Sicilian landscape

Sicilian landscape

Jul 19, 2021

I’m always being asked about Sicily’s landscape; what is it like?

The truth is Sicily is very mountainous and difficult to negotiate. In its interior, the roads are constantly under repair or filled with detours; a short physical distance can turn into hours of curvey mountaintop back roads and deviations.

While at times I find the landscape undeniably beautiful, lush and enigmatic, especially when covered in mist during a shower of rain. But I ultimately feel daunted by the endless peaks. Mountains are suffocating at times; they dominate the landscape and even those who live with them. While travelling to Sicily in the early 20th-century English writer D. H Lawrence expressed his disdain for the ‘peaky confinement of Sicily’, and quite frankly, I agree with him.

This week with the help of D H Lawrence I'm reflecting on the nature of Sicily's landscape and his sensitive observations about the great trauma of post-tsunami Messina.

Be sure to read this weeks post. As I was thinking about the mountains in Sicily, I remembered a quote from D H Lawrence. On the weekend I dug out the virtual copies of his Italian travel works (Twilight in Italy. Sea and Sardinia and Sketches of Etruscan places). I spent to weekend rereading them and I found the quote which was in Sea and Sardinia.

It was wonderful to be reminded of Lawrence's beautiful travel writing. He was a traveller in a period where it was difficult to be one, yet his experiences allowed him to write his best work.

Read a little more in my post on Sicily Inside and Out. Just click over onto my bio.

Hope you have a wonderful week.

With love from Sicily.

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