Viaggio in Sicilia

1 - The Basics

From September 13-25, 2008, Nancy and Mike Moyle joined a tour of Sicily organized by the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco.  The tour consisted of 20 individuals, most from Northern California, our tour leader, Alessandra ("Ale") Giardino of Montgomery & Giardino Expeditions, and Enzo di Prima, our driver from the Principato bus company who piloted us safely and comfortably (not to mention with patience and good humor)around the island.

The following posts can be found below: 

2 - Why Sicily?

3 - A Few Highlights (Other Than Food)

4 - Finally - La Cucina

5 - Cookbooks, Etc.

6 - Il Matrimonio in Sicily - Weddings

7 - Sicilian Heros

8 - And For Our Next Trip...

 

Additional information is available by clicking on highlighted text, and most photos can be expanded by clicking on the photo.

    

 

 

The tour started in Catania on the east coast of the island and took us around the entire island, finishing in Siracusa. 

 

2 - Why Sicily??

The previous trips Nancy and I made to Italy had been to the northern part of the country, in particular to Bologna where our nephew had lived with his family for a couple of years.  The furthest south we traveled on those trips was to Umbria.  Although we had heard good things about Sicily from friends who had been there, we did not have any strong desire to go there and anticipated that future trips to Italy would again be to the north were we still had many places we wanted to explore.

So what happened to lead us to make the trip to Sicily?  Thinking back, it was a series of random events which built upon each other and inexorably led us to that island.

Cooking Class Alumni Group/ Guttoso’s “La Vucciria”.  One of the best courses I ever took was a course on Italian cuisine given in Italian at the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco.  Our class met every week for 8 weeks – one week we would meet in a classroom to talk about the topic, and the following week we would meet at the home of Paola Bagnatori, the Museo’s Managing Director, to cook!  Apart from having a lot of fun, our class became very close and since the class ended we have met periodically to explore our favorite topic further.

In November of last year the class met at the home of our classmates, Reidun and Angela, for a lovely dinner.  Reidun and Angela had just returned from a trip to Sicily and gave a most entertaining account of their trip which piqued my interest.  A few days later at a bookstore I picked up "Midnight in Sicily" by Peter Robb which I enjoyed a great deal, although he deals with some of the serious problems Sicily has faced over the years.  In the book Robb mentioned a picture of one of Palermo's traditional outdoor markets - La Vucciria – painted in 1974 by an Sicilian artist named Renato Guttuso who I had not heard of before.  For someone interested in food, it was fascinating picture with both wonderful content and color.

Cooking Classes at Mezzo Mezzo.  In January I learned by chance through an email from an Italian elementary school in Marin that Mezzo Mezzo, a restaurant in San Rafael, not far from our home in Sausalito, was going to be offering cooking classes on Saturday mornings focusing on Sicilian food.  I had never heard of the restaurant before, but contacted them and ended up taking five of the classes over the next several months.  Mezzo Mezzo’s owner and chef, Giovanni de la Renta, was born and raised in Palermo and was not only enthusiastic about having the classes experience Sicilian food, but also incorporated Sicilian history into the classes.  With Giovanni’s help I began to understand just how rich and varied both Sicilian cuisine and history was.  Plus the food was GREAT!

   

Giovanni seasoning caponata and explaining the art of arancini

Three Museo Programs – #1 Philip Zimbardo/Cammarata.  A couple of months later I learned that the Museo ItaloAmericano was going to be presenting a series of programs featuring Sicily.  The first was at the beginning of April and featured Philip Zimbardo who spoke about his experience with the town of Cammarata, a small town in the mountainous interior of Sicily between Palermo and Agrigento.   Philip’s father had immigrated to the US from Cammarata but Philip had only visited the town for the first time three years ago.  Philip spoke of the warm welcome he had received (it turned out that there were about one hundred Zimbardo’s living in Cammarata, all competing to feed and entertain him!) as well as his subsequent efforts to establish an educational foundation to help the children in the town.  It was a very touching presentation and provided a very human glimpse of life in one of the less frequently visited parts of the island.

#2 Giuseppe Leone - "Immaginario Barocco” and the Val di Noto.  When I attended the Zimbardo lecture I was also able to see at the Museo an photography exhibit entitled "Immaginario barocco" ("The Baroque Imagination").  It was a series of black and white photographs taken by the Ragusa-based Sicilian photographer Giuseppe Leone in the "Val di Noto" area in southeast Sicily (the photos are included in a book published by Kalòs).  In 1693 the area was devastated by an enormous earthquake but the area's towns were rebuilt in what came to be known as the Sicilian Baroque style.  In June 2002, UNESCO added eight towns in the Val di Noto (Caltagirone, Catania, Militello, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli) to the World Heritage List as "representing the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe.”

Leone’s photos were fantastic and the black-and-white medium incredibly evocative.  In addition to several photos focusing on the architecture and landscape, Leone also included a number of pieces in which he juxtaposed a photo of an example of Baroque architectural detail with a photo of a resident of the area.  He obviously has both an artist’s eye as well as a great sense of humor!

