Minor Road Memories

None of the travel books, mobile apps or internet websites included “Strada Statale 18” among the recommended routes from Tropea to Scilla, near the toe of Italy.  But we ignored the advice, and our GPS.

It’s possible to tour Italy without really seeing Italy. So much is so beautiful that travel itineraries are hard-pressed to include even a small portion of the spectacular scenery and historical highlights, much less the mundane or unsightly. And we saw more proof of Italy’s deserved, almost divine reputation along this unheralded route.

But — between wide fields of wild flowers which are especially beautiful in May, and around corners of SS 18 that were often situated on steep slopes above the spectacular “Mar Tirreno” shoreline, and passing through gorgeous groves of mature olive trees shading blankets of  pugnacious purple thistle, and in spite of bright red poppies blooming here and there and everywhere — we couldn’t overlook some ragged towns and many miles of refuse-strewn roadways.  This too is Italy.

From the modern Palermo–Syracuse A19/E932 expressway which slices east-west through Sicily’s center, we diverted to many minor roads — sometimes by choice and sometimes by mistake — and made our way toward Sicily’s southern sea shore. We traveled tight, twisting roads, sometimes rough, but often trimmed with multi-colored wildflowers thriving during this particularly cool, wet May.  Along this random route we scanned valleys of awesome beauty and hillsides kept tidy by the precise and pleasing placement of vineyards, orchards and olive groves, with leaves of olive trees shimmering silver in the afternoon breeze and bright sun.

However, the further our twisting travels advanced us south, the browner and more barren the hills became —  still awesome to be sure, but in a different way…..in fact, a sad legacy of the Roman Empire’s insatiable desire to expand. Trees were clear-cut for agriculture and building construction, without any apparent thought to reforestation. As a result — and we saw evidence in the fine mud drying on the pavement of many low spots on these back roads — Sicily is gradually eroding into the sea.

JER