 37 — Abbey of St Martin, 74 — Altarello di Baida, 74 — ancient walls and gates, 38 — Bagheria, 7 8 — Biblioteca Comunale, 64 — Botanic Gardens, 66 — Cappella Palatina, 43 — Cappuccini, 78 — Cathedral, 54 252 INDEX Palermo, Cathedral Chapel of Sta. Rosalia, 56 — Chapel M Del Solidad," 64 — Church of Piedigrotta, 60 — Delia Gancia, 60 — Giardino Inglese, 66 — grotto of St. Rosalia, 77 — La Cuba, 75 — La Cubola, 76 — La Favarah or M Maredolce," 76 — La Favorita, 66 — La Magione, 52 — La Martorana, 49 — Lo Steri, 61 — La Zisa, 74 — Mimnermus, 74 — Monreale Cathedral, 69 — — cloisters, 72 — Municipio, 64 — Museo Nazionale, 64 — Palazzo Abatelli, 63 Ajutamicristo, 63 — — Cattolica, 64 Chiaramonte, 61 Raffadalli, 63 St. Remy, 64 — — Sclafani, 63 — peasants' carts, 66 — Piazza Croce de' Vespri, 60 della Rivoluzione, 60 Marina, 61 Pretoria (fountain), 57 — Ponte dell* Ammiraglio, 77 — Port, 65 — Porta Nuova, 47 — Quattro Canti, 43 — Royal Palace, 46 — St. Agostino, 58 — SS. Annunziata, 59 — St. Antonio, 58 — St. Cataldo, 48 — Sta. Cita, 59 — St. Domenico, 58 — St. Francesco, 57 — St. Giacomo alia Marina, 58 — St. Giorgio dei Genovesi, 60 — St. Giovanni degli Eremiti, 47 — St. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, 48 — St. Giuseppe de' Teatini, 43 — Sta. Maria della Catena, 58 — Sta. Maria della Vittoria, 63 — Sta. Maria di Gesu, 77 — Sta. Maria di tutte le Grazie, 60 Palermo, Sta. Maria Incoronata, 53 — St. Nicolo dei Greci, 60 — St. Nicolo d' Albergaria, 60 — Stanze di Ruggiero, 46 — Santo Spirito, 77 — the 44 Giarre," 66 — tower of Sta. Ninfa, 46 — Villa Giulia, 65 Pantani or Ganziri lakes, 151 Paternd, 167 Patti, 140 Phintias, 121 Piedimonte Etnea, 160, 162 Polizzi, 80 Pollina, 140 Portus Ulyssis, 162 Priolo, 182 R Racalmuto, 122 Ragusa, 205 Randazzo, 163 Ribera, 130 Riposto, 161 Rocca di Cusa, 92 Rocca di Sarno, 81 Salemi (Halicia), 86 Santa Croce (Cape), 181 Scaletta, 152 Sciacca, 128 Sclafani, 80 Segesta, 83 Selinunt, 87 Serradifalco, 122 Sferra Cavallo, 81 Soluntum, 79 Spaccaforno, 204 Sperlinga, 80 St. Agata di Militello, 140 St. Caterina-Xirbi, 122 Sta. Ninfa, 86 St. Pantaleo, 95 Sutera, 103 Syracuse, Achradina, 193 — Agora, 198 — altar of Hiero, 192 — Bagno di Diana, 197 — camp of Marcellus, 194 — Castle, 196 — catacombs, 200 253 INDEX Syracuse Cathedral, 194 — cisterns beneath churches, 196 — Convent of Sta. Lucia, 202 — courtyard of Leone d'Oro, 202 — crypt of St. Marcian, 200 — "Ear of Dionysios," 199 — Epipolae, 192, 193 — Fort Euryalus, 192 — fountain of Arethusa, 197 — fountain of Cyane, 203 — Greek theatre, 190 — house of Agathocles, 198 — Latomia dei Cappuccini, 198 del Paradiso, 198 of St. Venera, 199 — library, 202 — museum, 202 — Neapolis, 192 — Opera Pia Gargallo, 201 — Ortygia, 184 — Palazzo Bellomb, 201 Danieli, 202 Lanza, 201 Miliaccio, 201 Montalto, 201 — Passeggiata Aretusa, 197 r— Porto Grande, 184 Piccolo, 184, 198 — Roman amphitheatre, 192 — San Giovanni, 199, 201 — Sta. Lucia, 200 — Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, 202 — St. Martino, 202 — St. Nicold, Greek cistern, 192 — Scala Greca, 194 — - Street of Tombs, 191 — temple of Diana, 196 of Jupiter Olympius, 203 — the Anapus, 202 — tomb of Archimedes, 204 Syracuse, tomb of Timoleon, — Tyche, 193 Taormina, 153 — Cathedral, 157 — Palazzo Corvaia, 156 Giampoli, 158 St. Stefano, 157 — Porta Toca, 159 — the Greek theatre, 