POGGIOREALE

Sicily is definitely one of the most extraordinary places we have visited, it stirs the full range of emotions, one minute we can be enthralled by a beautiful work of art, architecture or ancient ruin. Then we can be appalled by the neglect of some of these places, the waste of unfinished buildings and highways (usually where the project, probably funded by the EEC, has run out of money because the balance was stolen). The freshness of the antepasto in the mountains or the mussels in the seaside towns makes eating a pleasure. Then you drive home past the piles of rubbish overflowing the bins and filling the ditches. There is annoyance or laughter at the casual attitude as a Sicilian walks in front of the car, not the least bit concerned and the delight as they show their warmth when you ask for directions or enter a restaurant. The Belice Valley sits on a natural fault line and in January 1968 there was an exceptionally destructive earthquake in that valley. At least 70,000 people were made homeless and there were many deaths.

So there was again a mixture of emotions as we walked around the once beautiful town of Poggioreale, where the only inhabitants now are the goats and ghosts of the past.

Within the wreckage one can see the remains of the beautiful frescoes in what was a thriving town; a mixture of fascination and sadness.