DOMENICA MUSICALE

Last night saw a homecoming for Chiara Civello, the singer born in Rome of Modican parents and called, by Tony Bennett, "the best jazz singer of her generation". I didn't go to Chiara's concert in Modica last night, but I have been lucky enough to see her perform live in the past.

I like this version of the Jimmy Fontana classic Il Mondo, from her new album, Canzoni:

Chiara Civello - Il Mondo 

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2014

MODICA, CITTÀ CHIUSA

If you are a tourist coming to Modica tomorrow for the Ferragosto holiday, you will be able to visit this,

Modica, Duomo di San Pietro

this

Modica, Duomo di San Giorgio

and this:

Modica, Chiesa di Santa Maria di Betlem

Virtually everything else, I am sorry to tell you, will be closed. This includes museums, the house of Modica's Nobel laureate Salvatore Quasimodo and, in the countryside, the Cava d'Ispica.

Yes, it is true that if we come to another country, we have to do our best to adapt to its rhythms and I have no problem with that. However, dear Comune di Modica, you cannot continue to behave in such a way and, at the same time, blame your woes on the crisi economica and tell us how much you want tourists!

Happy Ferragosto.

AN HONOUR FOR THE NAVY?

Ensign of the Italian Navy

It's always nice when Italy receives praise rather than brickbats and this week Rupert Neudeck, co-founder of the humanitarian association Cap Anamur, has suggested that the Italian Navy be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its humanitarian work in saving 73,000 migrants in the Mediterranean during the Mare Nostrum operation.  Mr Neudeck also said in Hamburg that European policy towards migrants is a disaster and that Northern European countries have a duty to take in more refugees to help countries such as Italy.

Mare Nostrum is a controversial initiative in Italy but no one could deny that the Marina Militare are doing a sterling job. It is estimated that they have saved 1,396 migrants in the last 24 hours alone.

But can a military force be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? What about this? What do you think?

I decided to find out more about Rupert Neudeck and was surprised to learn about this event, which took place a year before I settled in Sicily. It also shows how things have changed.

IL ROSPO NEL BUCO

A former student of mine, a military man, had been asking me to make him "toad in the hole" since it was mentioned in an article we read in class.  I must admit I'd been avoiding it as it's not one of my favourite dishes and I hadn't made it for years but how can you refuse a fighting man? So when he came home to Sicily for a visit last weekend, I relented and made it.

First, though, I served antipasti, including the aubergine polpette I mentioned here [I decided to keep the sauce], Asiago cheese with cherries, olives and datterini tomatoes and salame tartlets, a Jill Dupleix  idea. I'm always afraid of not serving enough, so there had to be a bowl of crisps!

Then the rospo nel buco, using Italian sausages and to which I added some sage and chopped rosemary. I must say, the nerve-wracking thing did puff up nicely:

And finally, as this was, mostly, a British evening, a summer pudding:

You'll be glad to know, and I was very relieved, that it was all a success!

BUONA NOTTE DI SAN LORENZO 2014

It's la notte di San Lorenzo again so don't forget to look for shooting stars tonight and make a wish if you see one!   

Here are some "star" songs for you:

I post this one every year but how could I leave it out?

Perry Como - Catch a Falling Star





Love this, too:

Mika e Chiara - Stardust


But there's no beating the original Stardust!

Hoagy Carmichel - Stardust




This was a favourite of my dad's:

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Stars Fell on Alabama


Finally, this beautiful song is a "must" for tonight!

Cristino de Andrè - La notte di San Lorenzo



Wherever you are, may you see some shooting stars and may your wishes come true.

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear from soprano Daniela Schillaci, who is to perform in the wonderful setting of Modica's Villa Anna tomorrow night. Here she is in Norma at the Teatro Antico, Taormina, in 2012:

Daniela Schillaci - Casta Diva [Norma]

HOIST WITH YOUR OWN......SELFIE

If you are going to commit a crime, I should have thought it was obvious that taking a selfie while you are doing it is unwise, but that is what a man accused of being a people trafficker did at the weekend. He shot a video, now in the hands of the Italian police, of himself and an accomplice piloting a migrant boat and both men have been arrested.

