Bill Giovinazzo 6/14/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/14/21

Noto Antica

There are days which will stand out in my life. This was one of them.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/13/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/13/21

“Il bar più a sud d’Europa isole escluse.”

We were barely on the road when we stopped at an abandoned farmhouse. The farm had been made into a museum. Apparently, someone who had found some Roman mosaics and were chipping away pieces destroying them and obscuring the story these treasures told. As I understand it, someone had started farming here when they discovered what was under the ground. It reminds me of something a friend once told me. According to him, there is so very much history in the ground that every construction project uncovers something from the past.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/12/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/12/21

Italia, Ieri, Oggi, Domani.

Today we boarded our flight for our Italian adventure. We battled traffic on the LA freeways, passed through the gauntlet of security, and ourselves into seats that would be restrictive for hobbit. There is not much to tell about my odyssey at this point, so let’s talk about Italy.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/11/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/11/21

A Voice for Columbus

The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones. It is so easy to attack the dead, to misquote, to misrepresent motive, to manipulate the representation of past events.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/10/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/10/21

Arrival

Today, after a very long day of travel, we arrived in Syracuse, or more correctly Sircuasa. I am referring to the original in Sicily and not the one in central New York.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/10/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/10/21

Columbus & The Historians

When I was a kid Columbus Day was a special holiday. OK, it wasn’t Christmas or Easter, but it was better than Arbor Day, with all due respect to that holiday. I didn’t think of it back then, but it was an acknowledgment of the contribution Italians made – and continue to make – to the United States.

Bill Giovinazzo 6/9/21 Bill Giovinazzo 6/9/21

The Road to Noto

What a great day!! It is our first day of riding and it has reminded me of why I love these trips so much. We left Syracuse this morning headed south-west toward the town of Noto. It was a short 34 miles, which I guess is a great way to start the trip. We don’t want to attempt anything too intense and the terrain was relatively flat, very little elevation gain. The sky was overcast as we began our travels making for a cool start to the day.

Bill Giovinazzo 1/13/21 Bill Giovinazzo 1/13/21

Who is your Favorite Guitarist?

If I were to ask you to name a great guitarist, who would you name? If you are from my generation, you might say Clapton or Hendrix. If you are old school, you might go with B.B. King or Les Paul. If, however, you are really old school, and I am talking 18th century old school, you’re going with Mauro Giuliani – no known relation to that other Giuliani.

Bill Giovinazzo 1/13/21 Bill Giovinazzo 1/13/21

An Italian-American Christmas

Several years back, an evangelical Christian co-worker was complaining about the secularization of Christmas. “Jesus is the reason for the season,” he declared, literally raising his arm, pointing to the heavens above. “What does Christmas mean to you? Is it a holiday or an holyday?” he asked, almost daring me to answer incorrectly, or at least what he thought was incorrect.