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.

SUMMER TIDES - 3

In reporting what has become an almost daily toll of migrant deaths at sea, I am reminded of this quote from Camus in La Peste:

"Mais qu'est-ce que cent millions de morts?" ["What are 100 million deaths?"]

What he meant, I believe, was that in war, epidemic and other such catastrophes the deaths become so many that we stop being able to imagine their meaning.

In the early hours of yesterday 104 migrants, all male, were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard from a dinghy about 54 miles off Lampedusa. Another 302 migrants were rescued in two separate operations in the Sicilian Channel and have been taken to the Port of Augusta. On board the rescue ship there was also a body, already decomposing, which had been found off the Maltese coast. This poor soul probably lost his or her life on one of the many other migrant boats that had got into trouble in the past few weeks.  Today four alleged people traffickers have been arrested by Italian police in connection with this death.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, visiting Pozzallo last week, promised help to Sicily's prefects and mayors in dealing with the migrants and said that a task force on the implications for public health will be set up. He also said, rightly, that all of Europe should recognise the sterling work being done by Italy in saving migrant lives.

Matteo Salvini of the Lega Nord, however, wants Operazione Mare Nostrum stopped immediately and says the money spent on it should be diverted to Africa to stop migrants leaving in the first place. This sounds eminently reasonable until you start to wonder exactly how this could be done and how, in certain unstable states, one could be sure of where the funds would be directed and how they would be used.

On 20th June, World Refugee Day, Laura Boldrini, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, said in Siracusa, on board the naval ship the San Giorgio, which has been involved in many rescue operations, that Mare Nostrum operatives should be proud because nothing is more important than saving lives. She also said that other EU states are taking in refugees but are not helping in rescuing people at sea. She thanked Sicilians and their local councils for the work they are doing, proving, she added, that

"Italy is a great country which has not allowed itself to be devoured by selfishness in the face of the economic crisis."

SABATO MUSICALE

The wonderful Monsieur Aznavour appears at the Foro Italico in Rome on Tuesday, so, certainly not for the first time on this blog, here is a great favourite with his Italian fans. Can you listen to this without crying? I can't! [He does sing an Italian version but I don't think it has the poignancy of the original French.]

Charles Aznavour - Que c'est triste, Venise

Rome, according to the Italian press, is at the moment in tilt due to the arrival of those eternal bad boys, The Rolling Stones, who will be cavorting around the stage of the Circo Massimo tomorrow night. Here's my favourite Stones song, also about lost love:
The Rolling Stones - Tell Me [You're Coming Back]

TAGLIATA WITH CHERRIES

The cherry harvest continues and the other day, I decided I wanted to experiment by using some with a tagliata [the sirloin cut]. I know all you Italians will be horrified again at such a mixture of sweet and savoury ingredients, which you claim you never use together, so please, look away now! 

There are also days when I long for some of the Middle Eastern flavours I used in my cooking in Britain and that is why I came up with the idea of using rosewater in the dressing.

The dish turned out well so, for the brave among you. this is what I did:

Ask the butcher for a 600 gr piece of tagliata [if you are in Italy] or sirloin if you are elsewhere.  A few hours before you want to serve the salad, lightly oil the tagliata on both sides, place it on a heated, ridged griddle pan and cook it on both sides to your liking. [I like mine medium rare for a salad.]  Take it out of the pan and leave it to cool on a cutting board. When it has cooled sufficiently, slice it diagonally into fairly wide strips and put in the fridge.

Destalk 500 gr  ready-washed spinach leaves. Tear them if they are very large and put them in the fridge. 

Cook 8 slices frozen, grilled aubergine as directed on the pack and put in the fridge when cool. [You can, of course, grill your own if you have time but let them dry on kitchen paper if you do.]

Wash, stone and halve about 20 cherries and chill these, too.

Now make the dressing:  In a small bowl, mix the following ingredients well with a fork:  5 tablesp olive oil, 3 teasp culinary rosewater, seasalt and black pepper to taste and a few chilli flakes.  Leave the dressing to chill in the fridge.

When you are ready to assemble the salad, put the spinach on a large serving platter, then add the aubergine slices and, on top of these, the tagliata slices, some torn fresh basil leaves and the cherries.  Give the dressing a final, robust stir with a fork, then drizzle it over the salad and serve.

Serves 4.

