Who is Haddy? Dinos in New Jersey...

      Did you know that the first dinosaur skeleton unearthed in the USA was found in the state of New Jersey? Neither did I, until a few days ago, and I grew up there. Hadrosaurus Foulkii, named after the man who excavated it was, at the time of it's unearthing in 1858, the first and most complete skeleton of a dinosaur to be found in the US. The bones were mounted and put on display by 1868 in Philadelphia. The discovery and excavation has since been described as a watershed moment for the science of Paleontology, turning what was once known as a rich man's hobby of collecting fossils into a field of science worthy of study. Since its find, the Hadrosaurus has been eclipsed by more exciting finds elsewhere in the world and the original site was largely forgotten and used as dumping ground for trash. 

     In 1984, a boy scout (Christopher Brees)searching for a community project for his eagle award, learned about the discovery of the Hadrosaur and decided to try and find the original site again. He studied old maps to rediscover the site, cleaned up the area, and was able to turn it into a small commemorative park (now a historic landmark), where artifacts can still be found today.

In the 1830's, a man named John Hopkins had land located near the town of Haddonfield, NJ, on which there were marl pits, this is where the bones were found. A marl pit is a place where clay, silt, and sand have collected over time, the weathered particles aggregate together and are compressed to form new rock. This new rock (marl) is mined for use in agriculture as a soil additive and fertilizer for acidic soil. As the marl pit was mined, fossils and prehistoric bones were found and mostly thought of as conversation pieces. These particular bones were actually found in 1838 and the significance was not realized at the time. 

     In the 1850's William Foulke, who was interested in fossils, heard about the bones and was invited to see them. He wound up excavating the bones from the pit and the skeleton was eventually mounted and put on display. No other dinosaur has ever been found to match the unique one that was excavated from that pit. Foulke had the bones taken to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they remain there today. Sadly, the skull of the dinosaur was never found. At first an artist made a conception of what the skull might look like and that conception has been modified over time as scientists learn more about the species. 

     When the skeleton was first mounted, it was put in an upright position reminiscent of a T-Rex, but that has also been modified using additional knowledge, to more of a quadruped style. Scientists don't know for sure about the actual way it moved, but have made educated guesses and there are a few different theories about how it moved, walked and ate. The discovery of the bones set off a frenzy of fossil hunting in the Garden State and from the period of about 1850-1870, most American dinosaur skeletons came from the little ol' state of NJ! This time period of the late 1800's is also known as the “Bone Wars”, characterized as a competition between two preeminent American paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope (of the Philadelphia Academy of Science, Drexel University), and Othniel C. Marsh (of Yale). 

      In prehistoric times the southern half of the state was submerged. The northern part of the state was above water and connected to the sea, with many marshy areas leading into it. Mastodons, large crocodiles and even giant shark remains have been discovered in the state. Mastodon remains have been found in Sussex County, NJ, and a giant shark specimen called Squalicorax was found with part of its last meal still in the stomach- it did not eat McDonalds, it had another Hadrosaur in there! Other fossil species found in New Jersey include Enchcodus (the sabertooth herring), many specimens of Diplurus (a coelacanth fish), Deinosuchus (a 30 ft long prehistoric crocodile), Icarosaurus (a reptile resembling a flying lizard), Driptosaurus (tearing lizard, a type of Tyrannosaur but not the T. Rex), and the Hadrosaurus already mentioned. The Hadrosaur was about 25 feet long and 10 feet high, it was a vegetarian- eating plants, stems, twigs, and leaves with its specialized teeth. In prehistoric times it roamed the forests and swamps along New Jersey's seacoast. After shutdowns from coronavirus have eased, here are some places to learn about dinosaurs and see their bones near where the Hadrosaur was originally found:       

Haddonfield, N J- location of the discovery of Hadrosaur commemorative park and plaque
Rutgers University Geology Museum-New Brunswick, NJ      

