The Fountain of Youth does exist - Lago Specchio di Venere

Nothing prepared me for what I witnessed on the sun drenched southern Sicilian Island of Pantelleria.

Pantelleria - more Africa than Europe, more East than West, more tropical than temperate, but above all, more mythical than real.  Not only is Pantelleria jam packed with some of the most picturesque beaches in Europe but it also guards many secrets, some of which are only recently starting to reveal themselves, such as the ancient mysterious civilisation known as the Sesi with their Neolithic burial mounds.  Others may never be explained.

It is the latter that this post is about.

As your plane descends into Pantelleria's airport, the last few seconds sees you only metres above a beautiful spherical lake carved out of the caldera of an extinct volcano.  The water has a strange - unnatural-like, almost surreal torquise colour.  It is surreal, yet hypnotisingly beautiful, almost as if it were designed that way.  The lake, which incorporates a thermal spring arising from the lava activity of the ancient volcano, is called Lago Specchio di Venere, which translates to Lake Venus' Mirror.  We mentioned this lake briefly in a previous post on Spa Heaven.


Like so much of Sicily, Lago di Venere is the site of an ancient classical Greek legend (I am beginning to see that a good proportion of the Pantheon of Gods made Sicily their home at one point - who can blame them?).  The legend behind this place is that as the water was so strikingly blue and clear in its colour, it was used as the vanity mirror by the goddess of love, Venus.  She especially liked to compare the beauty of her reflection in the lake with that of her rival Psyche.  At no time is the mirror effect more profound than close to sunrise or sunset.


People bathe in the lake and sometimes exfoliate themselves with the thermal mud as a beauty treatment while others swear by the healing powers of the lake.  My experience amazingly corresponded with this.  A week earlier I had a minor motor scooter accident on another Sicilian island, Ustica, off the coast of Palermo.  While I was largely unhurt, the accident left deep gashes and cuts to my leg.  I immersed myself in Lake Venus the day I arrived in Pantelleria and covered my skin with the volcanic mud that is to be found on one side of the shore.  After an hour or so, I stood up to walk further into the lake in order to wash off the mud.  When I returned to shore I noticed the scars and the deep cuts on my leg had almost healed.  Where there had once been a deep scar and crusty surface before, now there was a small mark that resembled an old wound that had almost healed.  It was almost as if my accident had occurred three months earlier and my scar had all but healed.

I don't know what are the chemical properties that make up the thermal mud found in Lago Specchio di Venere, but I am sure that if a company had the rights to bottle and sell the mud, they would be sitting on the rights to "The Fountain of Youth".  I know I would buy a lifetime's supply - and maybe more!  In fact, I am sure there must be a natural cosmetic beauty company doing this now.  I will research and report back to the Blog.  Stay tuned future immortals.

With regard to accommodation there is an amazing place called Suite di Venere located half way up the volcanic wall overlooking the lake.  It has splendid views of the lake which allows you to take in the true beauty and colour of this phenomenon.  It is not for a light wallet unfortunately costing between €200 and €400 per night depending on season.  But where else can you take someone to a place that used to belong to the goddess Venus?

Lake Venus' Mirror - Magic does exist.

2,500 year "Homer" Ship Found off Coast of Sicily - A Treasure Hunter's Delight

Sicily has many more treasures to give up yet. Recently, a ship dating back to 500 BC was salvaged off the coast of Gela, Sicily. The ship was believed to be sailing from Greece to Gela, a Greek colony, transporting various materials. The 21-metre long vessel, is the largest of its type ever discovered, but what is the most amazing thing to me, is that the ship was constructed using a particular obscure method, of pine planks ''sewn'' together with plant fibre, described in beautiful detail by the legendary classical writer, Homer, in his epic, The Iliad.

It is the best-preserved example in the world of a Greek ship built using this technique, and therefore has earned the title of the "Homer" ship. In fact, according to this article from National Geographic, the ship is, "something of a missing link in the evolution of naval engineering".

Sicily's regional councillor for culture, Antonello Antinoro, went even further in typical Italian flourishing style by claiming that, ''Gela's ancient ship is the patrimony not only of Sicily but of all humanity.''

Go here for an amazing video of the submerged vessel. This significance of this discovery kind of makes you want to get into the diving business as a treasure hunter.

Footnote: Sicily, as readers of this blog will recall, was the site of a number of flourishing Greek city states, such as Gela and Naxos, and including the Daddy of them all, the great Syracusa, which rivalled Athens for dominance in the Hellenic world.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Getty, Sicilian officials launch art collaboration (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Archaeologists unearth 6th century Ikea-style temple (telegraph.co.uk)

The "Bloody Handprint" 447 years on

Those of you who follow this blog (on all that is fascinating and useful about Sicily) will know that we are big fans of the legend of the Baroness of Carini. This is partly because it is based on a poem written in old-Sicilian that is regarded as one of the most beautiful poems written in Italy (even Dante claimed that the only true poets in his era were from Sicily), and partly because it is set in an incredible 11 Century castle with awe-inspiring views of the Mediterranean.

