BOUNTY FROM ETNA

What a lovely surprise today when a friend brought me these fruits from the Etna area, where she had been over the weekend.

I knew that the small Etna apples are special, as there is something in the soil that makes them very sweet, and the clementines are delightful too. But the chestnuts - ah, the chestnuts, for therein lies a tale:

My friend told me that on the eastern slope of Mount Etna, a very special chestnut tree can be found. It is called the Castagno dei Cento Cavalli  - "The Hundred Horse Chestnut Tree" and it derives its name from the legend that a certain queen, travelling with her ladies and one hundred knights, took shelter from a storm under the tree's ample branches. (Oh, dear - I hope it wasn't a thunderstorm!) The tree must have provided excellent camouflage, for it is said that the storm lasted all night and the queen was able to lie with several of her lovers among the knights. Who was this queen? For a long time it was thought that she was Giovanna I of Anjou, Queen of Naples, but history proved a bad sport and revealed that she had never visited Sicily. Never mind, then - perhaps it was another queen conveniently named Giovanna, Giovanna of Aragon, also Queen of Naples. But others say it was Isabella of England, third wife of King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Well, it was a medieval queen, anyhow.

Apart from (possibly) sheltering amorous queens, the tree, first documented in the 16th century, is the oldest in Europe. It has multiple trunks, which is perhaps why there is some dispute over its age, but it seems it is at least 2,500 years old. Both its circumference and height are 22 metres and its crown spreads for over 100 metres, making it also the largest chestnut tree in the world.

The tree is protected as an Italian Heritage Green Site and is in the Etna Regional Park, parts of which, along with Mount Etna itself, enjoy various levels of protection as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The tree is, of necessity, surrounded by a fence which you cannot go beyond, but my friend assures me the chestnuts come from nearby and have a very distinctive taste.

Late note: Tonight I learned that the Castagno dei Cento Cavalli has won Italy's "Tree of the Year" competition and will be representing Italy in the European competition in February. Well deserved.

INFIORATA 2017

The third weekend in May is the time to head for that most architecturally homogeneous of the Baroque cities of the Val di Noto, Noto itself. Completely rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1693, its honey-coloured stone buildings are a joy to behold and the town is particularly welcoming on the three days of its Infiorata - carpet of flowers.

Before we go along via Nicolaci to see the flowers, let us first remind ourselves of the beauty of Noto:

The theme of the Infiorata this year has been Sogni e Colori del Principato di Monaco - Dreams and Colours of the Principality of Monaco and celebrates the town's links with the Principality. Prince Albert of Monaco, who has done much to support the Ente Fauna Siciliana and, through this, the nature reserve at Vendicari, was made an honorary citizen of Noto in September.

When you arrive in Noto by bus on an Infiorata day, the first thing you see is a thriving market. for it would not be an Italian festa without one. What always delights me about such markets is the aroma of vanilla coming from all those sweets and biscuits they are selling - I find it very comforting, and I think it must be because it reminds me of the smell of custard cooking for Sunday dessert at home when I was a child.

But now let us make our way along via Nicolaci.  It is difficult to get really good shots because you have to walk, obviously, along the sides of the display and you also have to contend with the sun beating down on one of them! I have done my best:

I was glad that Princess Grace was there:

The card theme running through the display was, I thought, inspired:

About half way up, I ducked into a nice little restaurant for a lunch of bruschette and vegetarian couscous:

Then it was one more nod to Monaco, a look down via Nicolaci and a preview of next year's theme, China:

Well done as always, Noto and special congratulations for reaching out with these international themes.

Prince Albert of Monaco will be visiting Modica in the autumn, when he hopes to explore the story of the branch of his family, the Grimaldi, who settled here.

THINKING OF GENOVA

My thoughts today have been with the people of Genoa, where flash floods which hit on Friday claimed seven lives.  Today has been a day of mourning in the city with flags flying at half-mast and a minute's silence was observed for the victims at midday.

The first funeral, that of a 40-year-old nurse and mother who was originally from Sicily, has also taken place:  Angela Chiaromonte and her 14-year-old son had taken shelter in a doorway and Angela died whilst trying to hold her child above the level of the torrent of water that was raging along the street with no mercy.  Helped by another citizen, the boy survived but it was too late for anyone to be able to help Angela.  In the same building, an Albanian mother and her two children, aged one and eight, died as they were trying to reach the safety of the upper floors:  the water just swept them down into the basement.  Nearby, a nineteen-year-old woman who had gone to collect her brother from school was crushed by cars which were being carried away by the flood.

