(Above photo - Isola Bella - Sicily Taormina )
I’ve been having a real love affair with Italy the last few years. In fact my last five trips to Europe have all been to Italia as I vainly try to retrace the Grand Tour routes of English aristocrats of centuries past. This last summer I was lucky enough to take the family to Sicily which had been on my radar for quite some time, inspired in some part - I hate to admit it and be so obvious - by the second series of 'White Lotus'. If you haven’t watched it - and I highly recommend it - the drama mainly centres around the narrow streets of Taormina, Sicily high above the turquoise Ionian Sea.
(Above photo - Teatro Antico di Taormina, Sicily - Third Century BC )
In each episode, it's as if the location becomes a character - charming, sexy, mesmerising in her beauty and with a dark underside if ruffled. Much like in the excellent 'Ripley' (which also artfully used Italy as a backdrop), there are frequent shots of the sea between scenes as a portent to what might be coming next. Moody shots of waves with low clouds - soundtracked by the excellent Cristobal Tapia de Veer score - anticipate incoming storms just over the horizon. The camera also flirts with interiors, often panning slowly over frescos and trompe-l'oeil as an echo of the drama and tragedy - possibly, maybe, probably - about to happen. Indeed the opening credits are exactly this with glimpses of cherubs, mythological creatures, minotaurs, satyrs and sphinxes as allusions and allegories to the action in the drama.
(Above photo - Graste Moors Head ("Testa di Moro") - a recurring motif in White Lotus 2 )
Another recurring motif and image throughout the series are the ceramic Moors heads - also known as Graste - which you see in every gift shop in Sicily. The story behind the Graste Moors Head ("Testa di Moro") originates from a Sicilian legend set in Palermo during Arab rule. According to the tale, a young Moor fell in love with a beautiful Sicilian maiden. They shared a passionate romance until she discovered he planned to leave Sicily to return to his homeland and family. Enraged by betrayal, the maiden murdered him in a fit of jealousy. To preserve their love forever, she severed his head and used it as a pot to grow basil, placing it on her balcony. The basil flourished, drawing admiration from neighbors who began crafting ceramic pots in the shape of the Moor’s head, symbolizing love, passion, and the intertwining of cultures. If you consider it in relation to the action it's a perfect metaphor for what is going on in many of the White Lotus plotlines. Lust, betrayal, disappointment, infidelity and all the other emotions in the 'love' palette are perfectly encapsulated in the story of the Graste which lingers over many scenes like a gothic grotesque.
(Above photo - Gorgeous fountain of the Corso Umberto I, Taromina, Sicily )
Sicily is the perfect setting for White Lotus as the location so perfectly assists in the drama. Sicily - at the heart of Europe and right off the coast of Africa - has been invaded frequently over the centuries. Arabs, Greeks, Romans and others over the years have all arrived in search of riches and a new life. Hence - as in our personal lives - you can never escape history and your backstory which informs and has made you who you are, including the quirks and traumas that might set you off course at times. Thus many of the characters are also trying to escape their own problems and lives as part of the temporary escapism that a holiday allows. Except in most cases your past will at some point catch up with you. The writing and characters are flawless. As is the music, casting, acting and cinematography. I've even - and this is something I don't often do - re-watched this and it totally holds up and makes me want to return to this magic island. Like tomorrow. Or even now.
(Above photo - It's a Fiat. Italian's do it better. Taormina, Sicily )
(Above photo - Walking the streets of Taormina, Sicily )
(Above photo - Machiatto and blood orange cocktail )
(Above photo - Citrus steps - Taormina, Sicily )
(Above photo - The turquoise Ionian Sea )
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