the Trinacria
by isolina_it
The word or term Trinacria means "triangle" as for the shape of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean. The Greeks called it Trinakrias, the Romans called it Trinacrium, meaning "star with 3 points". Today its known as Sicily, or Sicilia in Italian.
Below is a mosaic of the trinicria which dates back to the 3rd century BC. The photo appears in the book TRINAKIE Breve storia semiseria della Sicilia by Nino Cirnigliaro with photos by Ciccio Gurrieri, Utopia Edizioni, 1994, Ragusa. The Greeks circumnavigated the island and noted the three capes, Peloro, Passero, and Lilibeo, forming three points of a triangle in the northeast, the southeast, and the west. "Taken by its beauty they likened its shores to the legs of a woman" and represented the island with the TRINAKIE. The Sicilian Banner recently adopted by the autonomous region of Sicily has the Trinacria in its center on a shield of yellow gold and red-orange. The head in the center was that of Medusa, whose hair was turned into snakes by the outraged goddess Athene. In their wisdom, the Sicilian parliament replaced the Medusa head with one that is less threatening to the innocent onlooker who, after all, should not be anticipating being turned to stone.
LA MADONNA DELLA LETTERA, MESSINA, SICILY
by travelgourmet
Situated in the harbor of Messina, in the Falcata Zone, stands the old fort walls with a large inscription " Vos et ipsam civitatem benedecimas" ( We bless you and your city) written on the side with a tower that rises to a large statue of the "Blessing Madonna", the protectress of Messina who legend has it gave a letter to the people of the city through an embassy official of Messina. The monument was lit up, electrically, by Marconi in 1934 with a radio remote signal from the Vatican in Rome.
the ''Assunta'' celebration
by isolina_it
The celebrations for the Assunta without doubt attract the greatest number of Messinesi and visitors from both near and far, partly because the procession includes the famous gigants. These are two aspects of a single celebration which is rooted in the distant past. The festive floats of Messina have been famous since they were built in the 16th century. When Charles V arrived in Messina in 1535 on his way back from his african victory, he was amazed by the devotional floats. Don Giovanni of Austria felt the same emotion when, in 1571, he weighed anchor from Messina with a large Christian fleet to carry out a resounding victory over the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto. The float scenographically represents the theme of the Virgin’s Assumption into Heaven with a pyramid structure. In the lower part, the socalled “Dormitio Virginis” is represented, while Jesus Christ is shown on the top delivering the Virgin’s soul into Heaven. The clouds on top represent the “seven heavens”, that is, the exaltation of the float’s theme. This concept is reinforced by the presence of the sun, the moon, and little angels
Surprising Messina!!
by emira
"Great Site-Seeing"
I've read alot about Messina on the internet before I went there, but when I got there it was a totally different picture..Messina has alot of beautiful sites and monuments that you could visit..One of the best monuments is definitely the Duomo with its beautiful fountain as well as you should visit the harbor especially during sunset because it has one of the most beautiful views..Looking at the houses and the way people lived reminded me of my country,Lebanon which has a very similar architecture..You should go to Messina if you love architecture and especially beautiful sites...
"Food In Messina"
As soon as I arrived to Messina, I went out to have lunch..Honestly I never thought there were so many types of pasta..Pasta with tuna,pasta with eggplant, pasta with hot sauce...the pizza there is great as well and the desserts are amazing....They really are very creative when it comes to desserts...Next time u're in Messina don't forget to taste the Gelato(ice cream)...It's amazing eventhough u have no idea what the flavor is since the names are really weird:)
ETNA
by arkadia
"VULCANO ETNA"
Yes, I made it!! I saw him...the ETNA.
What a wonderful piece of nature.
We decided to climb up one morning to see the rest of the latest eruption. We came before the most tourist and could enjoy the peace of the surroundings.
There I felt one in one with mother earth. Something that you cannot describe in words....but you have to be there to understand.
The activities stop mostly. Here and there you can see some fume coming out of new craters.
The Etna is reacheable from different sites. We travelled from Giarre up to Zafferana.
Tours can be booked in many places: here is one
www.sicilyincoming.it
E-mail: sio@ducezioviaggi.it
We went alone but to get more proffs. information it's nice to join the group and get up high on the mountain with a special bus.
Here some of the pictures taken that day.
Something that really astonished me was this little red bug: LADYBUG.
It was full of them. They were crowling in the new lava and apparently found something really good to eat in there. For me, these little bugs are the most beautiful on earth and so, I had fun sitting there and watching at them.
One of the still smoking point ( september 2001)
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Small boats around Ganzirri lake
Messina harbor
