"Look up in Sicily and you'll always see something interesting" , said my friend Irma during my first visit here. Down in Modica Bassa this morning I chanced to do so and saw, again, the line marking the water level of the 1902 flood. Then I came home and dug out this photo of it which I took last year. In the early hours of September 26th 1902 the equivalent of 6 months' normal rain fell in Modica and the surrounding area within 20 minutes. 112 lives were lost and many buildings were terribly damaged. After that the rivers were paved over so, if you take a stroll along the Corso Umberto, Modica Bassa's main street [which is daily becoming more elegant] you are walking where the river used to flow.
11 comments:
I remember you using that quote before, how true it is too. That's an amazing water level, I wonder what happened to the people in the house.
"The rivers were paved over." Does that mean they still flow under the pavements?
That must have been some flood to get that high so fast. Scary. And all those lives lost. How tragic.
Hi, Ellee. Yes, I did, didn't I? As far as I know, the people in that house were ok but a house completely crumbled further up, in the area where Simi and I spent our first 5 weeks here.
Liz, I'm not sure! I'll look into it.
We need some of that water here...desperately. So many areas in Aus at the present time are drought-stricken, with no relief in sight.
Too much water or too little. Seems like we are all in need of something. You can read the news and find extremes in weather problems. Not sure if it's cyclic or what.
Dear Welshcakes - here is the lemon cordial recipe. The only odd thing is the citric acid but I have found it at the farmacia in Italy and another friend, who lives in Tuscany, says she gets it at her health food shop.
Take the zest off 2 large lemons and put in a bowl. Squeeze out the juice, chop the lemons, pith and all, and add to the juice. Cover with 1 1/2 pints boiling water, then add in 2 lbs of sugar and stir until dissolved. Leave for 24 hours, then strain. Dissolve 1/2 ounce citric acid in 1/2 pint water and add to mix. Bottle up and dilute with water to taste.
It keeps well for at least 2 - 3 weeks. Sorry about the pounds and pints but the recipe came from my garndmother, long before we all went metric!
I suppose they don't know why there was such heavy rain? They could do with it in Australia at the moment!
There are walls in York like that...
Lee, I've been reading about the drought over there. It must be very worrying. Hi, Steve. Yes, here it's one extreme or the other. I think Persephone has to do with it myself. Sally, thank you so much for the recipe. I feel cooler just reading it! I will make it this weekend. Auguri. WW, all I know is that it had been a heavier year for rainfall in Sicily in general. Yes, awful situation in Oz. Delicolor, I didn't know that. I've only ever been to York once [to my shame].
There always is something interesting if you look up. Actually, in any direction.
Dear James, you are right.
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