SUMMER WONDERS

I'm always cheered by the arrival of these mini-pears and I'm rather sentimentally attached to them because they were the main Sicilian fruit in season when I first came to live here, just over nine years ago:

As some of you may remember, the tabacchiere peaches [named for their snuffbox-like shape] are my favourite summer fruit of all:

When the angurie [watermelons] start falling off the fruit vans, we'll know that summer is in full swing!

MORE ITALIAN LOGIC

Yesterday in the bank there were - I kid you not - around 200 people waiting and just two functioning counters. People were standing around in small groups, chatting and complaining, but no one complained to a person in a position to do anything about it.  This was probably due to resignation rather than laziness or a desire not to upset anyone, for everybody knew full well that the most likely response would be a shrug with the word "Pazienza" and that no action would be taken.

After an hour, my own pazienza was wearing thin and I asked a clerk at a closed counter if she could tell me why, when there were so many clients waiting, only two counters were open. Her reply was,

"Ah, but there are three counters working. It's just that I have other things to do so my counter isn't open to the public."

Now, maths is not my strong point but two counters working and one closed equals two counters working, not three, or have I missed something here, dear reader?  In the end I gave up and went for a gelato.

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

Il Volo are appearing at the Teatro Antico, Taormina on Friday and I really wish I could go! In their honour, and because there is a certain important football match taking place at midnight Italian time, I am posting their version of Italy's official World Cup song:

Il Volo - Un amore così grande

In bocca al lupo, l'Italia!  Good luck, England!

SEMIFREDDO VARIEGATO

Another summer is upon us so there has to be a new semifreddo flavour from me!  Here's how I made this one:

First, line a long loaf tin with clingfilm. The clingfilm should come up over the sides so that you can fold it in once you have put your semifreddo mixture in the tin.

Now put 175gr digestive biscuits [or savoiardi if you can't get digestives] in a freezer bag, clip the top and crush the biscuits with a rolling pin until they look like breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Next, stone and halve about 24 fresh cherries and grate some dark chocolate - about 4 squares.

If you are in Italy, whip 500 gr panna da montare  to the soft peak stage.  If you are elsewhere use double or whipping cream.

Add all the other ingredients, plus a little Maraschino or kirsch liqueur if you wish, to the cream and stir well with a metal spoon.  Pour it all into the loaf tin and smooth the top with a palette knife.  Wrap it all around with more clingfilm and then foil and freeze overnight.

When you are ready to serve, the semifreddo should lift out of the tin easily if you wait about five minutes after taking it out of the freezer. Slice to serve and decorate with more cherries.

IT'S IN THE CARDS - 2

Two years ago, I wrote that Italy had gone loyalty-card mad and now it is even more so. The latest company to join the trend is a coffee-maker, so now you get your little card stamped every time you have a coffee in the bar.

I must say, I was quite cheered to get a free tin of coffee this morning, especially as it came in one of those nifty new wine chiller bags. Now, in the unlikely event that I manage to down another 30 coffees before the end of the month, I get an espresso cup and saucer......

SUMMER TIDES - 2

On the day after Reuters reported that Italy had saved 5,200 migrants in the Mediterranean since Thursday, in Sicily we're just surprised that anyone is surprised and the story is not even making the headlines. Italy, I repeat, has been carrying out large-scale rescues for months and asking for help from the international community for years.

Three migrants were reported dead yesterday and these poor souls, it now transpires, lost their lives in an incident which happened near the Libyan coast in the morning, when a Maltese tanker called the Norient Star was trying to help a dinghy carrying 107 migrants. As the larger vessel edged nearer to the dinghy to carry out the rescue operation, the dinghy, which was already in a poor condition, hit the boarding ladder. This caused a hole and the dinghy started to deflate, then capsized, throwing the passengers into the sea. Some migrants managed to save themselves by grabbing the ladder and others were rescued but three drowned and two are missing. A Maltese guard ship had also been near the scene prior to the accident, but its crew had thrown life jackets to the migrants and then left the scene to take part in another rescue operation. There is no implication that this affected the outcome of the dinghy incident and the investigating magistrate from Ragusa has in fact ruled it out. 

Last night the Norient Star brought the 102 survivors and three bodies to Pozzallo, where the Mayor and a young Protezione Civile representative laid flowers on one of the waiting coffins. Mayor Luigi Ammatuna said he wanted to be a "mayor of life, not welcoming corpses but people full of hope who want to change their destiny."

A UN spokesman has apparently said tonight that Italy cannot be left alone to deal with the current volume of migration from North Africa and that an international response is needed. Words, words, words - how many people have to die before humane international action is taken?

