Messina - revisited

May 1st. is a public holiday in Messina meaning much of the city would be closed and quiet.  Not that I minded because once again I was heading off to the old British cemetery tucked away on the outskirts of town.  On my last visit I had quite an adventure finding it but this time it was an uneventful (if rather long) walk.

As it happened the Cimitero Monumentale was the only area where life could be found!  Flower stalls loaded with colourful blooms and floral displays.  What better way for the locals to start their public holiday than by visiting departed loved ones.  

Just beyond the flower stalls can be found the street traders - African lads with their array of flea market type items spread out on sheets on the pavement.  One seemed to specialise in old, second hand IT chargers.  On I went up a narrow alleyway, past the market and seedy looking residences. A lad of African descent looked at me strangely - what was a tourist doing in this area?  His legs were dreadfully deformed like 90 degree angle brackets but he appeared to get around OK.  I smiled and said Bon Journo (or however it is spelled) and his face broke into a wide grin. 

Opposite the next lot of flower stalls can be found the side entrance to the Cimitero Monumentale - and just inside the gate can be found Cimitero Inglese.  A plaque proudly announces that King George V and Queen Mary had visited in 1925.   

What most visitors would not know is that it was not actually THIS cemetery that the royal couple had visited because prior to WWII the old English and French cemeteries were located on the spur of land opposite to where Oriana is berthed.  At one time this spur was also home to the Citadella, Naval barracks, Officers quarters and Salvatore Fort.  For 20 + years from WWI the Sicilians tried to reclaim the land where the cemeteries were located.  They wanted to expand their port but naturally the British Government would not hear of British graves being moved.  Come WWII and the Sicilians seized their chance.  In the midst of war they exhumed all the graves and moved surviving headstones and monuments to a quiet corner of Cimitero Monumentale.  By the time the British Government became aware of this after the war it was far too late - fate accompli.  

On my last visit in December 2011 it had been dismal and wet making the ground quite dangerous underfoot.  However I managed to take a few photos and vowed to return should I ever visit Messina again.  As I stepped inside on 1st. May 2018 I was saddened at the sight that greeted me - completely overgrown and even more inaccessible. 

Stepping carefully I again did what I could but after 30 minutes the mosquitoes realised that fresh blood was around and my right hand became the target.  I hadn't even considered that mossies would be a problem in May and had no repellant or soothing lavender oil.  I retreated back to town - again marvelling at the picturesque buildings and oranges growing in the street.

On the way back to the ship I noticed some of the larger shops were beginning to open.  I desperately needed to spend a penny and popped into a department store named "Coin".  Having searched all around the ground floor and all around the first floor I came to the conclusion that loos were not provided.  But wait a moment there is a floor guide and "Toilet" is shown as being on the ground floor.  Having circuited the floor another three times I eventually found the toilet hidden away behind a changing room.  By this time it was a life saver!

The rest of the walk took me past the main square which was abuzz with tourists waiting for the Noon hour when the Cathedral's bell tower (built after the 1908 earthquake) would spring into action with a series of figures dancing around its many floors.  

But I had seen this back in 2011 so headed straight for the ship - with a very quick visit into a tiny little jewellers which I had discovered on the first trip.  The owner, who makes all his own jewellery, is very proud of his heritage displaying photos of his grandfather and father who made jewellery before him.  Last time I purchased a necklace made of lava from Mount Etna but this time there was nothing which appealed.

At tea time I stood on the top deck and marvelled at the view as Oriana glided past the Madonna Monument and out through the Straits of Messina. Such magical moments.