THE "INFIORATA" AT NOTO

No one knows quite why some Italian towns began to celebrate the festival of Corpus Christi or Corpus Domini by creating carpets of flowers in their streets during the eighteenth century but my theory is that people were simply using what was on hand and free to create beauty in honour of the Lord.

The nearby city of Noto [Province of Siracusa] has been holding its 32nd infiorata over this weekend and I am ashamed to say that in the previous five years, something had always gone wrong to prevent my going there.  This year, however, I was determined to make it and set off with friends on Saturday afternoon. When we reached Noto there was a happy, party atmosphere and people walked in a well-ordered line along either side of the 122 x 4 metre flower-petal carpet, set out under Baroque balconies in the city's via Nicolaci.

This year's theme is "The Great Masters of Twentieth Century Italy" and, with no further ado, I'll let you enjoy the photographs.  [You will appreciate that I had to take some of these from awkward angles, as it is impossible to take shots from the centre of the street.  I did my best!]

"The Language of Italian Art"

" 'Strattu in Sicily"

"The Language of Love"

"Woman in White"

"Hector and Andromache at the Gates of Troy"

"Homage to Achille Funi"

"Hector and Andromache" 

"Homage to Modigliani"

"Liberty and Communication in Italy"

"Rita Levi-Montalcini: a Life Devoted to Science"

Part of "Homage to Giorgio de Chirico"

"The Twentieth Century:  Past, Present, Future!"

"Severinando"

"The Hardness of My Heart"

"He is Crucified"

Looking down via Nicolaci

The honey-coloured Cathedral looked lovelier than ever in the evening sunlight and we went inside to admire the magnificent new frescoes by Russian artist Oleg Supereko. [The cupola had collapsed in 1996.]

No outing to Noto is complete without a visit to the Caffè Sicilia to partake of one of their superb ice creams and who were we to break with tradition?

First we ordered this amazing cake, containing layers of sponge so light I swear it was floating, pink grapefruit and candied red pepper.  Yes, that's right - candied red pepper.  You are just thinking how deliciously refreshing the grapefruit is when all of a sudden you get this after-taste of something just a little spicy and all I can say is that it was heavenly.  If you don't believe me, you'll just have to go there and try some for yourselves - everyone should, at least once!

Then we ordered cedro [citron fruit] ice cream and another flavoured with almonds and saffron. These were the most zingy ice creams I think I've tasted, even in Sicily.  And yes, that's an enormous cannolo you see in the background for, as my friend explained, you simply cannot visit the Caffè Sicilia without biting into a cannolo!

On my next visit to Noto I'm going back to try the bread and marmalade ice cream!

SABATO MUSICALE - EUROVISION

Italy returns to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest tonight after an absence of 14 years.  This is its entry:

Raphael Gualazzi - Madness of Love



Now, who else remembers this one?

Gigliola Cinquetti - Non ho l'età


Update: The Italian song came second.  Viva l'Italia!

THREE BLUE FLAGS FOR RAGUSA

The Blue Flag Programme, which is run by the non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education [FEE] and, in Italy, the Consorzio nazionale per batterie esauste and Enel Sole, has announced its 2011 awards and I am happy to be able to report that six Sicilian beaches are among the 233 Italian locations which will be able to fly the famous flag this year. These are:

Lipari [Messina]
Fiumefreddo di Sicilia - Marina di Cottone [Catania]
Ispica [Ragusa]
Pozzallo [Ragusa]
Marina di Ragusa [Ragusa]
Menfi [Agrigento]

The two new entrants are Lipari and Ispica.  The Province of Ragusa, as you see, has done very well.

Blue flags are awarded to beaches in 41 countries in Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean and beauty, water quality, services, safety, child and disabled access and environmental awareness are all taken into account when nominations are being considered.

In Italy as a whole Liguria tops the table with 17 flagged beaches,  Tuscany and Marche are in joint second place with 16 each and Abruzzo is third with 14.  

Pozzallo

AND TALKING OF STRAWBERRIES....