SABATO MUSICALE

It's official:  Suor Cristina Scuccia, the "singing nun" from Comiso, is "The Voice of Italy." Here is one of the songs she sang in this week's final:

Suor Cristina - Life is Beautiful That Way

LEARN ITALIAN IN SICILY!

At London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale we are very happy to be able to announce that, in partnership with Vacanze Craunari, we are offering Italian courses this summer:

Italian for English Speakers

€450,00 per person

Course dates:

30 June - 6 July

31 August - 7 September

7 September - 14 September

Price includes:

7 nights in a shared apartment

12-hour Italian course

7 breakfasts

Services available upon payment of a supplement [must be pre-booked]:

Lunch

Dinner

Shuttle bus from Vacanze Craunari complex to London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale.

Airport or port transfers

If you are already in Modica or have planned your trip and would like to learn Italian, London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale also has the following summer offers:

ENGLISH SPEAKER IN MODICA?

LEARN ITALIAN THIS SUMMER!

Summer offers – courses from €160!

8-hour and 12-hour courses

July, August or September, 2 or 3 hours per week

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Minimum:  group of 2

36-hour course

July, August and September

Tailored to your needs

Pay for 2 months and get one month FREE!!

Minimum:  group of 2

Individual courses can also be arranged.

Call Pat at the Centre now!

[0039] 0932 905642  /  +39 366 119 6467

PARLA ITALIANO QUEST’ESTATE!

SPEAK ITALIAN THIS SUMMER!

OWN GOAL IN TAORMINA

As the Italy squad leaves tomorrow night for Brazil - where I understand a few footie matches are to be played over the next month - it is to be hoped that own goals will be avoided.

This, I'm afraid, was not the case in Taormina last weekend, when those who really want to destroy Sicily's tourism industry had a field day, leaving incredulous tourists gasping and swearing never to visit Sicily again. The cause? A new "rule" under which people wishing to visit the town's famous Greek theatre can only purchase entry tickets there if they happen to have the right money, namely eight euros. Change, explained a ticket clerk, curtly and in dialect, would not be given. When a Sicilian man in the queue protested, he was told that he could have a phone number which he could call to complain.

Come on, Taormina - end this farce now!

Greek theatre, Taormina

SUMMER TIDES

On the evening when the British press are carrying the story of the sheer numbers of migrants intending to sail for Europe this summer under headlines such as Looming Migrant Tragedy [Guardian printed edition for 3.6.14], I would point out that it is not "looming". There have been many tragedies already and Italy has been asking for help in this situation for years.

On the night of 31st May - 1st June alone, the Italian Navy and other agencies involved in Operazione Mare Nostrum saved 3,517 migrants from various boats that had got into trouble in the Mediterranean. Among those rescued were children and pregnant women, one in her ninth month, and two migrants in a critical medical condition. 

The primary departure point continues to be Libya and most of the migrants are of Syrian and Eritrean origin. In order to accommodate all the migrants, 500 had to be taken to Lampedusa, although the reception centre there has been closed, whilst 2,000 others were transferred to various other locations in Ragusa. A further 1,000 were taken to Augusta [Siracusa] on Saturday. 

With the weekend arrivals, the total number of migrants who have reached Italy since the beginning of 2014 is over 43,000, equivalent to the number of arrivals for the whole of 2013.

An Eritrean who had made the journey from Libya told La Repubblica that he had crossed the Sahara to get there, a journey for which he had paid $1,450, and that, once he arrived in Libya, he was taken to a warehouse where, with other migrants, he was closely guarded, practically starved and forbidden to leave. He then paid his captors a further $1,450 for the sea voyage.  Police in Ragusa have arrested five people traffickers, who are also accused of endangering the lives of their human cargo and of subjecting them to inhumane treatment.

Operazione Mare Nostrum, Italy's humanitarian mission to save migrants undertaking these perilous journeys in the Mediterranean, continues to come under fire from many quarters because people believe it may be encouraging people traffickers. Prime Minister Renzi has said that Mare Nostrum must continue but that the EU must ask the UN to intervene in Libya. He has also said that Frontex [the European border agency] should be used more effectively. Elsewhere the option of creating a "safe migration corridor" from Africa is being widely discussed and the UN is considering the creation of holding centres for migrants in Africa. The latter may not be possible, though, because of the human rights records and instability of some of the states which would be involved.

Politicians continue to talk, Italy continues to carry out rescue missions and to deal with their aftermath largely alone, the EU continues not to see and people continue to die.

SABATO MUSICALE

This song has kind of grown on me. After all, any song associated with ice cream has to be all right!