Dinosaur Den at Morris Museum- Morristown, NJ  

Garden State Discovery Museum- Cherry Hill, NJ   

New Jersey State Museum- Trenton, NJ    

American Museum of Natural History- New York City    

Academy of Natural Sciences- Philadelphia, PA     

Field Station Dinosaurs (with anamatronic dinosaurs) -Leonia, NJ   

Fossil Park at Rowan University (dig site) Sewell, NJ    

Sources: 

www.thoughtco.com/dinosaurs-and-prehistoric-animals-new-jersey-1092088   https://mommyuniversitynj.com   

https://njmonthly.com    

www.haddonfieldnj.org    

www.jerseyfamilyfun.com   

Pictures:

postcard pictures of dinosaurs from: www.geocaching.com    

skeleton picture from: youdontknowjersey.com    

Hadrosaur plaque sign from https://southjerseyadventures.wordpress.com   

scale image from: www.haddonfieldnj.org

Boredom Busters- Ways to fight Boredom During a Pandemic!

Using Secret Codes

Ways to fight boredom during a pandemic!

For kids and Adults!

Fun with secret codes

Types of codes: 

1. Replace each letter of the alphabet with a number corresponding to its place in the alphabet. 

Example the letter A = 1. 

2. Reverse the alphabet so that A=Z and Z=A. Example the word “the”= 20 8 5 or gsv. 

3. Move along one letter each so that A=B, the word “the” would now be: uif 

4. Move along two letters each so that A=C, the word the turns into: vjg        

5. Make an invisible ink message by writing with a white crayon on white paper, 

then to reveal the message color over it with a dark crayon. (Crayon resist method)
6. Another code can be to replace each letter of the alphabet with a symbol. 
Example of a symbol code



 
A 1 z
b 2 y
c 3 x
d 4 w
e 5 v
f 6 u
g 7 t
h 8 s
I 9 r
j 10 q
k 11 p
l 12 o
m 13 n
n 14 m
o 15 l
p 16 k
q 17 j
r 18 i
s 19 h
t 20 g
u 21 f
v 22 e
w 23 d
x 24 c
y 25 b
z 26 a
 
An example of a tongue twister.
A tongue twister to decipher: 

 
8 15 23    13 1 14 25   2 15 1 18 4 19    3 15 22 12 4   20 8 5



13 15 14 7 15 12 19     8 15 18 4 5     9 6      20 8 5   



13 15 14 7 15 12      8 15 18 4 5    7 15 20    2 15 18 5 4 ?




A poem to decipher:

          
Z nrtsgb xcvzgfiv ri gsv tvin.

         
Gslfts hnzoovi gszm a kzxbwvin.


Srn xfhglnzib wdvoormt kozxv


rh wvvk wrgsrm gsv sfnzm izxv.


Sri xsrowrhs kirwv sv lugvm kovzivi


yb trermt kvlkov igizmtv wrivahvh.


Wl blf nb uirvmw uvvo rmurin?


Blf kilyzyob xlmgzrm a tvin!


(Gsv Tvin yb Ltwvm Mzhs)

Bookish Boredom Busters- Pass the time during a pandemic!

Bookish Boredom Busters

For people in Quarantine, Lock Downs, and other forms of confinement because of world pandemics!

Might I suggest some reads worthy of your time as you while away the days at home……………..Get your kindle charged up or visit your favorite on-line bookseller to make the best of it during the Covid-19 lock downs. Escape into a good book to help your days be more bearable and enjoyable. Introverts and bookworms are in their element right now! I am listing only titles and authors that I have some experience with and/or have read myself for these recommendations. Reading together out loud, and listening to books via CD or electronically has always been something we enjoy as a family on long car trips or as cherished family time as well. My children used to fall asleep listening to the Chronicles of Narnia being read to them by Mom in the hallway. 

The genre that gets a big chunk of my reading time is Fantasy and Science Fiction, so here goes with the suggestions of authors and titles: (in no particular order).

Jim Butcher- Dresden Files series, featuring scrappy wizard Harry Dresden, book 1- “Storm Front”, various story collections (including some novellas with Bigfoot) and the Codex Alera Series, Cinder Spire series.