Note re. Comments
Apologies to all who left comments on this post. They disappeared when blogger went down on Friday and I haven't got them back yet!

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

Having written here about some rather embarrassing occurences in the run-up to the Strawberry Festival in Cassibile [Siracusa Province] I thought it was only fair to go there on Sunday and see for myself what the festa is like.  And I'm very glad I did, because it turned out to be a great event offering something for everybody, from games for the children to a photographic exhibition detailing the history of Sicily, along with stalls, music and a happy, relaxed atmosphere that got people spontaneously dancing as they wandered among the exhibits.

It wouldn't be a Sicilian festa, of course, without the sweet, fried dolci that everybody loves here, so there were strawberry sfincioni,

all kinds of zeppole [deep-fried, filled puffs made from a kind of choux pastry],

strawberry cannoli

and, as you would expect, some of the best strawberry ice cream I've ever tasted!

There was plenty of other food, too, to eat on the spot

or to take away and who could resist these enormous, gorgeously scarlet, sundried tomatoes?  Not me!

This strawberry cream liqueur looked good.  I can't wait to chuck some into my strawberry tiramisù:

There was even strawberry beer:

Naturally, there were strawberries of all shapes, sizes and shades, ready for you to purchase by the crate at excellent prices:

I wish I could have stayed for more music in the evening and the distribution to the crowd of slices of the maxi torta, a strawberry tart weighing 600 kilos.  Maybe next year....   Meanwhile, congratulations to the citizens of Cassibile on a very fine festa.

MIGRATION UPDATE - 7

Since my last update the term "Arab spring" has been coined and news of the migration crisis in its wake has at last been reported by the media of nations not directly affected. However, as certain EU states work out how they might tackle the problem by modifying the Schengen Agreement, tragedy again proves that it does not wait for bureaucracy:

On Friday an inadequate boat carrying up to 600 migrants foundered off the coast of Libya and no one knows how many of these perished.  UNHCR reports today that 16 bodies have been found, among them those of two babies.  It is unclear who, if anyone, is searching for the other passengers.  There are also, as I write, unconfirmed reports of a second boat which might have run aground nearby at the same time.  Some migrants who have already reached Lampedusa say that they saw it and enquiries are underway.

Then, in the early hours of  Saturday, what could have been another major tragedy was averted by the immediate and decisive action of Italian officials, military and ordinary citizens when a migrant boat got into trouble on the rocks off Lampedusa Island:  the Italians literally formed themselves into a human chain and bravely fought appalling sea conditions to bring 528 migrants, including 24 pregnant women, to safety.  I, for one, was humbled by the television pictures of the rescue and I can only salute the courage of all involved.  Later on Saturday the citizens of Lampedusa took toys, clothes and nappies to the children and babies who had been rescued and lampedusani children and police organised games for the migrant children, clearly demonstrating that on this island, the humanitarian spirit transcends all other concerns.  Sadly, three male bodies were found under the wrecked boat today and it is impossible to say whether there are more.  Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has declared that all the survivors are genuine refugees and therefore will not be deported.

The humanity and capacity for empathy of the Lampedusans was recognised by Pope Benedict at his Papal Audience of April 28th, when he commended them for their continuing kindness to the migrants arriving on their island.  He also tactfully expressed the hope that the authorities there would be able to maintain law and order in the interests of everyone. Representatives from Lampedusa who attended the Audience presented the Pontiff with a cross made from the wood of a migrant boat.  Yesterday during his visit to Venice the Pope urged Italians not to be afraid of difference and to welcome migrants.  This was a pointed message as the Veneto [though not Venice itself] is a stronghold of the anti-immigration Lega Nord.

Meanwhile, an agreement signed by Italy and Tunisia on 5th May allows for the repatriation of migrant Tunisians arriving in Italy after that date, plus another 800 who arrived before it.  However, in recent weeks the provenance of most new arrivals has changed, with the majority now fleeing Libya or Sub-Saharan countries.  The International Organization for Migration  [OIM in Italy]  is supporting a voluntary repatriation programme funded by the EU and managed by the Italian Ministry of the Interior.