The boat, which had sailed from Libya, was carrying 357 migrants and the engine caught fire during the journey. [The cause is not yet known.] Despite the efforts of some of the migrants to put out the fire, the engine would not restart. The migrants were saved by a ship sailing under a Greek flag after it had been alerted by the Italian Coast Guard. 

On Sunday the passengers were brought to Pozzallo, where some of them told police that they had paid $3,000 each to make the journey with a life jacket. Those who were willing to risk it without a life jacket were charged $90 each.  One migrant said that before leaving the Libyan beach where they had been told to assemble, the passengers were constantly hit and threatened, to make them hurry aboard two dinghies which took them out to the wooden boat that would attempt the crossing. Once aboard the already crowded boat, this man was told to travel in the hold. 

Also at the weekend another migrant boat capsized 50 miles off the Libyan coast and the Italian Navy and other Mare Nostrum operatives saved 268 people. Two bodies were recovered but no one knows exactly how many migrants the boat was carrying.

Over 2,500 migrants were rescued by the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean last weekend.

SHAMED INTO ACTION

The drone video below, of parking on Le Pergole beach in Realmonte [Agrigento]  was first posted by the environmental association Mareamico and at the weekend it went round the world. We probably all had a good laugh: yes, it's Italian anarchy at its most absurd and reinforces the stereotype of the Italian driver, but the disregard for the environment and for other people that it demonstrates is also tragic.

On Monday the police moved in to clear the beach of cars but the Mayor of Realmonte says that he just doesn't have the resources to regularly police both his town and the seven beaches that come under his jurisdiction.

The moral seems to be that in Sicily, what common sense won't do, shame will.

"Cu' nun avi russuri nun senti mancu 'i vastunati - He who does not feel shame [for the bad things he has done] does not feel the strokes of the cane either."
- Sicilian proverb

PEACHES AND SCREAM

It is no secret to regular readers that my favourite summer fruits are the little pesche tabacchiere or "snuffbox" peaches but today in the supermarket I was surprised to see platerine, or flat mini-nectarines, displayed with them. I've never seen them here before but have now learned that they are actually an older fruit. They're pretty good, too!

Pesche tabacchiere

Platerine

I was not, however, as surprised as I was when I read the newspaper and discovered that yesterday a man had fired four gunshots at two street fruit vendors in the centre of Paternò.  Fortunately he wasn't a very good shot and no one was injured, though the vendors are understandably suffering from shock. After firing the shots, the man threw a large melon onto the ground before making off in his car. The reason for the attack? He wasn't satisfied with the quality of the melons the vendors had previously sold him. The man has now been arrested.

Melons for sale in Modica

A CANDLE IN SICILY

Father and son - Richard and Arthur Eggleton

In one hour from now, the lights will go out all over my own country to commemorate the moment, one hundred years ago, when Britain entered the First World War. The ""Lights Out"  initiative is also intended as a mark of respect for those who were killed or maimed in that terrible conflict. Households are asked to leave just a single candle burning for one hour and that is what I am going to do here in Sicily, although Italy entered the war the following year.

During that hour, like people all over Europe and beyond, I will reflect upon those killing fields, some so near Britain that the guns could be heard there and yet so far away in terms of their unimaginable conditions and brutality. And my mind will also turn to a Welsh naval officer who never saw his son. The officer was blinded in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and his son was my father, born three years later. 

Chief Petty Officer Richard Eggleton could not have known, during the long months of coming to terms with the loss of his sight, that there was still happiness in store for him, but one day, while he was in rehabilitation at St Dunstan's [now Blind Veterans UK ], a friend of his brought another friend along to visit. This was my future grandmother, Mary. Richard and Mary were not young when they married, so when Mary stopped menstruating and began to put on weight, she assumed it was the menopause. When my dad decided to pop into the world one summer afternoon it was a complete surprise to her.

