1936 On the Continent

both are harmless vortices in the sea.
Puglie
    Before we land in Sicily we must return to the eastern coast of the Peninsula on the Adriatic. This part of Italyis known to but few foreigners, yet it is an interesting, colourful and attractive world. The reason that it was completely ignored in the past is that it lies outside the main tourist routes. It was only recently that the attention of the Italian tourist traffic bureau and of foreign tourists has been directed to this spot. Those who arrive in Italy at Brindisi have the best opportunity of visiting Apulia, and in that case it is best to go from Brindisi straight to Bari and take rooms at one of the completely reconstructed hotels there.
    From Bari the C.I.T. runs conducted tours through the small seaside towns as far as the Emperor Frederick’s magnificent, world-famous castle, the Castel del Monte. There is a tramway service between Bari and Barletta, but the visitor who is intent on seeing things is not advised to make use of it. Among the coast towns Bisceglia is interesting on account of its cathedral, Andria on account of its Roman temples, and Castel del Monte for the reason already stated. Canosa di Puglia has an interesting dome, and it is also here that Bohemond, son of Robert Guiscard, is buried. Barletta was the scene of the “disfida del Barletta,” where, on February 13th, 1503, thirteen Italian knights fought as many French knights under the refereeship of Prospero Colonna and Bayard. An interesting village is Alborebello, south of Bari, on account of its peculiar round, turreted houses, locally known as
trulli
.
    Bari to-day is the most important commercial centre in the south-east of Italy. In September each year a Trade Fair is held, at which the merchants of the Levant, Little Asia, North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe congregate. This clean, well-ordered town has an eleventh century cathedral, in addition to the famous S. Nicola church, an example of the Roman style.
SICILY
    Sicily has now been under Italian sovereignty for about seventy years, yet it still remains a separate and different world. The island is undoubtedly inhabited by Italians, and patriotic Italians at that. But the Sicilian is a mixture of Greek, Latin, Norman, Arab, French, Spanish and a score of other races, and differs from the Northern or Central Italian just as much as the English differ from theFrench, or the North Americans from the Brazilians. As regards mentality and customs, Sicily is a world apart. Few tourists spending a few weeks in Italy can spare the time to include Sicily in their itinerary and, in fact, at least a fortnight is necessary if you wish to see Sicily properly. And Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, deserves it.
    In Sicily every traveller finds what he most desires to find. The art lover and the antiquary can indulge their passion for art treasures and artistic monuments, the tourist can enjoy the beauties of nature, while the person who merely wants rest and recreation is assured of good hotels, an excellent cuisine and opportunities for sport.
    It is best to visit Sicily in March, April, May or in October and November. During the spring months rail fares are considerably reduced for the “primavera siciliana,” so that a stay of two or three weeks at this time entails comparatively little expense. Sicilian tours planned for about a fortnight or seventeen days are, generally based on the following well-tried programme: Palermo-Monreale-Solunte, three days; Segeste-Trapani-Palermo, three days; Palermo-Termini-Cefalu, two days; Palermo-Agrigentou, two days; Agrigentum-Catania, two days; climbing of Aetna, two days; Catania-Syracusa, two days; Taormina, one day; Taormina-Messina and departure; one day. There are convenient steamer services between Naples and Sicily and some steamers go as far as Genoa. Thus tourists who arrive in Sicily by train via Messina are advised to reverse the programme mentioned here, and travel by steamer from Palermo to Naples or to any other convenient port. Sicily can also be reached by the various air services. There is a daily service from Naples to Palermo (not including Sundays and holidays), and the planes of the Rome-Tunis service also land here. The hydroplane of the Rome-Tripoli service lands at Syracuse.
Messina
    I need not say much about Messina. Before 1908 Messina was the most interesting city in Sicily, but in that year 84,000 of its inhabitants were killed and its principal art