4/28: Hike in Pollino National Park, Transfer to Martina Franca

This was mostly a bus day: 3.5 hours from Sila National Park to Pollino National Park, where we took a hike and had lunch, then another 2.5 to 3 hours to Martina Franca, where we will stay for 3 nights.

A view of the man-made lake (provides hydro power)
as we left Sila.

Above and below: purchase options at a gas
station rest stop: candy pizza and candy sushi.
I didn't try it. The pizza had lots of gummies.

The hike was pleasant and enough uphill to be interesting without being exhausting. We ended at a drop off that overlooked a broad valley and I tossed one of Jim's marbles down the wild cliff. 

Above and below: remnants of holes made by wild
boars in the fall as they search for food to fatten up.
There are wolves in the park who are would-be
predators, but they rarely take on a pack of boars.

This area was heavily logged after WWII by Allied countries
as part of the reparations Italy was obligated to pay as
one of the losers. This stone structure was used to cool
the long tree saws which would break if they got too hot.

Giving Jim's marble to Mt Malvento

This is the cliff Jim's marble went down.

Zoomed in view of a village far across the valley that
can barely be seen near the top of a previous valley photo.

The roads we took were bumpy (my fitbit gave me at least 6,000 extra steps) and curvy, so I tried to sleep as much as I could on the bus, and missed most of the scenery. 

I was awake enough to capture this as we drove along
Ionian Sea on our way to Martina Franca and before
Taranto.

While we enjoyed some of the cleanest air in Europe in the two parks, Annunziata told us about the toll the heavy industry in Taranto is exacting on the 8000 people who work there and the nearby workers' neighborhood.

4/27: Explore PizzoCalabro, Transfer to Sila National Park

We were on the bus a bunch, but had a couple hours in Pizzo to get a gelato and explore the town. After about an hour and a half on the bus, we arrived in Pizzo, which is on the opposite coast from yesterday. Today we are on the north side of the toe of Italy. 

View from the bus parking lot

While many homes have been rejuvenated here, this one
is in original condition.

 

The castle near the main square.

The main square here is gelato heaven, all focused on a different kind of gelato presentation. We visited Dante, the originator of this format, in response to a last minute wedding request. Two flavors of gelato are put into a big ice cream scoop and an indentation is formed in the middle for a dollop of a coordinating sauce, and then sealed with a bit more gelato. This is encased in paper and flash frozen. 45 minutes later, it is ready to serve and coated in a coordinating flavor. The original was half chocolate, half hazelnut, with a fudgy center, then rolled in cocoa powder to serve. Spectacular!

After we finished indulging ourselves, several of us walked to a ceramics maker. He has made models of many of the people in the village and also done a lot of it (let's call it) pretty interesting (that is, kind of odd).When I walked in, I was sure there was nothing there I would ever consider. His work apparently is all tied to the life of the people around him. He has a mold to make life sized anchovies and gave several of us an option to try. I ended up buying 5 of them to make a wind chime. He also showed us how to make a whistle, this one in the form of a wren-like bird. He had several finished owl whistles that I thought were odd-looking penquins. 

The ceramacist explained who several people in the case
behind him are.

Owl whistles

Here he is prepping clay for us to try
molding an anchovy. I wish I could
find glasses just like his.

Then I wandered along the main commercial street of the town, looking for earrings, necklaces, and interesting chocolate. Lucky for my purse, I found none.

Back on the bus, we left the freeways and moved into California hill type roads (very curvy) on our way to the park, at about 5100 feet. In the process of starting a group walk, we came across a sporting goods store (there are little ski hills here) having a sale and I ended up going back to my room  to get my credit card because I found a great rain jacket. I ended up having a friendly 20 minute conversation with the proprietor about our lives.

Pigs on a farm near the resort. The black one in back is
native. There is a tendency to exchange them for the
pink variety because they get bigger.

 

A horse statue of driftwood in the
hotel reception area. There were a bunch
of driftwood floor lamps too, many for sale.

I made it back to the hotel just in time for dinner and to learn that our day tomorrow is the longest transfer of the trip as we drive through and hike at Pollino National Park and end up at the back end of the foot of Italy at Martina Franca.