155 — the Roman theatre, 156 — St. Agostino, 159 — Sta. Caterina, 159 — St, Domenico, 159 — St. Pancrazio, 156 Tauromenium, 154 Termini Imerese, 131 Terranova, 206 Thapsus, 182 Torre del Filosofo, 178 Marcello, 182 Trapani, 97 Trogilus, 182 Troina, 166 Trotilon, 181 Tyndaris, 141 V Val del Bove, 161, 179 — di Noto, 204 — d'Ispica, 205 Vittoria, 206 X Xiphonia (Cape), 181 THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED 254 THE LITTLE GUIDES " Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted, holy ground." LONDON METHUEN & CO THE LITTLE GUIDES Pott 8vo, cloth, 3 j*. ; leather ; $s. 6d. net. "Delightfully handy and pleasant in appearance." — A thenceum. " Conspicuous for their neatness, their readableness and their practical utility." — Globe. "The best mementoes of visits." — World. A/IESSRS METHUEN are publishing a small series of books under the general title of The Little Guides. The main features of these books are (i) a handy and charming form, (2) artistic illustrations by E. H. New and others, (3) good plans and maps, (4) an adequate but compact presentation of everything that is interesting in the natural features, history, archaeology, and architecture of the town or district treated. In those volumes which treat of counties, there is first a general description of the country — its situation, physical features, flora and fauna, climate, inhabitants, industries, history and archaeology. Then follows an account of the chief towns and places of interest in alphabetical order. The books are not guides in the ordinary sense of the word. They do not give the usual routes for expeditions, information about hotels, etc., but they contain information which may be sufficient for the ordinary tourist of literary tastes, and they form not only practical handbooks, but delightful gift books. Oxford and its Colleges. By J. Wells, M.A. Illustrated by E. H. New. Fourth Edition. Cambridge and its Colleges. By A. Hamilton Thompson. Illustrated by E. H. New. Shakespeare's Country. By B. C. A. Windle, F.R.S., M.A. Illustrated by E. H. New. Second Edition. Westminster Abbey. By G. E. Troutbeck. Illustrated by F. D. Bedford. Sussex. By F. G. Brabant, M.A. Illustrated by E. H. New. The Malvern Country. By B. C. A. Windle, D. Sc, F.R.S. Illustrated by E. H. New. Norfolk. By W. A. Dutt. Illustrated by B. C. Boulter. Brittany. By S. Baring-Gould. Illustrated by J. Wylie. Surrey. By F. A. H. Lambert. Illustrated by E. H. New. Kent. By G. Clinch. Illustrated by F. D. Bedford. The English Lakes. By F. G. Brabant. Illustrated by E. H. New. Cloth, 4s.; leather, 4s. 6d. net. Hertfordshire. By H. W. Tompkins. Illustrated by E. H. New. Derbyshire. By C. J. Cox, LL.D. Illustrated by J. C. Wall. The Isie of Wight. By G. Clinch. Illustrated by Suffolk. By W. A. Dutt. Illustrated by J. Wylie. The following are in preparation. Cornwall. By A. L. Salmon. Illustrated by B. C. Boulter. Buckinghamshire. By E. S. Roscoe. Illustrated by F. D. Bedford. Rome. By C. G. Ellaby. Illustrated by B. C. Boulter. Shropshire. By J. A. Nicklin. English Architecture. By T. D. Atkinson. Illustrated by the Author. St Paul's Cathedral. By G. H. Birch. Illustrated by G. B. Alcock. Berkshire. By F. G. Brabant. Hampshire. By C. J. Cox, LL.D. The North Riding of Yorkshire. By J. E. Morris. #7 w V GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3 3125 01043 4765