Exploring Siracusa, once the power of the Mediterranean

SIRACUSA -- The seven Chippings on the Giro di Sicilia wandered about the ancient and modern city of Siracusa yesterday.

They bought pasta, cheese and vegetables at the open air market in the old quarter of Ortigia. They scrambled up the 2,500-year-old Teatro Greco, an open-air amphitheater built to accommodate 15,000 people who came to view the plays of Euripides and the gladiatorial combat of the Romans. And they rode their bikes through the narrow lanes of the Jewish quarter (at least until they were expelled in 1492). Narrow lane bike riding ended when Gianni DeR had a gentle collision with a woman motorist who called him a word usually not included in Italian-English dictionaries.



Spazio in the Teatro Greco, said to be the largest and best preserved Greek amphitheater in the world.



Gianni DeR exits the cave called the "Orecchio di Dionisio" ("The ear of Dionysius") in Siracusa's archeological park. The cavern was used as a jail.



Intrepid Chipping photographers Filippo and Giannia DeR shoot stunning shots of a lemon tree.



The Baroque cathedral plaza. The cathedral itself includes massive Doric columns, some of them fractured by the 1693 earthquake that destroyed much of southeastern Sicily.



A street scene in Ortigia, the ancient quarter where the Greeks first settled and now the heart and soul of the city.

Location:Siracusa, Italia

Giuseppe comes through with bikes, pinochle play begins

SIRACUSA -- Helmut, the proprietor of www.sicily-bike.de, turns out to be as illusive as the Wizard of Oz. Invisible. Behind a curtain in Deutschland.

After a 50 euro deposit and a series of e-mails in which most of my questions about rental bikes went unanswered, I received a cryptic response. Go to the little town of Solarino, a few miles west of Siracusa, and meet Giuseppe at the soccer field. Call him by cell phone first. He will arrange the bikes.

I thought this sounded more like a Mafia drug deal than a cycle rental business. But with 50 euros already spent through PayPal and no other rental prospects, we decided to go along. So mid-day yesterday, six of the seven Chippings on the Giro di Sicilia boarded the Interbus at Piazza Borsellino in Catania and took the one-hour ride to Siracusa, the ancient city that for three centuries before Christ was the biggest power in the Mediterranean. The capital of Greater Greece.

We were six because il ambasciatore, Dottere Jimma Jimma, was still waiting for Alitalia to deliver his luggage from the Saturday flight he took from Venice. So he opted to spend another night in Catania at Gianluca's B&B (And, buoni auguri, his bag was finalmente delivered last night, a mere two and a half days later.)

The six Chips arrived at the bus station in Siracusa, where they boarded a local bus, full of Italian school kids, for the final 20 kilometers to Solarino. The piccolo paese of Solarino looks like the hot, dusty, sun-drenched stone town in "Cinema Paradiso." Old guys in old suits gassing away on stone benches in the central piazza. A baroque church, its doors closed against the world, facing city hall. An ancient dog, drool down its muzzle, asleep in the shade.

I had called Giuseppe first from Siracusa. Forget the soccer field, he told me. I'll meet you in the piazza. And there he was, bounding toward us, a burly, enthusiastic, unshaven guy in his 40s. He showed me the e-mail message he had received from Helmut at 4 that morning. It was the first he heard of us, he said, explaining that Helmut is totally disorganized.

We piled into Giuseppe's cargo van and proceeded to drive out of the little town, through groves of lemons, oranges and olives. Some Chips were apprehensive; others dubious. At one point, we found the street blocked by a motorcyclist. Giuseppe, yelling, gesturing and waving his arms, berated the guy, calling him a "pazzo," an idiot. The guy laughed, Giuseppe laughed, they both shrugged and we moved on.

After winding down a long gravel road, we came to a farm. Giuseppe's father was out on a tractor, tilling between rows of grape vines. We parked in front of a large concrete, barn-like shed. Giuseppe flung open the door and, allora, biciclette galore.

