Cruising around and through Europe Part 34: Sicily part 3
Apr 6, 2024 10:04:17 #
Two more photos of the cathedral, back to the ship and then sailing to Crotone.
The 7 meter tall golden Madonnina guarding the city and Messina port, photos 7 and 8. The meaning of the inscription is “We bless you and your city”. It is a quote from a letter the Virgin Mary sent to the population of Messina in the year 42. Legend has it that the Apostle Paul came to Messina around this time two thousand years ago to convert the Sicilians to Christianity. The locals were not too eager to give up their old deities, but by and by great numbers were persuaded. And some of them insisted on accompanying Paul on a trip to Palestine. Here they met with the Mother of Christ and persuaded her to send a letter to the citizens of Messina. The letter, which was written in Hebrew, was rolled and tied with a lock of her hair. In the letter to the people of Messina, the Holy Mother said that she appreciated their devotion and would grant them perpetual protection. The letter ended with the words “Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus” 1900 years later the same words were inscribed on the old fort San Salvatore. The fort serves as a plinth for the 60 metre tall octagonal column that carries the statue of the Madonna della Lettera.
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-803951-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: Crotone and Bari Italy
The 7 meter tall golden Madonnina guarding the city and Messina port, photos 7 and 8. The meaning of the inscription is “We bless you and your city”. It is a quote from a letter the Virgin Mary sent to the population of Messina in the year 42. Legend has it that the Apostle Paul came to Messina around this time two thousand years ago to convert the Sicilians to Christianity. The locals were not too eager to give up their old deities, but by and by great numbers were persuaded. And some of them insisted on accompanying Paul on a trip to Palestine. Here they met with the Mother of Christ and persuaded her to send a letter to the citizens of Messina. The letter, which was written in Hebrew, was rolled and tied with a lock of her hair. In the letter to the people of Messina, the Holy Mother said that she appreciated their devotion and would grant them perpetual protection. The letter ended with the words “Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus” 1900 years later the same words were inscribed on the old fort San Salvatore. The fort serves as a plinth for the 60 metre tall octagonal column that carries the statue of the Madonna della Lettera.
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-803951-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: Crotone and Bari Italy
Messina Cathedral
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Looking toward the entrance from near the altar
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Through the tour bus windshield, on our way back to the ship
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Ready to get back on the beautiful Viking Sky
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A snack in the Explorers Lounge, one of our favorite places on the ship. We celebrated crossing the Arctic Circle in the same place on the Viking Sky in 2018.
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Some Italian Navy and Coast Guard ships as we depart from Messina
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The 7 meter tall golden Madonnina guarding the city and Messina port
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Sunset at sea from our veranda at the end of a wonderful day in Sicily
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A quiet evening, with some classical music in the Viking Living Room
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Apr 6, 2024 10:08:44 #
Apr 6, 2024 10:18:27 #
Apr 6, 2024 10:21:24 #
DJphoto wrote:
Two more photos of the cathedral, back to the ship... (show quote)
These have sure blown me away ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Apr 6, 2024 11:08:30 #
Apr 6, 2024 11:28:41 #
Apr 6, 2024 11:42:53 #
Apr 6, 2024 12:04:04 #
Apr 6, 2024 14:41:38 #
joecichjr wrote:
These have sure blown me away ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
That is a very nice compliment Joe and I really appreciate it. Many more sets to follow in this series. I will follow it up with a series of our month-long drive around Italy in 2023.
Apr 6, 2024 14:42:10 #
Apr 6, 2024 14:42:42 #
Earnest Botello wrote:
Excellent series, Dennis.
Thank you Earnest, I'm glad to have you along.
Apr 6, 2024 14:51:02 #
Apr 6, 2024 14:58:21 #
UTMike wrote:
You should consider being a cruise director, Dennis.
I really appreciate that Mike. I've been interested in maps and exploring as long as I can remember. I love traveling, as does my wife, but I do most of the trip research and planning, which I really enjoy. I'm now doing the planning for our next European road trip to Italy and Switzerland. We really enjoy road trips, as well as cruises. We've now been to Europe 4 times: 1973 (11 weeks), 2018 (2 1/2 weeks), 2022 (33 days, this trip) and 2023 (one month). We raised 5 children between the first and second European trips. The 1973 trip was by student Eurail passes, the 2018 trip was our cruise to Norway (that I posted on UHH starting with https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-658415-1.html), Scotland and London, this trip was ocean and river cruising and our 2023 trip was by rental car. All are great ways to see Europe. We've also done several U.S. and Canada road trips and plan to do more. Our honeymoon was a 3,500 mile road trip in 9 days. Yes, I like to drive. Two of the highlights of our trip last year were Lake Orta and San Marino, two places my wife was unaware of.
Apr 6, 2024 14:59:28 #
Apr 6, 2024 15:00:59 #
JohnR wrote:
No.7 looks quite a bit taller than 7 metres 
Thanks for the two smileys John. I think the 7 metres is just the gold statue part.
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