Aci Castello, Acitrezza and around

Following three days of fairly hectic running around, our fourth full day is due to be a leisurely affair, beginning with a trip on Catania's tourist bus, to see the out-lying coastal villages of Aci Castello and Acitrezza.  Touristy it certainly is, but I must admit there is a delight in having the hard work done for you for a change, and we climb with eagerness onto the top-deck.  A very empty bus departs, and we are soon out onto the open road - a term I use loosely, as the roads are never open in Catania, and we crawl out of the city centre and to the coast.

Aci Castello, seven or eight miles out of Catania, is the site of an imposing castle, built in 1076 by the Normans upon an earlier Byzantine fortification.  The castle juts out into a stunningly clear Ionian Sea, and were it not for its great age, it would probably be considered an eye-sore.  Instead, it is iconic; black, harsh, powerful, and totally out-of-keeping with the beautiful Sicilian coast.  Typically Norman, the castle seems virtually impenetrable from sea attack, bearing clear resemblance to the great Norman castles back home.  In all honesty, I never even knew the Normans got this far south, but here's the clear proof.

Aci Castello

Just down the road from the Norman castle lies Acitrezza, a little fishing village with little to keep the visitor, save for its prettiness and its famous columns of basalt rocks that stand just off the coast.  These rocks are known as the "isole dei ciclopi" (islands of the Cyclops) and, according to local legend, were flung by Polyphemus, a man-eating giant and Cyclops, in an attempt to strike the ship of Ulysses (Odysseus).  Pope's translation of Homer's Odyssey goes as follows:

"These words the Cyclops' burning rage provoke:
From the tall hill he rends a pointed rock;
High o'er the billows flew the massy load,
And near the ship came thund'ring on the flood.
It almost brushed the helm, and fell before:
The whole sea shook, and refluent beat the shore.

A larger rock then heaving from the plain,
He whirled it round - it rung across the main:
It fell and brushed the stern: the billows roar,
Shake at the weight, and refluent beat the shore."

The stacks of Acitrezza

All knowledge of Greek mythology already used up (and the Odyssey has made its way sharply up my reading list!), we hop aboard our bus and turn back towards Catania, all to the tune of commentary from the tour guide.  We see a few new streets, but one sight makes my heart leap - the official club shop of Calcio Catania, the city's Serie A football club, which I have been looking for since day one.  We can't stop the bus, but making a mental note of where it was on Via Etnea, we return that afternoon, and I umm-and-arr, before choosing Catania's away shirt, which is white with a blue and red cross.  Even better, as it is last season's stock, it's for sale at only 15 euros, although the cashier has apparently never heard of cash, let alone change (the smallest note in her till is twenty euros, and no coins!) and chaos ensues, not for the first time at a cash desk in Sicily.

Calcio Catania, the city's football club

Following this retail success, we wander down Via Etnea, stop for a gelato brioche, and then find the city's Roman amphitheatre open for a stroll.  Only a small part of the structure now remains, but it is preserved in the very centre of Piazza Stesicoro, surrounded by traffic, almost an inconvenience.  Inside, stray cats sleep, and we are the site's only visitors, having the freedom to roam around the ancient corridors and rooms, although I feel there's something a little creepy about the place, as large gates shut off tunnelled sections that continue under the modern buildings and, staring through the bars and into the dark, I get the distinct feeling we're not quite alone.

Catania's Roman Amphitheatre

Exploring the amphitheatre

Our evening in Catania is another quiet affair, and as we have a busy day ahead, it's a simple stroll to a nearby restaurant for some first-class Sicilian food.  Pasta all round, Italian wine and beer, and a soporific atmosphere complete the most restful, least hassled day of our trip.

A picturesque restaurant