These are the stacks in the library in Piazza where they keep the oldest books.
The ceilings were works of art.
The entrance way into the library courtyard.
One of the piazza's in Piazza Armerina.
This indicated that this building was constructed in 1666. Not a church or museum or anything like that - just a building of row houses.
Piazza Armerina – The Cultural Mosaic Of Sicily
After bidding Nello goodbye, we made our way to Piazza Armerina. We had arranged 2 nights with a couch-surfer by the name of Merrilyn who is from Sydney, Australia. Piazza (as it was known until the end of the 19th century) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are mosaics there dating back to the Greek period. The influence of the various conquerors is evident in various parts of the city. In Monte Quartiere (the Monte district) the roads are built in a fish-bone pattern which is typical of the Normans. There is also a church there dating back to the late 1100s. The wrought iron work on the balconies is definitely Arab, and as I said, the mosaics are Greek. Piazza also has an interesting recent history. The Duomo, or cathedral took 200 years to complete. When the diocese had run out of funding, the Barone Tricone and his consort Lady Laura Assente raised enough money to finish it early in the 20th century. Much more recently, in the 1960s and 1970s, Piazza became a centre for hippie communes, attracting mainly young Scandinavian women and young Sicilian men. The influence of these communes can be seen still today as there is a relatively large foreign community, an open an welcome attitude to foreigners and one commune still operating.
We found Merrilyn's two-floor apartment halfway down a very steep and very narrow cobblestone street. Merrilyn is a very interesting woman. She has been living in Piazza for three years and moved there after have spent several years WOOFing (I forget exactly what WOOF stands for but basically it means working on a farm for your room and board). She knew that she wanted to live somewhere in Italy and she settled on Piazza because:
it was cheaper in Sicily than other parts of Italy,
it was a large enough town to have all the services she wanted,
people there are very friendly including to foreigners, and
there is a foreign community.
Merrilyn has opened up a small book store in the back of her friend, Ula's shop. The store is for books that are not in Italian, but in all kinds of other languages. She doesn't actually sell her books, people can trade their old books for new ones, as long as they leave a donation that goes to an organization that makes micro-loans to help people in Africa start small businesses. She also runs a free-of-charge English group for adults wanting to learn to speak English. Many people in Sicily are either unemployed or under-employed so there is a lot of hidden poverty here. There is an expression in Italian – la bella figura – which means something like to make a good impression, but it is much more really. It is tied into the pride of the Italians. They would rarely allow themselves to be seen in unstylish clothing, yet they would be willing to dig through second-hand shops so that they can find clothes that fit their standards, even if they pay rock bottom prices. The price is not important – the image is. So, Merrilyn is providing a real service. In a town that has so many tourists, being able to speak English is a marketable skill, and Merrilyn is letting people who could never afford English lessons have the opportunity to acquire this skill. Oh, and did I mention that she is 60?
Merrilyn gave us lots of information about living in Sicily, buying a house, cultural gaffes, etc.. She also, very kindly allowed us to use her washing machine and gave us a whole floor of her apartment. One night her friend, Mustafa came over to visit and cooked some amazing Moroccan food and we sat on cushions on the floor of the top floor balcony. Up the hill from Merrilyn's place we could see the duomo light up as the sun went down and we could hear the church bells ring the time.
In our wanders around Piazza, we discovered a couple of wonderful cafes – Cafe Mirus has the best gelato in Piazza and is run by two brothers. One, by the name of Ferdinando, speaks English and is extremely friendly. We also met the owner of the Cafe des Amis. He has been running his cafe for years – I would guess he is in his 60s – and he makes the best arancini around. Arancini is a rice ball about the size of a racquetball and is filled with either meat and peas, or spinach or ham and cheese. Then it is breaded and fried. It is a truly Sicilian dish and is extremely delicious especially when you get them right out of the pan. The owner was also very friendly and allowed us to go into his kitchen and see how the arancini were made. We told him that we had heard his arancini were the best which made him very happy and he gave us some mini cannoli to try. Again, very delicious.
Also in our wanders we found what was for me the highlight of our finds. We walked past the Jesuit College which had been turned into the municipal library. Merrilyn had suggested we go in. We walked into a beautiful courtyard. As we made our way around we came to a door. We peered in the door and were beckoned in by on of the librarians. We walked into a stunning room lined with ancient books. He ushered us into another room that was full of paintings that I can only guess were 300ish years old. Besides books, there were cases of archived pottery that I can't even guess the age of. We poked around for a little while and then we went to speak to the three librarians working in the first room. We told them that I was a librarian from Canada. They pointed out some of their oldest books that were over 500 years old. For me, it was an honour to see a library that that and such old books so well taken care of.