Brandon Sanderson- plenty of books and series to choose from including the Stormlight Archive, which starts with “The Way of Kings”. 

 

Kat Richardson- Greywalker Series, set in the Seattle area, first book is “Greywalker”.

Patrick Rothfuss- Kingkiller Chronicles- It starts with “The Name of the Wind”, the series is as yet unfinished but good enough to start reading in spite of that.

Carrie Vaughn- a variety of different series, of which the Kitty Norville werewolf series is notable. First book “Kitty and the Midnight Hour”.

Robert Jordan- “Wheel of Time” series.

Anne McCaffrey- “Dragon Riders of Pern” series.

Marion Zimmer Bradley (editor and author) of “Sword and Sorceress” series which include a wide variety of tales featuring mostly female characters, and many future authors got started in the fantasy genre here. (26 volumes)

Andre Norton- classic Sci Fi and Fantasy.

James S.A. Corey- “The Expanse” series. 

The Expanse Series

 

Kevin Hearne- “Iron Druid” Series.

Candace J. Thomas- “Vivatera” Series and more.

T. Niven- “The Star of Ashor”.

Erin Morgenstern- “The Night Circus”.

 

Ray Bradbury (several works) including “Fahrenheit 451”.

Connie Willis (several works) Time travel, the black death, WWII

Neal Stephenson (several) Dodo, Snowcrash, etc.

Ransom Riggs- “Peculiar Children” series, with unique photography included.

Garth Nix- Sabriel and others

Patricia A. McKillip

J.K. Rowling- “Harry Potter” books

J R.R. Tolkien- “Hobbit, Lord of the Rings”

Orson Scott Card- “Ender’s Game” series and others

“Cosy” Type Mysteries

Paige Shelton- Scottish Bookstore Mysteries starts with “Of Books and Bagpipes”.

Dangerous Type Mysteries starts with “To Helvetica and Back”. 

 

Alice Kimberly (Cleo Coyle) - “The Ghost and…” series. Sometimes over the top but good for escapism.

Lillian Braun- “The Cat Who …” series.

M. C. Beaton- Hamish Mac Beth (Scottish Highland Constable) Mysteries, “Death of a …” series. (I love the character of Hamish, and the series is packs quite a punch of wit, as well.)

Alexander McCall Smith- “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” “Isabel Dalhousie” books, “Professor Von Iglefeld”, and so on. 

No. 1 Ladies Detective series books

Most cozy-type books can get tiresome after a while because they seem to follow a similar pattern and story line, but they are good escapist/light reading endeavors that don’t require as much commitment as a long fantasy series with 1000 pages each, a la Brandon Sanderson style, and you can get through them in a few days of reading time. 

 

Thriller/Action/Other 

 

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child- Many collaborations between this heavyweight author duo, and also many offerings by each author separately, as well as together. Of note: The “Agent Pendergast” Series, of which there are at least 21 volumes, and also various spin off works featuring characters from the Pendergast books, such as those starring archaeologist Nora Kelly. The first Pendergast book is “Relic”. (Be prepared for a bit of gore in these, as the subject is usually unsolved murders being investigated by the FBI, but Agent Pendergast is a very interesting, larger than life character.) 

 

Richard Preston- “Hot Zone” and “Demon in the Freezer”, etc. if you want more pandemic stuff. (Brother of Douglas Preston, already mentioned.)

Elizabeth Kostova- “The Historian”, “The Shadow Land”

Robin Sloan- “Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore” and “Sourdough” for the foodie in you.

Susan Vreeland- A fictional account loosely based on the life of painter Vermeer, “Girl in Hyacinth Blue”.

Lisa Wingate- A fictional account based on a real life baby seller/adoption story in Great Depression times “Before We Were Yours”.

Jean Plaidy- all kinds of Historical fiction books, from the Medici's to the Borgia's to Mary Queen of Scots, Henry the Eighth, and the War of the Roses (written in the 70's).

M.L. Steadman- “The Light Between Oceans”.

