We would be leaving Sicily on an early flight out of Falcone Borsellino Airport, west of Palermo. Since that’s located several hours from Santo Stephano di Camastra, we decided to move closer to the airport the day before. We took one last look around the Piazza Madre, stood under an overhang to avoid a light rain and waited for our driver to take us to Terrasini.
Terrasini has a population of about 10,000, roughly twice the size of Santo Stefano di Camastra. After arriving we had most of the afternoon and evening free, so we spent the rest of the day walking around the city. The Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) was only two blocks away from our Bed and Breakfast so we started by going there. The gates to the church, the Maria SS delle Grazie, were closed and there was a lot of activity in the square. Several large tents had been set up and there were two tall boom lifts holding up men as they installed some type of framework in front of the church. Easter was only four days away so we assumed they were preparing for the holiday. We left the commotion and continued our walk.
Based on our map, we took one of two nearly-parallel streets and headed towards the harbor. Along the way we came across two fountains. One, the Fountain in the Piazzetta Viviano, showed a young woman in a colorful dress carrying a basket of fruit and a jug that seemed to be leaking water. The dress looked very realistic, more like cloth than plaster or stone. The other, the Historic Fountain of the Villa San Giuseppe, obviously employed magic because water was pouring out of a faucet floating in the air. Some of the streets we walked along were lined with trees wrapped in green, white and red ribbon, the colors of the Italian flag. There was a door surrounded by ceramic tiles, which reminded us of Santo Stefano di Camastra. When we finally reached the Tyrrhenian Sea, a strong wind was kicking up the waves and flapping flags from Ukraine to Austria.
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Continuing along the waterfront, we passed the municipal building with a war memorial out front. Then a sign caught my attention because I thought it might also be a weather vane. It said “Tu mi piaci” (I like you). Liking people apparently wasn’t enough because nearby was a small park displaying a large sign proclaiming “LOVE.” On our way back to the Cathedral Square, we spotted an unusual statue of a man holding a 50-kilo (110-pound) orange tree in one hand over his head. According to a sign on the statue, this represents an event called “Festa di li schietti” that’s held in Terrasini every year. The bachelors of the town wear traditional Sicilian clothing and compete, I assume to see who can hold the tree up the longest. The fact that this takes place on Easter Sunday made me wonder if I was wrong thinking all the decorations were being put up for Easter.
When we returned to the Cathedral Square, the work was continuing. Lattice work covered with lights was being attached to the framework that had been installed in front of the church. Some of the food tents were starting to serve customers so we picked one and went in for dinner. I asked our waiter about all of the decorations going up. He explained they were for their annual festival for bachelors. What he then described was just like what we had recently read. I told him that I was married and, though he didn’t say anything, I could tell from the look on his face that he was relieved that I would not be competing. After dinner we decided to continue our walk to see more of the lights. Night was finally setting in and some of the main streets were glowing with large displays that stretched across the entire street. I looked at the design in the lights and tried to see if there was anything that appeared to relate to the upcoming Festa di li schietti. I didn’t see anything, but maybe I’m just a too-literal kind of guy.
Our short time in Terrasini was very enjoyable, much more so than I had anticipated when I was simply looking for a place to stay near the airport. Then it was Terrasini to Palermo, Palermo to Munich, Munich to Chicago, and Chicago to Madison.
Arrivederci Sicilia
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