Discovering Sicily Through Erasmus: A Journey of History, Nature, and Culture

Meeting in Sicily Erasmus + 2017-2019

Welcome day In the Auditorium of FERRARI , the headmistress, Prof.ssa Cettina Ginebri will welcome host teachers and students and after a coffee break we will take our first step together in Sicily. An amazing path through history, nature and landscapes. Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible

Jalari Art Garden May 7th 2018 The " Jalari " Museum Park is located in the Peloritani mountains just a few kilometers from Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (ME) and covers an area of 35 hectares. : " Jalari is the Arab name of the district in which it develops and " shimmering stone ", the same stone that was construction. Using the local stone as the raw material rediscover the resources of our land and use them in harmony with the ambiance that surrounds us. Unlike traditional museums in " Jalari " the 15,000 finds placed in the 42 craft shops have not undergone the de- contextualization, faithfully recreate the atmosphere and life of the past.. Its sculptures do not represent photograph, but they convey in an abstract form, universal such as Dreams, Confusion, Reflections, Rediscovery of magically affect personal emotions in a suggestive scenary. it means used for its aims to in order to the reality as feelings, Love, Pain, and values, which The " Jalari " Museum Park today cannot be considered only a geographical place or a physical structure but must first be considered a philosophy of life.

Sounds, Perfumes, and Colors around the Big Volcano Etna Park Etna Park was established in Sicily in March 1987. Etna is not only the highest active volcano in Europe, mountain with recent lava flows where no form of life has settled yet and very ancient lava flows housing natural fomations of Austrian pines, beech trees, To protect this extraordinary landscape marked by the presence of man, Etna Park has been divided into In the "A" area, 19,000 ha . It is the area of the big spaces, the realm of big birds of prey like the Golden The "B" area, 26,000 ha, is partly formed by small private agricultural lots and is characterized by wonderful examples of rural houses, shelters for animals, palm groves, and noble houses. Besides the "A" and "B" Park areas, there is a pre-Park area in the "C" and "D" areas: 14,000 ha, to guarantee the presence of eventual tourist facilities in the respect of the safeguard of landscape and nature. May 8th 2018 the first Park but also a and birches. unique and four areas. uncontaminated Eagle. An unique environment surrounding Etna, rich in sounds, perfumes, and colors. An enchanting landscape protected by a Park.

THE CASTLE OF MILAZZO A HISTORY OF CENTURIES May 9th 2018 After the visit and the workshops at the Agrarian school of Milazzo a dip into the past. The Castle of Milazzo, is a National monument, with a surface of over 7 hectares and represents one of the largest castle of the whole Europe, in almost perfect conditions. The first, rudimental, fortifications, date back to the Neolithic (4000 b.C. circa). With the first Greek colonizers (VIII VII sec b.C.) these fortifications started to have a proper structure, but it was not until the Roman-Byzantine period that the castrum was formed. In the 843 the Arabs built the first nucleus of houses that today represents the most ancient part of the Castle. While Normans and Swabia built completely new structures, the Aragonese adapted the defensive structure, and then the Spanish surrounded it with the citadel. Nowadays, You can admire the castle in the way Spanish left it. Among the most beautiful building of the citadel and the castle, You can visit the Ancient Dome, Palace of Jurors and the Mastio, with the famous room of the Sicilian Parliament, so called for having hosted in 1295 the first Sicilian Parliament presided da Federico of Aragona. Explore the past to understand the present and shape the future

THE MARINELLO LAKES: SICILIAN NATURE, POETRY AND MYSTERIES May 10th 2018 The outline of the Marinello Lakes, in the province of Messina, constantly changes due to marine currents and sea storms. From the top of the Tindari hill, a promontory belonging to the Nebrodi Hills, over 250 meters high be prepared for the breathtaking view over the Tyrrhenian Sea, with Aeolian Islands at the horizon. Look down and you ll discover the brackish ponds the Marinello Lakes Natural Reserve was named after, when it was founded in 1998. This part of the Sicilian coastline is simply full of legends and traditions. At one point, the rock opens up into a grotto known as Donna Villa Cave, named after the beautiful and cruel sorceress, you will admire beautiful, imposing stalactites and stalagmites. The old Sanctuary is also well worth a visit: it is home to a statue of the Black Madonna from the 8th-9th century, which arrived here on a ship, escaping the Orient s iconoclastic persecutions. I climb airy peaks, precipices, / following the wind in the pines, / and the crowd of them, lightly accompanying me, / fly off into the air, / wave of love and sound. S. Quasimodo

Porticella, Steps leading down to the pool of Venus May 11th 2018 Here we are, Cape of Milazzo. A path through secular olive trees will lead us, immersed in the colors and scents of Mediterranean flora, towards our last step together. From here we ll continue towards S.Antonio Bay, where there was once an ancient tonnara (for tuna fishing and above which is a rock sanctuary dedicated to S. Antonio of Padova. We ll walk among limestone rocks filled with fossils to get to the lovely pool of Venus. It s a rather unknown spot of land or better an unknown spot of water, which is reachable only via a 20-minute walk. A stairway in the middle of cacti, olive trees, capers, agaves and gorse leads you to this enchanted place where the natural swimming pool can be found. Through lava rocks it is separated from the sea and shimmers in fantastic turquoise. The place invites you to sunbathe and bathe, also because the water temperature here is always a little higher than in the open sea. Anyone who spends the whole day here until the evening has the privilege of watching a breath-taking sunset behind the Aeolian Islands, which appear on the horizon, in its various shades. A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. Pleased to take some steps with you.