Stephen R. Lawhead 

A variety of books by author Stephen R. Lawhead

 

Non Fiction/Biography/Science Nerd/Historical

Sam Kean- “The Violinist's Thumb”, “The Disappearing Spoon” Everyday chemistry, antedotes.

Malcolm Gladwell- several

Penny Le Couteur- “Napoleon's Buttons”

William Rosen- “Justinian's Flea”

Carl Zimmer- “Parasite Rex”

David Quammen- “Spillover”, very timely considering we are facing a “Bat” flu.

Dean King- “Skeletons on the Zahara”

David Gran- “The Lost City of Z”

Wasik and Murphy- “Rabid: A cultural History of Rabies”

Douglas Preston- “Lost City of the Monkey God”, “Dinosaurs in the Attic”, and others.

Keith Richards- “Life”. Need I say more?

Pat Benatar- “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”

Mark Kurlansky- “Salt” is good (but “Milk” is a disappointment).

Thomas Mueller- “Extra Virgin” all about the olive oil industry, surprisingly interesting

Sara Beth's Bakery- learn to cook something new!

The life story by iconic Rolling Stones song writer and guitarist, Keith Richards.

Classics and Utopian Literature (if your brain can take it)

J.S. Le Fanu- classic gothic and ghost stories (many free on kindle for him and other classic authors)

Charles Dickens

Arthur Conan Doyle- Sherlock Holmes and lots of other good stuff, really!

Jules Verne

H.G. Wells

Rudyard Kipling

H Ryder Haggard- “King Solomon's Mines”

George Orwell- “1984” “Animal Farm”

William Golding- “Lord of the Flies”

Aldous Huxley- “Brave New World”

Ayn Rand- “The Fountainhead” and others

Don't forget to feed your spirit and soul as well, in these trying times. Fill your head with something positive and revive your hope by reading some uplifting and inspiring things. I turn to the scriptures, the Holy Bible and other religious writings but will not make a list because of the personal nature of it. I will only add that “The Lost Gospel Q; The sayings of Jesus”, and “The Book of Mormon” (read with an open mind), have also been inspirational to me.

  Bash boredom with some fun and easy art and creative endeavors, pick up a few adult coloring books, some new colored pencils, jelly roll pens or doodle markers, and one of the entertaining “Wreck This Journal” books by Keri Smith (available in different languages, too). All are available online. 

A page from my own "Wreck this journal", the page instructs you to -make a mess and clean it up-.Just 'google' wreck this journal ideas and you will be amazed and inspired.

From Taormina to Cerami to home

After Taormina... our Sicily trip continued

While we stayed in Taormina, we took a side trip to Mt. Etna, to see the volcanic craters and experience the other worldliness and unique landscape of the volcanic area. The shadow of Mt. Etna usually dominates the horizon on the east part of the island, as long as it is not too foggy. Mt. Etna is classified as a stratovolcano, it is the highest peak in Italy south of the alps and the highest active volcano in Europe. The height of the mountain varies according to the most recent volcanic activity. Estimates of the height are 3,326 m or 10, 912 ft and the circumference of the base is 140 km (87 miles). Of the three active volcanoes in Italy, Etna is the tallest, being 2 1/2 times higher that Mt. Vesuvius, of Pompeii fame which had its last eruption in 1944, and which is near the Italian city of Naples.

  

Etna is considered a very active volcano, with lava activity occurring on a regular basis. The rich volcanic soil in the area supports abundant agriculture. In 2015 Etna spewed ash plumes into the air as high as 7 km (23,000 ft). The most recent activity of note occurred in Dec of 2018, which spewed more ash plumes into the air, closing the Catania airport, and gave the island a shake with a 4.9 magnitude earthquake.

Dramatic view from space of Mt. Etna erupting.

