Great knockers of Sicily

October 19, 2014

Just so there’s no misunderstanding as to what I mean.

Isn’t it amazing? I wonder how old it is.

These are works of art, to me, anyway. I wish they came with labels as to date and origin.

The remarkable thing in Sicily is the light, which I’m having a hard time describing. But it makes even this door stand out.

This one makes me think of ancient times.

California is such a new state–the whole of America is, compared to Europe–and so it seems so amazing to live among these real antiquities.

This one looks new, but could be old. The knockers probably aren’t.

This building is way old and so the door is probably way old, too.

I wondered who came up with the idea of door knockers and discovered that they may have a dark history. Some say they began in ancient Greece, where slaves answered the door to visitors.

But the slaves were chained to metal rings on the door. Ugly, no? But the door knocker tradition continued into the Roman empire, growing fancier and more ornate and turning into works of craftsmanship and art.

Today, door knockers seen in beautiful European homes are design statements, but I like these old ones best.

Don’t you wonder who’s walked into these doors? Even without a knocker?

No knockers here, but the door is so stunning I had to include it.

Liv says:

October 19, 2014 at 9:55 am

Reminds me of my Favorite quote “new doors are always opening if you keep moving forward.”

Carol Cassara says:

October 19, 2014 at 11:49 am

Love that quote.

Pam@over50feeling40 says:

October 19, 2014 at 9:56 am

Love it..the headline and the knockers!

Carol Cassara says:

October 19, 2014 at 11:48 am

Who doesn’t love good knockers?

Claudia Schmidt says:

October 19, 2014 at 9:57 am

Beautiful. I noticed the same thing about doors in Ireland and then again in Paris. The doors are just stunning. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip even though you got sick.

Carol Cassara says:

October 19, 2014 at 11:48 am

I didn’t take as many good pix as I would have otherwise, but I tried!

Diane says:

October 19, 2014 at 10:25 am

My Husby has a ‘thing’ about door knockers. He’d love to collect them! But after dealing with his chess set collection for over thirty years, I told him what he could do with his knockers. Pun intended . . .