Cornetto Cupidity Love Stories - Logico #1 di Cesare Cremonini

PORK CHOPS WITH ZUCCHINI

Last weekend, I hit upon the idea of combining good tomato sauce and Dijon-style mustard to cook with pork and this dish worked so well I'll be making it again tomorrow!

Thinly slice 6 courgettes and arrange them in a lightly oiled ceramic or Pyrex roasting dish. Finely chop two red onions and spread them over the courgettes. Season. 

Now brown 8 boneless pork chops - thin ones, like escalopes - in 3 tablesp olive oil. Drain them on kitchen paper, then arrange on top of the courgettes and onions. Add a handful of rinsed and drained salted capers.

Mix 330 g homemade tomato sauce or bought passata with a dessertspoon of Dijon-style mustard, some seasoning, a little paprika and a little dried oregano.. Mix well and pour over the chops.

Cover with foil and cook at 180 C for one hour.

Serves 4.

ANOTHER FAREWELL

A multi-faith funeral was held in Catania yesterday for the 17 migrants whose bodies were recovered from the Sicilian Channel on 12th May and one can only hope that even the buireaucrats of the EU will be moved to act by the heartbreaking images of the coffins, including two small, white ones containing the bodies of children, placed side by side in the courtyard of the city's Palazzo Platamone.

Mayor of Catania Enzo Biancho said:

"Europe, faced with these coffins, must choose. We can lay to rest, in the always welcoming island of Sicily, these poor birds of passage, carried northwards by their instinct for survival.  We do this in this multi-faith ceremony, by which we set great store.  We accord these men, women and children who were in search of hope the greatest dignity as we bury them.  But Europe must choose - and must do so today - whether we bury with them our moral responsibility as civilised human beings."

The Italian military rescued 200 other migrants from the same boat but no one knows how many were lost.

May they rest in peace.

THANK YOU, MAYA

This poem has inspired so many women, wherever they are:

Maya Angelou - Phenomenal Woman

"I have reached the lovely age where I can admit that sensuality satisfies me as much as sexuality and sometimes more so."
"If it is true that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, isn't it also true that a society is only as healthy as its sickest citizen and only as wealthy as its most deprived?"
"I believe that art encourages us to stand erect and stretch upward toward the higher ground."
All quotes from "Even the Stars Look Lonesome".
Maya Angelou 4 April 1928 - 28 May 2014

A PEACEFUL LUNCH

A lovely, relaxing lunch with friends in peaceful surroundings on Sunday:

Crostini with foie gras -  ages since I'd had the latter!

And more with gorgonzola and caponata.

Iced sweet pepper soup

followed by herbed chicken served with asparagus, cime di rapa and potatoes.

A British friend had made lemon drizzle cake

and I'd made lemon semifreddo [again].

It wasn't warm enough, by Sicilian standards, to eat outside but it was warm enough to have the doors wide open and enjoy this oasis of peace.

Grazie a tutti gli amici!

SABATO MUSICALE

A departure from Italian music tonight, for this has been an emotional week for me. I can't write about it because there are others involved, but this is for someone who loved me:

Nana Mouskouri - Only Love ["Mistral's Daughter" theme]

IN MEMORIAM 2014

"Che le cose siano così, non vuol dire che debbano andare così. Solo che, quando si tratta di rimboccarsi le maniche e incominciare a cambiare, vi è un prezzo da pagare, ed è allora che la stragrande maggioranza preferisce lamentarsi piuttosto che fare."

"The fact that things are as they are does not mean that they must stay as they are. But there is this: when it comes to rolling up your sleeves and trying to change things, there is a price for you to pay and it is then that the great majority of people prefer to complain rather than do something."

- Giovanni Falcone, 18.5.1939 - 23.5.1992

In Memoriam 

Capaci Massacre of 23.5.1992:

Giovanni Falcone - antimafia magistrate

Francesca Morvillo - Giovanni Falcone's wife, also a magistrate

Rocco Di Cillo, Antonio Montinaro and Vito Schifani - members of Giovanni Falcone's escort

BON ANNIVERSAIRE, MONSIEUR!

I cannot let today go by without marking the 90th birthday of a very special Frenchman whose songs have always meant a lot to me so bon anniversaire, cher Charles. I wonder if he knows that he achieved the greatest honour of them all last week - a mention on The Archers!

Charles Aznavour - J'ai vécu

LA PIZZA DI MERCOLEDI

Here's a delicious pizza topping which requires no pre-cooking and, as I invented it on a Wednesday, I might as well name it for that day!