We said goodbye to the tour group we had been with in Taormina, and awaited the arrival of the driver we had hired to take us to the little mountain town of Cerami. We arranged ahead of time, for a driver and a two night stay in the ancestral town. There was only one place in town to stay, at a small bed and breakfast place that served mostly Italians on holiday. From what we could discover, getting there would be approximately a two hour drive over winding mountain roads, which most likely were not marked very well. So, to save ourselves the unwelcome experience of being lost in Sicily and unable to communicate, we hired a local driver who knew English and Sicilian/Italian. He was quick to remind us multiple times, that "No one ever goes there," (to Cerami), he had never been there (so to him it was "Nowheresville"), and he did not understand our desire to search out the family, but hey, if these crazy Americans want to pay me for driving there, why not? (It was not cheap, and being a certified driver for the tourist trade and tour guide is a respectable profession in Italy.) He used a satellite assisted map on his cell phone to navigate, and it was a maze of winding mountain roads, with questionable signage, and several areas of storm damage on the roads along the way but eventually we made it! He ultimately was a trustworthy driver, if a bit quirky, so it all worked out in the end. We were on another great adventure! 

View of Cerami showing Mongibello (Mt. Etna) on the right side of the picture, photo by Salvatore Pirrera. The tall spire left of center, is part of the church of St. Ambrose. Slightly below and to the left of the spire is the gray, rectangular bulk of the church of St. Sebastian seen at the left edge, both are in the old part of town.

 

This is a similar view of the town turning to the left of the previous picture. Now the spire of St. Ambrose church is on the right side. St. Sebastian church is slightly below and to the left of the spire. The giant sandstone peak which dominates the landscape can be seen on the left. The sandstone formation contains the ruins of an Arab fort or castle and is located directly behind the Casa del Tempo Bed and Breakfast, where we stayed.

One of the reasons we took our tour of Sicily was to be able to visit the ancestral town where our grandparents were born. Grandpa had an older brother who served in the Italian Army in WW1, and he never immigrated to America. Our family had stories of how this brother was caught in a gas attack during the war and was injured. Because of his injuries he was unable to immigrate, so he stayed behind with his parents, and the rest of the siblings immigrated to the New York City/New Jersey area of the eastern USA. Members of my Grandmother's family (she was also born in the same Sicilian town) immigrated to North and South America. It was mostly a matter of unplanned fate who went where, and Grandpa nearly went to South America himself but the boat going to NYC came first and that's the one he boarded. Our family also told us the story of how the relatives in Sicily generally had a hard time of it and they had sent them clothing and financial support after World War 2. Eventually the two families lost contact and one of my goals while visiting Sicily was to see if I could find any descendants of the branch of the family that had never emigrated.

In the afternoon after leaving Taormina, we arrived in Cerami. Our driver had a mini-van and we could only get within a few blocks of the Bed and Breakfast place, the one place in town to stay, because the "roads" in the old residential part of town were more like cobblestone alleys and unless you have a tiny Fiat type vehicle, it did not fit. We parked by the old Saint Sebastian church and contacted the proprietor. Mr. Pirrelli came to pick us up because the van could not get there. Casa del Tempo Bed and Breakfast, (the House of Time), was an old large residence that the Pirrelli's had been restoring for about 12 years and gathering antiques to decorate it with. Located in the old residential part of town, it happened to be about 2 blocks from the place where my Grandfather was born and raised. It boasted very ancient castle ruins on the peak of the hill in the backyard, if you were brave enough to climb the very steep stairs from the patio up to it (It was way too steep so I did not venture up, especially after my bout with heat exhaustion and dehydration in Taormina. Sicily is very hot in the summer and their concept of air conditioning is very different from an American one). You could tell the Pirrelli family took pride in what they had created, and they were gracious hosts. Mrs. Pirrelli cooked for the guests if they desired to eat there, and we ate delicious local foods, family style, with them and their two children. We communicated through translation apps on our cell phones. We were not very skilled at Italian, and they were not very skilled at English, but it worked. Mr. Pirrelli graciously took it upon himself to be our tour guide that first night, he knew why we had come and understood 'the call of the blood', as he put it. He gave us a nice tour of the town, pointing out places of interest along the way and making a few stops here and there, taking us to the town square, and showing off the town.

An old photograph that my Grandfather had of his brother Michele diVita. Time period unknown, presumed to be the early 1900's.