     

Scenes from Siracusa, Ragusa and Catania

#3 Gillian McIntosh – Early Sicilian History.  In late April and early May the Museo presented a series of three lectures on early Sicilian history by Professor Gillian McIntosh from the San Francisco State Department of Classics:

~ "Got Myth?  Monsters, Magic and the Mythological Landscape of Ancient Sicily

~ "It's All Greek to Me: The Social, Architectural and Intellectual Legacy of Hellenized Sicily”

~ "When in Sicily, Do as the Romans Did...Not!: Exploitation, Extortion and the Roman Presence in Sicily"

The lectures were very entertaining and informative, but three full lectures were only able to cover the period running from about 735BC when the first Greek settlers landed at Naxos on the east coast, to about the 400’s with the Vandal occupation of the island.  What about the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Spanish and other who followed?  Happily Professor McIntosh was able to suggest a few books to help fill in the blanks.  I found “History of Sicily” by Finley, Smith and Duggan most helpful.  Suffice it to say that Sicily has had a long, long history, very little of uneventful!

The Incanto Influence – Spleen and Wine.  Incanto Restaurant in San Francisco is well known both for their Italian food and focus on sustainable practices.  As part of that focus, and consistent with Italian cuisine, they emphasize using as much of any animal as possible in their dishes.  Generally they are a bit more conservative with their dishes, but once a year they host a “Head to Tail Dinner” at which every dish is prepared using less-often-used ingredients.  Chris Cosentino, the chef at Incanto, has a website named “Offal Good” which sums it up nicely. 

 At the 2008 Head to Tail Dinner this past June, Chris served a dish named “Sicilian lamb spleen bruschetta with caciocavallo cheese & salsa picante.”  This led me to focus more on some of the Sicilian street foods which I had heard about, including the “pane c’a meusa” dish on which Chris had based his dish.  More about that to follow.

 

I should also acknowledge Edward Ruiz, the sommelier at Incanto, who first introduced me to Italian wines in a structured fashion early in 2006 through a class that met at Incanto on six consecutive Saturday afternoons to explore the wines of Sicily and the rest of Italy – a journey that I am happily continuing to pursue!

 

Andrea Camilleri and Commissario Montabano.  Finally, the factors that led us to Sicily certainly included the series of detective books written by the Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri and featuring State Police Inspector (“Commissario”) Salvo Montalbano.  

Camilleri was born in 1925 in Porto Empedocle, a town on the southern coast of Sicily near Agrigento.  He started writing late in his life and his initial works did not meet with much success.  However, in 1994, when he was already 69, he published “La forma dell'acqua” (“The Shape of Water”), the first of his works featuring Commissario Montalbano.  

The character was a hit and since then Camilleri has published 13 books in the Montalbano series, with many of them translated into English.  Italy’s RAI TV has produced a series of 14 episodes based on the Montalbano books with the actor Luca Zingaretti playing the role of Montalbano.  The episodes are available on RAI’s streaming video site, although there are no subtitles and the Sicilian dialect encountered in the episodes can be a bit hard even for some Italians to understand. 

The Montalbano series is set in the town of Vigàta in the province of Montelusa, two fictitious places which appear to correspond in reality to Porto Empedocle and Agrigento where Camilleri grew up.  In the RAI episodes most of the scenes of Vigàta are filmed in Ragusa Ibla in southeastern Sicily, and the location for Montalbano’s home is in Punta Secca on the coast nearby.

Camilleri made Montalbano a lover of Sicilian cuisine and the books are filled with reference to Sicilian dishes.  There is an excellent Camilleri fan website  which includes a section listing every dish mentioned in the Montalbano series, with cross references to book and page number, and even recipes for many of the dishes.  Although the site is primarily in Italian, I found it to be a wonderful resource in many ways.

A Suggestion We Could Not Refuse.  With all of that, when Paola Bagnatori at the Museo told me earlier this year that the Museo was organizing a tour to Sicily for September, I initially said no – we are not “tour people.”  However, the seed that Paola planted grew and before long Nancy and I were trying to figure out how we could best get to Catania to join the group on September 14.

3 - A Few Highlights (Other Than Food!)

It is hard to imagine a more enjoyable trip.  Apart from the wonders of Sicily itself, Nancy and I were very lucky in terms of travel connections (all very smooth), health (no stomach problems despite at least me trying some relatively unusual things on every possible occasion) and weather (other than a bit of rain on a couple of days, we generally had moderate temperatures, and, as you will see from the pictures which follow, clear skies and good visibility with some wonderful clouds).

Food is always a primary focus for me, and I will save comments about la cucina Siciliana for a later post.   I will focus in this post on ten things besides food that most impressed me most on our travel around the island, in the order in which we encountered them. 