War, as we all know, hurts the innocent and it hurt my dad in indirect ways: Mary had developed a severe hearing impairment and my dad was a bit rebellious so, with his best interests at heart, Mary and Richard sent him to a boarding school which had iron discipline and [unknown to them] a very cruel régime. My dad never forgot it. This may seem nothing if we compare his suffering to that of the frightened children of a faraway war taking place at this very moment, but I can remember my dad shivering every time we passed his former school when I was a little girl.

The starving German children of 1918 grew up to want revenge and got it and I wonder whether those waging war so mercilessly now ever stop to think about what could one day be unleashed upon their children and their children's children.

No one despises war more than someone who has fought in one and Richard Eggleton, while of course respecting the memory of all who had fought with him, wanted his son to grow up in a world at peace. 

As I sit by the light of a single candle in Sicily tonight, I silently thank a grandfather I never knew for choosing to go on living, despite the moments of deepest despair that he must have gone through, and for the little boy who became my dad.

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear from Adamo [Salvatore Adamo], who tonight stars in the Ragusani nel Mondo festival in Ragusa. Adamo, born in Comiso in 1943, was awarded the prize in 2001.

This has always been my favourite Adamo song:

Adamo - Le ruisseau de mon enfance

BOOK REVIEW - "NASSER, DA CLANDESTINO A CITTADINO"

Nasser Da Clandestino a Cittadino by Luciano Zanardini
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Recently I'd been thinking about the way in which, since I started to write on my blog about migration in the Mediterranean in 2006, the vocabulary that we use to describe what is happening is changing:  for instance, back then, illegal immigrants were referred to as "clandestini" in Italy and I used the term myself, whereas now the term "migranti" is always used.

Ata Alla Nasser Hamad Aly, who tells his story to Luciano Zanardini and who entered Italy in 1998, refers to himself as a "clandestino". At that time, there were several amnesties for illegal immigrants in the country but unfortunately Nasser, or Mimmo, as he became known to Italians, just missed one of these.

He tells us of his reasons for leaving Egypt and first among these was the impossibility of finding work there, although he had qualifications. He describes Egypt as a society in which nepotism reigns supreme and in which money talks. Anyone who has lived in Italy for any length of time knows that the same may be said of this country, but evidently it works in different ways here. What impresses Nasser about Italy is the respect that people have for work.

Next we learn about Nasser's journey to Italy: his family had, by making many sacrifices, managed to find the not inconsiderable sum he needed in order to pay people traffickers and he reached Italy via Albania, crossing to Italy at night in a dinghy containing 40 people. The boat was spotted by the Italian Coast Guard but those in charge of it knew how to dodge them. As they neared the beach, the people traffickers started hitting the passengers with lengths of wood so that they would jump into the cold, December sea. When they reached the beach, no police were waiting and Nasser assumes they deemed it more important to arrest the people traffickers. I should point out that the Italian police have a good record in arresting people traffickers but these days, because of the much greater number of migrant arrivals, there would be police, other officials and volunteers on hand to process and help the migrants.

That night, Nasser saw a young man who was walking in front of him drop dead from a heart attack, probably caused by the cold and the hardships of the journey. He points out that the Mediterranean, now so linked to death, was and is also a symbol of life as it has always made communication and business possible between people of different cultures.

Having cousins in Brescia, Nasser travelled there and found himself forbidden by his relatives to go out, because of his illegal status. He became more and more frustrated, for how was he to learn the language if he had no contact with anyone? When he did find a job, as a dishwasher in a pizzeria in a nearby town, he was shocked by the way he was treated: the owner's wife and children never so much as acknowledged him and he was allowed to drink only tap water [never bottled water] and to eat one pizza a day - nothing else. He soon became indispensable to the owner, though, and slowly and painfully learnt to make pizza. Finally, much to the owner's chagrin, he left. By this time, he writes,

"I had three extra weapons in my bag; patience, the will to overcome all obstacles and hope."

