SUNDAY TRAVELS
We are forced out of our living room by the combined forces of plumbers and muritori (wall workers), so we sit here on the terrazzo thinking about our beautiful day on the road yesterday. We visited a town called Montedoro and saw some Americans we know there who have lived here for 6 months and are leaving for the states now. Kathy and Peter had relatives in this little mountain town north of Agrigento and so determined to spend the first part of their retirement here in Sicily. This town is typical of so many others, and so one feels the familiarity of a Sicilian town, but it also has a uniqueness that makes each locality different.
Montedoros history was one of sulphur mining and large landowners who controlled the mines. Many families had to leave this area when the mines were closed and many emigrated to France or Belgium and worked in the mines there. So many families still own property in Montedoro, spending half the year there and half the year in other parts of Europe.
Montedoro now has a cultural minister who has some revolutionary ideas of how to attract other tourists to this tiny village. There is a brand new town historical and natural museum in the final stages of opening. An observatory for the province of Caltinesetta can be seen gracing one of the surrounding hillsides. For 10 years now, artists from all over the world have been invited to work in sandstone for displays all over town, not just in its public places. In addition, there was commissioned a study in painting of the process of the wheat harvest, and the murals created are hung on a long wall near the outskirts of town. The public garden also boasts a lovely amphitheater that has performances almost every night in summer. All of this cultural activity is unusual in this area which is in the heart of wheat growing country in the interior and in many ways reminds me of Pietraprezia. And my ancestral hometown does NOT contain any fancy stuff like this!
On the way home we stopped at San Leone, hopping to catch some of the first annual Sicilian folk dance festival. Alas, we would have had to wait on the lungomare, the shoreline of sleazy shops on the eroded beach, for an hour or more for a performance. So instead, we sneaked shots of some of the dancers, and others gladly offered themselves. They were so cute! Maybe next year.
Montedoros history was one of sulphur mining and large landowners who controlled the mines. Many families had to leave this area when the mines were closed and many emigrated to France or Belgium and worked in the mines there. So many families still own property in Montedoro, spending half the year there and half the year in other parts of Europe.
Montedoro now has a cultural minister who has some revolutionary ideas of how to attract other tourists to this tiny village. There is a brand new town historical and natural museum in the final stages of opening. An observatory for the province of Caltinesetta can be seen gracing one of the surrounding hillsides. For 10 years now, artists from all over the world have been invited to work in sandstone for displays all over town, not just in its public places. In addition, there was commissioned a study in painting of the process of the wheat harvest, and the murals created are hung on a long wall near the outskirts of town. The public garden also boasts a lovely amphitheater that has performances almost every night in summer. All of this cultural activity is unusual in this area which is in the heart of wheat growing country in the interior and in many ways reminds me of Pietraprezia. And my ancestral hometown does NOT contain any fancy stuff like this!
On the way home we stopped at San Leone, hopping to catch some of the first annual Sicilian folk dance festival. Alas, we would have had to wait on the lungomare, the shoreline of sleazy shops on the eroded beach, for an hour or more for a performance. So instead, we sneaked shots of some of the dancers, and others gladly offered themselves. They were so cute! Maybe next year.
posted by Sicilian Mama at 2:45 PM
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