ONE SAD SICILIAN

You didn't have to be watching the match between Italy and Belgium in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship (confusingly taking place in 2021 because of the pandemic) last night to know that Italy won! I happened to be reading, so just followed the cheers from the bar opposite and the surrounding houses and believe me, it is nice to hear happy sounds outside again.

One Sicilian, however, will have been not exactly sad, but perhaps not quite as exultant as the patrons of my local bar, and that person is the Italo-Belgian singer, Salvatore Adamo. Born in Comiso, about 20 miles from where I am writing now and still in the Province of Ragusa, Salvatore Adamo emigrated to Belgium with his parents at the age of three. He now has dual nationality but this did not become possible until 2010. Now 77, Salvatore Adamo of course became famous as just Adamo all over the world, singing mainly in French but also in Italian and other languages. In 2018 he was awarded the Premio Tenco for helping to make Italian music and culture known in other countries.

Speaking about the Euros earlier this week, Adamo said that, like other Italo-Belgians, he would be supporting Belgium as a thank you to the country he has lived in most of his life, although they all keep Italy in their hearts. He said he was sure Italians would understand and I think he is right.

I followed Adamo's music in my youth as a French and Italian student so it is always nice to hear from him. Here is my all-time favourite Adamo song:

 

TWO FLAGS

Two lovely flags flew from my balcony today, for the occasion of the Italy - Wales match in the Euros 2021 in Rome.  

I love both countries but should confess that I don't love or understand football. However, sometimes you need to go with the flow and even I could see it was a good match. 

For me the anthems were the best bit and I must say the Italian commentator made a valiant attempt at pronouncing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Well done, Italy and onward, Wales!

DOMENICA MUSICALE - DIVIDED LOYALTIES

This afternoon Italy plays Wales in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, so the only song I can play is, once again, this:

Max Boyce - The Glory That Was Rome

I, needless to say, have divided loyalties:

THE EAGLE IS BRANDED

I do not often refer to the British Daily Mail on this blog, nor do I often write about sport, neither being favourites of mine, so tonight is a little different. 

You see, those eagle-eyed journos at the Mail have ranked what they consider to be the 20 best football badges in the world and Palermo has the honour of coming seventh. It is a pretty badge, I think, though carino is probably not the first word that comes to the mind of those hunks when they don their team shirts.  [I will not risk posting a picture of the badge here for copyright reasons but it's on the Mail page - they've got more money than me to cope if they get sued - and, of course, the club one.]

The two other Italian clubs listed are Juventus in fourth place and Roma in twentieth. And the winner is...?  São Paulo. Take a look and see what you think. There is also a link on the page to the newspaper's ranking of the worst badges - I'll leave you to decide if you can face that!

AND AGAIN!

And for any Italians still in doubt, yes, it's a NATION, not a region!  

OH, ALL RIGHT, THEN.....

OK, Wales, just this once I'll support you, even though you voted "Leave".  But if it's you and Italy in the final, I might have to think again!

Here we are at London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale:

I must say, HM's outfit is much improved by the flag!

SABATO MUSICALE

I think the whole of Britain is in love with these two Italians today, so what else could I post?

Andrea Bocelli at Leicester City

A CEREMONY IN CATANIA

Exactly nine years ago, I wrote about this sad incident.  It is a story that has stayed with me, partly because it was an avoidable tragedy and also because I will never forget the television pictures of Inspector Raciti's then nine-year-old son in police uniform at his father's funeral.

Much has since been said and written about the events in Catania of 2nd February 2007 and Inspector Raciti's colleagues have continued to honour him. Yesterday's commemoration in Catania - which took place as the rest of the city was preparing to celebrate its patron, Sant'Agata - was a little different, however, for during the ceremony the Inspector's jacket and helmet [which he had been wearing on that terrible night] were at last returned to his widow.

Dignitaries and police officers from the State Police Mobile Units of Catania, Reggio Calabria and Palermo, representing police from all over Italy, attended the ceremony and remembered other colleagues who had been killed in the line of duty.

Let us hope that the return of the above effects to the family brings them the comfort they seek.

A WORLD CHAMPION

Many congratulations to 26-year-old Modican fencer Giorgio Avola, who, with teammates Andrea Baldini, Andrea Cassarà and fellow-Sicilian Daniele Garozzo won the men's team foil gold medal at the World Fencing Championships in Moscow last week. Italy also won the men's team sabre and women's team foil events.

Italy came second overall in the medal table and Rossella Fiamingo from Catania won the women's individual épée gold medal with Arianna Erigo taking bronze in the women's individual foil event.

Giorgio and other members of the Italian team will meet President Mattarella at the Quirinale tomorrow.

Well done, Giorgio. Your home town can celebrate again!

A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME?

