BLACKBIRD DAYS COME EARLY

The words "storm" and "hurricane" are often bandied about in Modica to describe any winter weather that is not sunny but we certainly had a storm at the weekend. Starting on Saturday evening, relentless rain fell in sheets throughout the night and all day Sunday and did so with quite frightening noise.  A girl from Cardiff - Britain's rainiest city - does not scare easily when confronted with the wet stuff, so I'm sure you will agree that it must have been quite something to terrify me and confine me to my flat!

The area where I live escaped the worst of it but there were floods in Modica Bassa [the Old Town], Modica Alta, nearby Scicli and the surrounding countryside with considerable damage to property, cars and goods in shops. In via Fontana in Modica Bassa - a street to which I am sentimentally attached because it is where my dog Simi and I lived when we first settled in Modica, twelve years ago - several cars were swept away.  In the early hours of Sunday the Mayor of Modica, who had been out on reconnaissance for most of the night, announced on facebook that all schools in the city would be closed on Monday as a precautionary measure.  Later. we were told not to drink the water until further notice.

Flood in Modica Bassa, 22.1.17

The rain eventually stopped on Monday but more is forecast for next weekend  during i giorni della merla  - the days of the blackbird [29th - 31st January], traditionally the coldest period in Italy. There are several legends that purport to explain the reason for this name but the one I prefer tells us that, long ago when January had only 28 days, a proud blackbird [who was actually white], fed up with the cold, asked January if he could cut a few days off his "reign".  January, it seems, got in a huff and asked his friend February to lend him three days so that he could use them to make the blackbird's life even more miserable. February agreed and when the blackbird, thinking that the weather would be warmer and drier now that January had gone, next went in search of food, mean old January blew up a snowstorm.  The bird found shelter in a chimneystack but when he emerged three days later, his beautiful plumage was black and thus it remained, with all but a few blackbirds, forever, the rare white blackbird being a sign of good fortune.  Let's hope that one appears on via Fontana soon!

Today the Mayor of Modica has met with Regional President Rosario Crocetta, who has thanked Modicans for their fortitude and determination to carry on with business as usual after the storm and it is likely that some regional funds will be directed to the city to help with the clear-up.

When Simi and I left via Fontana, I bought this souvenir of our time there:

Take it away, Dino:



There is a lovely Juliette Gréco song called Un  Merle Blanc but I cannot find a video of it.

WHAT THE DEVIL....?

The statue of Christ that is carried around Scicli at Easter

A day or so ago, some good folk in nearby Scicli, having heard several bloodcurdling screams coming from an apartment in their street, did what most of us would do and alerted the police. One can only suppose that they were relieved to learn that no burglary, murder or other crime had been committed and that the cause of the noise was.... an exorcism. Or perhaps they just shrugged their shoulders and uttered, "Pazienza", this supposedly being the second exorcism to which police had been called in their city in the past two weeks, a detail which the local press has been enjoying immensely.

It was first reported that this second "exorcism" was being carried out to help a teenage boy, but today the priest involved has denied this, saying that he had been asked to go to the apartment because the boy was in deep distress and that the Carabinieri were already there, along with an ambulance crew. The priest did his best to calm the boy and one feels for him and his parents.

As I understand it, in Catholicism exorcism of a person can only be carried out by a priest authorised to perform the "rite" and with the express permission of his bishop. There has to have been a medical examination to exclude the possibility that the person involved is mentally or physically ill. 

A few years ago, someone did something bad to me and at that time I figured I needed all the help I could get. So when a religious friend brought round some holy water which had been blessed by a priest authorised to carry out exorcisms and started sprinkling it around my house, presumably to cast out any lurking demons, I decided to accept gracefully. Strangely enough, things have gone a lot better since then.

SAVING THE INSPECTOR

Old factory at Sampieri beach, often seen in the Montalbano films

Which fictional character has done the most, in recent years, to improve Sicily's image and attract tourists?  The answer, unsurprisingly, is Il Commissario Montalbano, both in Andrea Camilleri's books and in the TV films based on them, which have been shown all over the world. Now you can see Montalbano's supposed house [in Santa Croce Camerina], partake of Montalbano arancini [rice balls] and other gastronomic delights and tour the film locations in Modica, Scicli, Ragusa Ibla and at the beach at Sampieri.

Why, then, would the show's producers want to stop filming in Sicily and transfer the sets to Puglia? The answer this time, again unsurprisingly for anyone with a knowledge of how Italy works [or doesn't] is the production company's frustration at the lack of financial report from the Sicilian Region over the last 15 years and it seems that author Andrea Camilleri agrees. 