The next morning, we met our guides at the municipal building and were hoping and praying that we could get the chance to search some records and find out what had happened to Grandpa's brother. Did he ever marry and have a family? Were any of them left here in town? All we had to remember him was an old photo my Grandfather had. The next part of the story seems beyond belief! We entered and were discussing what we were hoping to find. An employee in the building was coming down the stairs and heard us talking. She turned and said to us, "Michele diVita? That's my Grandfather." We were stunned. Did we just get incredibly lucky? Was this real? Was it fate to meet as we did, a coincidence designed by heaven? It was all of that and more. 

 

All of us went downstairs, found, and proceeded to look at the records for Michele. Yes it really was the same person we were talking about. My Great-uncle was her Grandfather! So pleased to meet you cousin! Our eyes teared up and we hugged each other. Our newly found cousin began notifying all the family members in town, and requested the rest of the day off from work. She then planned out the rest of the day for us; meet the family, have a nice lunch together, visit the church, the cemetery, and the location of the old home. So off we went. Our cousin's father-in-law actually knew Michele! Her husband remembers Michele from when he was a small child. We are probably somehow related to nearly everyone in the town. The descendants of the two brothers had found one another again! The family circle was now complete. We learned we have family there, and also scattered about in parts of France, and Germany. In Sicily there is still a lot of economic hardship, so the people travel out for employment to other parts of Europe.

The group of reunited cousins in front of the place of my Grandfather's birth. The apartment now has a garage. It has been rebuilt because the previous dwelling (where Grandpa lived) was so dilapidated and in need of repair. Notice the cobblestone "streets" in the old part of town.

 

Both of our families had the same stories handed down and it felt so good to be there with them. Yes, we had a bit of a time trying to communicate, but luckily we had our guides with us to ease the communication barrier. It is hard to describe the emotions we felt that day. It was now time to say Goobye! to Sicily and our new found cousins...the next morning we flew back to the USA from the Catania airport. We hope we can return sometime soon, after the world starts recovering from this ghastly virus pandemic.

Grandpa left his home, out of desperation with $20 to his name. He said goodbye to his family and all of life he had ever known, he never saw his parents or those he left behind again. He spent two weeks in the steerage of a transatlantic ocean liner and traveled to a new life. In New Jersey he met others from the hometown who had previously immigrated, and later married a girl who was also from Cerami, but her family had immigrated when she was a child. After settling down he proudly called himself an American. 

View of the huge sandstone on the hilltop.

 

The place of my Grandparents' birth is the small mountain town of Cerami, in the Province of

Enna, on the island of Sicily. Cerami was founded by Greeks in the 4^th century BC. This ancient mountain town was the site of a battle between the Normans and the Arabs in 1063, where a miracle is said to have occurred to make the Normans victorious. The town population has dwindled from 5000 persons in the early 1900's to 2000 today. Many of the people born there in the late 1800's and early 1900's, emigrated to North and South America (year range about 1880-1940) as part of the Italian diaspora, the largest period of voluntary emigration in recorded history. Total area of Cerami is 94 km sq. (36 sq miles), altitude is 970m (3,180 ft). Much of the population lives in apartments. The old part of town is situated near the large sandstone formation which dominates the landscape.

Ponte midioevale, old medieval bridge over the Cerami river outside of town.

We had an amazing trip. Sicily has many natural resources, and so much history has played out on the island, to its detriment. It has been at the mercy of one conquering regime after another during its long history. Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Normans to name a few of the conquerors, with the northern Italians being the latest one, but the people are its real treasure. Although it has been part of Italy since the unification in the 1860's, the island still has its own autonomous government and language dialect. Though Sicilians are considered Italians in the general sense, in their own minds they are Sicilian, first.