Mr Fabio Capello [the football manager who in 2007 promised to learn English in a month] has not been paid his salary in Russia since June.  He might, you would imagine, be considering his options by now but earlier this month he is reported to have said that he was only "getting near" the limits of his patience.

Pazienza, you see, is one commodity which is in plentiful supply in Mr Capello's home country of Italy [except on its roads] and it is Sicilians' favourite word. As Mr Capello is unlikely to be struggling to pay the rent, he is probably not as peturbed as you or I would be in the event of non-payment of salary but another reason might be that Italians regard such a situation as perfectly normal: every week here people from all walks of life go on strike, not for better pay, as in other countries, but because they have not received any pay at all, for months on end. Some even resort to hunger strikes.

All I can say, Fabio, is let me know when your pazienza finally reaches that limit; if you're at a loose end, I'll still be willing to be your English tutor - provided you pay me, of course. It could be a whole new ball game for both of us!

SILENZIO

As Simi and I went for our walk at about 7pm the streets were eerily quiet.  There was, of course, a certain football match being played far away and, while some shops had closed early, others were darkened and empty with only the sound of a radio or TV commentary indicating the presence inside of their owners. Even the man who sells cherries from his lorry had deserted his post!  

The silence was even eerier after the game but, on twitter, social networks and on TV, shock has turned into indignation and most of it is being directed at the player who appears to have bitten an Italian defender. I will say only that, if my dog were to bite someone, the consequences would be dire, so I don't see why they shouldn't be for a footballer.

I'm sorry that Mr Prandelli, the Italian coach, feels he has to resign, because I did like his suits and the style with which he wore them.  Now I read that the president of the Italian Football Federation is resigning too. Perhaps a few Italian politicians should take note.

ONLY A GAME

Everywhere I went on Saturday I was asked which team I would be supporting in that night's World Cup match and everywhere I went I was met with blank stares of incomprehension when I explained that as I am Welsh, not English, the England team's fortune or misfortune was of no interest to me. I didn't have the heart to add that I don't care about sport anyway!

At midnight, in a good old British "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" frame of mind, I decided I might as well watch the game, which I did with my twitter feed open, and at first I was puzzled at the number of comments disparaging the Italo-Argentinian player Gabriel Paletta, as his name had been notably absent from the Italian commentary. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the Italian tweeters' enthusiasm to get him off the pitch had nothing whatsoever to do with his footie skills;  rather, the poor man had offended their sense of style by combing his hair, somewhat ineptly, over his bald patch and this was earning him more derision than if he had missed a penalty!

One had to feel sorry for the England team's physiotherapist, who injured his ankle cheering and had to be carried off on his own stretcher; it was such a British sort of misfortune, somehow and the Italians were incredulous.  

When "super Mario" [as young Mr Balotelli has become again] scored Italy's second goal the bar opposite erupted and I'd have known what had happened even if I hadn't been watching the action on TV. And of course, at the end of the match it erupted again and over in Catania old Etna decided to join in.

A sour note was struck at around 2 am Italian time on Sunday, when Maurizio Gasparri, former Interior Minister under Silvio Berlusconi and currently Vice President of the Italian Senate, tweeted that his country had seen off the English, who are "pretentious arseholes." Now, I may not be English but I am British and I object! I have tweeted both Mr Gasparri and Mr Renzi to say so. In fairness, I should add that many Italians have also expressed their indignation and shame at this remark.

Whilst we are on the topic of Britishness, I have only one thing to say about Scottish independence:  if you do it, Scotland, it's going to be even more hellish trying to explain the concept of the UK - or what will be left of it - to Italians!

SABATO MUSICALE

I like Negramaro's take on this famous song, which has been adopted by the Italian World Cup squad. I'm not posting the official video as it would probably get taken off if I did but it's fun and you can find it here. Hope this version stays on!

Negramaro - Un amore così grande 2014

IN THE NAME OF "SPORT"

By now, footage and reports of the horrific events which took place in Rome in the name of "sport" on Saturday evening have gone around the world. Even here, amid conflicting reports, it has been hard to ascertain exactly what happened, who started it and the timescale, but what is certain is this:

Ahead of the Italian Cup Final between Napoli and Fiorentina on Saturday, there were clashes between fans outside the Stadio Olimpico and three Napoli supporters were injured, one critically. Italian newspapers reported this morning that this fan, Ciro Esposito, may, if he survives, lose the use of his legs. Inside the stadium, the kick-off was delayed because of these events and Napoli captain Marek Hamsik and the authorities appeared to be "negotiating" with the Napoli ultrà leader known as Genny 'a carogna, who is said to have given his "permission" for the game to start. The authorities say they were not negotiating but were informing Genny 'a carogna of Ciro Esposito's condition.

