Sicily - natural beauty and an equally rich history

By Antonia Borsa, Coordinating teacher: Melania Egyed, School: Samuil Vulcan National College

                   I have always been impressed by the landscape of  Sicily whenever I had the occasion to see it presented on T.V or in different films. And here I am giving my own opinion after I had the opportunity of my life to visit it and to have real, vivid impressions about the place.

                   Being on an Erasmus project, my school had an exchange visit with a school in Sicily.  I was among the lucky pupils who were chosen to take part at the activity.

                  With its rustic landscape and smoldering volcanos, Sicily is gifted with natural beauty and an equally rich history. Palermo is a city in Insular Italy, the capital of both autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture and architecture. It also has attractive natural area, a botanic garden, old buildings, museums, castles etc. The streets in Sicily were always swamped with motor scooters, three-wheeled cars, and buses. The food was very good and for me was pretty easy to slip into the relaxed Italian lifestyle. It is a lovely place to go in every season and the weather is not important.

                   There are so many places that you can visit in Palerm,o but among the places that impressed me the most were:

              Palermo Cathedral the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the presence of different styles, due to a long history of additions, alterations and restorations.

              Another place that impressed me was Palermo’s Cathedral, the Chiesa di San Domenico is a church found in the Vucciria neighborhood. The church sits away from Via Roma at the back of the plaza that shares its name. With its impressive Baroque facade and its sheer size, we couldn’t resist taking a peek inside.

                 Agrigento twenty-five hundred years ago was filled with priests, priestesses and worshippers. It is an ancient city that dates back to the time of the Greeks, so there are specimens of every architectural era since antiquity. There are seven Greek temples in the Valley of the Temples to the south of Agrigento, constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Everything was just impressive for me.

                   On a lighter note, I really loved Sicily and walking around the city amongst buildings that hold so much history. Overall it was a tremendous experience. This trip will always be special to me because I had the opportunity to see a different culture and had many entertaining experiences. I enjoyed so much that I did not even notice how quickly one week scheduled time has passed.