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.

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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.