If you are interested in things Sicilian or have Sicilian ancestry, it is eye-opening to learn of the history of the island, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and what happened in the land because of feudalism-specifically in the south, and events which transpired because of the unification of Italy. You would garner valuable information about this unique island and its people from a study of its history. It would be uninformed to judge the whole island by the likes of Godfather stories, those being such a small but, albeit, a dramatic part of the islands' history. Understanding the history that has shaped the island will give you insight about what life has been like on this sunny island, what has shaped it, and meaningful insight into the Sicilian psyche.

Sicilian flag

Taormina Travels

Taormina Travelogue

Aerial view of Taormina showing the coastline and the ancient theatre. (The Guardian)

Ancient History of Taormina

On the east coast of the isle of Sicily, lies Taormina, a popular tourist destination for over 100 years.

Located on the Ionian Sea, near the Straits of Messina, a narrow stretch of water that separates the island of Sicily from the Italian mainland. The Straits of Messina are where the deadly singing Sirens of ancient Greek mythology and the treacherous whirlpool mentioned in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are said to have lived.

The ancient inhabitants of Taormina were the Siculi, native Sicilians before the Greeks and others arrived to claim their land. It is estimated that Greek settlers arrived in the area about 700 B C and founded a town they called Naxos. Greek philosopher, Strabos, noted that the colonists from Naxos, founded ancient Taormina. In 345 B C historical records note that it was a prosperous settlement and Heiron, a leader of Syracuse  (or Siracusa, an ancient town in southern Sicily) was the leader of the area for a time. The settlement ultimately became a Roman territory when all of Sicily became a Roman province. It was named, Taormenium, and somehow managed to maintain some independence from Rome, unlike nearby Messina, which was forced by the Romans to provide war ships for the powerful Roman fighting forces. 

Teatro Antico, Ancient Greek, then Roman theatre (my photo).

Close up of the ancient theatre, white Greek columns and orange Roman brickwork. (my photo)

Looking down at the coastline of Taormina. (my photo)

For a period of time, Taormenium was held by insurgent Roman slaves, they held it for longer than expected because of its favorable coastal position, but eventually it fell to Rome, who promptly dispatched the rebels with the sword. Subsequently after more warring, Caesar Augustus chose the site for a Roman colony because of the advantageous positioning on the coast and imported hand picked colonists so he could keep an eye on the locals and deter them from challenging Rome in the future. After the fall of Rome those colonists were expelled, the city was renamed, and became a stronghold for the Byzantine Empire. In the early Middle Ages, Fatimid Arabs (a Shia caliphate that controlled Northern Africa) overtook the city in 962 AD, after a 30 week siege. The Muslim rule lasted roughly 100 years, then power was transferred to the Normans. The city passed through various ruling dynasties including the Hohenstaufens (Germans), Angevins (English), the Aragonese (Spanish), and then the French in the late 1600's who came in from Messina.

Saracen Castle ruins in the hills above Taormina

Palazza Corvaja in Taormina showing the Arabic influence in architecture.

Porta Catania and San Stephano, again showing Arabic architectural influence.

Modern Age

Map, sowing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Taormina was ruled by the Bourbon Dynasty (approximately 1600's through 1800's), and was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies comprised all of the island of Sicily, and all of the peninsula of Southern Italy located south of the Papal States. It was the largest sovereign kingdom by population and geographic size in the 1800's, up until the unification of Italy in the 1860's. At that time construction projects were begun which made access to Taormina, located on the coastal mountainside, easier, and travel from Taormina to the population centers of Messina and Catania was improved.

In the early 1800's German poet and statesman, Goethe, sang the praises of Taormina in his work “Italian Journey”. It became the playground of such luminaries as Oscar Wilde, Nicholas I of Russia, Nietzsche, and Wagner. A German painter made landscapes of Taormina famous in his paintings and stylish Europeans began to flock there as Taormina became a mandatory stop of the “Grand European Tour”. In the early 1900's it became known as a hip place for expatriates, writers and other intellectuals.

Today, the main town is built over the ancient site, it sits 800 feet (250 meters) above sea level but occupies steep and rocky terrain. An old Saracen castle sits on a nearby mountain peak. The ancient walls can still be seen and it boasts an ancient Greek, and later a Roman theater (teatro antico), which was built on top of the old Greek one. When we visited last summer, Andrea Bocelli was scheduled to do a concert on the night of our visit, in the ancient amphitheater, a very dramatic setting!

