Palermo/Castelvetrano/Cefalù (gro) For the third time one moves this autumn on “The traces Friedrich II.” through Sicily. Behind it is, as in previous years, a foundation: the Palermo-based “Fondazione Federico II”. The most recent trip started in Castelvetrano (Trapani province). The “Federicians” were sent on the trip by Giovanni Ardizzone (our picture), the president of the Sicilian regional parliament, thus from the highest point of politics. The tour will end on Friday next week, December 16, in Cefalù. The latest search for clues will lead to 22 sites, castles, fortifications and hunting lodges that were built in Sicily under the rule of the legendary Staufer in the 13th century.
The Hohenstaufen emperor is still dearly loved today.
The nature of the Sicilians is still marked today by three millennia of foreign domination. Often they hated the foreign masters, mostly they endured them more or less grumbling. Occasionally they chased them from the island with bloody attacks, like the French occupiers of the House of Anjou on March 30, 1282, or like the Spanish Bourbons with the help of a revolutionary named Garibaldi and his 1000 volunteers (among them many Sicilians) on May 11, 1860. At least one of their former masters the Sicilians adore and love until today: Frederick II, King of Sicily and later still Emperor of the Roman Empire of the German Nation.
Demonized by the Pope, the greatest for his fans.
Frederick II was crowned King of Sicily at the very youthful age of four (!), of course for political reasons – with the Pope as his educator. He cared little for the boy, who grew up as an orphan in Palermo and was taught primarily by Arab teachers and prepared for adult life. Thanks to his teachers, he grew up to be a highly educated young man who, at the age of 18, was able to persuade the German princes and dukes to accept him as Roman-German king and, eight years later, as emperor of the Roman-German Empire. The Pope, on the other hand, having lost his influence over Frederick, demonized him as a heretic and “beast of the Apocalypse of John.” For today’s travelers to Sicily, this hardly matters. Those who vacation in Sicily, whether in a hotel, a vacation villa or a holiday apartment, expect well-functioning kitchenettes and best-stocked kitchens, comfortable beds and a cozy atmosphere to stay in.
Role model for tolerance and humanity.
Frederick II spoke fluent Arabic, good Greek and Italian, and of course German. Since he surrounded himself at his court in Palermo and later in Apulia primarily with Arabic state scholars and jurists, he remained a thorn in the pope’s side, not least because he also advanced to king of Jerusalem in 1225 after repeatedly delaying a crusade promised to the pope. When Frederick finally did set out, he avoided any bloodshed and secured Christian access to the holy sites through patient and shrewd negotiations with the Sultan of Jerusalem. In this respect, says the Palermo Fondazione Federico II, the Hohenstaufen was also a shining example of tolerance and humanity.
Admiration for modern statesmanship.
Frederick II is also admired for his energy. He had managed to bring the island’s quarreling regions into line. The fortifications, which were built during his reign and under his architectural direction, would have contributed quite substantially to the creation of a modern state structure, from whose structure the island still benefits today. All this and much more will be brought to the Sicilian people in schools and cultural events during the activities of the “Federico II” initiative. In total, as mentioned above, this time 22 historical sites will be linked and treated: in schools, at lectures and by historically engaged associations and societies. The President of the Parliament, Giovanni Ardizzone, is convinced that this will generate “fruitful impulses” for Sicily, not least for the promotion of tourism in “one of the most important vacation regions in Europe”.