Considerable anger has been directed at the city's Mayor for not closing the schools on Friday and it has also been implied that irregular building had been taking place in the city.  However, geologists are now trying to ascertain whether delays in the widening of the Bisagno Torrent were the cause of the flood.   The amount of rain that fell on Genoa on Friday was equivalent to the average rainfall in the city for the whole month of October.

In the past few days there has also been flooding in Tuscany and an elderly woman died in her flooded home on the Island of Elba today.  There are also alerts along the course of the Po and there has been a flood in Naples.  As more rain falls, Genoa will remain on flood alert until at least 18.00 on Tuesday.

A VERY SPECIAL HOUSE

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."

- Rabindranath Tagore

As an added attraction during Chocobarocco, the Comune of Modica set up a very special "house" in the atrium of the town hall - the casa delle farfalle or "butterfly house", which has actually been open for a month and closes tomorrow.  It has been a huge success.

Around 300 butterflies fly freely in an environment especially created for them and biologists are on hand to care for them. Visitors are greeted by calming music and the sound of running water as the beautiful, ephemeral creatures fly all around them, alighting on a lapel, shoulder or head as they please.

Congratulations to Modica on creating this magical oasis in the city centre and for giving so much pleasure to residents and visitors alike.

Look on the right!

I couldn't decide whether I liked the blue, green or the last pure yellow butterfly best.  How about you?

The experience reminded me of some lines written by Colette about her mother, Sido:

"Son grand mot: 'Regarde!' signifiait: 'Regarde la chenille velue, pareille à un petit ours doré!  Regarde la première pousse du haricot, le cotylédon qui lève sur sa tête un petit chapeau de terre sèche..... Regarde, vite, le bouton de l'iris noir est en train de s'épanouir! Si tu ne te dépêches pas, il ira plus vite que toi!"

"Her great word was 'Look!' meaning: 'Look at the hairy caterpillar - it's like a little golden bear!  Look at the first shoots of the bean, the seed leaf popping up with a little hat of dry earth on its head......  Quick - look! The bud of the black iris is opening.  If you don't hurry it will go faster than you!' "

SABATO MUSICALE - PER LA LIGURIA

I am dedicating this week's song to the people of lovely Liguria, in particular the Cinque Terre, where floods and mudslides which hit on Tuesday have caused scenes of terrible devastation.  Vernazza and Monterosso were particularly badly affected, to the extent that the Mayor of Monterosso said that the town had been virtually swept away.  Estimates carried out today put the cost of damage there at €30 million. 

A non-stop search for missing people is in progress as I write and the body of a woman has been found in Borghetto di Vara this afternoon, bringing the total of dead to eight.  Five people are still missing.  

Vernazza is at the moment reachable only by sea and train whilst several other townships in the Val di Vara are still isolated.   Gas, water, electricity and telephone services over the entire region have been affected.

Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman  - Canto della Terra

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 13

Here is my personal pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote about our lovely Castello di Donnafugata in Ragusa Province.  This is not the Donnafugata mentioned in Il Gattopardo or the one in Marlene de Blasi's book!

Our blog of the week was Napoli Unplugged.  Do take a look at it because I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Our final summer romantic film set in Italy had to be a golden oldie so we looked at September Affair, a weepie with an improbable plot but great actors and a real tear-jerker of a theme song.

Italians, it seems, are rebelling against paying for supplementary services in hotels and, like me, many of them find minibar items to be overpriced.  Let's all rebel together!  In my opinion you can never have enough cookery books and here is one that I am determined to add to my collection, especially as the proceeds will go to the L'Aquila Earthquake Relief Fund.  My Dad [who was not religious] always said that if you wished to worship God, it made sense to do it among the most beautiful of His creations so I would love to see this tree cathedral near Bergamo. Finally, in the news section, we have two police tales:  the first made me chuckle and I loved this heartwarming story of a life saved by the swift actions of a blogger and the Catania police.  Let us hope that the young man concerned is receiving the help and support he needs now. 

I shall be participating in the Bloggers Unite World Suicide Prevention Day event tomorrow.