Savoca, The Godfather and Mummies

Feeling MUCH better today so I rallied for the 30 mile drive north to the mountain top town of Savoca.

The Savoca City Limits Wall

I said Savoca was a mountain top town.

Everything is ready in case a parade breaks out. 

Rush Hour in Savoca

Chiesa Santa Lucia

The first priority was to find two of the filming locations for the movie "The Godfather".  This is the first one I stumbled upon since there is nothing posted that refers to the Francis Ford Coppola film crew ever being here, I guess the subject matter of the film probably has something to do with this.

In the movie this is the church where Michael Corleone married Apollonia.

The Bar Vitelli

This is where Michael Corleone, a.k.a., Claudio Mangano, and his two bodyguards sat down and accidently disrespected Apollonia's father who owns the bar.  They were seated at the table to the left of the door and I believe that in the movie there was a shade screen over their table since it was another scorching hot summer in Siciliy.

Stylin'

This lovely young lady had the dubious job of breaking my heart and having to tell me that the Bar Vitelli was CHIUSO or closed.  All I wanted was one small cup of coffee in a historic bar, no such luck!  What was I thinking showing up at 11:30 a.m. looking for sustenance in a place like the Bar Vitelli?

O.K., the Bar Vitelli was closed but the final stop in Savoca promised to be interesting to say the least, the mummies in the Convent of the Frati Minori Cappuccini.

What, they're turning the Mummy Crypt into a restaurant?

Are the Mummies are going out to dinner perhaps?

Or maybe they mean restoration.

Hi-Tech "CHIUSO" Sign

Bottom line, the Convent is closed until Feb. 20, 2009.  You know those people who can never find a mummy when they want one, well I'm one of them having struck out in both Rome and Palermo last year for the exact same reason.  Are they really closed or are they all trying to hide something from the public?

Forza d'Agro Church

This church in nearby Forza d'Agro, also appeared in "The Godfather" when Michael first sees the town of Corleone.

 

Padre Pio

Not in "The Godfather" but HUGE in Italy nonetheless.

Of course in these two ancient villages there were several really remarkable buildings such as these next three.

Sicilian Puppet Show

You read about these traditional puppet shows in Sicilian travel books but I have yet to see one.  These were at the small shopping center in Acireale where I shopped for groceries on the way home from a somewhat disappointing day in Savoca.

I forgot to mention that our Elephant's workout Wednesday night was sparsely attended due to the BIG calcio game in Catania's Stadium against Inter Milan.  Inter prevailed 2-0.  It was eerie to be at practice and hear the roar of the Catania calcio crowd about a mile away.