April 9 – Lipari, Italy. This is a new port for us and it's a very small town and port. We are anchored so that will mean a very slow system to get ashore. Lipari is the largest of the seventeen Lipari Islands (formerly known as the Aeolian Islands, only 7 are inhabited) but you may have heard of some of the more famous members such as Stromboli or Vulcano. We are very close to Sicily, in fact I saw Mount Etna as we sailed in. It seemed to be smoking quite a bit this morning. We sailed by Stromboli early this morning but it was far enough away to be shrouded in haze. I could just make out its outline. Both Lipari and Vulcano are both also exothermally active. The entire island chain is a volcanic ridge sticking up in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
When you are in this town you are in Lipari Town on Lipari Island in the Lipari Islands of Italy but I didn't want to put that in the title for today. Like most of the places we've been on this cruise there's an old and new town. Old Town is mainly atop Mount Chirica and inside its fortified walls. The oldest section of the town is from the Greek era but this site has been occupied from the Neolithic period. Before we tour Lipari we're heading out of town to see some of the island.
We rode the tender to a small port that did not have roads wide enough for our buses to drive in. This made it necessary to walk about 800 yards on sometimes uphill, cobblestone streets. Keep in mind that this fact was clearly disclosed in the write up about the tour. You should have heard the whining and complaining. "They should widen these streets!" "Why do they bring us to places like this?" Remember also that these same people signed up for a walking tour that includes climbing up to the top of the Old Town to the castle. I'm pretty sure that it will be much tougher going for that part of the trip.
We left town heading south and climbing into the hills overlooking the Quattropani (Four Eyes) Coast. Way in the distance we could see Etna and it is smoking quite a bit. Much closer in we could also see the Vulcano Island and its cinder cones and fumaroles. It was smoking as well but it might do that all the time I don't know. It was a very pretty spot.
There was a vendor set up in a small trailer at the end of the overlook. He was selling home made wine from Malvasia grapes he called Malvasia de Lipari. This grape produces a sweet desert type wine that is great in small amounts after dinner. You can tell it's homemade because he's bottled it in Coke Light bottles and taped a small label to the bottle. First wine I've ever had where you needed a bottle opener to get to the wine. I'm going to have to ask one of the bartenders to give me a cork to put in the bottle after I open it.
He was also selling the prettiest cookies I've ever seen. Thankfully Italian is very similar to Spanish so I could ask what the cookies were filled with. Turns out it's marzipan or at least almond paste. Each cookie, there are eight of them, is a sculptured work of art. They come in square, round, rectangular and crescent shapes and are made of white pastry dough. The top and sides of each is a different pattern of cuts and shapes. All eight were €3 or about 50 cents US each. Best bargain so far. On top of looking good, they're also very tasty.
This island has had both types of volcanic eruptions, the blast and ash like Mount Saint Helens and the lava flow type like Hawaii. Consequently areas of the island have very different structures. One side is mostly rock which includes veins of obsidian that the ancient people used to make cutting tools. It was also apparently an export commodity for them. The other side of the island is a huge pile of pumice. Until recently this pumice was mined and sold internationally. The poorer grades of pumice are mixed with in concrete to make it lighter and yet still strong. The higher grades are used in all sorts of industrial applications like polishing glass and beauty products. This island is a UNESCO protected site and the mining had to stop putting all the people out of work. UNESCO said that they were removing too much of the beautiful island. Well, we drove around the pumice side of the island and 'beautiful' was not even close to any of the adjectives that ran through my mind when I saw it. Words like slag heap, wasteland, gray boring pile of @#%*# were more in line with my view. Removing more of it would have improved the island as a whole. Heaven knows there's no shortage of the stuff. The only even fairly pretty part was the pumice beach. And it's practical too. A walk on the beach exfoliates your feet and removes stubborn corns and calluses. Now that's what I call efficient.
Having completed our lap around the island it was time for our walking tour of the Old Town. Uh, oh!! It's starting again, whining in overdrive. "Why isn't there an elevator?" "Do we have to walk down?" I was about to advise the jumping alternative but my better instincts saved me once again.
