Lloyd Thomas (DDE 764) - Naval Cruise Book

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t I x ll 'i '1 NN t 't ,X liew hours outside ol' Augusta one can read over the playground ol' the gods - l . 'l'aormina. 'lhe charm ol this tourists haven in the surrounding landscape, Mt. Etna standing maiestically over iields ol' wild flowers .mil granite clil'l's from which the mainland ol lies ' ' ltalvlcan he seen. 'ln ancient days this part ol' Sicily was a litvorite summer residence ol' the Greeks and Romans. The remains ol this glorious past and the surrounding country could lill a volume Ol' National Geographic Magarines..'liaormina has a peaceful serenity about it -vvluch. we. did not lind in the other places we visited in Sicily. Reluctant to return immediatelx to -Xugusta stopped on out retuin iouinev tt ntuut L 1 L o ic f lttania s been destioved lout tunes by the lata hom the eiupt Etna and h is been rebuilt ts mam tunes ut 1 tie Jack ava rock selxing as ieaex ant ehea J m llLlldl lhis die haid eitx delnntelv has ui ttmosphele ol its own Since it is the second f latania can boas e SHJIILS genel ally seen in anx Etnopean City . oiiiate oxia house niunieipa plafas wire houlextuds and tl model n shopping centel hom nv and hiei s mg Ml 1 gest ei X ich manx g dll mill hnd then wax into the Qtttes guise itll ral of lla tCl1Cfl ll i Sprite ll To mul bafS all ue Amefl' .Xlter leaving ,Xugusta earlv on the morning ol tm l'elxruarv we ran into heavy seas which calmed down suddenly as we passed through' the Straits ol' Messina. 'lhat night we passed close 1 L f 4 , , Slromholi which was erupting uuldlv at the time. .

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The Roman Colosseum was another shutter bugs paradise, being the third largest of its kind in the world. Here gladiators and Chris- tians fought lions, tigers, and sometimes each other. M34 jf ,nf , S . sgiffi 7, ff gl U Y, 1, ' -'Q' 55 lffjjsii A., , f 4.7 . fu , , L if ' . 9 g -. ' ,AJ The last stop on our tour to Syracuse was the catacombs, which are said to honeycomb the whole foundation of Syracuse. At this stop we saw-the remains of the second cathedral of the Christian era where San Marino preached and was murdered, the site where St. Paul spoke to the -Christians on his three clay stay in Syracuse, dlffl the tomb of the Seven Virgins. To com- P me the day, we. sampled the city's bars and restaurants, and window-shopped in true Ameri- can fashion,

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fjf 01. P b,, a s ,Z v4 ---J. - ..f -L , a f - ' ' Q - r -4 -L'v?K'--f? 3'L 'K as 3.4 Gi QPM10? e Palermo, the largest city in Sic- ily, has much to offer the souvenir- hunting sailor in its modern and colorful department stores. While sitting in one of the typically quaint side-walk cafes, along the Via Roma, you watch the Sicilians par- ticipate in the colorful pageantry of ceaseless and never-changing customs of work and play. k K Since all the tours in the previous ports we visited had been so pop- ular with the crew, a tour of the city of Palermo and the surround- ing area had been arranged for us. On the first leg of the tour we stopped at the Cathedral of San Rosalia. Its exterior architecture is probably the most beautiful we will ever see. Insidethe Cathedral, to the right of the main altar, was the Shrine, embodied with the ashes of San Rosalie. This altar was of solid silver and its probable worth, in art alone, would be dif- ficult to comprehend. Not too far distant, we visited the Royal Palace and its cappella palatina. This chapel, which was under construction for forty-nine years, is said to hold the most beautiful Sicilian architecture of the l2th century and we who saw it shall never forget it.