As I've mentioned before, I use the pizza base recipe in Claudia Roden's original Mediterranean Cookery book, but only half the quantity.

When your pizza dough has risen - after about 1 hour - roll it out into a rectangular shape on a floured board. Pull it a bit with your hands to get it the right shape for a baking tray. Put it on a lightly oiled baking tray and spread the contents of a 400 gr tin tomato pulp on it. [You could use a thick passata if you cannot get this.]  Sprinkle over some seasoning and arrange 6 slices of Speck on top. Then add 100 gr chopped mozzarella [we can buy it ready-chopped for pizza here] and arrange 12 halved datterini tomatoes [or the smallest cherry tomatoes you can find] on top of that. Sprinkle over some more seasoning. Next, add a few slices of grilled red and yellow peppers [drained] from a jar of grilled peppers in oil and some drained and rinsed salted capers. Add another 100 gr chopped mozzarella and scatter over some torn basil leaves.

Cook the pizza at 180 - 200 C for 25 mins.  Decorate with more fresh basil leaves to serve.

Serves four very generously and probably six!

A NEW BROOM

Prices are creeping up in Sicily and last weekend I was horrified at the bill for my supermarket shop, even though the most exotic item on it was a washing-up brush. It was exotic, to me, because it's the first time, in nine years, that I've been able to find one here! I was amused at the attempt at translation on the label, where it was described as a "broom."

AN OLD STORY

At last! Someone has provided the Comune of Modica with the correct translation of "centro storico". I've been telling my students that "old town" is preferable to "historic centre" for years, but few of them have believed me. One of our local newspapers isn't entirely convinced, either but I'd like to assure them it's right. Long may the old town live on!

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

"MASTERCHEF" IN TWO COUNTRIES

As regular readers will know, I have enjoyed all three series of MasterChef Italia and have written about the programme several times, the most recent post being this one.

It had been a long time since I'd watched MasterChef UK but this year - thanks to the wonders of technology -  I managed it and what a series it has been! Last night's episode from Barcelona was a joy to watch and tonight's final kept everyone guessing until the very last minute. For those of you who are not in the UK, the deserving winner was this lady.

I must say I found the series very refreshing and calm after the noise and clamour of the Italian version! That is not to imply that the contestants do not work flat out in the UK version, because they do. They just don't let their inner panic show and, although a few tears of relief and exhaustion are not unheard of at the end of particularly challenging rounds, emotion is largely contained.

The British contestants do not argue with the judges, make bitchy or near-racist remarks about each other, clap themselves or sulk and, strangely enough, the programme's twitter commenters do not generally tweet their observations about the contestants' or judges' appearance or clothes [and here I must confess that I couldn't help asking where Spanish guest judge Christian Escribà got his spectacles last night]. It would also be hard to imagine the UK judges throwing dishes they don't like across the studio, à la Joe Bastianich.

From watching the series, I have learnt that in my own country there is a fashion for "deconstructing" classic dishes, a concept which would be incomprehensible to an Italian, to whom a tiramisù, for instance, is a tiramisù and if it is deconstructed, it is something, or several things, else. The British cooks, inspired by some of their country's top chefs, also have a penchant for precariously leaning one piece of food against another, creating dishes with at least seventeen component parts [ or "throwing too much at a plate", as a series catchphrase goes] and for serving  dishes which consist of just one piece of pasta - beautifully filled, admittedly, but horrifying to an Italian cook.

On this programme, no one can pronounce pistacchio, bruschetta or gnocchi and chefs and voice-over lady alike have trouble with the concept that pasta types are plural.

But what has really surprised me is the extent to which the British chefs use their bare hands during the cooking process and in "plating up". [Incidentally , the Italian equivalent of this word, impiattare, has just entered the dictionary.] They even use their hands to press down food that is in a hot pan and there is never a catering glove in sight! Yes, I know you have to use your bare hands sometimes and my own mother used to say, "A good cook uses her hands" but there are some limits! I suppose this has struck me because Italians are very fussy about not touching food with their hands, especially when they're eating in public. If you are served a croissant with jam in a bar, for instance, it won't come on a plate with a knife and a little pot of jam; the jam will have been injected in and the croissant will be part-wrapped in a paper napkin  so that you don't have to touch it with your hands. The only exception to this "no hands" rule is, of course, pizza. 