Taormina is a very scenic place, with a lovely main Piazza (town square), and historical buildings, around a shopping district with cozy bistros, and nice community gardens located around Corso Umberto. It still has a bit of a swanky vibe, and beach and coastal access is right down the mountainside. The community gardens boast a Victorian “folly”, and the Isola Bella, a tiny private island once part of a private estate, is now a nature preserve. Baroque and classically styled churches have been built on the sites of ancient Greek and Roman ruins, and they have become historical monuments themselves, part of the many layered history (literally and figuratively) of Taormina.

View of the Isola Bella (Holland America)

Another aerial view of scenic Taormina.

2020 Read Your Shelves Book Challenge

I am taking a short break from the Sicilian travel writing that has been posted lately to add this years 2020 Read Your Shelves book challenge. This is the third year of that particular challenge and before too much of the new year passes by, I'd like to post it. Much of this blog is book related, so here it goes- with the posting of this years challenge! There's more travel writing to follow in the coming months and other intriguing and interesting subjects just waiting to be explored this year!

Read Your Bookshelves Challenge 2020

Introduction: Read books you already have on your bookshelves! Tackle a goal that is not meant to overwhelm you-with 12 books already sitting in your house! Choose those 12 books however you want, and set yourself up for success -select your 12 books and just go for it! If you happen to not have 12 books, yet unread, in your house it's a perfect opportunity to get to know your local library or perhaps use a gift card you received as a Christmas present to get some books you have been wanting, but, you might want to change the title of the challenge to fit your circumstances though!

This is my third year doing the 'read your shelves challenge' and it has become one of my favorites because I generally always read more than 12 books a year, so I can realistically do it and I get to enjoy the books I've already collected but have not read yet.

2020 List: This year instead of just randomly taking books off shelves, I put a book I did not get to from last years challenge first on my list and then chose books I was most interested in from the shelves. Here's the list...

1. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I've been wanting to read something by this author ever since I picked up a few books by him at the thrift shop. This was on my challenge list last year but I did not put too much effort into actually trying to read it. I read many other books but this one slipped by me, so I have made it a priority this year. 
2. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I enjoyed The Bean Trees by this author and had picked up some other titles by her on one of my haunts at the thrift shop.
3. Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre. This was on some 'best of genre' lists, an older title I had acquired from a desire to read more classic SF. It might not enjoy present popularity but is supposedly a 'classic' SF book (from 1978).
4. The Medical Detectives by Berton Roueche. A Non-fiction title related to my profession.
5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Collection of Ghost Stories from 1898, satisfies my interest in Gothic Literature.
6. Adrift on the Haunted Seas by W. Hope Hodgson. Collection of classic sea stories by an acknowledged master of the genre.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn. A YA offering that has been sitting on my shelf and I wanted to preview it for some tweens I know.
8. Vampire Knight vol.1 by Matsuri Hino. Part of an ongoing interest in exploring graphic novels.
9. Thunderhead by Richard Preston and Lincoln Child. I am a fan of this pairs Agent Pendergast novels so when I find other works by them at the used book shop I snap them up.
10. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, one that has been sitting on my shelf for a few years with supposedly good reviews, but I don't know much about it.
11. The Woman Who Walked in the Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith. A continuation of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Over the years I have been slowly reading through the series.
12. The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip. Fantasy work by an author that was recommended to me in a Library Thing book exchange.
    
    

Other reading goals for this year: Most of these I don't already own so they could not be part of the above mentioned challenge. 1.Read the newest Preston and Child Agent Pendergast book when it is released. 2.Read one or some Hamish MacBeth cozy detective novels (by M.C. Beaton) as a preview to visiting Scotland. 3.Read an Elizabeth Peters novel since I picked up several of them at the thrift shop, but already had my 12 challenge books picked. 4. Read the next installment of the Expanse series (SF) by James S.A. Corey.