1.  Catania.  One’s first day in a new place often leaves a strong impression, and this trip was no exception.  Our initial stop in Sicily was in Catania.  It may not be the most beautiful city on Sicily, but I really enjoyed it.   Catania is blessed with some broad piazza’s, among them the Piazza del Duomo with the cathedral on one end and the statute of the “liotru” – the elephant that is the symbol of the city -- in the middle.   Many of the streets and buildings are built using black lava rock, a constant reminder of the volcano lurking not far away.

One of my favorite dishes from our Mezzo Mezzo cooking classes was “Pasta alla Norma” named after the opera of Vincenzo Bellini, one of Catania’s most famous native sons.  I was very happy to find the memorial to Belllini in the center of the city (with a figure of Norma prominently featured), in addition to his tomb in the Duomo and the Teatro Massimo Bellini (with Via Maria Callas running along its east side) not far away.  For Maria Callas singing "Casta Diva" ("Oh Pure Goddess"), one of the most farmous arias from Norma go here and for the text here.

Finally, Catania gave us our first encounter with the people of Sicily.  In retrospect I have to admit I was mildly apprehensive about personal safety issues.  However, those concerns were quickly dispelled by the warm reception we received, and I never felt a moment’s apprehension during the entire time we were on the island.  After Nancy and I dropped our bags off at the UNA Hotel Palace (a wonderful place to stay with a very helpful staff) the day we arrived, we immediately went out for a walk and soon found ourselves in the middle of a nearby street market.  A gentleman named Salvatore and his brother were selling prickly pears (fichi d’India) and after we chatted with them for a while (we learned he had lived for a while in Los Angeles) he insisted on having us sample some of his fruit – refusing any compensation.  A small kindness which made a big impression.

2.  Mt. Etna.  Ah, Etna.  When you are in the northeast corner of the island you cannot ignore her.  The main street of Catania is both named after her (Via Etnea) and runs directly towards her.  I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii so have both affection and respect for volcanoes.  I certainly felt right at home on Sicily!  Happily with the good weather we enjoyed great views of the mountain from during the first few days we were on the island, and also drove up one day through the town of Zafferana Etnea into the lava fields above the tree line.  It was a bit windy that day as you can see from a video of Nancy trying to keep her balance!  Just like being on the slopes of Mauna Loa!

     

Views of Etna from Catania, Giardini-Naxos, Zafferana Etnea and space

 

Nancy and Mike on eastern slope

3.  The Sea.  Needless to say, the sea is a constant presence on an island.  In the case of Sicily, there are three seas, the Mediterranean to the south, the Ionian to the east and the Tyrrhenian to the north.  Our first close encounter with the sea was upon our arrival at our hotel in Giardini-Naxos, just below Taormina and very close to the original Greek settlement on Sicily.  It was a beautiful evening with the moon rising and we had a wonderful view from our deck.  Our first swim came the next day.

 

4.  Straits of Messina.   The Straits of Messina – the narrow passage between Sicily and the Italian mainland -- was a Sicilian landmark I had heard about for a long time and was really looking forward to seeing.  I had not realized until hearing Professor McIntosh’s lectures how large a part Sicily had played in Greek myths, including the Straits which were the setting for the legend of Scylla, the six-headed monster that lived on a cave on a cliff, and the whirlpool Charybdis, which together formed the gauntlet through which Ulysses had to pass.  Happily our drive past the Straits on the autostrada under beautiful skies was uneventful.

5.  Aeolian Islands (Isole Eolie).  One of my favorite Italian movies is “Il Postino” which was filmed in the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northeast coast of Sicily.  Threatening skies greeted us when we got up on the morning we were scheduled to take a ferry to the islands, but by the time we reached the port of Milazzo where we were to board the ferry, the sun was out.

Aeolus, for whom the islands are named, was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology, and he did not disappoint us that morning -- we had quite a bit of wind and choppy seas when we set off from Milazzo on the Eolian Queen.  However, we survived the trip to Lipari, and later also visited neighboring Vulcano for lunch before heading back to the mainland.  

   

Vulcano from Lipari --- Salina, Filicudi and Alicudi from Lipari

6.  Palermo.  Palermo is one of the many places on Sicily where we would have liked to have spent much more time.  However, we managed to accomplish a good deal in the two days we were there.

Upon our arrival Ale had arranged for us to attend a show of the Sicilian puppets called “pupi” at a traditional theater which has been in the Mancuso family for several years.  We enjoyed both the performance as well as the chance to meet both Enzo Mancuso, who operates the theater (as well as handling many of the puppets), and his father.  The pupi performance is a very energetic one, especially the battle scences in which the puppets really whale away at each other -- see this video.

     

Perhaps our most refined evening in Sicily (at least the only one for which I put on a tie) was a dinner at the Palazzo Ajutamicristo hosted by the Barone and Baronessa Calefati di Canalotti.  One could not imagine more gracious and friendly hosts.  Two of our members were celebrating birthdays that evening and the Baronessa presented both of them with bracelets.  More later on the incredible meal we had that evening.