Over the next hour, Giuseppe adjusted saddles, pedals, brakes. We changed from our long pants into bike shorts and shirts. We filled water bottles, tested tire pressure, and fastened our panniers to the rear carriers. And then we were off, back to Siracusa on a less-travelled route suggested by Giuseppe.

In fact, Giuseppe mapped out a whole tour of southeastern Sicily for us, using various Magic Markers on my Rough Guide roadmap, to indicate routes he called beautiful, enchanting, without equal. But also some routes with a good bit of climbing.

In Siracusa, we are lodged for two nights in an eight-bed dorm room at the Lo! Hostel, a very hip, clean, Euro-tech place done up in black, white and stainless steel. Our spotless, white linen came starchily folded in clear

plastic bags. We ate the complementary breakfast in a kitchen that would have done Julia Child proud.

And, last night, John D and David were introduced to the joys of pinochle.
"Introduced" seems hardly the right word since the two of them are both obvious card sharpies, very familiar with counting tricks, flushing out trump and passing for maximum meld.

The first official game ensued. Despite aggressive bidding by the team of Davide and Spazio, they were unable to overcome the first hand advantage of Gianni D and Filippo. Gianni D, holding a run and aces around, bid 48 and, with Filippo along for the ride, captured all 12 tricks. Their partnership wound up with 59 points for the hand and deprived Davide and Spazio of their meld. Final game score was 120 to 57.

Location:Siracusa, Sicilia

Chippings do "Corri Catania"

CATANIA, Sicilia -- On the eve of their bike trip, four Chippings joined thousands of Catanians this morning for a 10 kilometer run and walk through city streets.

On a bright, sunny day, Phil (Filippo), Bruce, Jimma and Spazio walked out of their B&B in the centrally located Piazza Stesicoro to become part of the crowd that surged through the closed streets for the annual "Corri Catania." Participants wore white and green T-shirts proclaiming Catania's commitment to environmental action. Official entries, wearing numbers on their backs, included infants in strollers, school children, the disabled, women's groups, the elderly, even the occasional T-shirt wearing dog.

Catania has some environmental challenges. The coast immediately south of the city is fouled with petrochemical plants. The medieval centre is crumbling, plaster walls peeled and broken and scrawled with grafitti. A guidebook describes the Corso Italia, a main thoroughfare, and the area around the train station as "insalubrious."

No worries for the Chips, however, who ambled along with the crowd.

The Chippings' cycle ride around Sicily begins in earnest tomorrow when the Chips pick up their rental bikes in Siracusa. After overnight flights from Seattle, Jimma, Bruce and Filippo checked into Gianni & Lucia's B&B yesterday afternoon. Spazio arrived by train from Taormina. Jimma, dapper in his black wool trousers and sweater, discovered upon arrival that Alitalia had not loaded his luggage. The airline promises he'll have it this evening.

Meanwhile, Dino, looking remarkably refreshed after stops in Philadelphia and Rome, showed up about 2 this afternoon. Gianni DeRocco and Davide Wilder are expected later today.

Location:Catania, Sicilia

Ettore disappears, Helmut to equip Chips in Sicily

TAORMINA, Sicilia -- For reasons I cannot figure, Ettore, the once obliging proprietor of www.rentbike.it, is now as unresponsive as the late Cardinal Ducmet whose body (pictured above with death mask) lies prone in a glass coffin in the cathedral in Catania.

I don't know what to make of Ettore, who promptly responded to all earlier e-mails and phone calls. Perhaps he can't meet our order for 58 cm bikes with 78 climbing gears. At any rate, despite repeated attempts by your faithful correspondent and advance man, Ettore non mi rispondeva. So I got worried. I figure the only two things we cannot do without in Sicily are bikes and two decks of pinochle cards.

Consequently, I have forsaken Ettore for Helmut. I have put down a 50 euro deposit for seven bicycles with Helmut, a German who operates a cycle renting business near Siracusa. He claims to have large frame bikes for all of us and is offering gli americani anciani a rental price as attractive as Ettore's.

You can find out more about Helmut Walter and his bike rental business at www.sicily-bike.de. One of the links on the latter site will take you to amazon.deutschland where you can read Helmet's book on cycling in Sicily. In German.