Anyway, the British series is over for another year and I'm wondering who I can fall in love with now that lovely, knowledgeable chef John Torode and Cockney charmer Gregg Wallace will not be popping up on my screen on Wednesday - Friday nights. During the Italian series, you may remember, I was rather taken with Italy's "sexy chef" Carlo Cracco and I did start watching his Hell's Kitchen Italia series. I stopped, however, after an episode in which two teams of contestants were taken to a farm to "catch" the animals for the food they were to prepare. I do eat meat and that means I have to accept that animals are killed to feed me but I don't have to watch people making a game of it.

I have one suggestion for John, Gregg and the MasterChef UK team - next year, why not bring the contestants to Modica, the chocolate town?

MORNING KISS

There's nothing like a Sicilian summer breakfast, especially when the gelato includes bacio flavour. I'm on the mirtillo juice, folks, because it is said to be good for the eyes!

SOME GOOD NEWS FOR POZZALLO

Pozzallo, so often in the news these days as an arrival point for migrants or in connection with migrant tragedies, had something to celebrate yesterday when its beach again won the right to display the prestigious blue flag. In what must have been an enormous blow to the town, Pozzallo had lost its bandiera blu last year, so it was good to read that it has got it back.

The bandiera blu is awarded annually by the Foundation for Environmental Education [FEE] to over 3,850 beaches and marinas in 48 countries. Water quality, safety, environmental management and education, information and services are among the criteria.

In Sicily seven locations are listed this year and they are:

Vulcano and Lipari [Aeolian Islands]

il lido di Signorino [Marsala]

Ispica

Marina di Ragusa

Pozzallo

Menfi [Agrigento]

In Italy as a whole Liguria was awarded the most blue flags in 2014, Tuscany is second and le Marche is third.  

Some newspapers in Sicily are commenting that seven flags are not many for a place with so many beaches and that the island really ought to have done better. Well done, Pozzallo, all the same!

Pozzallo

SPRING TIDES - 7

Yet another tragedy is unfolding in the Mediterranean as I write this evening and it comes only a day after 40 migrants were drowned off the Libyan coast. The facts about today's sad events are not yet clear but this is what we know so far:

At about 1pm Italian time today, the Italian Coast Guard picked up an SOS call from a migrant boat in trouble.  The boat was 100 miles south of Lampedusa and actually nearer the Libyan coast than that of Italy. Italian Coast Guard boats, merchant and naval ships and a Guardia di Finanza vessel were scrambled to the scene and saved 200 migrants. Seventeen bodies have also been recovered but it is feared that there may be many more, as it is possible that there were up to 400 people on the boat.

Once again Italian politicians have spoken to EU officials in the strongest terms and this time, it seems, they are listening: Cecilia Malmström has said she is shocked and has called upon all member states to consider how they can help. Prime Minister Renzi is to visit Sicily on Wednesday and he, too, is expected to reiterate calls for urgent EU help.

Libya's Interior Minister has told the EU that his country will help migrants to leave it illegally if the organisation does not help Libya to patrol its borders and today a Libyan naval spokesman said that the nation does not have the means to help in this latest rescue operation. Meanwhile Giovanni Pinto, Italy's Director of Immigration, has asserted that more and more inadequate boats are leaving Libya carrying migrants because the people traffickers know that Italian vessels will go as near as they legally can to the Libyan coast to save their passengers.

Italian newspapers are today carrying a video shot by a Syrian migrant on his sea crossing. He had sailed with 232 others and spent 11 days at sea without food or water. Now in Pozzallo, the man handed the video over to the Italian authorities who used it to help them identify and arrest two alleged people traffickers.

Poor Italy - whatever she does in this situation she seems to be doing it alone and whatever she does she is criticised.

Tonight's online edition of La Repubblica has a list of migrant tragedies in the Sicilian Channel from 1996 - 2013.

SABATO MUSICALE

On the night of the Eurovision Song Contest, what else could I post but Italy's entry? 

Emma - La mia città

I only watch so that I can make silly comments on twitter. How about you?

SPRING TIDES - 6

Still they come, the inadequate vessels with their human cargoes fleeing situations which, for most of us, are unimaginable, and the Italian Navy, Coast Guard and other personnel are now saving an estimated 2,000 migrants a day. Operazione Mare Nostrum, the Italian humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean, has become highly controversial as it is being suggested, in some quarters, that it is encouraging migration and helping people traffickers to ply their trade.

