Sicily had put us through our paces, but what a wonderfully interesting place to visit.  The sheer amount of people who had invaded, ruled, and fought over this island at the bottom of Italy boggles the mind. The Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Bourbons, and in World War II, the Americans, British and Canadians who came to liberate it from the Axis Powers.  The Brits used Operation Mincemeat to trick the Germans into believing that the Allies were going to attack Greece rather than Sicily, their true target.  By the way, there is a brilliant movie with Colin Firth and a wonderful musical now on Broadway both called Project Mincemeat that describe this fantastic ruse which, by the way, did work. It took just over a month for the Allies to capture Sicily from the German and Italian troops.  From there, they were able to begin their assault on the Italian mainland.

                  Helping the Allies during this battle were the Mafia.  One of our guides told us that some members of the Sicilian Mafia were interested in making Sicily a state in the USA after the war, an idea that never gained any traction.

                  Beautiful Taormina was attacked by Allied planes on July 9, 1943, and the San Domenico Palace was targeted because the German high command was staying there.  The San Domenico is now owned by the Four Seasons chain, and rooms there go for a cool $1,665 a night.

                  The highlight of our tour of Taormina was our visit to the Greek theater, which sits on the hillside overlooking the bay with Mt. Etna in the background.  The theater is still used—in fact there was a huge fundraising concert one night while we were there—and an Italian production of West Side Story was also being staged there.

                  Our guide explained that the ancient theatergoers could observe the four elements of life from their seats: earth, air, water, and the fire of Mt. Etna.  This theater could hold over 5,000 people and walking up to the highest seats was a workout.  Once at the top, however, the view was breathtaking.  The ruins of the theater give way to a view of the bay below and the volcano beyond the town.

                  Our trip to Sicily was a success: we saw salt flats, seaside towns, and a volcano. We ate fresh pasta and dangerous amounts of gelato and drank vino that didn’t give us headaches.  We clambered over cobblestones, went to wineries, and learned a bit about the incredibly rich history of this small island.  La Sicilia è fantastica!

Your intrepid reporter at the Greek Theater of Taormina