The legend states that the Baroness of Carini was murdered by her enraged father as an "honour-killing" when he found out about an affair that she was having. The murder was so brutal and shocking that the legend states that once a year, a bloody hand-print appears on the wall of the castle in the room where the murder took place.

So you think this is all just a legend and a good bedtime story? Think again, 447 years after the alleged crime, Italian police are re-opening the case with the help of some 21 Century science. The lesson being that in Italy, crime does not pay - the police will eventually get to you, even if it is a few centuries later.

Read on ...

P.S. What really spooks me the most about this article on the Castle is the following;
"Several years ago we tested areas of the castle we knew the Baroness lived in with electromagnetic field meters, and the results were very strange," ... "In certain rooms it was as if there were ghosts in the castle, as if the murdered Baroness lives on."

The Secret Tunnels Under Palermo

From Robin Hood to the Illuminati, to the Knight Templars : Conspiracy theories are always fascinating.

The black-hooded, Robin Hood-like, Beati Paoli waged a secret yet revolutionary struggle against the power of both the Catholic Church and the reactionary authorities. Located in Palermo and named after "Beato Paola," Saint Francis of Paolo, the Beati Paoli are a group of hooded "avengers" who (supposedly) defend the common people against the Inquisition, its spies, and the government.

In 1071 feudalism was introduced in Sicily by the conquering Norman lord, Roger II de Hauteville [2]. As the nobles exploited their feudal rights in the centuries to come, so to did the Church, as it enforced its authority on the people via the tool of terror known as the Inquisition. Any action by the commoners that could be interpreted by the State or the Church as acts of treason or heresy was punishable by death. Such actions could be unauthorised assemblies or the formation of societies with goals that were divergent to those of the state/church regime at the time. In this environment, several secret orders and sects came to existence. One of the most famous, The Beati Paoli, was allegedly conceived to oppose both the church and the state, defending the commoners from the infringement of basic human rights by a tyrannical regime.

The Beati Paoli were a fraternity of secret knights head-quartered in the Capo district of Palermo; they use a vast array of tunnels, sewers and hidden passageways to secretly navigate the city. Due to the sensitive and dangerous nature of their work, they protected their identities by wearing black hooded cloaks and operated only at night. When they caught a suspect, they would bring him back to their underground refuge beneath the city of Palermo, where they would conduct a trial and execute their sentence.

History records that the Beati Paoli eventually faded from power as they failed to achieve their goals. But this is not so. The truth is that the Beati Paoli were but one manifestation of an ongoing struggle between conspirators in Sicily and the government, one which spanned not decades but centuries.

Since they were a secret society by definition, the Beati Paoli would not have sought publicity or left documentary proof of their existence.

In 1909 the writer Luigi Natoli gathered all the oral legends and the informations , and created a famous novel I Beati Paoli.

It is very difficult to establish the historical truth of this sect, but the setting is real: the old Palermo; mainly the area of "il Capo" market and its underground tunnels.

The famous "Grotta dei Beati Paoli" is an underground cave near the church of Santa Maria di Gesù, called S. Maruzza, where, as the story goes, the sect of the black hoods established its court. It was linked to several other underground tunnels being part of the compound of early Christian catacombs, still existing near the ancient Porta D'Ossuna. Do not attempt to find these places, it will be impossible to make your way through the labyrinths of Il Capo, besides, it is not the safest place to wander around without an experienced guide.

Whether or not the Beati Paoli really existed, we do know one thing as fact. That is, the existence of various underground tunnels and mysterious places, as large as the entire city of Palermo, have been built in the form of a huge qanat system constructed during the Arab period (827-1072). Many of the qanats are now mapped and some can be even visited today!

A walking tour of the Beati Paoli secret places is available each Sunday at 9:45am starting from Palermo's Cattedral. I am not sure if this tour is available in English, but considering the minimum cost of 6 euros, it might be worth checking it out! Booking is essential. Call Cooperativa Cagliostro tel.091 583218 - 091 334277

Underground Palermo - The Cooperativa Solidarietà, in collaboration with the local section of Club Alpino Italiano, organises guided visits to the qanats, or underground water channels of Palermo. The Qanat is an ancient piping system used for the draining and the transport of drinking water. It is an engineering technique introduced into Europe by the Arabs. You can tour both the Qanat Gesuitico alto (Fondo Micciulla) and the Qanat Gesuitico basso (Vignicella). Both offer amazing, recently discovered, paths though channels and underground tunnels. They can be contacted on +39 0916520067 or +39 091580433 or here. A walking tour of the Beati Paoli places is also available.

