Tuesday, March 10, 2009

IL POETA DEL PONTE

On this perfect Sicilian spring day, I was invited to lunch, along with friends, at the home of Professore Lonardo and his wife. I'll get straight to the food!

First, these prettily arranged antipasti [that's marinated artichoke at the back]. So simple, yet so appetising:



Then fusilli al forno. [I love crunchy pasta!]



And how about this for a beautifully presented main course?



For dessert there were exotically perfumed March mandarins, Linda and Chiara had made a spongecake filled with Sicilian orange marmalade and I had made a lemon semifreddo [a standby of mine which everyone seems to like].

The Lonardo apartment has a stunning view of our Ponte Guerrieri so of course, I had to go out on the balcony to take these pictures to share with you:





Then I got in on the act!



From another balcony, you can see the station and above it [in the centre] the Cappuccini Monastery. This building brings back memories of my first Christmas Eve in Modica, in 1993, for I attended Midnight Mass there and was amused when the monks made us rehearse all the carols before they would start the service! [I couldn't crop out the crane in this picture without losing a lot of today's beautiful sky, so I left it alone.]



And I want a balcony plant like this one! Does anyone know what it is called? [The leaves are velvety.]



Finally, I thought you would like to see a photo of "our" poet and his wife:



Yes, this is the man who brings us poems like the one below and beside him sits his inspiration for so many of them.

SUGGESTIONE

Giocare
a nascondiglio con la luna
tra nuvole ed alberi;
afferrare
i primi raggi di sole
nell'ebbrezza del mattino;
gustare
i frutti della natura
tra le primizie di stagione;
bagnare
l'erba della terra
con lacrime e sudore;
ricordare
gli occhi di una donna
nella suggestione della vita.

ENCHANTMENT

Playing
at hiding with the moon
between clouds and trees;
seizing
the first rays of sunlight
in the exaltation of morning;
tasting
the fruits of Nature
among her first gifts of the season;
soaking
the grass of the earth
with tears and with sweat;
remembering
the eyes of a woman
in the enchantment of life.

- From Le Stagioni del Cuore by Antonio Lonardo [Modica, 2008].
[My translation.]

9 comments:

lady macleod said...

wonderful! What a view! I love hearing about people in love (sigh).

Crushed said...

That is something you don't get so much of round here, monasteries.

That Ponte Guerrieri looks very Roman, but also quite modern. Does it mean Soldier's bridge, or something like that?

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Wow WL out to lunch again!! What a feast...:-)Such wonderful friends you have.

Photos are brilliant,that is some view!!

Whispering Walls said...

You look very well, WL

James Higham said...

Nice photo of you.

sally in norfolk said...

what a fabulous view and the food looks good too :-)

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks, Lady M. It cheers you up, doesn't it? Hi, Crushed. Henry VIII's fault, of course. The PG does mean that but it's also a surname and it's named for a politician. Hi, Anne. I do have wonderful friends and I count you as one of them. The view is quite something, isn't it? Thank you kindly, WW. Thank you, James. Thanks, Sally. xx

CherryPie said...

Those are wonderful views :-)

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Cherie. Yes, they are fantastic!

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