Visit to Castelmola

Saturday March 19 was our first all sun (with just a bit of cloud) day in a while.  The high was about 15C.  We started our walk down the Corso at about 12:45 p.m. and found that the Metropole Hotel had just opened.  The owner is apparently a jazz fan and tonight will be the Hotel's first weekly jazz night.  The Hotel has a lobby right off the Corso and a huge deck and dining area out back facing the sea.  We went in to find out more about the jazz event and took some pictures on the deck.  Gorgeous spot.

Alonso on the deck of the Hotel Metropole

On the deck- la dolce vita

Just inside the door- sign for Jazz Night

The Hotel is just before our favourite Piazza IX Aprile.  The view was wonderful in the sun.  The inner harbour water is a beautiful turquoise and the sea always seems calm.

View from Piazza IX Aprile on a sunny day

We checked out "Twin Set", an Italian dress store that had just reopened after being remodelled. I got a lovely black floaty dress with lacey slip.

New black dress (don't worry, I won't wear it with the sneakers)

We then caught the bus to Castelmola.  Castelmola is about 530 m above sea level and is the town above Taormina.  The population is only about 1200 and it is considered one of the most scenic in Sicily.  The views of the mountains, Mount Etna and the sea are amazing.

There was a fantastic view of the Saracen Castle, which is halfway between Taormina and Castelmola.  The Arabs rebuilt the Castle as it now stands in around 902 A.D.  It had been the site of an ancient Greek acropolis and then the Romans and Byzantines had added to the site.  It is deserted today.  We have taken pictures of the castle from Taormina, but the view from Castelmola was spectacular.

View of Saracen Castle from Castelmola

The view of Taormina and the sea is also awesome, especially on a sunny day.

View of Taormina from Castlemola

View of Greek Theatre

The Piazza St. Giorgio where the bus dropped us had the original arch that lead into the city.

Arch on right; an auditorium is on the left of the photo

We wandered through the narrow streets. 

Small window

Another ancient door

View through the cactus

Another view from Piazza San Giorgio

We then climbed to the ruins of the Castello Castelmola.  All that is left of the castle are the ruins of the Norman walls.  While it is not entirely certain when the castle was constructed, there is some engraving that would place it in the 9th century A.D.  Some historians date it back to Roman times.

The old Norman walls of Castello Castlemola

View from the Castle

Another wall

Alonso at the ruins

View of Taormina from Castelmola

Map of the town

Lots of narrow streets

We stopped at Chiesa San Nicolo' di Bari, a church built in 1934-35 on the site of an old church which dated back to around 1500.  The Church had Romanesque, Gothic, Arab and Norman features.

Chiesa San Nicolo di Bari

There was also a 19th century building in a medieval style that houses the municipal library.  It is named after Salvatore Gullota who dedicated his collection of books to the library in 1956.

Municipal library

View of adjoining mountains

Ceramic heads of the day

Four cats-- we saw a few more just after I took this photo

We headed back to Piazza San Giorgio where the bus drops and picks people up.  We had a caffe and a sandwich on the deck.  The Caffe has operated since 1907 and the Blandano family still runs the business.

Caffe Bar San Giorgio

Outside patio

As we were having our coffee and sandwich, a hearse pulled up to the square and about 15 minutes later a funeral procession crossed the Piazza and went down a narrow passage to the Church.

There was also an event happening in Castelmola.  The Fondo Ambiente Italiano (Italian Environment Fund) which has existed since 1975, was having its 24th two day spring event dedicated to cultural heritage and the environment.  Over 380 locations that are normally closed are open to the public during these days.  There was a group of young people putting up signs and taking visitors on tours.  One young man spoke to us in the cafe about the history of the square we were in, including information about the arch and Castello Castelmola.  He also told us that the white stone in the Piazza San Giorgio came from Siracusa and the black stone was lava from Mount Etna.

Signage for FAI tour

We caught the 4:10 bus back to Taormina and decided to go for treats at BamBar.  My granita was chocolate and raspberry.  Alonso had a cornetto with cream and a macchiato.  The granitas are very refreshing.

BamBar treats

We walked back slowly to our apartment enjoying the sun.  The sun sets at about 6:10 p.m. as daylight savings time doesn't start until next weekend.

I never tire of this view looking north from Piazza IX Aprile

Light on the Municipal library on Piazza IX Aprile

Wunderbar is open on Piazza IX Aprile-- we checked out the prices- highest we have seen in Sicily

We walked down to the Excelsior Palace Hotel where we had the best view of Mount Etna so far this trip.  Smoke was coming out of one side.  We are very excited that we are going to visit the volcano on Sunday March 20.

Excelsior Palace Hotel- 1904-2016

Mount Etna in all her glory

We went back to the apartment and Alonso cooked an excellent dinner of the white fish we had bought in the market, potatoes and artichokes. We had a glass of red wine.

Dinner at the apartment- fish and artichokes were excellent

At about 9:15 p.m. we went over to the Metropole Hotel for Jazz Night.  There was a local group with a female vocalist; a keyboardist; and a bass player.  They were quite good and it was very relaxing.  We each had a glass of wine, that while a bit pricey for Sicily, came with some arancini, shrimp, a bit of seafood salad and a piece of prosciutto with ricotta cheese.

Appy's with our glass of wine

The jazz group (hard to get a good pic)

We got back to the apartment just before 11:00 p.m.