4/26: Explore Gerace

Gerace is another of the double towns, about 1.5 hours from Reggio. One of its claims to fame is that it used to have 128 churches. Now, with a population of 2400, it still has 28 churches. The bus couldn't take us to the top, so we got a ride in a tourist "train" and walked downhill after lunch to meet the bus. About 400 people live in the old town which also houses the school through 8th grade for the entire village. We visited the castle, but there is no entry because a major earthquake in 1982 took out the bridge that was the entrance. There is recent talk of rebuilding it, but building anything in the south is a challenge because of the reach of the Calabrese Mafia. 

Remnants of an old wall. the arrow slits are angled
toward the sea.

This is an earthquake zone. In 1982, the primary school
for the town was badly damaged and was rebuilt with
seismic insulation to let the basement wobble and
protect the classrooms

 

The iron gate shows where the old
entry started, leading to the opening
behind.

There are two different crests on the
castle - I think this one is Cordoba.

The other (unreadable) crest is
Grimaldi, the Monaco family

Our main focus was the cathedral that was built in the 1100s by the Normans. One of the original towers is still standing, and the others have been rebuilt. The entrance is unusual. It used to be through the back with the apparent front of the church leading to graves under the altar. When the back entry square got compressed by new buildings to being unrealistically small for the parish, the front became the entry.

The former main entry to the cathedral

Entry arch with sundial

The current entry point to the cathedral

The current entry through the catacombs

Original Norman tower that has withstood
the various earthquakes

Here too, older surviving stone was reused as
demonstrated by the different style of the pillars and
their capitals.

This area of Italy was inhabited by Greeks for many centuries and this cathedral became a place where both the Greek and Roman versions of Christianity co-existed. The hymn book above was one of the first in Latin.

The wooden platform on the left
covers what will soon be a new
dig. Our guide hopes they will replace
the wood with glass.

The series of arches above the openings is an old Arabian
method for transitioning from a square to a circular structure.

This is an enlargement of the third flower from the
right on the bottom row, showing 2 angels.

After the church visit, we stopped for a bergamot cookie where Annunziata had arranged for a 16 year old musician to play some traditional Italian tunes on a mini accordian. Gabriella was accompanied on tamborine by his friend Pietro. The cookie was good too.

Lunch was next - I got a sausage that was spicier than advertised --fortunately fine with me. I also scarfed down a simple lettuce salad, suggesting maybe that component has been a big scarce in our meals.

On the way down to the bus, we stopped in at a store where the owners have restarted jasmine production. This part of Italy was famous for both its jasmine and bergamot production and they contributed directly to the perfume industry. Unfortunately for them, perfume chemists discovered how to create the same scent artificially and the growing industry here disappeared. There has been a rebirth of interest in the real products and one major focus is how to expand the usefulness of both bergamot and jasmine. Earlier, we saw how the fruit of the bergamot is being turned into tasty products instead of being discarded when the essential oils were extracted. The women running this shop manage a plot of 400 jasmine plants and use almond oil, a neutral oil, to extract the essence of the flowers. They use the resulting product for cookies, chocolates, perfumes, and liqueurs. We were treated to a taste of the cookies, chocolate, and alcohol. Although I love the aroma of jasmine, I found the taste of the products to be pretty subtle.

View from the upper town

This is the residence of  a primary prosecutor of the Mafia.
The green screen behind the house is to foil would-be
snipers. The jeep in the drive is for the government
people who protect his family. He now lives away from
them for their safety.

We got back to Reggio about 4pm. Tomorrow we head to a one night stay in a national park, and taking a backpack or duffle to the hotel vs. our entire suitcase was recommended, so I am hoping that my new computer backpack will be adequately large to manage for one overnight.

4/25: Explore Archeology Museum, Visit Pentedatillo

 On the way to our first stop,  the Archeology Museum, we encountered a rally before the start of a foot race. Today is a national holiday in Italy, marking the announcement in the papers that fascism was over. There is another national holiday on May 1, so many people take the whole time off. Entry to the museum was free and we were smart to get there early. Even so, we had to adjust with competing tour groups looking at the same things. When we left around 11 or so, there was a long line of students waiting to get in. 

Much of the focus today was on the Greek heritage of this area. When Greece became overpopulated, the  land immediately to the west was this part of Italy with relatively open areas. Albanians also came. Even today there are villages where Greek and ancient Albanian are commonly spoken. 

Cave etching of an aurochs (ancient bull) that was a
totem for the inhabitants.