Back on Lampedusa a Museum of Migration is being planned by the artist and singer Giacomo Sferlazzo of the cultural association Askavusa.  Mr Sferlazzo feels that society has a duty to remember and document what is happening, "for the sake of the children and grandchildren of these migrants - the future citizens of Europe."

31,528 African migrants have landed in Sicily since the beginning of 2011 and it is estimated that 1,000 have perished on their way here by sea.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR HILLARY!

Every girl knows that there's no therapy like retail therapy and, of all the stores out there, none can beat the shoe shop for the busy woman in need of an instant fix.  So if the woman just happens to be in the Eternal City and has a squad of security men standing by ready to whisk her to the via Condotti the temptation would be hard to resist, right?

Who, then, could blame Hillary Clinton, in Rome on Thursday after experiencing "the most intense 38 minutes of my life" last Monday,  for keeping Silvio Berlusconi waiting while she destressed at Salvatore Ferragamo's place?  I'm sure the Italian Premier understood, shrugged his shoulders and uttered, "Pazienza".  Let's hear it for Hillary!

SABATO MUSICALE

It's May so no apologies for reposting this pretty, seasonal song:

Fabio Concato - Fiore di maggio

MODICAN CHOCOLATE FOR WILL AND KATE

Image: http://www.siciliainternazionale.it/

If they are not still replete after all those canapés, the world's most famous newly-weds have another culinary treat in store, for Kate and Wills are to receive a taste of the Mediterranean in the form of Modican chocolate.  

One of the guests at the Royal Wedding bash laid on by the British Ambassador to Italy and the Association of British Ex-Pats in Italy last Friday was Jacopo Scivoletto of the Consorzio per la tutela del Cioccolato modicano  [Association for the Protection of Modican Chocolate]  and, as well as presenting each of the hundred or so guests with a commemorative bar of the famous product, Mr Scivoletto asked the Ambassador to deliver a ceramic container by the Caltagirone potter Anna Boria to the happy couple.  The container is, of course,  filled with bars of Modican chocolate.

The inscription on the gift reads:

Augurale dono dalla Sicilia mediterranea
Il Cioccolato di Modica, plurisecolare tradizione “dolce” della Sicilia sud – orientale, possa tradurre simbolicamente la semplicità di un sincero e corale augurio per la fioritura del vostro felice progetto di vita.

A gift with best wishes from the Mediterranean.
May this Modican chocolate, a centuries-old "sweet" tradition of South East Sicily, symbolise simple and sincere good wishes from all of us for good fortune in your life together.

A FAMILIAR AROMA

A sensual, heady aroma filled the air as I strolled home from work tonight.  What was it?

Yes, the orange blossom is out in Orange Blossom Square.

CHICKEN BOCCONCINI WITH OLIVES AND RED ONIONS

For those of you in Italy, the basis for this was a recipe in last week's Donna Moderna but I think I have changed it enough, mainly by adding potatoes and more herbs, to be able to give my version here.  I haven't suddenly relented and started peeling potatoes, by the way, but can I help it if supermarkets here are now selling chilled packs of peeled, new ones?

First of all you will need a whole, boned and skinless chicken breast which, as I've explained before, means asking for one breast if you are in Italy but two if you are in the UK.  Cut the breast into bite-sized pieces.  Slice two or three red onions.  Heat three tablesp olive oil in a wide pan and cook the chicken in this until sealed on all sides.  Add the onions and cook for a minute or two.  Now add the amount of new potatoes you want,  seasalt and black pepper to taste, some fresh basil leaves, sprigs of rosemary and some dried oregano and continue cooking for about five minutes.   Throw in a handful of black olives, give everything a good stir, put the lid on and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Buon appetito.