We stayed an extra day in Piazza but finally we had to leave. I think we were all sad that we were leaving. I am sure that Nick and I will be back there and it is definitely on our list of possible places in which to retire.
After bidding Nello goodbye, we made our way to Piazza Armerina. We had arranged 2 nights with a couch-surfer by the name of Merrilyn who is from Sydney, Australia. Piazza (as it was known until the end of the 19th century) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are mosaics there dating back to the Greek period. The influence of the various conquerors is evident in various parts of the city. In Monte Quartiere (the Monte district) the roads are built in a fish-bone pattern which is typical of the Normans. There is also a church there dating back to the late 1100s. The wrought iron work on the balconies is definitely Arab, and as I said, the mosaics are Greek. Piazza also has an interesting recent history. The Duomo, or cathedral took 200 years to complete. When the diocese had run out of funding, the Barone Tricone and his consort Lady Laura Assente raised enough money to finish it early in the 20th century. Much more recently, in the 1960s and 1970s, Piazza became a centre for hippie communes, attracting mainly young Scandinavian women and young Sicilian men. The influence of these communes can be seen still today as there is a relatively large foreign community, an open an welcome attitude to foreigners and one commune still operating.
We found Merrilyn's two-floor apartment halfway down a very steep and very narrow cobblestone street. Merrilyn is a very interesting woman. She has been living in Piazza for three years and moved there after have spent several years WOOFing (I forget exactly what WOOF stands for but basically it means working on a farm for your room and board). She knew that she wanted to live somewhere in Italy and she settled on Piazza because:
it was cheaper in Sicily than other parts of Italy,
it was a large enough town to have all the services she wanted,
people there are very friendly including to foreigners, and
there is a foreign community.
Merrilyn has opened up a small book store in the back of her friend, Ula's shop. The store is for books that are not in Italian, but in all kinds of other languages. She doesn't actually sell her books, people can trade their old books for new ones, as long as they leave a donation that goes to an organization that makes micro-loans to help people in Africa start small businesses. She also runs a free-of-charge English group for adults wanting to learn to speak English. Many people in Sicily are either unemployed or under-employed so there is a lot of hidden poverty here. There is an expression in Italian – la bella figura – which means something like to make a good impression, but it is much more really. It is tied into the pride of the Italians. They would rarely allow themselves to be seen in unstylish clothing, yet they would be willing to dig through second-hand shops so that they can find clothes that fit their standards, even if they pay rock bottom prices. The price is not important – the image is. So, Merrilyn is providing a real service. In a town that has so many tourists, being able to speak English is a marketable skill, and Merrilyn is letting people who could never afford English lessons have the opportunity to acquire this skill. Oh, and did I mention that she is 60?
Merrilyn gave us lots of information about living in Sicily, buying a house, cultural gaffes, etc.. She also, very kindly allowed us to use her washing machine and gave us a whole floor of her apartment. One night her friend, Mustafa came over to visit and cooked some amazing Moroccan food and we sat on cushions on the floor of the top floor balcony. Up the hill from Merrilyn's place we could see the duomo light up as the sun went down and we could hear the church bells ring the time.
In our wanders around Piazza, we discovered a couple of wonderful cafes – Cafe Mirus has the best gelato in Piazza and is run by two brothers. One, by the name of Ferdinando, speaks English and is extremely friendly. We also met the owner of the Cafe des Amis. He has been running his cafe for years – I would guess he is in his 60s – and he makes the best arancini around. Arancini is a rice ball about the size of a racquetball and is filled with either meat and peas, or spinach or ham and cheese. Then it is breaded and fried. It is a truly Sicilian dish and is extremely delicious especially when you get them right out of the pan. The owner was also very friendly and allowed us to go into his kitchen and see how the arancini were made. We told him that we had heard his arancini were the best which made him very happy and he gave us some mini cannoli to try. Again, very delicious.
Also in our wanders we found what was for me the highlight of our finds. We walked past the Jesuit College which had been turned into the municipal library. Merrilyn had suggested we go in. We walked into a beautiful courtyard. As we made our way around we came to a door. We peered in the door and were beckoned in by on of the librarians. We walked into a stunning room lined with ancient books. He ushered us into another room that was full of paintings that I can only guess were 300ish years old. Besides books, there were cases of archived pottery that I can't even guess the age of. We poked around for a little while and then we went to speak to the three librarians working in the first room. We told them that I was a librarian from Canada. They pointed out some of their oldest books that were over 500 years old. For me, it was an honour to see a library that that and such old books so well taken care of.
We stayed an extra day in Piazza but finally we had to leave. I think we were all sad that we were leaving. I am sure that Nick and I will be back there and it is definitely on our list of possible places in which to retire.
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