Two Parts Italy

Under the Mediterranean sun in Sicily, not far from the sea, is the city of Agrigento. It has a lot of modern buildings, elevated roadways teeming with traffic and a population of about 60,000 people.

The Temple of Concordia in the Valley of the Temples from afar, September 2016.

Just down the hill is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sicily, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world. The juxtaposition is typical of what is often found in Italy: yesterday and today standing side by side, the past often overshadowing the present. I once heard the former premier of Italy, Matteo Renzi, say that Italy is more than a museum. And while that is true, the museum aspect of Italy is the best there is.

Fragments of Doric columns at Greek temples in the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily.

The reason so many people travel to Agrigento is the nearby Valley of the Temples. The area was home to the ancient Greek city of Akragas, which was estimated to have a population of more than 200,000 before 406 B.C. Much of the ancient Akragas is unexcavated. But at the Valley of the Temples are seven Greek temples in the Doric style that were built in the 6th and 5th centuries.

The sun starts to set behind the Temple of Concordia, September 2016.

Most of the temples have only pieces still standing but the Temple of Concordia is nearly intact. I was told that's because it was converted to a Christian church at some point, which spared its stones from being quarried for other uses. Even the temple fragments are impressive. On a recent visit to Sicily, I walked among them in awe. Visitors are allowed to be within feet of the massive structures that rise majestically from the ridge on which they were constructed. (That's right - the temples really are not in a valley despite being called the Valley of the Temples.)

The Mediterranean Sea can be seen in the distance from the Valley of the Temples.

Because of how well preserved the Temple of Concordia is, it was easy to imagine life all those centuries ago. I'm sure my vision was more glamorous than life actually was then. But with the sea in the distance and the sun starting to set in the west behind the temple, it was hard to see it any other way. I also understood, again, how grateful I am to Italy for preserving all this history. Italy is, indeed, more than a museum but the museum aspect of it is such an important part of our world.
-post by JG

The volcano giveth and the volcano taketh away. That is an extremely abbreviated version of the story of Mount Etna, the extremely large, extremely active and extremely important volcano in eastern Sicily.

I spent eight days in Sicily last September, traveling from Palermo in the northwest to Catania in the east, and being awed by Monreale and Agrigento in between. I'll write more about Monreale and Agrigento in future posts. Today I'll focus on Etna, which looms over the city of Catania.

Mount Etna is huge. It is an active volcano - one of the most active in the world, the experts say - and covers more than 450 square miles. It has been growing for about 500,000 years! In the photo above, you can see Etna blowing smoke from one of her mouths. In the foreground is lava rock from an eruption this century. A month before I was there, a new "active pit crater" was seen by one of the volcanologists who keep a very close eye on Etna every day.

During my recent visit (as part of a tour with the wonderful company Classic Journeys - I'll also blog in the future about whether to visit Italy independently or as part of a tour - I've done both), we hiked Mount Etna. Not to the top - the volcano has an elevation of almost 11,000 feet - but up one section. Along the way, we came across the remains of a hotel buried by lava during the eruption I mentioned earlier. You can see the hotel roof in the photo below. Fortunately, no one died in that eruption. Still, the volcano taketh.

We also came across a local man in September who had been gathering porcini from the fertile land for his lunch. About 25 percent of Sicily's population lives on the slopes of Mount Etna. The volcano provides not only the benefit of fertile land to Sicilians but also the benefit of tourism (all we hikers need to eat, use the restroom, buy souvenirs, etc.). The volcano giveth.

A Sicilian man shows off the porcini he gathered from Mount Etna for his lunch, protected on his walk home by a cover of ferns. September 2016.

As we hiked up the volcano, it was hard to believe anything could grow on the black expanse we covered. It was even harder to believe that Etna is active nearly every day - not spewing-lava active but churning active (I think of it as a stomach growling).

About two months after walking on Etna, I read this on a website dedicated to volcanoes: "Etna volcano update: Signs of unrest increase." Etna, the site said, "is showing signs of becoming more active again: Over the past few weeks, emissions of gas, steam and sometimes perhaps some dilute ash from the main vent ... have increased. In addition, intermittent weak glow can be detected from the same vent at night."

Volcanologists say the first documented Eta explosion was in 1500 B.C. Its most powerful was in 1669. Its longest in the late 1970s (it lasted for more than a decade), and its latest began in 2007. I hope Etna does not erupt soon but I know it will again, changing forever the landscape that I and my fellow travelers were lucky enough to see and experience in September. -post by JG

Italy is not just home to active volcanoes. As a documentary shared by an Italian acquaintance in Albuquerque notes, Italy "is a turbulent land, geologically." In the past year, a series of earthquakes has shaken the country. The Apennines region experienced half a dozen tremors from August to October. Hundreds of people died, thousands of others were left homeless and historic buildings were destroyed. Earlier this month, a luxury hotel in the region of Abruzzo was hit by a 120,000-ton avalanche. Twenty-nine people were killed. If you love Italy like I do, and want to help with relief efforts, you can donate to: the Italy Earthquake Relief Fund started by GlobalGiving, the Italian Red Cross, or a rebuilding fund started by the National Italian American Foundation.

Wandering among the Ancients in Agrigento, Sicily

Natural History - Mount Etna