To me Sicily feels related to southern Italy but contrasted with Naples where we were before everyone seems quite relaxed and the pace of life less frenetic. At least on the eastern side of the island.
Yesterday in Syracuse we had rented a car and were just pulling out of the parking lot. The streets are tight so to get out of the parking space I needed to nose out into traffic and then back in again to get angled ok, but once I pulled into traffic I couldn’t get the Renault into reverse gear. So there I was, blocking traffic. I figured great, now I’m really going to get it! But no one seemed preturbed. Five or six cars backed up waiting patiently for me to get my act together. Beth went back into the rental agency to find someone to help. Meanwhile, an older man jumped into the passenger seat next to me and showed me the ring on the stick shift that needed to be pulled up to get the car in reverse. By then it had probably been 2-3 minutes (it felt like an eternity!) and finally someone got impatient and honked. My friendly helper looked startled, crossing his eyes in mock disgust, and interrupted our learning session to jump outside the car and yell at the guy honking.
OK, I thought, it’s not that different from Naples!
Unbelievable, man! Just glorious! Good thing you’re a photographer because words could never do it justice. The architecture, the fresh produce, the ancient theatre. What a wonderful place!
Beautiful! You really capture the soul of Sicily. I’m intrigued by the giant plaster half head. Did you find out what they were doing with it?
Lovely pics Johnathan, thx for sharing.
E
Love the one of the person standing on the light!
Sounds like the stick shift on my old Saab 900. Must be a European thing.
These are wonderful Jonathan. I was there in 2004 and I still remember it as a special place.
The diversity of the images is most striking to me. It’s not unusual for you to shift from still life to landscapes to portraits and so on, but the rich colors and vivid uses of light say something about the place itself.