Eventually, and in the presence of Prime Minister Renzi, the Italian national anthem was booed in the stadium and the game started.

This much, as I have said, has been reported internationally. However, I can find no international press reports about the t-shirt that Genny 'a carogna was wearing, nor of the heartbreak that this has caused a Sicilian widow:  The t-shirt slogan read "Free Speziale", a reference to Antonino Speziale, who is serving time for the murder of Sicilian police inspector Filippo Raciti in 2007 during an incident of football violence. Marisa Grasso Raciti told Corriere della Sera that the State seemed to have given in to the will of violent fans on Saturday and that the whole incident was an insult to her husband's memory. She is, understandably, particularly upset by the t-shirt and said that no one in authority had called her to express solidarity or sympathy. As you may imagine, she received a telephone call from Prime Minister Renzi shortly after publication of the interview.

In case anyone is interested, Napoli won the match.

I wrote about the murder of Ispettore Raciti here and here in 2007.

Thanks to Corriere della Sera for making this available:

IN BOCCA AL LUPO ALLA "NERINA"!

Ortigia, Siracusa

Today a sailing boat left Ortigia in Siracusa for Ancona, from where her very unusual crew will sail her in the ORC International World Championships which will be held there from 21st - 29th June. The crew, made up of 18 young people who have been in prison or have been addicted to drugs, have been trained to sail as part of a social inclusion programme called "Liberi di... liberi da" [Free of.... free from"] which is funded by the Sicilian Regional Government.

The young people were trained for two years and then given work experience placements in various shipyards in Siracusa. There, reports Corriere della Sera, their co-workers imparted to them their own love of the sea and boats. What is more, the experiment worked so well that the young people are now regarded as indispensable by their employers.

I am sure you will join me in wishing the Nerina and her crew good luck. 

SABATO MUSICALE

A sabato musicale of divided loyalties today, as Wales and Italy face each other in Rome in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.  No apologies for reposting this:

Max Boyce - The Glory That Was Rome

LOVELY WEATHER FOR....

It poured with rain this morning and when I announced that I was going to the supermarket - all of two doors away from the school - at lunchtime I was met with a chorus of, "You can't go out!"  "Of course I can - I'm British", said I.

Now, usually you can't get near the meat counter on a Friday as Sicilians, and Italians in general, buy an awful lot of meat for the weekend. Unlike the British, they do not buy a large joint and that is that - oh, no:  it's a goodly amount of this, another kilo of that, "better take a mezzo kilo of that as well" and, just when you think the person in front of you has finished, they will think of something else that the butcher has to go into his workroom to cut. After that every one of them will want "un po' di salsiccia" - and who can blame them? - before they enquire after the butcher's wife, children, uncles in America, neighbours and plans for the weekend.  If you can manage the wait, it will be worth it but sometimes I just can't.

Today, however, was different, for the rain had kept even the most earnest shoppers away; I was served in double-quick time and it was smiles all round.

As a bonus, later the Christmas lights came on in via Sacro Cuore [ which is more than happened last year] but I don't think many of the people who ventured out in the late afternoon saw them, as most were walking around with heads bowed and umbrellas up even though it had stopped raining hours before. I was reminded of football's favourite naughty boy, Mario Balotelli, who in this interview told Time that he "never goes out" in Britain because of the rain. 

HOMECOMING KING

There's going to be quite a party for Modican fencer Giorgio Avola [on the right in the picture] in the town's Piazza Matteotti on Tuesday night!

The poster reads,

"We are proud of your strength and determination. Modica climbed onto the highest step of the podium with you. Thank you, Giorgio, for making our city golden too."

A MODICAN HERO

The Italian Male Foil Fencing Team wins gold in London, 5.8.12.
Left to right: Valerio Aspromonte, Andrea Baldini, Andrea Cassarà , Giorgio Avola
Image: Conad Scherma Modica via facebook

I am delighted to be able to report that Modican fencer Giorgio Avola, who went to London as a reserve for Italy's male foil team, got his chance to participate yesterday and did his town, and his country, proud when the team won gold.

"To wake up, switch on the iPhone and realise it wasn't just a wonderful dream", wrote Giorgio on twitter this morning. What a homecoming his will be!

Tante congratulazioni, Giorgio, da un'inglese di Modica.

A MODICAN OLYMPIAN

Fencer Giorgio Avola, known here as Il Conte, is the first Modican athlete to compete in the Olympic Games and, as you see from this poster, the whole town is behind him.

Giorgio, who specialises in foil, is a reserve for the team competitions which are to take place on August 5th.   If he gets a chance to compete, we wish him well and if he doesn't, I'm sure he will have had a fantastic experience in any case.  Il Conte is only 23 years old, so hopefully he will have other opportunities to fulfill his Olympic dream.