   

7.  The West Coast.  The western end of Sicily has many charms quite different from those found on other parts of the island.  We spent two nights just outside of Marsala.  On the way there from Palermo we had the chance to visit the hilltop town of Erice which may have been the single most memorable spot on the island for me.  We also had a chance to visit the famous salt flats near Trapani where salt is still produced using traditional methods.  Just as the Aeolean Islands had provided a beautiful backdrop during our drive along the north coast of the island, the Egadi Islands did the same on the west coast. 

     

Nancy & Mike at Erice -- Windmill at Trapani salt flats -- Morning over Egadi Islands

8.  Selinunte.  Selinunte is one of the Greek archeological sites on the southwest coast of the island.  It is a bit less centrally located than the similar site at Agrigento, but, for that reason, is also less crowded.  We enjoyed a tour of the site after which we had lunch at a restaurant named Lido Zabbara da Jojo in nearby Marinella, located on one of the most beautiful beaches we saw on the island.

 

 

9.  Enzo’s Family - Piazza Armerina.  The primary reason we visited Piazza Armerina, which is located inland towards the center of the island, was to visit the nearby Villa Romana del Casale the location of a large discovery of Roman mosaics.  While the mosaics were impressive, for Nancy and me the most memorable part of the visit was the opportunity to meet the family of Enzo di Prima, our driver who lives in Piazza Armerina when he is not on the road.  Enzo’s wife, Maria, and their kids, Carmello, Clarissa and Asia, all came down to the parking area at the Villa and we had a nice opportunity to spend some time with them.  Maria is reputed to be a wonderful cook and she brought us some Pan di Spagna (a sort of sponge cake) and sparkling wine which we enjoyed later that day on the bus.

 

     

Asia on Dad's Bus -- Father and Daughter -- Piazza Armerina -- Enjoying Maria's Gifts

10.  Modica.  The Val di Noto – the southeast portion of Sicily – was the last part of the island on the tour.  I had particularly been looking forward to visiting the area due to the Leone “Immaginario barocco” photography exhibit mentioned earlier, and the architecture certainly did not disappoint.  We did not get to all of the towns included in that exhibit, but among the ones we did visit Modica impressed me most. 

A good part of the inland section of the southeast portion of Sicily is at relatively high altitude due to the presence of the Hyblaean Mountains (in Italian “Monti Iblei” – “Iblei” being a term used a good deal in that region), and the terrain is relatively rugged with rocky valleys and outcroppings.  Modica is build along a ridge and has two parts – “Modica Alta" (Upper Modica) and "Modica Bassa" (Lower Modica).  When we drove into Modica we drove down into Modica Bassa.

After getting off the bus we walked up a narrow street that led to the bottom of a broad staircase ascending to the Cathedral of San Giorgio (Saint George) far above.  It was a very impressive spot – the beautiful baroque cathedral at the top of the ridge framed by a blue sky with white clouds and a myriad of flowers (including bougainvillea which one finds in profusion everywhere one goes on the island).  As we climbed the steps to the Cathedral the scent of jasmine was almost overpowering.

4 - Finally - La Cucina!!

In this post I will explore some of the best (or at least most interesting) things we had to eat while we were in Sicily, and some of the most memorable spots where we dined.  As with the prior post, the order is chronological.

1.  Grilled orata (seabream) at Osteria Antica Siclia – a restaurant recommended by the folks at our hotel --where Nancy and I and Carmelo, another member of our tour, had dinner outdoors our first night in Catania.  When we saw their awesome display of fresh fish for the evening, we knew we had arrived in Sicilia.

    

 2.  Lemon and pistachio gelato in a brioche for BREAKFAST our first morning in Catania. 

 

3.  A glass of Averna, the Sicilian “amaro” (bitter), at the rooftop bar at the UNA Hotel Palace in Catania as a nightcap following our first dinner with our group at Trattoria Via Monte Sant'Agata.  A friend, Wolfgang Weber, had written an article about "amari" in the San Francisco Chronicle this past April and I was looking forward to having a glass on Sicilian soil.  It is produced in the city of Catalnissetta in the middle of the island that we drove by on our way to Piazza Armerina.  There was also a most appropriate Averna ad that welcomed us at the Catania airport!

       

4.  The caponata at our dinner at La Tavernetta Ristorante in Taormina.  We had several opportunities to enjoy this Sicilian specialty during our tour, but that one made a special impression on me.

   

5.  The pasta dishes at the Murgo winery where we stopped for lunch on our decent Mt. Etna - casasrecchio alla Norma and orichiette with pistachio and cream.  Their wines were not bad either!

       

6.  The pasta with a tuna sauce at Ristorante da Vincenzino on the island of Vulcano.  It had turned into a beautiful day and we had already had a great morning touring the island of Lipari.  Ale found us another very nice restaurant where, like a number of others where we stopped, we virtually ate outdoors.

 

     

 

7.  The tagliatelle fruti di mare at the Portocino restaurant on the shore in Cefalù.  The food was good, the setting spectacular (what a rock looming over the town!) - one of the many places one wished one could have spent more time with a few more bottles of wine.