Renting from Helmut allows us to avoid the petrochemical autostrada from Catania to Siracusa. Instead, for a mere 3 euros, we can ride the train from Catania, arrive fresh in Siracusa and proceed to pick up the bikes.

I realize this sounds like cheating but I have yet to meet any Sicilian who thinks cycling down the coastal highway from Catania to Siracusa e molto gentile e divertimento. Sta bene?

Location:Taormina, Sicilia

No beach weather yet for Chippings in Sicily

MAZZORO, Sicilia -- Your faithful correspondent and advance man walked down the hillside from Taormina yesterday to this popular seaside resort and found nary a soul on the grey pebbled beach. Isola Bella ("beautiful island"), perhaps the most photographed site on Sicily's eastern shore, stood forlorn and dreary on a dark afternoon. As it began to rain, a lone restauranteur packed up the lunch tables and chairs that he had optimistically set out on the beach.

All this is to say that the Chippings on the Giro d'Sicilia might as well leave their Speedos at home. Early spring weather here does not invite swimming or sun bathing. Highs are in the mid-60s, overnight lows in the 40s. Intense morning sun breaks are followed by clouds and light rain showers. On the plus side, there has been little wind.

In Sicily, like most of southern Italy, the mid-day meal time from 1 to 4 in the afternoon is scrupulously observed. Everyone goes home to mama's to eat and nap. Consequently, markets, shops, museums, pharmacies, even bars and restaurants are closed. Walking the street during these hours is a bit like being on a strange planet from which all the inhabitants have fled.

The daily siesta here in the MezzoGiorno has at least two implications for the Chippings: 1) Mid-day cycling might be a great time to ride through cities and towns that would otherwise be clogged with traffic; and 2) We better carry lunch with us because we sure aren't going to find any food to buy at lunch time.

I've also come to a third conclusion reported earlier: We better choose our cycling routes carefully or we will be at serious risk of cardiac arrest. There are hiking trails in the Cascades that have fewer switchbacks and gain elevation slower than some of the paved roads I've seen here in eastern Sicily.




On Sunday, Peppe, my intrepid Italian teacher, took me, an old German guy, an old Swiss guy and two Swiss babes (the German babes weren't available) to climb Mount Scuderi, which at 3,600 feet is the tallest peak northeast of Mount Etna. We were able to drive the first 1,000 feet up a narrow paved road that clung to the cliffside and wound back on itself at least a dozen times. At one point, we had to yield to a bull. Eventually, the road ended and we set out on foot up a rocky trail toward the tabletop summit of the mountain. We were within an hour of the top when fog rolled in. Then a soft rain began. And the Swiss babes began to whine. Indecision ensued. And everybody but Peppe abandoned their intermediate Italian to argue vociferously in German, English and Swiss German about whether we should continue or go back.

The Swiss babes won. We turned back, falling into weary talk in our native tongues. For lack of another English speaker, I spoke to Peppe in Italian. I was wet, cold, tired and disappointed. It was a perfect time to use the emotional nuance of the past subjunctive with the aspirational hope of the conditional. And I couldn't do it. Ho fallito malamente.

Location:Mazzoro, Sicilia

Street musicians in Taormina

TAORMINA, Sicilia - Here's what the Chippings are in for during the Giro di Sicilia: Live street music. Note the guy playing the jug on the far left. Is there a connection between la musica siciliana and bluegrass? You be the judge.

The island of the jellyfish

Your faithful Chippings advance scout and correspondent had been frequently baffled by the appearance of this mermaid-like creature swimming in a field of red and yellow. She has three naked legs. Out of the curly locks of her golden hair spring two angel wings and two hissing vipers.

She is everywhere. On the provincial flag of Sicily. On the sides of official vehicles. On signs marking forest preserves and historical sites. I see her on plates, plaques and ceramic tiles surfacing alongside images of the Virgin Mary and Padre Pio.

Finally, I asked Pepe, my hip Italian language teacher, "Per piacere, Pepe, dimmi chi e questa signorina?"