As you may imagine, there has been an outcry in Sicily and this evening producer Carlo Degli Esposti met [after a long wait] with Sicilian Governor Rosario Crocetta, who has said that no one had told him about the situation and that he would do all he could to resolve it.  

I can't help thinking that, whilst a British Prime Minister is tonight at risk of going down in history as the "man who lost Scotland", Mr Crocetta may be remembered as "the man who lost Montalbano."

Don't let it happern, please, Mr Crocetta - Sicily needs and loves her Montalbano!

Luca Zingaretti as Montalbano
Image:  Wikimedia Commons

SORROW IN SCICLI

Whilst the world continues to focus on the migration tragedy of 3rd October and subsequent migrant boats that have arrived on Sicily's shores, the town of Scicli has been remembering the 13 migrants who died off the beach of Sampieri on 30th September.

Their funeral service was held in Scicli yesterday in the presence of Domenico Manzione, Undersecretary of State for the Interior, the Mayor of Scicli, the Prefect, Police Commissioner and Mayor of Ragusa, other dignitaries, representatives of the emergency services and other citizens. Relatives of some of the deceased Eritrean men also attended the service, having travelled from other European countries where the men had probably hoped to settle.

A Coptic Christian priest spoke in both Tigrinya and Italian and described the migrants' ordeal as they were sold like slaves or objects from one people trafficker to another and then crossed the desert to Libya. From there, they set sail, believing that they were leaving behind hunger and war and travelling to a better life, only to meet death just metres from safety. Padre La China, who conducted the Catholic part of the service, reminded the congregation that the sea is often associated with evil in the Bible:

	And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
	So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
	But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. - John 6:18-20 Mr Manzione brought messages of sympathy from President Napolitano and Prime Minister Letta. He said that he had not wished to speak yesterday as he regarded it as a "day of silence" but did say that he hoped the young men were now in a better world and that we who are left behind must guarantee humane treatment for those fleeing oppressive régimes. Mr Manzione had also been very moved by the Coptic priest's words and said that the genuine sorrow of both the Eritrean and Italian communities was an example of the real meaning of solidarity. All the coffins were draped in red, the colour of the city of Scicli, for the funeral. Relatives of the four Muslim men among the dead asked that their loved ones be buried in the Muslim section of the cemetery in Ragusa Ibla, a request that has been granted by the Mayor.

ASKING THE WAY IN SCICLI

Balcony in Scicli

Tonight the Baroque town of Scicli and other locations known to many outside Italy because of their connections with a certain Inspector Montalbano on television feature in this photo gallery in La Stampa.  I would like to thank my friends at Siliquia for pointing this out to me.

I like Scicli and it deserves the coverage but recently I found that that old adage about people taking longer to tell you they don't know the way to somewhere than to give you instructions when they do was particularly true there:

Some friends and I were trying to find a particular address in the town and I should explain that the friend who was driving has a truck, does not have satnav and even if he did, he would probably be reluctant to use it;  yes, I did print out the Google Maps instructions, but he doesn't trust those, either.  Like a lot of people here, he prefers to ask the way as he goes along and he doesn't see the logic in asking policemen or other folk who might actually know. "Pazienza."

By 7 pm on this misty, drizzly February night, he had asked several pedestrians for directions and we had kept going round in circles, always ending up near the same mobile butcher's store. The fourth time we saw the mobile butcher's, our driver friend relented enough to go into a shop to ask for more directions and was followed out by an elderly gentleman who said he knew where the address was and would come with us. Walking stick notwithstanding, he leapt into the truck and began enthusiastically telling my friend which streets to take. We still seemed to be going round in circles but eventually ended up in a hilly street which we had not passed through before. Then our sprightly navigator told us to stop and I had a sneaking suspicion that he was now lost, too. We didn't have much time to think about it, though, as, with another sprightly leap, he bounded out of the car and into a grocer's shop. Inside, he held a long conversation with the lady owner and then came out with her and two other customers, who all started pointing in different directions and telling us to take this or that street at the top of their voices.

Finally, our energetic guide - by now carrying a sack of potatoes as well as his stick - said he would lead the way on foot and the car should follow him. This we did, with our map-spurning driver manoeuvering the truck through some incredibly narrow streets; it was getting so misty that all we could see was the outline of the crook of the gentleman's walking stick and we were all losing the will to live. Suddenly, our leader stopped at a deserted crossroads and, waving his stick frantically in the direction of a balcony in the narrowest of the streets leading off it, yelled, "Siamo arrivati!"  With that, before we could thank him properly or offer him a lift to wherever he was going, he disappeared into the mist, walking at the speed of light.

The moral of this tale is that, if you visit Scicli on a misty evening, you might need Inspector Montalbano to show you the way!

