Sicily - salty royal blue surf and searing heat pelting down on dusty piazzas and domed churches. The birthplace of cannoli and Mafioso, arriving on this sun kissed island is like being transported to a scene of the ‘old country’ in a Mafia movie.
Indeed Messina, the town of our Sicilian stop, was the actual location for the filming of ‘The Godfather 2’. So much of the timeworn buildings, stereotypical residents and ‘rough around the edges’ atmosphere conjured up vivid images of a forgotten era.
With most of the ship’s guests, over half of whom hailed from Italia, still on board the ship and packing the pool and gym areas to maximum capacity, spending a day in Messina was a chance to step out of the luxurious sophistication and crowds of a cruise bubble and into an authentic and humble world. We wandered the streets, curiously peering into every grocer, café and deli along the way and taking in the lazy hazy afternoon ambience of a region that holds so much mystery and infamy.
Despite our secret wish of stumbling upon a car chase complete with large shiny black vehicles or a shoot-out between men in tailored black suits and fedoras, the town was rather unassuming and relaxed. I was intrigued by the exotic mix of Moorish, Venetian, Spanish and Italian influences in the architecture, religion and cultural life of the island, not to mention the dialect, and would truly love to explore more of this area in the future.
Carrying the striking mental pictures of exquisitely delicate and gold flecked mosaics of Madonna and child that bathed the roof and beams of the main basilica, Messina was a relatively monotone detour sprinkled with moments of remarkable beauty and perplexity.