And I learn that she is not a ragazza nor a mermaid nor a German babe. She's a "medusa," a jellyfish, and she represents the autonomous island province of Sicilia.

Pepe explains that the three legs, splayed in triangular fashion, stand for the three corners of the island. The angel wings are what Sicily would hope to be, close to God, heavenly, aspiring to fame and fortune. The vipers are what she has to be to protect herself, to sting, to bite back at the many invaders who have despoiled her resources and oppressed her people for the last 3,000 years.

So now when I see the medusa, I shuffle on, wary and attentive.

Location:Sicilia

Non aver paura di La Cosa Nostra

For those Chippings doing Il Giro de Sicilia, I write to assure you that you have nothing to fear from the Mafia. While Sicily is indeed the home of La Cosa Nostra, these made men have no interest in shaking down old coots riding rental bikes and surviving on Social Security.

For the average Joe Tourist like us, the Mafia is invisible. I walked all over Catania but nowhere did I find a bunch of sharply-dressed guys, pistols bulging under their suit jackets, their black Ferraris parked at the curb, knocking back vino rosso and sambucco in a fancy ristorante. Non ci sono.

The only thing even suggesting the Mafia are the black T-shirts hawked at tourist shops with a dour image of Marlon Brando under the words "Il Padrino." The godfather.

Pepe, my Italian language teacher and a font of informazione about all things mafiosi, tells me, however, that the Mafia is very much alive and even respected in Sicilia. He claims that 80 percent of the small businesses (and most of Sicily's businesses are small) continue to pay the "pizzo," the protection money exacted by the Mafia. They do it in part because they know the Mafia will likely straighten things out quicker and more effectively than the police or the courts. They also do it because they don't want any trouble.

So who would you trust? The Mafia? Or a bureaucratic, inept and often corrupt government?

While the Mafia continues to traffic in drugs and run gambling rackets, it now invests its money in construction, real estate, financial institutions and other legitimate businesses, Pepe says. In fact, its money provided the means for Catania -- hardly a world capital -- to build the biggest commercial center in all of Europe.

Ponder that next time you're watching the Sopranos.

Location:Sicilia

Renting Ettore's bikes

ACIREALE, Sicilia. Ettore, the proprietor of www.rentbike.it and an enthusiastic advocate for cycling in eastern Sicily, told me Saturday that he would be very pleased to rent his bikes to the Chippings and is ready to negotiate a special discount per i americani vecchi ("for old coot Americans").
I met Ettore, a squat middle-aged fellow who rides a top-of-the-line Italian road bike, outside his apartment in this medieval Baroque town 16 kilometers north of Catania. Even though I showed up an hour late and interrupted his mid-day meal, Ettore was gracious and accommodating. He took me deep into the bowels of his apartment complex to reveal a windowless garage full of cycles, tires, tubes, pumps and other gear.
Ettore deals in quality, light-weight bikes, aluminum and carbon-fiber frames, most of them manufactured by Specialized. He told me he doesn't want any whiny calls from broken down cyclists riding cheap metal bikes with crummy tires. I believed him.
Check out the website and you'll find four types of bikes listed with components and weekly hire costs. All of Ettore's rental bikes come with helmets, spare tubes, patch kits and a pump. He can deliver them to us anywhere in Catania at the time and date of our choosing. (I suggest Monday morning, March 28, at Gianni & Lucia's B&B.)
His carbon-fiber road bikes are beautiful but these are for the guys in the Tour de France lycra outfits on weekends. When I suggested that we might want to put a rear rack on his top-of-the-line racing bikes, he went slightly apoplectic.
I believe we want the trekking bikes. They come in two sizes, for short guys and tall guys. (In Sicily, I think we're all tall.) They're reasonably light, with 27 gears and a rear rack for panniers. The pedals are not for clip-in shoes but I suspect Ettore could sub them out if you like.
I told him that I could not yet make a reservation since I hadn't checked with the other Chippings doing Il Giro di Sicilia. He asked me to e-mail him with our request as soon as possible so he has the right-size bikes set aside for us.
So, attenzione, per favore. Those of you on the Sicily ride, please RSVP subito and let me know your wishes. (If you want the small frame with training wheels, tell me.) Ettore will give us a group discount. We did not discuss specifics but I believe we'll end up paying less than $10 a day per bike.
If I do not hear from you, I will reserve a bike for you anyway and stick you with a negative 100 points in the first pinochle game. If you want to make other arrangements or have decided to bring your own steed, please let me know.



