A City Detached from Earth and Sky

Wee coude not cheere ye inhabitants of Valle Parunta to Treete wt us ffor love of Godde nor monye: thys Cite, well wallyd and all of stonnes, ws Plagy’d by Warre, yt woude seeme, much Spoyled . . . yt no Armie coude wee see. —Pylgrymage of Sir Richard Guylforde Knygth, 1511

On a fine June morning Sir Audsley accompanied our intrepid party to Valparuta, reached via a steep and winding track which ascends for ten miles or more out of Trápani’s quaint harbor. Our little horse bore the climb bravely, while those of us more sensible to beauty took in breathtaking views of the nearby sea . . . Valparuta stands at a great height, perched atop a solitary limestone cliff; it is a curious little town with a closed, medieval aspect, subject to enshrouding mists. We found its denizens as opaque as its clouds—and as chilly. The trip might have been spoiled, but for the further spectacular Views we enjoyed from the town’s ancient fortress . . . —Lady Josephine Audsley, A Sicilian Idyll, 1908