This weekend I went on a school-lead trip to Sicily with 28 other students and two professors, one of which teaches my history class on Italy since 1870 (the other is an art history professor who teaches a course on the Mediterranean city, and he brought his wife and adorable daughter along). This was the best trip I have been on since coming to Italy—it was very well-run, interesting, and a great group of students. Sicily is so beautiful and the weather was perfect.
On Friday we began our day in Monreale, visited the cloister and cathedral, and enjoyed some Sicilian cannoli. We then headed to Palermo to see the Capella Palatina (Palatine Chapel) and toured by bus around the city. At the end of the day, we drove to Corleone where we would spend Saturday doing agricultural work in fields confiscated from the Mafia and given to an anti-Mafia cooperative. After working in the fields, we took a short hike up to a Medieval castle, and then visited the site of the 1947 mafia massacre and met a couple of the survivors who spoke to our group about the horrible event. Then Saturday night, the farmers prepared a huge and delicious meal for us with fresh food from their fields. Sunday we visited Segesta which is an site of ancient (and medieval?) ruins—a castle, a theater, and a temple. Then we returned to Palermo for an afternoon at the beach before heading to the airport and back to Florence.
(Note: I do not have any photos from the working in the fields in Corleone—other students do, so hopefully I can acquire some photos soon!)
Monreale
cloister
cannoli
inside the cathedral
climbing the terraces of the cathedral for beautiful views of Monreale and Palermo
Palermo
Capella Palatina
Zisa
Stop at a Palermo beach before heading to Corleone
Corleone
View of the medieval castle we hiked to on top of the rocks
Views from the top
The male professor (who I do not have) brought his wife and daughter along to Sicily
Me sitting at the medieval castle
My friend Leyla and I
My professor Natalia Piombino giving a short lecture about the 1947 massacre before the survivors spoke with us
The two men on the left are the survivors
Sunset from the bus
Segesta
Theater
Professor Alick McLean giving a lecture on the site
View of the temple
Me at the temple
The beach in Palermo
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