 

   

 

8.  Our dinner at the Palazzo Ajutamicristo.  I think the appropriate texting phrase would be “OMG” -- that was a HUGE dinner, as I recall including (in the order shown below) caponata, a timballo (aka corona) di capellini with a bechamel spinach sauce, an eggplant pasta, a meatloaf with peas, two tortas, the awe-inspiring swordfish "wheel" (Ruota di Pesce Spada), carmelized onions, roast potatoes and our bianco mangiare for dessert (with candles for the birthday girls).  Given the food stupor I was in I have probably forgotten one or two dishes!!

 

 

       

 

       

 

     

Birthday Girls with Barone and Bianco Mangiare -- Two Happy Diners

 

9.  Our last morning in Palermo I had still not managed to have a spleen sandwich (pane con milza/ c'a meusa).  I had hoped to have one at the Antica Focacceria San Francesco which I had both read a good deal about and had seen on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s "No Reservations" (starting at the 3:30 mark).  I was told at the hotel that it should be open at that time, but when I arrived I learned that it would not open for another two hours.  However, as I trudged disconsolately back towards the hotel to meet the tour for our departure, I stumbled into the Vucciria market where I found a spleen vendor just heating up his pan.  What luck, and what a very tasty dish.  In addition to the below photo, see this video and this one of the preparation of the same dish. 

 

 

10.  Although I was quite happy to have found spleen in Palermo, I was disappointed to have missed another of its most typical street foods - panelle (fried chick pea batter).  However, on the way that day from Palermo to Marsala we made a stop at an overlook above Castellammare del Golfo on the way to Erice where, as luck would have it, we found a truck in the parking lot which featured piping hot panelle!  From the look on Carmelo’s face in the photo I must have just asked him for a bite.

 

   

 

11.  I love anything that comes with tentacles attached, and one of the best variations we enjoyed were the tiny fried moscardini at our dinner at the Baglio Oneto, our beautiful hotel above Marsala.  The variety of cephalopods we saw in the markets on Sicily was quite amazing, just a few of them shown in the pictures below.

 

   

 

       

 

12.  I mentioned in an earlier post our lunch at the Lido Zabbara da Jojo on the beach in Marinella, adjacent to the Greek ruins at Selinunte.  We had a wonderful buffet lunch there, including the rare pane nero (black bread) di Castelvetrano which is a dish which the Slow Foods organization is helping to preserve.

 

 

13.  Having 12 days to get around Sicily meant that on most days we did not have too far to travel.  The one exception to this was on the 9th day of the tour.  On that day we arose and got on our trusty bus very early in Marsala, then drove along the southern coast of the island as far as the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento to visit the Greek ruins, then inland and northeast to Piazza Armerina, then east to the coast just south of Catania, then, pant, pant, pant, south along the coast to Noto where we arrived safe and sound (thank you Enzo!!) well after dark.  However, it was a great day for many reasons, including a very nice espresso and crema-filled pastry pit stop just at the entrance to the town of Porto Empedocle where Camilleri was born (although as you can see from the below photo, the chamber of commerce needs to do a bit more work to spruce up their sign of welcome), and a surprise arancini snack that Ale sprang on us just after we departed from Agrigento.  Arancini – saffron rice balls filled with variously items and then breaded and fried -- are one of the most ubiquitous traditional “fast foods” on Sicily.  However, the ones which Ale passed out on the bus that day (filled with meat sauce and peas) were the best I had on our entire trip.  I wonder where they came from?

 

     

 

14.  I mentioned earlier our encounter with Enzo’s family during our stop at Piazza Amerina that same day and the wonderful Pan di Spagna and sparkling wine that Enzo's wife, Maria, kindly brought to us from their home so we could enjoy it later on that long day of traveling.  Thank you again Maria – Enzo told us of your cooking talents and based on that Pan di Spagna I think we would all like to return to Piazza Amerina one day to learn more!

 

 

15.  At the end of that long day we rolled up to our hotel just outside of Noto – the Villa Favorita.  After quickly checking in we gathered in the dining room for a light supper.  We were waited on by a fellow named Salvo who was one of the nicest and most attentive people we met on our entire trip.  In addition, the simple soup we had that evening – beans, rice and vegetables - was one of those dishes that makes you stop what you are saying and concentrate on what you have in your mouth.  It was EXCELLENT.

 

     

Salvatore (right) and the Cook with the SOUP! -- Morning at Villa Favorita

 

16.  The next morning it was off to Modica.  Ale had told us about the famous chocolate to be found there, in particular at the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto.   Upon arrival we found that they did not offer just one chocolate, but a wide range featuring different degrees of sweetness and added flavors, all on display at one of the most generous samples bar I have ever seen.  A feeding frenzy ensued.  I am still hoarding one last bar, but I fear I cannot hold out much longer...

