Lloyd Thomas (DDE 764) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 35 text:

Scif? Aftgr the long ride to and from Mom-eale, we persuaded our guide to take us to the Catacombs of Cappuccini. Here we saw thousands of bodies, ranging from high Church officials to the lowest of Peasants, some of which had been there for centuries. There was also the body of a child that had been embalmed forty-five years before and still looked today as it had at the moment of death. Unfortunately the man who had done the embalming of this particular body died himself before he had written the formula down so that the secret died with him and as yet has never been rediscovered. YVe left the Catacombs completely immersed in a sense of mys- tery and awe at the un usual sight we had just seen.

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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.

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'59 tr 1? 4 zz' 1 4 Some saw the Cathedral at Monreale where restoration work was going on. This huge cathedral overlooking Palermo was built in record time by thousands of Moorish slaves .... Those of us who continued the tour visited the Utveggio Castle, and the beautiful resort city of Mondello Beach. The view from the Castle was a most beautiful panorama of the City of Palermo. Though the interior had been destroyed by the Germans it could not mar the splendor that this magnificent Castle once enjoyed Upon our return to the city wc turned our eyes to the night life of Palermo and a little re- laxation after an interesting but tiring day.