On Wednesday alone 2,262 migrants were rescued at sea and brought to safety in Sicilian ports by the Italian Navy. Of these 1,142, among them a new-born baby, were brought to Augusta and 298, including 19 minors, to Pozzallo. Sadly the body of a young Eritrean man was found on one of the migrant boats. Police say he could have died from the hardships of the journey or from injuries sustained prior to it. Murder has not been ruled out as I write this on Thursday. Italian military saluted as the man's body was carried ashore.

This afternoon hundreds of migrants who had been rescued at sea yesterday and taken to the reception centre at Siculiana [Agrigento] escaped and put themselves in danger walking along the motorway towards Agrigento itself. This is only one of many such incidents in recent weeks, for all reception centres in Sicily are now overcrowded and have inadequate facilities.

Most of the migrants want to go north anyway and a lot further north than mainland Italy, where several mayors have made it clear that migrants would not be welcome in their towns. The Mayor of Chieti [Abruzzo] has written to Interior Minister Alfano saying that his town does not have adequate facilities for the migrants and suggesting that those already there are causing "social tensions" in the community. Here in Modica a group of parents protested last week because, having heard that some migrants had been diagnosed with scabies, TB and AIDS, they did not want their children to go on a school trip in a bus that had been used to transport migrants from Pozzallo to Ragusa.  Yes, I know there would be outrage and cries of "Racism!" if such a thing were to happen in the UK but here most people have some sympathy with the parents. None of this, of course, makes for happy communities.

Therefore a certain politician who landed on this island on Monday must have thought he would find fertile ground for his views. I refer to Mr Matteo Salvini, Federal Secretary of the Lega Nord. Mr Salvini said he had been "called" by the Sicilian people and had come to help them "because Sicily and Italy are [dealing with the situation] alone, while Europe doesn't care." Hmmm - last time I checked Sicily was still part of Italy, Mr Salvini but it is true that Europe, viewed from here, seems to be doing nothing. Mr Salvini believes that Operazione Mare Nostrum should be stopped as the money would be better spent on aid to migrants' countries of origin. Aid may well, in the end, be the only answer, but as I've said many times before, Italy cannot leave desperate people to die just metres from its shores.  It is interesting that the leader of a party whose very existence is founded on its disowning of the South suddenly finds himself "called" to be the saviour of Sicily.

A DELIGHT

I had to take yesterday's post down as the video had been taken off Youtube. I'm sorry I lost some of your comments in the process. However, the video has now become available, with an embedding code, on La Repubblica so let's try again.

As I said yesterday, I have no intention of skateboarding around Modica myself but this delightful clip does remind me why I came here in the first place. Thanks again to my friends at the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto for bringing the video to my attention.

Here's the link to the video on La Repubblica, too - just in case!

Muòrica

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:

SABATO MUSICALE

It's nice to see clips of Al Bano and Romina Power  performing together again in Atlantic City and I cried when I saw them dancing in the second one!

Al Bano e Romina Power - Ci sarà

Al Bano e Romina Power ballano  [Ti risceglierei] - Atlantic City

MAY DAY PIZZA

I am calling this my "May Day Pizza" because I invented it on this day but you can call it "Red onion and aubergine pizza" if you like!

First of all, make your pizza base: I guess we all have a favourite pizza base recipe and mine is in Claudia Roden's Mediterranean Cookery. I only use half the quantity, though.

While the dough is rising, slice 2 large red onions thinly and soak the slices in cold water for about 15 mins. Drain the slices well and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Then you need to cook them very slowly, in a heavy pan with the lid on, with 85 gr unsalted butter and some seasoning. This will also take about 15 mins. Stir them from time to time.

Rinse 6 - 8 slices aubergine preserved in oil, rinse them and drain again. Pat dry with kitchen paper.

When the pizza base has risen - after about 1 hour - roll it out into a rectangular shape on a floured board. Pull it a bit with your hands to get it the right shape for a baking tray. Put it on a lightly oiled baking tray and spread the contents of a 400 gr tin tomato pulp on it. [You could use a thick passata if you cannot get this.] Put the aubergine slices on top of this, then 200 gr mozzarella. [In Italy we can buy it already chopped up for pizza.] Lift the onions out of the saucepan with a slotted spoon and spread them over the top. Finally, add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Cook the pizza at 180 - 200 C for 25 mins.  Add a few more fresh rosemary sprigs to serve.

Buon appetito.

Incidentally, I have read that Claudia Roden's The Food of Italy has been updated and republished to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Congratulations to one of my favourite cookery writers!

SPRING TIDES - 5

More "boatloads of sorrow" unsurprisingly arrived over the Easter weekend, when at least 2,000 desperate souls were brought to safety as part of Operazione Mare Nostrum, and it is estimated that a similar number arrived last weekend.