For those who feel inspired by our story, why not to indulge your palate at Ristorante Beati Paoli. Although not part of the alleged Beati Paoli underground tunnels, this restaurant is entirely inspired by this mysterious brotherhood. Inside, the dark stone walls create a faintly rustic atmosphere, but outdoor seating is also available most of the year.

A good article on the Beati Paoli can be found here.

Tindari and the Story of the Black Madonna and Medusa

In mediaeval times the legend of the Black Madonna was augmented in France by some especially "esoteric" popular religious sects, common amongst them were the Knights Templars and Cathars. One of the central excuses the French monarchy issued in the persecution and destruction of the Knights Templars was the fact that they had adopted the Maure and had several "Baphomets" in their monasteries. The Templars had brought back with them the devotion to the Black Madonna from the Crusades.

The snake-haired Gorgon triplet Medusa is also a female Maure : And the only country with Medusa's Head on its flag is Sicily. The oldest surviving design of a Medusan Trinicria is in the mosaic in Tindari depicting the head of Medusa, in a geometrically circular black face.

Tindari is a cape that sits 10 kilometres east of the city of Patti on the northern coast of Sicily. Not on your usual tour itinerary, but Tindari, one of the many Greek / Roman sites in Sicily, spectacularly positioned on the island's North coast, is in yet another beautiful high altitude setting. Inside the huge purpose built 1950s Basilica located here, is the much revered Black Madonna - a larger than life iconic figure "from the East" dating back to the second half of the first millenium.

The mystery of the Sicilian Black Madonna , an image, a countenance which like the sunlight came as a gift to this land, via pathways still fraught with mystery from the Christian East sometime during the 7th Century. For hundreds of years it has patiently withstood raids by Saracens and pirates, conquerors and raiders, old and new, exhibiting the elegant sign of a continuity which recent restoration work has revealed in all its dignified beauty.

The Black Madonnas are associated with the earth, with darkness, mystery, and most importantly, with miracles. Many have theorised that these images and statues hearken back to the worship of the ancient Goddesses Isis and Demeter; indeed, some of the statues themselves are believed to be pre-Christian.

Many writers seeking to interpret the Black Madonnas suggest some combination of the following elements:

• Black Madonnas have grown out of a pre-Christian Earth Goddess tradition. Their dark skin may be associated with ancient images of these goddesses, and with the colour of fertile earth (such as around the volcanic Etna).

• Black Madonnas derive from the Egyptian goddess Isis. The dark skin may echo an African archetypal mother figure.

• Black Madonnas portrayed the original skin tone of the Virgin Mary, thus placing the figures in apt historical contexts, as Jesus' family was more likely than not to have Semitic colours and features.

Another beautiful legend arising from Tindari is the story of the Lagoon of Tindari. The story tells how a woman pilgrim refused to pray to the Madonna because she was black. The woman accidentally dropped her baby in the sea but the Black Madonna raised the sand in order to save the baby and demonstrate her compassion. The shape of the sands of the lagoon now show an image representing the profile of the Madonna (see photo).


If all of this intrigues you, why not consider a stop over in Patti, only a short stroll from Tindari. You can sleep at the picturesque farm-stay accommodation, Villa Rica surrounded by centuries old olive trees, lemon groves, fruit orchards and the particular Mediterranean vegetation.

Behind the Trinacria

The symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia. People attribute the origin of the Trinacria, to the triangular form of the island, which consists of three large capes equidistant from each other, pointing in their respective directions, the names of which were Pelorus, Pachynus and Lilybaeum. 
 

But for a symbol that must be older than any cartographic conception of the island, there are surely other interpretations, since this symbol is associated with a multitude of triads.

While the greeks called it Triskele, The Celtics called it Triskelion and the Romans Trinacrium, meaning "star with 3 points", other Spiral forms of Trinacria are often classed as solar symbols ; supposedly Pagans. Since earliest ages, the concept of the Great Goddess was a trinity and the model for all subsequent trinities, female, male or mixed. The Goddess Triformis ruled heaven as Virgin, earth as Mother, and the underworld as Crone, or Hel, or Queen of the Shades. This was remembered even in Chaucer’s time, for his Palamon invoked her “Three Forms,” Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, Proserpine in hell. (See, Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales at 81, 511). The old name of Sicily, Trinacria, invoked her as a “centre of the earth” with three realms.
Besides, the Trinacria is quite similar to the three-legged heraldic symbol of the Isle of Man, another medieval Norman dominion, but all pagan religions were soon stomped out by the rise of Christianity, and today the official history of Sicilian Trinacria is only to be attributed to Greek legends.
The head in the centre of today's Triacria was that of Medusa, whose hair was turned into snakes by the outraged goddess Athene. In their wisdom, the Sicilian parliament, which uses the Trinacria as its Flag, replaced the Medusa head with one that is less threatening to the innocent onlooker who, after all, should not be anticipating being turned to stone....