![]() However, on my most recent stopover, I was fortunate to have the ciliegina sulla torta or the icing (literally, glazed cherry) on the cake. Wandering amongst the medieval ruins, enjoying breathtaking panoramas and benefiting from the fresh air-these are all good reasons for a visit to Amendolea. The ruins of three other churches from the 11 th to the 15 th centuries lie outside the castle area, the older of which still preserves a bit of traditional Byzantine painting. Etna on a clear day.Ĭhiesa dell’Assunta – Church of the Assumption with Greek layout On the day in question, he was hiking between the towns of Condofuri and Bova, and as he got underway described Amendolea as being “half way up to the skies.” As Lear noted, the castle surveys the entire valley, its wide riverbed and irregular hills that lead from the Aspromonte Mountains to the Ionian Sea, Sicily and Mt. Remarkably, Lear traveled through the hills and mountains of Southern Calabria on foot. The British artist and writer was captivated by the scenic vistas he found on his exploration of the Province of Reggio Calabria in 1847. Journals of a Landscape Painter in Southern Calabria by Edward Lear “… we had long passed the level of the Castle of Amendolía, and were looking down into its empty courts, …and truly magnificent was the view, looking back from the points of rock where we frequently halted to rest… The immense perspective of diminishing lines and torrents, finished by the complete and simple outline of Etna beyond the sea, is certainly one of the very finest scenes to be found even in beautiful Italy.” The Castle in Amendolea framed by almond blossoms (photo courtesy of Lillo Minniti, Gruppo Archeologico Valle dell’Amendolea)
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