Enna … ivanos place

i am going to enna .. to meet ivano his parents brothers friends…..ivano is my adopted brother…hes an astrophysicist who spent 2 years in pune at ISCER. The local train is soooo cute…. its only 2 coaches..

in the train this young girl sits next to me, and in 5 minutes we are into this non stop conversation… she tells me about her favourite places in sicily… agrimento where the greek ruins are, Catania…. what comes across from anyone I meet here is there immense love for sicily…

and one can see why… there are influences from all around since its like a shoe jutting out into the ocean… so from Africa and from Greece and Italy and normans and arabs …

the scenery that we pass is amazing… the bluest seas, mountains and fields, forests and cut fields.

that is enna on top of the hill…

Enna is situated near the center of the island; whence the Roman writer Cicero called it Mediterranea maxime, reporting that it was within a day’s journey of the nearest point on all the three coasts. The peculiar situation of Enna is described by several ancient authors, and is one of the most remarkable in Sicily. The ancient city was placed on the level summit of a gigantic hill, surrounded on all sides with precipitous cliffs almost wholly inaccessible. The few paths were easily defended, and the city was abundantly supplied with water which gushes from the face of the rocks on all sides. With a plain or table land of about 5 km in circumference on the summit, it formed one of the strongest natural fortresses in the world. (Wikipedia ofcourse)

maria picks me up and wants to take me to the palace… on the highest point… we are stopped by this amazingly pretty cop.. who says the road is closed …for the big big festival… I ask if I can take a picture.. she says no no no no no.. I tell her she is very pretty and in India the female cops don’t wear lipstick… and she flashes this big smile, and says then go ahead!!! now what if our cops looked like t

today is the fiesta del 2 luglio enna…. the old statue of maria, mary, Madonna is taken by procession , carried on the shoulders of pilgrims in barefeet… is taken out of the church once a year and taken to the church on the other side… her once a year outing…

I meet ivano for the first time, and his father

the streets are full, there are lights lighting up the roads… first comes St Michael, carried by young boys, then Joseph carried by young men, and finally maria carried by the oldies… its a 14th century festival…

all along people are walking with the statues, and chanting hail maria… it is the first time am seeing such a devotional living Christian festival….

crowds of people… and then we run to the other side, where in the square there is music and fireworks… we are there with 10 friends and it is wow… to be screaming dancing …and then we go to stephanos house where there is much drinking dancing music