I PARCHI LETTERARI "IN THE DIMENSION OF THE JOURNEY" - THE SEA

Here we are now, surrounded by the sea, having arrived on this great island in the centre of the Mediterranean. The first emotion of the journey, our first “amazement”, today as in the past, comes from this splendid sea...

“If you have never been completely surrounded by the sea, you cannot understand the world and our relationship with it. That grand yet simple line inspired me with completely new thoughts... There are no words to describe the vaporous clarity that hovered along the coastline on the stupendous afternoon of our arrival, the purity of the surroundings, the softness of everything, the range of nuances, the harmony that joined the sky, the sea and the land. Those who have seen it will keep it in their hearts for their entire lives.” (Goethe, “Italian Journey”).)

The Turkish Steps

Realmonte is a small town located on a plain near the sea.
The Turkish Steps rise up between the beach and the chalky hills that delineate the coastline.
The Steps are lovely sea cliff of marl, a fine-grain sedimentary rock composed of limestone and clay, with a distinctive white colour, into which the wind and rain have carved a natural staircase.

They offer a unique spectacle; the whiteness of sea cliff is rendered even more brilliant by the sun’s rays between the azure sky and the blue sea: a genuine paradise. According to ancient legend, Saracen pirates, after having moored their ships in the waters protected by the Steps, climbed among the nooks and crannies, reaching the top of the cliff.
Then they pillaged all of the villages in the area.
It is highly improbable that the Turks arrived at this location, but the legend remains. There is another legend associated with the Turkish Steps: about two hundred metres from the shore, two rocks rise up, “u zitu” and “a zita”, which tell the tale of two young lovers from this area.

Actually, the sea, which is a symbol of life and passion, of legend and metaphor, with its colours, the beauty of the coastline and its bathing areas, only adds to the charm and suggestion of the treasures found in the Province of Agrigento. Here there is an extended coastline that faces the African Sea, which contains some precious pearls.

“We took a walk down to the sea, from where, as the old folk say, the view of Girgenti was very beautiful at one time. The gaze is captured by the liquid immensity… towards the south there was a long ribbon of clouds that seemed to lie along the horizon like a mountain crest; it was the headland of the African coast.”
(Goethe)

“A subtle arch of feathery clouds rested on Sicily on one end and curved above the blue of the sky, which was otherwise perfectly clear, while at the southernmost point it seemed to rest on the sea; coloured by the beautiful rays of the sun at dusk, it moved very slowly, with an effect that was as unique as it was fascinating. The arch pointed exactly in the direction of Malta; indeed, the other end probably rested on that island, a phenomenon that was known to sometimes occur. It would have been quite interesting for the atmosphere to have displayed the reciprocal attraction of these two islands in such a way.” (Goethe)

“To the left was an expanse of open sea, as splendid as a mirror. Reddened by the sun’s rays at dusk, the light reflected on the rocky mountains that obstructed the view to the right. The descent towards the sea was decorated with majestic ruins among the fields of wheat, where a perfectly preserved temple of rare beauty and simplicity rose up. On one side there was a row of tombs, on the other the ruins of the ancient bastions snaked along, further on, in a straight line up to the sea, the columns of magnificent simplicity and strength stretched out, and even in their sad desolation, represented indescribable splendour, richness and beauty” (Bartels)