Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1909-01-14

/ in my life thai | should be better
and a more religious man if | lived
/ there" The best view Of Etna Is
/ from the famous Roman theater III
many respects the most interest ng
| theater that has come down from an
! tiqui-y. From here IS gained a gl0-
rious view of the coast, the quaint
| Arabic castle on a lower peak, and the
great volcano over all. This theater
| is in a remarkable state of preserve,
| ton The actors dressing-Tooms and
| the passage Tor working the traps OF
! the stage are plainly dist nguishable
Almost all CT the architecture of the
| city is eresting-artistic in design
or at leas. in detail, but badly built.
The city has a cathedral. half a dozeh
churches, as many hotels and num-
Der Of quaint miniature palaces. Not
the least Of the attractions are the s.
c lan women of the lower classes. .
whose figures are superb, due to the
custom of carrying heavy burdens bal
anced on heir heads. Lemon pack
ing is one of the chief industries OF
TaCrmra.
Etna and are covered with wagons
and carts loaded with sulphur for
this is the greatest OF sulphur towns.
Still farther south is the city o
Catalina, all of whose roads lead to
the little c ty of Mola. The picturesque
Catalina is comparatively uninterest-
ing except TO the antiquarian who can
find here many remains of ancient
medieval art. There are faint traces
Of an amphitheater there is a Roman
bath, a Norman archway and so On.
The city is cosmopolitan rather than
Sicilian, or even Italian. Rather no
able are its many examples Of the art
Of BelIini and his school.
Syracuse.
Still on the eastern coast and few
miles farther south is Syracuse This
city. which was in ancient times the
most important OF all the Hellenic
cities, now contains only $4,000 inhab
itants. In the height of its prosperity
its population was not less than 500
000. 1t formally eXte- ded over a
large tract Of the coast to the north
west but is now practically confined
to an island close to the coast. It's
natural beauties vie with its great
classical attractions. There are few
places in the world that have so much
to offer the intelligent traveller. The
monuments of anc' ent art are of equal
interest if not Of preservation, to those
of Athens itself The relic-huntin2
Itouristwill find here unless conditions
have changed within a very few years.
an exceptional opportunity to add to
his private store Of treasure. The
government is watchful for the build
/ ngs themselves but il is not or at
! least has not been, particular to save
! the scattered fragments lying every
where about. Bits of antique sculpture
of real value can be had for the TAX
ing. Remarkable among the treasures
Of Syracuse is the cathedral, VIII CHI
as it looks now, escapes being a mon
strosity, but only escapes L has a
solid-IOOking Renaissance facade and
on the SIDES a deep col0nade hall
smothered in stucco walls and sur
mounted with ungainIy Saracen c bat
Elements. The effect. if not in accord
ance with approved standards Of art
is at least highly pic -uresque. The
remarkable fact about the cathedral
however. is that it is really one of the
most complete and best preserved OF
ancient Greek temples. 1t has been
called. though net with certain anthem
ITCHY the temple of Minerva. If its
medieval and modern eXcressenCes
were removed there would stand forth
a rival to the Parthenon itself. So
much of this ancient place Of worship
was saved by its becoming a Christian
church in the year $40 A. D. The
Greek theater at Syracuse was the
largest Greek structure of the KIND
except those of Miletus and MegalopO
lis. and was erected in the fifth cent
ury, B. C. 1t is cut in the rock in
nearly semi-circular form, 1862 yards in
diameter, Distinct traces of As tiers
Of seats are still visible and there
must have been Is more extending
as far as the summit of the excava
ton. The hill on which the theater
stands commands a superb view of tho
town, the promontory Of Plemmyrium
and the IOnian sea
Castrogovanni and Girgenti.
Leaving the coast for a short, bu
not easy, journey into the interior
for there are no good country roads
in Sicily-the town of Castrogiovanni
is reached, in the very center Of the
island, on the fiat top of a mountain
32T0 feet above the sea. The name OF
he town is an INFLAMMATION of Emma
or Hunna, which was the ancient name
CT the place. 1t is surrounded on all
sides by pTecipitous cliffs on which
are stationed armed sentinels from
; the garrison, ready to challenge the
: approach of the suspected stranger
for in this country the brigand has
one of his chief haunts. Emma was in
ancient times the chief seat of the