After the equipment inspection, Ettore took me around the corner for a coffee and a road study. On the bar table, he spread out a huge map of Sicily published by the Touring Club of Italy. The coastal roads have heavy automobile traffic, he said, although they are comparatively flat. At all costs, avoid the coastal route to Siracusa which is lined with petrochemical plants and is undergoing repairs. Better to take the train there, he said, or the inland route through Lentini and Sortino. Ettore then showed me several inland routes that would take us through gorgeous countryside to some spectacular ruins and medieval town. However, he added, you will have to climb. But remember, after you climb, you coast. Va bene.

Location:Acireale, Sicilia

Padre Pio and Boss Beech

Many Sicilian churches have shrines to Padre Pio, the 19th century saint whose hands, feet and side were said to bear the wounds of the crucified Christ. Note the strong resemblance to T. Casey Beecher, the inspiration for the TCB Memorial Hearts Tournament. Turn over the holy card of the Virgin and, guess what, she becomes the Queen of Spades.

History, mystery, resentment await Chips in Sicily

In Roma, Milano, Torino and points north, the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy (Garibaldi and his red-shirted militia accomplished that a year after landing is Sicily) was observed Thursday with much fanfare. But here in Catania, deep in the neglected and often resentful South, flags were few and patriotic speeches virtually nil.

Taorima, a summer resort allegedly frequented by the rich and famous, is best known for its Teatro Greco, originally built by Greeks in the third century BC. The Romans redid it for gladiator fights in the first century AD. It looks south with a stunning view of the coastline and Mt. Etna.

Cycling challenges in Sicily

TAORMINA, Sicilia -- Sicily is going to present the Chippings with some challenges they did not face in Ireland, the Czech Republic or the shopping center parking lot in Coupeville.

I've bussed twice now between Catania, the island's second biggest city (population 1 million), and Taormina, an ancient, hillside town of a mere 12,000 inhabitants and one of the island's biggest torist draws. Here's some quick conclusions about cycling from what I've observed:
1) Recreational cyclists ride in groups on weekend and holiday mornings. St. Patrick's Day, which was not observed here, happened to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, which was observed. Consequently, yesterday was a holiday and scores of brightly-colored, lycra-clad cyclists on high-end carbon-fiber frames rode the coastal route below Taormina. Predominantly men of all ages, they rode two and three abreast and motorists simply drove around them. Sicilian drivers seem accustomed to cyclists and don't lay on th horn or flip the bird.
I have yet to observe any cyclists carrying gear unless you count a couple old guys on ancient bikes with baskets mounted to the handlebars. Cycling here is preparation for the Tour de France.
2) Very few places rent cycles. Gianluca, the English-speaking proprietor of Gianna & Lucia's B&B in Catania, put me in touch with his bicycle mechanic, a guy who operates a suburban shop. The guy claims he can come up with seven road bikes for us, but I'm a little dubious. He's not normally in the rental business. Tomorrow I'll have coffee with a fellow who works at www.rentbike.it, which advertizes road, touring and mountain bikes online. This business operates as an association our of the coastal town of Acireale, 10 miles north of Catania, but says it will deliver bikes to our doorstep for a modest fee. Finally, there is a German outfit that rents road and touring bikes in Siracusa, which is likely our first stop (40 miles south) after Catania.
3) We will want to choose routes carefully. First, to avoid roads with molto traffico. And second, to avoid roads with extreme hill climbing. For example, the road from the beach to Taorima climbs more than 600 feet in about half a mile. There are a series of hairpin turns, precipitous drops and switchbacks that would require a cyclist to ride standing up in a very low granny gear. Even if you could accomplish that, you're likely to get sandwiched by a tour buss or knocked over the side by a Fiat Cinquecento. In nearly a week here, I've seen no cyclists in Taorimina.

