A Grand Tour of Gardens: Traveling in Beauty through Western Europe and the United States

A Tale of Two Cities: Taormina and Venice

A Tale of Two Cities Taormina and Venice SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WHILE VISITING MY SON Kershaw LeClercq at the Leysin School in Switzerland, I discovered why my suitcase was unexpectedly heavy—my mother, Emily Whaley, had selected several small marble stones from a roadway for the stream in her “secret” garden in Charleston and stuffed them in my suitcase! Now, while we were at the Greek Theater in Taormina, Sicily, I turned to find my husband , Fred, marveling at the massive columns of pink and white marble from a 300 b.c. Greek theater. And, oh, what a setting for a theater! On a spit of land over the Strait of Messina, the Greeks built a massive theater that still echoes their tales of glory. A glistening, snowcapped Mt. Etna towers over the proscenium. Taormina sits in lovely countryside where vineyards and silvery olive orchards predominate. Our base was the Timeo Hotel overlooking the public gardens, the “dream” garden of a Scottish sweetheart of Edward VII. The garden is filled with brick and marble follies. A dramatic belvedere provides a promenade overlooking the sea. On our visit the park was resplendent with sago, canary, and date palms. Groves of sweet-smelling oranges and limes provided winter color to an otherwise green landscape. Taormina bustles with the activity and sounds of a small village. Saturday produced two flower-filled weddings, or nozze, as the Italians call them. We were onlookers at a wedding reception at the Hotel Santa Dominica, an old monastery converted into an elegant hotel. We sat in the formal garden, overlooking the sea, and drank in the panoramic vista. Circular parterres were defined by rosemary, rather than by boxwood, and enclosed colorful circles of birds of paradise. As the sun set, the aqua ocean became an opalescent reflection of the pink and lavender sky. We slowly returned to the Timeo enjoying the passagata, the Italian evening stroll. Each evening we listened to the lively piano music of Salvatore Pennisi, whose forte is American jazz, including such tunes as “Unforgettable,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” and “In the Mood.” Italians have a love affair with American culture, and they readily welcome and accept Americans and the English language. We left the countryside of Sicily, flying out of Catania, for the bustling energy of Venice. Venice is a city where one should walk until completely lost and then discover the way back. The canals, alleys, and byways that link the many sunny campos (city squares) of Venice provide the routes for this discovery and exploration. The fun is in the exploration. Getting lost leads to wonderful conversations with locals, all too happy to help you find the way. Our base was the centrally located Taormina and Venice 49 Gritti Palace, which overlooks the Grand Canal. We decided to explore Venice pursuing two themes, images of Mary Magdalene and images of St. George slaying the dragon. We found the beautiful and heartbroken Mary Magdalene with her pot of ointment (spikenard, the aromatic oil that she used to anoint the feet of Jesus) in the School of San Rocco, a huge Renaissance building with more than seventy gigantic paintings by Tintoretto (1518–1594). An enormous crucifix painting dramatically tells the story of Good Friday. There at the foot of the cross is Mary Magdalene , an image of grief and beauty. We found Mary again at the Campo dei Frari. The campo was a lively scene of barking dogs, flower and food vendors, and couples walking arm in arm. The Frari is an enormous church whose central altarpiece features a Titian ascension of the Virgin. But it was again a crucifix scene, this time by Bellini, that brought tears to my eyes. Two bas-relief marble scenes on either side of the altar piece showed Mary holding up her pot of ointment (said to be worth ten thousand dollars today) to the feet of a still-living Christ. Finally, we had enough of grief, art, and history, and we sought a wonderful garden restaurant, the Locanda Montin. There under the wisteria vines of a shade- filled garden, we had a dinner of scaloppini with asparagus and filetto di bue (beef), which was suitably rare. Mt. Etna and the Greek amphitheater at Taormina 50 Italian Gardens Now it was time to find St. George and his fire-eating dragon. We wended our way beyond San Zaccaria, an exquisite marble...