FULMER NEWSLETTER - Fulmer Village

ERICE AND ST MARK’S BASILICA
What a multitude of happy memories - the outstanding shore excursions, the smiling
efficiency of the crew, sailing at first light into Valetta and Venice, relaxing drinks with
new friends by the Lido bar, the concerts and Alison’s recitations, the lectures (James
Morwood on the Normans in Sicily, Ili Nagy on ancient temples, Eric Lindgren on the
oceanography of the Mediterranean), the comfort of our cabin, the Mediterranean sun
on our backs, so many highlights. On the plane home from Venice my wife was sure
that our Aegean Odyssey cruise had been our best holiday ever.
Amid the many highlights two in particular stand out. One was literally high, the town
of Erice in Sicily. From the port in Trapani our bus took us up a series of hairpin
bends to reach the medieval town, perched on its pinnacle nearly 2500 feet above sea
level. The town itself was charming - early Gothic church and bell-tower, ancient
monasteries and wobbly houses, and cobbled streets which led up through the old
square to a craggy double citadel which seemed to grow out of the vertiginous cliffs. In
the plain far below little figures could be made out working the fields under the
blazing sun. So there we were like Olympian gods, just as Homer described them in
the Odyssey, looking down on the toils of men. Unforgettable! The sea itself was on
two sides to the north and west, Mediterranean blue in the afternoon sun, and there,
little more than a speck, was our ship safely moored in sickle-shaped Trapani. To the
north Monte Cofano stood out, a triangular peak falling almost sheer into the sea.
From it we suddenly noticed a wisp of afternoon mist drifting inland. Soon it
developed into a white cloud threading its way across the fields below our parapet.
My lasting memory of Erice’s citadel is of seeming to float on a tide of cottonwool,
clear sunlit skies above, looking across at Monte Cofano pushing its head through the
mist like Bali Hai in South Pacific. We seemed to be on the proverbial Cloud Nine.
Our other great highlight was physically low, in fact sometimes literally below sea
level though fortunately not on this occasion. It was Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. As
an experience it was the highest. The clever people at Voyages to Antiquity had
somehow arranged for all the passengers to make an evening visit and have the whole
Basilica to ourselves - an exclusive in one of the world’s top dozen buildings of all
time. Following dinner on the ship we boarded water buses for Saint Mark’s Square,
and in the dusk we sailed past the twinkling lights of some of Venice’s great churches
and palazzi. Our guides led us in our groups to the Basilica’s side door. Our first stops
were in the loggias to admire the astonishing ceiling mosaics in the mini-domes
behind the great west door, all beautifully lit, each telling a story from the Old
Testament (including a memorable depiction of a drunken Noah), the figures
contrasting with the gold of the background mosaics. And then through the inner
doors into the main nave with its five mighty domes. Wow, mosaics everywhere,
hardly a surface uncovered. Our guide again helped us ‘read’ the stories, this time
from the New Testament. She also explained the craftsmanship of the luminous
gilding; the many thousands of golden tesserae were glass and to prevent the gold leaf
peeling off each mosaic comprised two pieces of glass with the gold leaf laminated
between them. She then had us sit down in the nave and as we waited for the other
groups I again reflected on how we had the whole place to ourselves and wondered by
what magic Voyages to Antiquity had managed to give us such a privileged treat.