Above is a shot of Taormina from halfway up the mountain side topped by a craggy little village called Castelmola, where, appropriately, you can see the locals training falcons.

Photos of Catania, the Tacoma of Sicily

Catania with Mt. Etna faintly smoking in the background from the terrace of Gianni & Lucia's B&B in an 18th century building in Piazza Stesicoro



La Pescheria, the famous Catania fish market. Note smoking vendor as he slices swordfish. Multi siciliani fumano anche le giovane.




Catania-born Vincenzo Bellini, who wrote 10 world class operas before his death at 33, is Catania's most famous son. There's even an eggplant spaghetti named after him. He and St. Agatha, virgin and martyr, are ubiquitous. Agatha, the city's patroness, was offed in 252 AD by the Roman praetor for rejecting his advances. Her alleged miraculous intervention prevented the city's volcanic destruction in 1669 but fell short in subsequent eruptions. A lava elephant supported by an Egyptian obelisk honors her today in the cathedral piazza.




Retired Sicilian men wile away the day playing a card game that attracts scores of onlookers. It's a two deck game, made with small bets and much card slapping. Women are nowhere to be seen.

Location:Catania, Sicilia

Greetings from Catania, Sicilia

Ciao, cycliste ed amici,

This is the first of several in-country scouting reports for the Loose Chippings Giro di Sicilia ride beginning March 28.

Three plane flights and 20 hours after leaving Seattle, I arrived in Catania on a sunny, clear afternoon yesterday with temperatures in the low 60s. Excellent cycling weather. The view from the air suggests that riding near or around Mt. Etna will be challenging. Centuries of volcanic activity have left this portion of the island crumpled with ridges, gullies, steep climbs and long drops. Coastal routes, however, are flatter with circuitous secondary routes and little auto traffic.
Per instructions, I texted Gianluca, the proprietor of Gianni & Luca's B&B, from the airport and took the No. 457 (one euro, Dino!) directly to the B&B, which is housed in a crumbling, 19th century building in the historic center of the city. (Much of Catania, by the way, is crumbling.) Gianluca, a lanky, bearded fellow who told me he competes as a triathlete, arrived on a Vespa as I rang the doorbell. He conducted me upstairs where I checked in, paid 45 euros for the room and breakfast and then sat down with him for a brief explanation of the city over a map from the tourist bureau.
Shortly afterwards, exhausted and sleep deprived, I nodded off in my room and slept nearly till dawn. The room is an odd one. It retains some of its 19th century features, a ceiling at least 15 feet high with the decorative plaster artwork for a chandelier that no longer exists. At the same time, there's an odd pillbox of a bathroom set up in the corner of the room that looks both like an afterthought and a guard station. My window opens onto a balcony obscured by scaffolding and the plumbing makes occasional gulping gasps as if gagging with stuff we're told not to throw down the toilet. The piccolo shower is a tight squeeze.
Gianluca is aware that seven of us will be rendezvousing here the last Sunday of the month to begin the bike ride. A cyclist himself (he owns two road bikes), he offered to talk with his bike mechanic about rental possibilities in the city. I mentioned the online rental place in Acireale, but that is 10 miles away. So I'll update you when I know more.
Ci vediamo pronto,
Spazio

Location:Gianni & Lucia's B&B in Piazza Stesicoro

What are "Loose Chippings"?

Founding member Nicky Jahn supplies the following definition of "Loose Chippings" from Wikipedia:

Loose chippings are stone fragments which have become detached from a road surface and form a hazard to vehicles using that road. They may arise following roadworks for which tarmac has been used but not yet steamrolled or settled. In many countries, road signs are put up, requiring vehicles to drive at a low speed. In the UK, these temporary traffic signs will require the driver to proceed at 20 mph.

The consequences of speeding too fast through loose chippings are that both the road and vehicles are damaged. The loose chippings are picked up by tyres and may be spun off to become high speed missiles.

Loose chippings may also accumulate on curves and verges where they may choke drainage channels and form a hazard for cyclists who tend to ride at the side of the road.