Thursday, May 9, 2024

Southern Italy And Sicily

In southern Italy and Sicily, the founding of most coastal cities follows a pattern, formed in the 8th Century B.C. around good natural harbors.

Naples is the major city of southern Italy. Like most other cities in this region it began as a Greek colony. After that it was part of many empires, starting with the Roman. What makes southern Italy, sometimes called the Mezzogiorno, different from the north is that the north was part of the Holy Roman Empire, for about a thousand years, while the south wasn't. There is also a division between Sicily and the rest of Italy, that persists to this day, because Sicily was once an Islamic emirate.

Southern Italy united with Sicily in 1816, as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, before both later became part of a united Italy. There was a lot of outward emigration from the south after the country was united.

The centerpiece of Naples is the castle, Castel Nuovo, that was built in 1279. The following four scenes of it are from Google Earth and Street View.





The nearby main square, with the former Royal Palace, is the Piazza Del Plebiscito. In this square is the former royal palace of the House of Bourbon that ruled first the Kingdom of Naples and then the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. This is the same House of Bourbon that we have seen ruled in France and Spain. The French branch was overthrown in the French Revolution. The peaks that can be seen are of Mount Vesuvius, which famously erupted in A.D. 79. The first three images of the palace and the square are from Google Earth.




There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >,  After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8386219,14.2527267,3a,75y,254.64h,91.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssrfLAo7F9LCiyK-RpNS_EA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DsrfLAo7F9LCiyK-RpNS_EA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D122.98907%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is more of Naples, away from the waterfront. You probably know that Naples is where pizza originated.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8525775,14.2588992,3a,75y,85.9h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNkVnX7V-J_3mSJtsLjhdRFYVQ4R0IBQaZZwJaO!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNkVnX7V-J_3mSJtsLjhdRFYVQ4R0IBQaZZwJaO%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya1.5875887-ro-0-fo100!7i6144!8i3072

Taranto is another city that originated as a Greek colony but has the notable Aragon Castle, built in the 15th Century to resist Ottoman ships. The first four images of the castle are from Google Earth.








https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1230869,16.8646793,3a,75y,207.16h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1szL_hLaob1Pe5HRC9LWhtlQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DzL_hLaob1Pe5HRC9LWhtlQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D201.128%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Crotone, or Croton or Crotona, is known for a legend. When the city was a Greek colony, a wrestler named Milo got an idea about how to build physical strength. He believed that the body adapts to physical demands placed upon it by becoming stronger. Milo reasoned that if he carried a newborn calf, and continued to carry it every day, he would become stronger in the process and would still be able to carry it when it was fully grown.

This is considered by many to be the beginning of the concept of weight or resistance training to build strength. Milo could never have imagined the gyms and weight rooms that are now found across the world.

Anyway, this is what Croton looks like today.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0813583,17.1284736,3a,75y,121.79h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sj3BLbEdl2D1GvXhR-fy8iw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dj3BLbEdl2D1GvXhR-fy8iw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D128.60883%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Messina is just on the Sicilian side of the Strait of Messina. The land on the other side of the strait is mainland Italy. The first two images, from Google Earth, are of the cathedral in Messina.



https://www.google.com/maps/@38.1945141,15.553682,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8uXD7ktY3Z1G5Q1N9IhMXw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8uXD7ktY3Z1G5Q1N9IhMXw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D285.59894%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Palermo is actually of Phoenician, rather than Greek, origin. It was then controlled by the Phoenician colony of Carthage, today Tunis, and then by the Romans. The Moslems completed their conquest of Sicily in 878 and moved the capital of the island from Syracuse to Palermo. The Normans kept Palermo as the capital upon their conquest. These three views of Palermo Cathedral are from Google Earth and Street View.




This first image, from Google Earth, is of the Norman Palace in Palermo.


https://www.google.com/maps/@38.1160248,13.3605627,3a,75y,73.32h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfyvIEhOkDtFviebqr0aPKw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DfyvIEhOkDtFviebqr0aPKw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D69.15093%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Catania is located on the coast near the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily. The city has long suffered from eruptions of the volcano as well as earthquakes. This first image, from Google Earth, is of the cathedral in Catania.


There is a castle, Castello Ursino, that was once the royal castle of Sicily. These three images of the castle are from Google Earth.




Catania originated as a Greek settlement and has seen the usual parade of conquerors in the region since then. The Romans, the Goths, reconquest by the eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantines, the Moslem Emirate of Sicily, the Normans, and finally an industrial city of a united Italy.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5034717,15.0861904,3a,75y,250.38h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDcTUnCGi0YSk1o3MFTzrRg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DDcTUnCGi0YSk1o3MFTzrRg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D245.80284%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Syracuse was a very important overseas city of ancient Greece. It even rivaled Athens and Alexandria in importance. The city in the center of New York State is, of course, named for it. Syracuse has ancient ruins but a very modern basilica. Both images from Google Earth.



The first image, from Google Earth, is of the oldest part of Syracuse.


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