We walked from the main harbor up some stairs to the town hall plaza. I hate walking up hill slowly. It takes way more energy to press the body upward at a snail's pace. You don't get to take advantage of any kinetic energy because your body doesn't develop much when it moves slowly. Fast is easier that's why those pesky personal trainers are always telling you to do the reps slowly and evenly. They don't want you getting any kinetic advantage. All this to say that I got to the square way earlier than most of my fellow travelers. While the guide waited for them to catch up I ducked into the Church of Saint Antonio, which is actually attached to the city hall. My god, haven't these heathens ever heard of separation of church and state? (Those of you who know me well will have already heard the extreme sarcasm in that statement! And it continues.) They probably have a manger scene in the square and a Christmas tree in the building in December. I just don't know how they can be so insensitive! (Thus endeth the sarcasm.)
Religious Aside Note: Lest anyone get the mistaken impression that I am somehow intolerant of other's belief systems, I thought I should include a personal note at this point. What I find hard to tolerate is ignorance and petty demagoguery. Everyone throws around the phrase 'separation of church and state' but darn few can tell you where that phrase comes from. It's not in the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence or any other founding document. It's in a letter written by Jefferson in response to a query from a pastor about the Antiestablishment Clause, which is in the Constitution. If you read the letter that was sent to Jefferson and then read his response that contains that phrase (in other words, try to get the whole story) it's clear that the current abuse of that phrase was not at all what Jefferson had in mind. Once again, oversimplification and ignorance has done irreparable damage to our culture and our country. And that particular acorn did not fall far from the journalism oak on which it grew.
It's a simple church, one entrance and a three-bell tower with very little decoration. The doorway and the single window above it had a little scroll work on the edges of the lintel. Inside it was also simple but very elegant. It's a single nave design with clerestory windows producing a high and narrow feel. The interior was mainly white with only a thin dark blue stripe on the upper edge of the molding.
From the city hall plaza we walked through a small park with trees and benches to the base of the castle's outer wall. Here's where the real climbing began. The stairs were broad, about two strides, and not very tall, about 4.5 inches, but they sloped downhill in sort of a combination of a ramp with stairs. Like most combination items it does not do either job particularly well. What it forces you to do is bend your ankle to a more acute angle than would be necessary if the stair step was flat. Some of my fellow travelers are no longer that flexible and I could see they were struggling a bit. I positioned myself behind an older lady that I really like just in case her instability got the better of her. I like her for many reasons one of the foremost being that even though she does struggle a little in getting around, she never complains or whines. She just keeps at it until she gets where she's going. I'm betting she's at least 85 but she may be older. She keeps a happy, positive disposition and it great to talk with. She's been everywhere and says she will continue to go until she can't. Unfortunately moving slowly to stay behind her had my legs burning when we got to the top of the stairs and through the castle's outer wall. I had to walk in small circles while waiting for the rest of the group to work it out.
In the center of the castle plaza they are doing some excavations that have uncovered both Roman and Greek buildings atop Monte Chirica. There are five churches inside the castle walls. The largest one is of Norman construction and is the city's cathedral, the Basilica of Saint Bartolomeo. Our first visit was to the Aeolian Museum housed in the castle's residence. The museum has artifacts from the 11th century BC necropolis, a large collection of decorated vases, amphora and other pottery items and the most complete collection of Greek theatrical masks in the world. It's a pretty impressive place but the guide was moving too slowly so I set off on my own.
Our next stop was the Basilica. It's a large church for a place that was so small. Especially if you remember that there are four other churches inside the castle walls, not a large space by any definition. Saint Bartholomew was martyred by skinning him alive and true to tradition his silver statue in the church shows him holding a knife in his left hand and his skin hanging over his right arm. The vaulted ceiling is richly painted. Each triangle formed by the vaulting has a fresco depicting a Biblical story. The church's doors are also remarkable. They are cast bronze and have scenes from the life of Saint Bartholomew.
We strolled around the castle for a while and then took the grand staircase in front of the Basilica down to the lower town. It was a pleasant walk back to the tender pier for the short ride back to the ship.
We got back to the ship too late to make it to dinner in the dining room so we headed up to the Lido for informal dinner. The food is every bit as good as the dining room but the setting is less formal. You order what you want from the host and it arrives at your table shortly. You pick up your own salad, appetizer, bread and desert if you want them. Sometimes it's a relief to escape the routine of dinner in the La Fontaine.
Our entertainers were Opera Interlude. They excerpt operas so they can do the highlights in 45-55 minutes allowed for shows on the ship. They have four singers and a pianist. Tonight they are doing La Traviata by Verdi, very appropriate considering our geographical location. They are very good, I've seen them before and this time was no exception.
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