Sicily I - Mafia

The man leading his daughter to the altar was wearing dark wraparound sunglasses. Was it only my imagination or was he really also wearing a bulletproof vest under his suit? He could, of course, also have been a fat blind man, but when in Sicily...

My next Mafia meet was at the Temple of Concordia in Agrigento. This 5th century BC Greek temple, that was turned into a church in the 6th century AD (and thereby preserved) was taken over by the Sicilian State Police for a ceremony in which certificates of merit were handed out to policemen who have shown special valour.

Policemen singled out for arresting a Mafioso

Sicily II – Living Church

To take his mind off the continuing saga of his scandalous priests and bishops, the Pope should travel to Sicily. He would be mighty pleased. In Sicily, the Church is still getting it right and Mass, even midweek, still fills the churches. Even the young in their 20s and 30s – those you rarely see in church nowadays – attend mass in Sicily. 

Holidays, such as that of Santa Rita are even more festive:  

The church is overflowing; priests are taking confessions wherever you look.

Reporting a full house to the Papa di tutti Papi?

Sicily III – Jesus Christ Super Star

I don’t know where Tim Rice got his inspiration for naming his musical Jesus Christ Superstar, but he may well have gotten it after visiting the Basilica of Monreale, near Palermo.

It is a splendid 12^th century Norman cathedral with an enormous depiction of Christ that reminded me of the huge propaganda placards of communist dictators. I could not take my eyes of Him. This is propaganda fide at its best. 

Sicily V – Palermo

I did not quite know what my Italian neighbour meant when she warned me, before I left for Sicily, that Palermo was a bit like Cairo. 

Main entrance to Palermo’s opera house, 

Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, 

just before the performance begins. 

Street scene in the old city of Palermo