I had specifically kept aside some time for Sicily during my Italy trip. Being an island (the largest
one in Mediterranean) off mainland Italy, not many folks make it a point to go to Sicily. After all, "can it match the magic of Rome or the seductive beauty of Venice?" is the general argument that people tend to offer. Big mistake. Sicily is definitely something that should be on the serious traveler's itinerary and it has a lot to offer-- be it the historically drenched Syracuse or the chaotic but ultimately lovable Palermo.
When i left Rome at about 8 in the evening, Palermo-bound, the idea of 'the trail' suddenly hit me. When i crossed the strait of Messina (in the wee hours of the next morning) to arrive in Sicily, i finally made up my mind to take an excursion to the (very) lesser-explored, totally untouristy locales where Coppola chose to shoot some parts of the Godfather parts 1 ans 2 (parts of part 3 was shot in Palermo, the capital city of Sicily -- more on that later).
So instead of going straight to Palermo (as i had decided earlier), i abruptly got down at Messina Centrale station (Messina, by the way, was the place where i had the cheapest Pizza during my entire European sojourn -- EUR 1.20 for quite a mouthful), and took a train to Taormina, the place that is most often quoted as the location for shooting the 'Sicilian part' for the Godfather 1 (yep, Corleone was not the place where the actual shooting happened. Coppola probably thought Corleone was a busier place than the movie required). The reason why i said 'most quoted' is because after Taormina, one must resign oneself to Fate's good humor to reach Savoca (pronounced Savoga...long 'a', short 'o' and the curious 'g' as in 'gate'). So if you were to tell an enthusiast about how to go to Godfather-land, then you'd rather tell her/him to go to Taormina and ask her/him to find her/his way after that ;)
Anyway, when i reached Taormina, here's what awaited me (apart from a highly animated conversation with a non
English speaking -- like almost everyone else in Italy --Railway policewoman)The sea was so close that it almost felt as if the train was parked right on the beach. By the way this is another great thing about the train journey from Messina to Palermo -- vast, unending sea on one side and steep mountains on the other, with the train running in-between them.
So i thought 'wow' and decided to go to (what was going to prove elusive) Savoca. It was 07:30 and when i went outside the train station, i realized that the bus that would take me to somewhere near Savoca had left five minutes back, and the bus before that had left at 07:20. So i thought 'fine...so the next bus should be around the corner' before realizing a hard fact -- the next bus was at 10:30 (welcome to Sicily!). While spending 3 hours at this beautiful beach shouldn't have been a problem in the presence of a company (strictly a member of the gentler sex), spending those 180 minutes all alone wasn't exactly the best thing to do when on a vacation.
After having eaten a hastily-made but tasty cream roll, i took the train (not without waiting for an hour) to Santa Teresa, inching closer to Savoca. In Santa Teresa:
From Santa Teresa, theoretically there are buses at 09:30 and 10:30 to go to Savoca. A note on Savoca first. Savoca is the place where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) spends his time in exile...in other words, this is the place where he gets 'hit by a thunderbolt' ;)
All Godfather fans might remember the scene where Michael asks for Appolonia's hand to her father after a rather embarrassing faux pas. The scene was shot in Bar Vitelli (in Savoca). Interestingly, Bar Vitelli (along with the chair where Pacino sat, or so they claim!) exists even today. With all these thoughts in mind, i waited and waited. And waited. Then waited some more. But what about the bus timings that i saw on the bus stop? -- who says buses have to arrive as per the time table, huh? :)
There was a friendly butcher there who assured me, holding my arm (which, i feared would smell of the stuff that he deals with; quite rudely, i sniffed my sweater in front of him to check for 'traces'...fortunately, there were none, and thankfully the guy didn't seem offended) in a big-brotherly way, that the bus WILL come. I waited some more, this time with some Sicilian hopefulness. No luck. Finally, just to kill time, i asked an old man (defintely older than 70) whether any buses really do go in Savoca's direction. The man must've surely been a dynamite in his hey day -- boldly he walked past the street (with cars on them!) and started running behind a bus that was just starting to go in the opposite direction. While i feared for his life (given the way he was running), this dude simply ran past the bus, and stood straight in front of it,asking the driver to halt (i swear this is true), with the confidence that might make a Mafia don proud of him. He asked the driver about the bus timings for buses that go towards Savoca. The driver mumbled something in Italian, and our dude told me that one cannot be sure whether the bus would come or not!!!!
Brokenhearted, i took pictures of the hill behind which Savoca is located.
The red circle marks Savoca. The yellow circle marks Forza D' Agro. This is the place where parts of The Godfather II was shot -- those parts dealing with Vito Corleone's childhood. Forza D' Agro is an extremely beautiful place -- i saw pictures of it on the premises of something like a Municipality office near the bus stop where this picture was taken. I so much wanted to tell those town authorities to think about how they want tourists to visit these picturesque, but virtually inaccessible (unless you have a car or are prepared to do the long-winding hike on foot -- i had to go to Palermo at least till noon, and hence i decided to chuck the idea of an 'on foot' journey) locales.Finally, i took a train from Santa Teresa and went to (via Messina) Palermo. Palermo is to be seen to be believed. It offers some interesting observations that you'd rarely find in Western Europe. The road-traffic situation is utterly chaotic and if you're planning to drive on the badly-maintained roads, you'd want to give some 'goodbye' messages to your loved ones. I also suggest remember the great and happy moments in your life, so that you have a pleasant 'departure' ;)
Some of the buildings are so dilapidated, that you might feel afraid to breathe in their vicinity, for the fear of them collapsing. Of course, you won't find such buildings near the main roads or the railway station or other popular areas. To find these 'ruins' (which interestingly, are still inhabited by people -- i verified it), you really have to go into the gullies of Palermo, well beyond the famous fruit market place. This fruit market place gives an impression of being straight out of Arabian Nights. Indeed, Palermo has traces of Roman, Normanic, Byzantine and Arab architecture all rolled into one, owing to its extremely interesting history. Some of the buildings in Palermo are truly dazzling and the city is definitely worth a visit. In the evening, i visited the famous opera house called Teatro Messimo, where the famous scene of Mi
chael Corleone breaking down because of his daughter being shot, in the Godfather III was shot.I had to catch a train back to Rome at 18:30 from Palermo railway station and I decided to take a bus to reach the train station. Like i always do, i had noted the relevant bus numbers from the tourist info. I approached a nearby bus stop and saw the relevant bus number on the board, and i just stood there. Just to be doubly sure, i asked a guy whether that bus would indeed come there (i was still reeling under the Savoca-effect you see). The guy coolly replied "it doesn't have any meaning". I thought he was saying this because he might be frustrated with something that would have happened to him that day. So i repeated "I want to go to the railway station. I know bus number 1 goes there. It is written here that bus 1 stops here." (Don't ask me why did i ask him about it if i thought it was that clear -- i told you, i was low on confidence) He replied back "I'm telling you, it has no meaning. I suggest you go and stand there", pointing to a crowded area. I simply obeyed him, and voila! In comes a bus in less than a minute of me standing in the 'crowded area'....with a smile on my lips, and a ticket in my hand, i boarded the bus and left for Palermo railway station....
