Messina Nov 3 Sicily 23 C

Breakfast is included at our hotel. It consists of packaged rusks, soda crackers, packaged cookies. And coffee.
We stopped at a local bakery for a good cup of coffee and a biscotti. Really good, they give you little pitchers of boiled water to thin out the coffee. Lots of locals on the patio:

While Jeff was inside ordering a man approached me and said ?. I said sorry English. Now he motions another man to come over - they said ? Not a clue what that was about, they toddled off when Jeff came out of the bakery. Maybe they were trying to tell me I had to go inside to order.

On the first Sunday of the month the Messina Museum is free. We take the tram 2 E each one way.
At the first platform a wonderful older couple helped us figure out buying a ticket. The man was super animated, spoke some English and wanted to be helpful which he was! His wife was so pretty and dainty dressed head to toe in dusty pink, coat, shoes, purse perfectly matched. We have noticed the good grooming and good looking people here.
The museum is right by the last tram stop. Paintings, sculptures, mosaics. Wonderful. And very accessible. You can walk right up to the exhibits and touch them (not that we did). A very personal experience. The only exhibit behind a rope were the two huge works by Caravaggio.
We saw two of his paintings seven years ago in Valetta Malta. His life story is fascinating and his work with light and shadow renowned. It was thrilling seeing these paintings today!!

Caravaggio was recognized as a great talent during his turbulent life. He was a brawler and was sentenced to death by beheading (for the crime of murder) but his supporters in high places helped him escape. Many of his works were painted when he was on the run from the law.
He often painted his own likeness and is shown below, the man with clasped hands:

His use of colour, shadow and light put him ahead of the curve in his own time. His attention to detail, realistic facial expressions, lots going on in his painting not necessarily evident at first glance:

We are big fans of Caravaggio. For a time he was in the Knights of Malta but got kicked out for bad behaviour likely murder. It is speculated that they assassinated him in Italy when he was 38 years old.

Neptune the sculpture that symbolizes Messina.
Made of marble, five metres tall, Neptune the god of the sea outstretches his arm to dominate and calm the sea.

There are many examples of 13 Century mosaic tile work. Below is Madonna della Ciambretta:
. The talent of using these tiny tiles to create art that long ago amazes me.
Italy is full of interesting people from history. I knew nothing about the subject of this plaster work but it caught my eye and I was impressed with the detail - not a very big piece. Maybe two feet wide. Titled The Torture of Tommaso Campanella:

This guy Tommaso Campanella wrote The City in the Sun. This work was written in Italian in 1602, shortly after he survived torture during the Spanish Inquisition and was spared the death sentence by feigning insanity. He spent 26 years in prison. He was born to ordinary people but was a child prodigy and received a good education. He was a philosopher and astrologist and a Dominican monk. He died in Paris 21 May 1639 (aged 70).
A painting that caught my eye for its simplicity and realistic look:

It is a self portrait done in 1907 by Salvatore DePasquale from Messina who is recognized for his talent but who never achieved fame.
If you are ever in Messina the museum is worth a look. Here is a wooden Carriage used by the Senate in the seventeenth century:

View from the museum:

Park across the street:

Riposo, also known as pennichella in some parts of Italy, is the Italian version of Spain's siesta. It's a time in the afternoon when shops close, streets empty out, and Italians retreat indoors to escape the midday heat. So it appears to be a common theme around our lodging. Plus the supermarket is closed on Sunday! So we need a few things especially water. Very little is open, even at 5 pm. It is Sunday. We had hoped to go out for pizza and walked at least ten blocks but everything is closed. So we ended up at a shawarma place and had this it was good - Sikh kabob:

Tomorrow we are going to Siracuse by train and have our tickets booked online.