 

     

 

17.  After our chocolate stop in Modica it was on towards Ragusa where we stopped for lunch at the Agriturismo Castiglione just outside of Ragusa.  The Agriturismo is a working dairy (cattle) farm, cheese production facility and butcher shop operated by the Tumino family, and, following a demonstration of ricotta production by Mr. Tumino we enjoyed a humongous lunch featuring the full spectrum of Agriturismo Castiglione’s products, including for each of us a full bowl of warm ricotta – just a few hours from the cow -- grilled sausages, and several other dishes.  Just went we thought we had managed to survive, in walked Ginetta Tumino with the largest cannoli any of us had ever seen.  Happily they also proved to be the best we experienced.  Did I really eat two?

 

       

The Agriturismo - Stars of the Show - To Make Ricotta,... - It Takes Some Serious Heat!

 

       

Skimming the Ricotta - A Full Bowl Each - Dessert Anyone? - YUMMY!!

 

18.  Thinking back, it is hard to imagine we could have still been hungry that day, but after returning to our hotel after our lunch near Ragusa we decided to visit Noto which was very close by.  Wandering along the main street of the town (where we enjoyed some fantastic late afternoon light after a rain squall passed) we stumbled across the Caffè Sicilia, which I had read about and heard about from several friends.  A caffe corretto (with Averna) and mini-cassata  followed.  OK, I also had a gelato – you never know whether you will get back to these places!

 

     

 

19.  In several outdoor markets on Sicily I had seen large land snails for sale.  At dinner one night in Siracusa - at the very nice Vite & Vitello restaurant (one of the few places we came across in Sicily which featured beef on the menu) – I noticed snail stew (Lumache in Umido) on the menu and decided to try it as an appetizer.  It was very tasty, and I subsequently discovered that snail production seems to be a growing industry on Sicily - how many other places offer snail-oriented desktop images?  Dinner, which started outside, was interrupted by a downpour, so we finished the evening indoors.  On the other hand, we were lucky enough to get a cab back to the hotel while I recall some of our fellow travelers decided to walk back that evening with very soggy results.

       

 

20.  We had not had much octopus while we were on Sicily, but at our farewell dinner at the Al Mazar'i restaurant in Siracusa on our last evening together we had a very good octopus in a spicy tomato sauce.

 

   

5 - Cookbooks, etc.

Prior to our trip I had seen a number of cookbooks which featured - or at least included a substantial section about - Sicilian cuisine and felt that the following (all of which were available on Amazon.com) were among the best:

        ~ Natalia Ravida – “Seasons of Sicily”

        ~ Clarissa Hyman – “Cucina Siciliana”

        ~ Gail and Kevin Donovan and Simon Gifffiths – “Salute! Food, Wine and Travel in

                 Southern Italy” (about 1/2 relates to Sicilia)

        ~ Lidia Bastianich - Lidia's Italy (a chapter on Sicilia)

 

In addition, I found that Waverley Root's "The Food of Italy" had a very good chapter on Sicily.  Finally, there were a number of online sites with receipes and other useful information, one of the most helpful being the Camilleri fan site mentioned earlier, although it is largely in Italian.

 

Not long after we returned to San Francisco I heard that the Istituto Italano di Cultura in San Francisco was going to host a lecture entitled "History and Secrets of Sicilian Food" by a woman from Palermo named Marcella Croce who had recently co-authored a book named "Eat Smart in Sicily".  I was also interested to note that apart from an interest in Sicilan food, there were two other points in common that I had with Ms. Croce.  First, she has written a book on Iran - "Oltre il chador - Iran in bianco e nero" -- and I lived in southern Iran in the early 1960's, and second, she taught for a year in Kyoto, Japan, where I also lived and studied for three years in the 1970's.

 

I attended Ms. Croce's lecture and purchased the book (a very reasonable $12 at Amazon.com), which I found to be excellent.  The book provides a good overview of Sicilian history, a chapter dealing with the regional differences in the foods found around the island, a menu guide, a food and flavors guide and a number of recipes.  I would highly recommend it, and only wish I had had it before our trip.

 

  

 

     

Audience - Istituto Direttrice Carpenito Antonucci Introducing Ms. Croce - Ms. Croce

 

 

6 - Il Matrimonio in Sicilia – Weddings

Ah, l'amore!  It seemed like everywhere we went on Sicily we ran into a wedding ceremony.  Our first night in Catania while walking around with Carmelo we came across a bride and groom in the central piazza and later saw them riding down Via Etnea in a horse-drawn carriage.  We had other similar encounters around the island from one evening at the gates of Taormina below, to the hilltop town of Erice.

Two of the most memorable were in the beautiful Norman Duomo (the cathedral - "Santa Maria la Nuova") of Monreale in the hills above the valley named "la Conca d'oro" (the Golden Shell) just outside of Palermo, and just outside the city hall in the main plaza in Siracusa.   In Monreale we had been touring the massive Cathedral with its fabulous mosaics, highlighted by the Christ Pantrocrator in the apse above the main altar, when we were asked to move to the pews and clear the aisle.  A few minutes later the wedding started and the bride entered on the arm of her father.  Quite a spot to have a wedding!  After the ceremony the bride and groom emerged and popped two large balloons that were tethered just outside the entrance releasing a swarm of smaller balloons.  All very festive.