SABATO MUSICALE - I WAS THERE!

I am grateful to the person who uploaded this video of the 2007 U Gioia - L'Uomo Vivo Festival in Scicli onto youtube, for, as Max Boyce would say, "I was there" and I wrote about it here.  At one point it looks as if a fight is about to take place but everything is quite organized, I assure you.  Everyone should visit this festival at least once!

Buona Pasqua a tutti.

FOUND AFTER 30 HOURS - THANKS TO A DOG

Dementia-related illness is, because of this and subsequent events, a subject close to my heart so it is good to be able to share with you, tonight, a patient's story with a happy ending. What is more, it is a story of which Simi the dog wholeheartedly approves!

When Michele Giannone, an 87-year-old from the nearby town of Scicli, went missing at around midday on Saturday, his two daughters were quick to  raise the alarm as their father sometimes has memory difficulties. Carabinieri and municipal police immediately launched a search and they were joined by 66 men and women from Italy's Civil Protection Service plus one other very important helper - Kyra, a two-year-old labrador.

As soon as Kyra arrived on the scene, she indicated to her owner that the area to search was a path along the Modica-Scicli river and, despite an erroneous report that Mr Giannone's body had been found in the local cemetery, where he often went to visit the graves of his loved ones, officers and volunteers kept searching while Kyra kept excitingly wagging her tail and barking.

Finally, at 3.45 on Sunday afternoon, Mr Giannone was found, lying face-down in the water.  At first his rescuers feared the worst but Mr Giannone was alive, with grazes all over his body and signs of frostbite.  He was rushed to a local hospital and was later transferred to Modica's Ospedale Maggiore.  He would not have survived another night in the cold.

Mr Giannone's rescuers held a celebration and who do you think was the most feted guest?

Photo: http://www.corrierediragusa.it/

Update:  Mr Giannone's condition is now said to be critical and my thoughts are with him and his family. Whatever happens, I think the positive side of this story is the fact that literally no stone was left unturned in the search for him and that a whole community showed that it cares about its elderly and most vulnerable citizens.

'TIS THE SEASON [2]....

... to enjoy some handmade pastries from the nearby town of Scicli, a gift fom a friend:

A BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY

A student put me on to this and I just had to post it as it is so beautiful. It reminds me that [apart from the post office and the water supply] I live in one of the most wonderful places on earth.

Don't worry if you don't understand Italian - just enjoy. And ladies, enjoy Luca Zingaretti, too!

Grazie al mio studente Luca.

To my students: in this case the phrasal verb "put [someone] on to [something]" means "tell someone about something."

IL TRENO MUSEO MODICA-RAGUSA

MIDNIGHT IN SCICLI

My new blogging friend Nanni kindly invited me to the nearby town of Scicli on Sunday night so that I could witness the remarkable festa there: it is called Gioia [Joy] or L'Uomo Vivo [The Living Man] and, as Nanni says, it is unusual in Sicily in that it truly celebrates life, not death.

The statue of Christ is brought out of its church at 13.00 and again at around 23.00 and young men carry it around the town shouting "Gioia!", hotting up their pace with every turn of the square that they complete and stopping now and then to make the statue spin round at terrifying speed. God help you if you, or your car, happens to get in their way, for they stop for nobody and nothing and, as Nanni, says, should they knock you down, they are not going to get all British and apologise ; they will just keep going!

When Nanni and I first arrived at the church from which the statue was to be carried, at around 11pm., the young men were "revving up" and practising their shouts of "Gioia". Nanni said, "Oh, they are calm at the moment" and I thought , "If that's calm, what happens later?!" I soon found out and, as the statue was carried round, to clamourous movement, fireworks and applause, Nanni kept telling me to stand well back from its path. "I'm frightened of these people", he explained at one point. I thought, "If you're frightened and you're from here, Nanni, I'm right behind you!" [Note that I did not say "beside"!]

This festival really does celebrate new life and part of its purpose is for the young men carrying the statue to be seen by the young women and to be able to demonstrate how strong and virile they are. It also allows them to let off steam and it seems a much better way of doing so to me than going to a football match for the express purpose of having a fight!

As you see from the pictures, everyone in Scicli came out to enjoy the festa and enjoy it they did. Good for them, say I! Nanni has a video of the proceedings over on his site which is much better than anything I could manage, so I urge you to take a look at it. You'll be amazed, as I was! Grazie per la bella serata, Nanni.

I MEET A SICILIAN BLOGGER!

I was delighted to have made the acquaintance, this afternoon, of Nanni, who has this interesting blog about the nearby town of Scicli. It was great meeting you, Nanni!