Nature manifests itself in different places and at different times ... in the Mediterranean Sea, the Straight of Messina and in the Indian Ocean, where the seaquake struck and transformed both man and the environment. Signs of these upheavals are still to be seen in eastern Sicily, where towns display signs unknowingly of repeated ancient catastrophes. Doors and windows are adorned with threatening monsters and wizards. They separate man's dwelling places from the intemperance of nature.