Among these were 395 migrants, including 12 newborn babies, who were rescued by the Italian military and Coast Guard and brought to Pozzallo on Friday. The reception centre at Pozzallo is full, despite the fact that transfer flights to other parts of Italy for some of the migrants have been operating. The centre remains full because others just keep coming. The Mayor of Pozzallo has expressed his exasperation at the lack of response from central government and has called upon Premier Renzi to intervene.

Also on Friday, a pregnant woman who was taken from one of the boats to hospital in Siracusa, where she gave birth to a baby girl, found care, kindness and solidarity:  realising that she had no baby clothes or other necessities for her daughter, the staff decided to collect what they could. Another mother on the ward immediately gave the woman the blankets she had brought for her own baby and, inspired by this gesture, all the other mothers gave the little one sheets, clothing, shoes and other items. I am happy to be able to tell you that both mother and baby are now fine and they have been discharged from hospital.

In a statement issued a few minutes ago by the Viminale, the seat of the Italian Interior Ministry, it is estimated that 800,000 migrants are now waiting to sail for Sicily from Libya. One solution that was put forward by concerned agencies on Tuesday was the idea of sending a European task force to Libya, to stop the departures in the first place. I am no politician so I do not know what the chances would be of obtaining agreement for such a project from inside Libya, but I should have thought they were slight. The second problem is one I have mentioned before: people will always attempt to flee hunger, war and persecution and their right to do so is surely enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which talks about its "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family." 

At the moment I am reading Claude Lanzmann's memoir, The Patagonian Hare. His chapters about the Second World War are a timely reminder of the kind of régimes people might be fleeing.

SAINTLY POSTSCRIPT

All roads certainly led to Rome on Sunday and, whilst the eyes of the world were upon the rejoicing city, a little town in Sicily was remembering a miracle which happened there and which played a largely unpublicised part in the great events of the day:

In May 1967 Giovanna La Terra Majore was 54 years old and had been bedridden for 23 years in her home town of Chiaramonte Gulfi. A friend who had visited Rome had brought back a picture of Pope John XXIII for Giovanna and advised her to use it to help her pray. Giovanna did so but what she actually prayed for was death, to release her from her pain. On 13th May Giovanna had received the last rites. Suddenly, she felt the bed shake and a kind of pressure on her spine, as though someone was trying to push her up. Then, feeling as if she were being supported by two strong hands, she seemed to be propelled to the middle of the room - and she was standing, watching her own shrivelled feet uncurling. The next day, the "Good Pope" appeared to her in a dream and told her that she could now walk without fear.

Giovanna and her fellow-Chiramontani had no doubt that a miracle had taken place and to whom it should have been attributed. Although the event was considered during Pope John's beatification cause, it was excluded from his canonisation process. However, Suor Caterina Capitani, whose recovery from terminal illness was officially attributed to the intercession of Pope John XXIII, visited Chiaramonte Gulfi several times and met Giovanna. In a nice postscript to the story, the two women later visited Rome together and received Holy Communion from the hands of Pope John Paul II.

SABATO MUSICALE

Once again this week, the whole of Italy is talking about one performance - yes, it's Suor Cristina from Comiso, singing in the knockout round of The Voice of Italy! I don't think any more needs to be said:

Suor Cristina Scuccia -  Hero

CAUGHT NAPPING

Duomo di San Giorgio, Modica

At the end of March, I wrote that there seemed to be some hope for Modica's prospects as a tourist venue because at last both the Council and local tour operators had realised the importance of keeping tourist sites open at times when people are actually likely to come.

How disappointing, then, to learn that, although at least 40,000 tourists visited the city over Easter, they could not find help or information because the tourist office was closed. Why? Because it is staffed by council employees, who had taken it for granted that they would not have to work on the bank holidays. Most shops in the old town had also closed on Easter Sunday and Monday [Good Friday is not a holiday in Italy] and at the moment, the newly-formed tourism consortium is being blamed for its "lack of planning" in not having foreseen both situations. Strangely, I am not surprised.

Modica's two cathedrals and the Church of Santa Maria di Betlem - the one with the famous crib -  were, however, open and I suppose this fact represents some progress.

There have also been complaints because the promenade at the Marina di Modica had not been cleaned before the holiday but, according to the new director of the Modica retailers' association Ascom, this does not matter because the Marina is only used by locals. Hmm - I wouldn't be so sure of that!

Come on, Modica - wake up!