addandhardcore: Israele, l' Eremita di Capo Gallo/The hermit of Capo Gallo

the semaphore in Capo Gallo

Facing the Mediterranean, Capo Gallo is a natural area, since 2001 a natural reserve, north of Palermo, on the Italian island Sicily. Because of the proximity of the sea, the area has marine facilities, such as a lighthouse and an elevated building as in above picture, that once was a military lookout and semaphore.

Life and works

More than a decade ago this building became the home of a hermit who is known as Israele, the name he has adopted.

this picture and the next two:

screenprints from the video (2008) by Guiseppe Tucci

Not much is known about his life. He was born in the early fifties of the former century, had a job as a mason, worked in Palermo and was a deeply religious man.

He has told a reporter who visited him, that in 1985 he had a dream that changed his life, convinced as he became by that dream that he had to be a prophet with the mission to save people's souls.

After that dream he continued his job, adressing his colleagues with religious insights, and then, in 1997 he left wife and children, to restart his life as a hermit, first going to live in a cave in the seaside rocks in the Capo Gallo natural area, later squatting the no longer used and abandoned semaphore building in the same area.

Isaele in the course of the years has decorated this building in such a way, that it has become kind of a sanctuary.

The road uphill to this sanctuary has been signposted by Israele with small decorations, painted or made from pebbles, and mostly depicting a heart, suggesting this path is a Via Santa.

The interior of the building is lavishly decorated. The walls have been geometrically divided into compartments, each of which is decorated with a large item, such as a portrait or a mosaic representation, surrounded by smaller items like stars, crosses or other signs.

pictures of the interior: screenshots from
the video by Ester Affronti (sept 2012)

To make his decorations Israele uses small pebbles, he collects on the beaches. He makes great use of the hexagram and other religious symbols.

It is noteworthy that there are no religious texts and inscriptions on the walls, except one above a clock reading ALLELUIAMEN. The appearance of the interior is rather quite, orderly and understated, which constitues a major difference with environments in the USA that include religious expressions, or one of the few european sites with such expressions.

Outside, however, there is an inscripted text about the End of Times, the return of Gods kingdom, which will be accompanied by great destructions. (The full text is in OEE texts)

Israele is a shy person. A visitor, who met him in 2010, has described him as a good looking man with dark, greying hair and a bushy greying beard, adding: "He's articulate, and enthusiastic when talking about God" (Kate Ludlov's blog, 2010, see documentation)..

Israele, however, is not eager at all to meet visitors, rather avoids them and he doesn't appear in the video's below. One may wonder if he agreed that the videos were recorded.