IL SIGNORE VESTE ARMANI

Staying with ecclesiastical news tonight, if the devil wears Prada, God, it seems, wears Armani or at least, his representative in Mazara del Vallo [Trapani Province] does.  Monsignor Domenico Mogavero caused a bit of a sensation on Sunday when he blessed the new churchyard on Pantelleria Island dressed in red, purple, green and white vestments designed by Giorgio Armani.  Emblems of land and sea, representing the island, were also depicted on the garments.

They sound very fine garments to me and I do think the Bishop's critics are being a little harsh:  most of us feel better in a set of new clothing and it's not as if the good Monsignore had spent any money on these, as they were a gift from Giorgio Armani himself.  The designer has a home on Pantelleria and has spent his holidays there for the past 37 years.  In 2006 he was made an honorary citizen of Pantelleria.

The Bishop felt that he was honouring both the new churchyard and Giorgio Armani by wearing the new vestments and good luck to him, say I.

A ROUNDABOUT FIT FOR A POPE

On the day when 1.5 million people gathered in Rome for the beatification of the Blessed Pope John Paul 11, the  50,000 inhabitants of Modica also remembered this most human of pontiffs by unveiling a statue of him in the little garden on this roundabout in the modern Sorda district.

I am pleased to be able to report that the seats in this pleasant oasis, for so long disfigured by graffiti, have had a makeover for the occasion:

This seems an appropriate day on which to repost Antonio Lonardo's poem Outsider, which is dedicated to the Blessed Pope John Paul 11, along with my translation.  The poem is published in our collection Il Profumo del Pensiero.  [For details, see the sidebar.]

OUTSIDER

Policromia dell’esistenza,
incrollabile empireo
di una vita vissuta
a coniugare costantemente
la forza delle idee
con il turbinìo dei tempi…

Caleidoscopica luce,
venuta dall’Oriente,
ha attraversato i deserti
dei cuori induriti,
scavalcando i muri,
caduti con le ideologie.

Desideroso di vita,
ha baciato, estatico,
le orchidee trasparenti,
fecondate dall’amore
e protese nel tempo
a raggiungere il cielo.

Strabilianti coincidenze,
profeticamente scatenate,
di pericolosi attacchi
miracolosamente superati:
eroismo decretato
dalle masse festanti.

Coraggiosa volontà
d’inginocchiarsi alla storia
e chiedere perdono
di macroscopici errori:
costante paradosso
di tempi ormai superati.

Universale visione,
ha valicato confini contratti,
inchinandosi a qualsiasi terra,
per avvicinare l’umanità
alla radice comune
di un’unica origine.

Incessante torre orante
di visione geo-trascendente
per disincantare i temuti silenzi
di un Dio certamente offeso
da insensati conflitti
scatenati da supposti moventi.

Dolorosa esistenza
del corpo e dello spirito:
assurda miopia di gruppi,
provvidenzialmente sconfitti
da miracolosa resistenza
decantata dalla storia.

OUTSIDER

A many-coloured existence,
unshakeable empyrean
of a life lived
constantly linking
the intensity of ideas
with the turbulence of the times…

Kaleidoscopic light,
coming from the East,
you crossed the deserts
of hardened hearts,
climbing over walls
felled with their ideologies.

Lover of life,
you kissed, ecstatically,
the lucent orchids,
conceived in love
and reached out in time
whilst seeking heaven.

Astounding coincidences,
prophetically unleashed,
dangerous attacks
miraculously survived:
decreed a hero
by rejoicing crowds.

The courageous will
to kneel before history
and ask forgiveness
for macroscopic errors:
constant paradox
of times now past.

Universal vision,
you crossed agreed boundaries,
bowing in any land,
to bring humanity close
to the common root
of a single origin.

Incessant tower of prayer
of geo-transcendent vision
breaking the fearful silence
of a surely offended God
at senseless conflicts
loosed by so-called “causes”.

A painful existence
of body and of spirit:
the absurd myopia of groups,
providentially defeated
by the miraculous resistance
extolled by history.

THE WOW FACTOR

These traditional chocolate biscuits, made by the mother of a student of mine, are quite simply the best I have ever tasted:

Normal dieting will be resumed as soon as possible - or maybe not.