     

The ceremony we saw in Siracusa was apparently a civil ceremony.  We joined a crowd gathered outside the entrance to the City Hall just before the bride and groom came out.  A couple of fellows holding long tubes had positioned themselves on either side of the door and as the newlyweds passed through the door they fired streamers of confetti. 

     

Giuseppe Leone, the Ragusa-based photographer mentioned in an earlier post (regarding the “Immginario barocco” photography exhibit) also published a book named "Il matrimonio in Sicilia” to celebrate the festive nature of weddings on the island.  I was not able to find the book while we were on our tour, but  there are a couple of websites with a number of photos from the book here and here.

Finally, for some historical perspective, see Marriage Sicilian Style. 

7 - Sicilian Heroes

 When friends heard we were going to Sicily it would generally not be too long before someone would mention the Godfather or the Mafia.  I suppose this is not surprising since in many cases the connection of Sicily with the Mafia as depicted in the Godfather, and the scenes of Sicily that appeared in the Godfather (for example, the scene of the wedding of Michael and Apollonia which was filmed in the town of Savoca just north of Taormina), may have been the only connections with Sicily that many Americans have had. 

 

The role of the Mafia in Sicily – both historically and currently – is obviously a very complicated story with many facets - social, political and economic - and I do not have more than a naive outsider’s very superficial understanding of it.  For those who are interested in learning more I would recommend as starting points both Midnight in Sicily, mentioned in an earlier post, and Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic, written in 1995 by Alexander Stille, a professor of journalism at Columbia who has written extensively about Italy.  Professor Stille’s book was made into both a television movie (1999) and a documentary (2005).  I have not seen the movie but have seen the documentary (available on NetFlix) which I would also recommend, although it is not for the squeamish since it graphically depicts the brutal violence in Sicily – in particular in Palermo – during the 1980’s and early 1990’s as the government sought to control the Mafia and the Mafia fought back.

 

Two individuals who played large roles in the government’s fight against the Mafia were Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino who were both Palermo natives who had become magistrates (prosecutors) and played key roles in the prosecution of the Mafia. 

 

 

 

On May 23, 1992, Falcone and his wife, Francesca Morvillo, flew into the Palermo airport and set out with their bodyguards along the autostrada for the city in a three-car convoy.  Near the town of Capaci, they, together with three of their bodyguards, were killed by a huge explosion of over 750 pounds of dynamite that had been hidden in a drainage tunnel beneath the autostrada and detonated by remote control. It was a horrific scene as can be seen from photos and video taken of "la strage di Capaci" ("the massacre at Capaci") .

 

 

Less than two months later, on July 19, Paolo Borsellino went to visit his mother in her Palermo apartment on Via d'Amelio on a Sunday afternoon.  As he and his five bodyguards got out of theirs cars in front of the apartment building, a bomb in a parked car was detonated and all six individuals were killed -- "la strage di via d'Amelio."

 

On the day we left Palermo to drive to Marsala, we passed the apartment building in Palermo where Falcone had lived.  There is a tree in front of the building – "L’albero Falcone" – which has become a sort of memorial to Falcone’s memory and opposition to the Mafia.  A few miles further along, as we neared the Palermo airport (today renamed Aeroporto Falcone-Borsellino in honor of the murdered magistrates), we passed the memorial along the autostrada at the point where Falcone was killed.

 

     

I mention these matters because they are part of Sicily and its history.  Happily, our tour group had the luxury of enjoying just the pleasant aspects of Sicily while were there, and certainly had a wonderful time on the island.  For any who may be planning a trip to Sicily and feeling a bit uncomfortable, I can tell you that I never felt insecure or threatened at any time.  What most impressed me about this facet of Sicily’s history was the courage shown by individuals such as Falcone and Borsellino who lived their lives in an atmosphere of violence and constant extreme danger, and gave their lives for what they believed in.  Time Magazine very appropriately recognized them in its series on modern heroes.

 

Today, inspired by those and many other sacrifices, increasing numbers of Sicilians are engaged in efforts to oppose the Mafia.  For example, more and more merchants are risking their lives by publicly refusing to make extortion payments (called “pizzo”) to organized crime.  One such establishment is the Antica Focacceria San Francesco in Palermo where I had hoped to have my pane c’a meusa.  The restaurant and its “anti-pizzo” stance were featured in a Washington Post story earlier this year.  Although it was closed the morning I was there, two Carabinieri were on duty guarding the restaurant. 

 

 

The anti-pizzo movement has also been supported by a consumer movement named Addiopizzo (“Goodbye Pizzo”).  As I was walking back to my hotel that morning I came across one of their stickers on the sidewalk reading "Liberazione in Corso" (“Liberation in Process”).

