Borsellino

July 19, 2010 marked the 18th anniversary of Judge Paolo Borsellino’s tragic and violent death in Palermo. Borsellino was Judge Giovane Falcone’s partner in exposing, prosecuting, and eventually convicting 360 of the 474 accused members of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mob, in 1992 (Harris). The trial, referred to as the Maxi Trial due to the unprecedented number of Mafiosi being tried, was conducted from 1986-1987 in Palermo and the very public and judiciary assault on organized crime was unlike anything Sicily or Italy had ever seen. Of course, given the public spectacle and previously unimaginable crackdown on Cosa Nostra that included the exposure of the mafia’s long-kept secrets of methodology, organizational structure, and sources of power, Falcone and Borsellino were made immediate, if well-protected, targets for mafia assassination. Cosa Nostra succeeded in their assassination attempts on Falcone on his way from the Palermo airport to the center of the city on May 23, 1992 and on Borsellino as he was leaving his mother’s apartment in Palermo on July 19, 1992. Both men and their many police escorts were “literally blown to pieces” in brutal car bombings that shook Palermo and introduced the world to Sicily’s “season of slaughter” (Willey). [A video showing the aftermath of the Borsellino bombing is attached at the bottom of this post, as I believe it portrays the level of destruction caused by Cosa Nostra. ]

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 9

Derek, Sam and I met at 9:30AM to take our little Fiat to Agrigento for the day.

Sam is fascinated by Greece like I am with Sicily, so I told him he could not miss the Valley of the Temples. Anticipating a few translation opportunities/emergencies, I happily went along.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 8

Taormina is a resort town, primarily, with the added (Italian) benefit of having evidence of a rich history. It’s a really beautiful place: the panoramic views from Piazza Aprile IX of the Bay of Naxos and smoking Mt. Etna are truly breathtaking and inspiring. The best view in Taormina, and definitely one of the most impressive on the island, is of the same vista from the Teatro Greco.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 7

I woke up early to enjoy breakfast overlooking a clear sky and the Bay of Naxos. The sight is what I imagined when I decided to come to Taormina and I was happy to be living my vision.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 6

I took the bus from Palermo to Taormina late on Wednesday afternoon in order to get to the east coast in time for dinner. Actually, I took the 107 local Palermo bus to the SAIS Palermo-Catania bus, to the Interbus Catania-Taormina shuttle. The trip wasn’t too long, it wasn’t complicated, and it wasn’t expensive. All in all, it cost me 20 Euros to get across the island.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 5

I spent my last full day in Palermo at Monreale, documenting the state of each pair of columns in the Cloister. I have more photos of columns than I could ever want, I think, and have a lot to report at a slightly later date. In any case, I had a fantastic day at Monreale: mosaics, a lunch of orange, almond cookies and espresso, and a thunderstorm in the Cloister.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 4

Today, I wore a dress. What doors open when you show a little leg!

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 3

I woke up early in order to condense two mosaic journeys into a matter of hours. After breakfast I practically ran to Il Palazzo dei Normanni to see the Cappella Palatina. I have never walked so fast in my life and I am feeling it now. Literally zooming past i Palermitani I did notice an interesting street market beginning to open, along Via Maqueda (a street I have learned to find and therefore love). Finally reaching Il Palazzo dei Normanni after about 25 minutes of speed-walking, I had a language fight with a woman in the ticket office. She must have been as eager to practice her English as I was my Italian so I would utter something in Italian like, “Avrebbe una… un prezzo per i studenti?” and she would respond in very good English. It was early so I was ok with being so obviously American.

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 2

It rained hard on my second day in Palermo. Monreale was supposed to be the focus of my day but I slept too long. I was angry with myself for that but the rain eased my guilt a bit. I decided instead to visit Il Museo Archeologico instead since it is open late for Palermo (6:45PM) and to grab a light lunch somewhere nearby. Il Museo is very close to my hotel but I couldn’t quite find it as usual. While sort of walking around where I thought Il Museo should be I noticed the shopkeepers, delivery boys, and restaurateurs slipping, like me, on the slick white stones that pave un-drained streets. This is too romantic a notion for the situation I found myself in, but as I slipped and waded through the streets I couldn’t help but think of Sicily’s history. A constant downpour of external cultures has come down on Sicily – sometimes enhancing and enlightening it, like the Normans and Arabs, sometimes plaguing it like the Spanish and arguably the Romans. The Sicilans, however, have waded through each cultural invasion and while they are not fully capable of draining their cities and themselves of the myriad influences, the Sicilian never drowns. Now I can’t help but wonder what keeps them from drowning? Is it a certain passivity, even apathy, that allows them to float? Or is it the opposite: a definite strength of cultural character that stands, even if it sometimes bends, to the waves of foreigners?

Sicilia Da Sola: Day 1

I arrived in Palermo happy. Surprisingly so. Not 24 hours before my first solo adventure to Sicily I was losing my mind over the research not done, the bags not packed, the Italian not spoken. I thought going to Sicily alone was the worst idea I had ever had. However, I pulled it together and got on a plane with a bag full of reading, some clothes, my camera and my laptop. It was nice to be spoken to in Italian on the plane , and to respond in a way that solicited more Italian rather than a quick switch to English.