A woman and a smaller male were found buried together
with the woman's arm around the male, possibly mother
and son.

A collection of stone and bone tool heads with an
example of how they might have been used in the
upper left corner.

Fragment of a statue.

Drawing of what the fragment probably looked like

Typical clothing and adorments of the people.

Clay roof showing lions that functioned as drainage

 

Map showing the path of Greek emigration

Clay status of a knight on horseback supported by a
griffin. The statue is probably 4 feet or more wide.

Life sized representation of Castor and Pollox. The white
portions are reconstructions.

 

Ancient nutcracker!

 

 A primary focus of our visit were the Bronzes of Riace. Few bronze statues have survived as most of them were later melted down to make weapons. These are two of 5 that have been found in the sea. In 1972,  SCUBA divers found the two here about 650 feet from shore in 26 feet of water. We saw another of the 5 when we visited Sicily in 2017. There is no way of knowing who these statues represented, but our guide called them warriors.

Head detail of the upper statue

After our visit, Annunziata got us each a scoop of bergamot gelatto. Then we walked down to the promenade overlooking the Strait of Messina. 

Gelato selection

Sundial with 3 different faces.

The wire towers are an art installation not the frame work
for future actual pillars as I initially thought

View across the Strait of Messina to Sicily

Modern amphitheater in the Greek Style

I joined another couple for lunch at Annunziata's recommendation for authentic Neopolitan pizza. There was no option for a slice, so I thought I would store the leftovers in the mini fridge for a breakfast or two. The crust was VERY thin and  light, and I easily ate half without feeling stuffed. Then I decided to eat the rest of the best stuff (artichokes and ham) and forget the rest.

After another hour or so, we left for a tour and dinner at Pentedatillo, which means five fingers, and is based on the look of the rocky hills. It was described as a ghost town with only 5 residents, but it looks like it is trying hard to rejuvenate. A lot of towns along the coast are known as double towns. When the Arabs and Saracens started to attack, the coastal dwellers moved to the nearby hills for safety and thrived there, but often maintained connections with the remainder of the sea side towns. In some cases, the towns share a mayor. There were throngs of people there for the holiday and it didn't seem very ghostly. We took a short but steep and gravely path to the top where the castle used to be. I was glad for my hiking poles, especially coming down.

The 5 fingered rock the town is named for

This water area (laundry on left, potable on right) was a
primary meet-up spot for kids who would tell their parents
they would help with laundry or water collection. Reminded
me of the bar where I went to college called Andy's Library.

The home of a resident with 37 cats. He is a character
named Georgio who introduces himself as George
Washington or George Clooney. He has a souvenir shop
that has lots of awful paintings.

A late 18th century painting of the castle and village. The
300 room castle was ruined in a devastating 1783 earthquake

The light colored area was the back of the castle chapel

The arch on the left  led to some of the castle rooms

View from the castle

The original family had to sell when they couldn't pay the
taxes and the second family ran into similar problems.
There is also a convoluted legend about some of the
residents and a nefarious marriage scheme that was outed
by a jealous servant. It led to every one in the castle being
murdered and the red in the stone here is supposed to be
indicative of their bloodshed.

Bergamot

In the small world category, I discovered two connections to Milwaukee. We were walking past a home with an upper door open and Annunziata called up to the lady to ask if she lived there (nope - owns, only visits) and the owner invited us up. We learned that her son was a high school exchange student in Milwaukee and went to college at UC Berkeley. I said I used to live in Milwaukee and our guide said she had relatives in Milwaukee too. 

Notice the step and door position. This
is the room we visited in.

We went to dinner at the home of one of the remaining residents who was quite interesting and spoke reasonably good English. After we finished eating, she joined us. She had been a postal employee until meeting her husband and moving to Pentedatillo where she became a shepardess to 90 goats. She makes her own cheese and raises the veggies she served us. Even with a reduced herd of 13 goats, she needed help and hired an African migrant as she is no longer young. We had a nice discussion of the challenge in southern Italy with the continuous arrival of migrants and the tragedy of the frequent drownings. 

The rooftop dining area of our hostess. Fortunately, she
also has an inside dining room we used due to the chill.
She sometimes gets interns and the open roof structure
was built by a Japanese student.

We got back to the hotel around 9 and I pretty much cratered.