 

 

Other elements of popular culture are supporting this anti-Mafia movement.  Memorial services are held each year on the anniversary of Falcone’s murder, and this past year the Italian pop singer Jovanotti (Lorenzo Cherubini) participated in those services and a rally the following day with his song “Cuore” (“Heart”). 

 

Download Il Cuore - Lyrics - Jovanotti

 

Another young pop singer, Fabrizio Moro, has performed another anti-Mafia song named “Pensa" (“Think!”) – both his performance and the lyrics (in both Italian and English) are available online.  I am sure there are many other example of this struggle of which I am unaware, but which all of us should support.

 

"You did not kill them: their ideas walk on our legs"

8. And For Our Next Trip....

While we covered a great deal of ground on our trip and saw an amazing number of things during our 12 days on Sicily, whenever one returns from a trip one begins to think about things one missed seeing or doing, or places where one could would have liked to have spent more time.  The following are among those that have already found a place on that list.

 

1.  Small Towns in the Interior.  Although we saw many of the major tourist attractions on the island, we did not have much of a chance on our tour to meet and get to know the island’s inhabitants or to visit some of the more out of the way places, particularly in the more rural interior of the island.  After we returned I read “The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily” by Teresa Maggio (who also wrote “Mattanza” about the annual tuna harvest off the west coast of Sicily). 

 

 

Maggio visited a number of small villages around the island, including (a) a number in the Belice river valley (Valle del Belice), several of which were heavily damaged during a large earthquake in January 1968, (b) Polizzi Generosa and others in the Madonie Mountains south of Cefalù, and (c) several on the slopes of Mt. Etna. I found it a most enjoyable read and would love to spend a few days in some of those towns.

 

2.  Antica Tindari.  I first heard of Tindari when we were having dinner earlier this year at Ristorante Mezzo Mezzo in San Rafael and Giovanni de la Renta suggested we try a bottle of Syrah wine produced by the Antica Tindari winery located near the town of Patti on the north coast of the island. 

 

 

 

 

The wine was excellent.  Giovanni explained that the winery was owned by a woman named Pina Martino who had visited the Bay Area in October 2007 and had cooked and presented a dinner at Mezzo Mezzo featuring several of Antica Tindari’s wines, which are imported into the US by Nobel Grape Wines – see the following menu and labels:

 

Download Antica Tindari Dinner at Mezzo Mezzo

 

 

 

 

In addition to the winery, Antica Tindari is also an agroturismo offering both lodging and cooking classes.  It is located just to the west of Tindari, a headland high above the sea and the site of an early Greek settlement on Sicily.  There are ruins of a Greek theater in Tindari (still used for summer performances by the Teatro dei Due Mari) as well as the Santuario della Madona Nera (Sanctuary of the Black Madonna).   In addition, Tindari is the subject of a poem by the Italian Nobel Prize winning poet Quasimodo entitled Vento a Tindari/The Wind at Tindari, as well as included in the title of one of Andrea Camilleri’s Commissario Montalbano books “La gita a Tindari/ The Excursion to Tindari”).

 

Download Quasimodo - Vento a Tindari

 

 

 

I had hoped that we might be able to visit Antica Tindari on our trip but our schedule did not allow it and the closest we got was a view of the Santuario perched on a hill above the autostrada. 

 

 

 

When I returned from our trip Giovanni suggested that I contact Pina Martino.  I did so and had a very nice email exchange with her.  I would love to spend some time cooking with her at Antica Tindari someday.

 

3.  Festivals.  Like all of Italy, there are several religious and other festivals around Sicily throughout the year.  Unfortunately we did have a chance to see any of them, and it would certainly  be great to see one or two, especially some of the religious festivals when the churches come to life.

 

Teresa Maggio has a wonderful chapter in The Stone Boudoir describing one of the largest of Sicily’s festivals, the feast of Sant’Agata, the patron saint of Catania, which is celebrated in Catania in early February.   Maggio describes various highlights of the festa (which continues for a few days),  including a dawn mass (la Messa dell'Aurora) when the effigy of Sant'Agata is brought out of the Duomo and placed on the fercolo ("a 40,000 pound silver carriage pulled by 5,000 men"), the candelore towers of the city’s guilds which are carried around the city, massive candles which are also carried along resulting in a dangerous wax coating over the city’s streets, and the general frenzy of the crowd.  The most common call (with respect to which there is apparently a good deal of competition to see who can yell it the loudest) is "cittadini, cittadini, siamo tutti devoti tutti?" ("citizens, citizens, are we all devoted, all of us") - to which the reply is "certo, certo" ("certainly, certainly")).  

 

Several interesting clips of the festa are available on YouTube:

 

~ A good overview (with some incredible fireworks);

 

~ La Messa dell'Aurora at the Duomo (the scene starts shot from the inside of the Duomo as the doors are opened to let the crowd in);

 

~ The pulling of the fercolo up the steep San Giuliano hill, obviously quite dangerous even without all the wax on the streets; and

 

~ A song sung to Sant'Agata by the Benedictine nuns of Via Crociferi.