Nasser started working in another pizzeria, where he got on with the owner well and then his luck changed, for he met an elderly pizza chef called Piero who needed help. Nasser worked in both restaurants and one day Piero suggested they go into partnership. It was difficult for him to find the money but he managed to raise it and he transformed Piero's business, eventually opening a second pizzeria for him. Now Nasser owns three pizzerie and Piero regards him as a son and Nasser's children as his grandchildren. Yes, Nasser found time to get married too and he tells us his love story!

In 2003 Nasser was able to regularise his status in Italy and he firmly believes that integration depends not on how many years an immigrant has been in the host country but on his or her attitude; he also believes that immigrants have a duty to respect the country that has given them a chance. I was surprised to learn that Nasser and his family wish, eventually, to return to Egypt but they have certainly earned the right to do so.

Above all, Nasser believes in God and in hope and says that it is hope that causes so many migrants to sail for Europe:

"If you take hope away from someone he will die but if you leave him with a glimmer of it he will continue to live."

I would not agree with some of Nasser's observations about Italy but I suppose all our perceptions about place depend on where we started out. I found this short book interesting and inspiring and if you read Italian I would recommend it.

This review is also posted on Good Reads.

View all my reviews

SUMMER TIDES - 7

Another week brings another tragedy, this time involving a migrant boat off Al Khums [Homs], about 100 miles east of Tripoli. The Libyan Navy managed to save 22 people who were clinging to the remains of the wreckage but it is estimated that 100 are missing. So far 20 bodies have been recovered.

The boat, which was, as usual, inadequate, was carrying around 155 passengers and was heading for Italy. It is not yet known what caused it to capsize but it is thought that the passengers might have suddenly all moved to one side or that the condition of the boat led to the tragedy. Survivors say it was very old.

Over 800 African migrants arrived in Italy on Tuesday alone and of these 192, including three pregnant women, were rescued by the Italian Navy north of Libya. A petrol tanker sailing under a Bahamas flag saved 114 Somali migrants and Mare Nostrum operatives saved a further 404, including a pregnant woman and four newborn babies.  All have been taken to Puglia.

Today 95 male migrants, including 40 minors, have been saved south of Lampedusa in another Mare Nostrum operation. These migrants have been taken to Palermo and will be transferred to other centres in Italy after 48 hours [the time needed for initial identification and assessment, including medical checks].

Also today Ragusa police have arrested three men on suspicion of aiding illegal immigration - that is, of being people traffickers.

But let us end on a heartwarming note with a tale that renews one's faith in Italy: a few days ago a young woman named Naima, who had arrived in Italy on a migrant boat with her parents and husband in September 2013, went into labour at the Cara di Mineo Centre for Asylum Seekers [Catania]. She was first taken to hospital in Caltagirone, where doctors discovered that the baby was suffering from a rare and serious intestinal malformation. Naima would need surgery and time was of the essence. She was immediately transferred by helicopter to the Policlinico di Palermo and there an interdisciplinary team were able to save the baby, who is now well and basking in their attention and affection. The lead surgeon says the baby boy will not need to be in hospital for long. Naima and her husband want to stay in Italy and are waiting for documents that will allow them to do so. Meanwhile, welcome to the world, little one and well done, Caltagirone and Palermo!

A DAY OF GIFTS

It's getting on for five years since Italy banned the distribution of plastic carrier bags in shops but I'm still the only person in Modica who carries a shopping bag. I'm also the only person who walks everywhere. People do now produce fabric shopping bags from their car boots or the depths of their handbags to use at the checkout but they wouldn't be seen dead carrying them any further than the distance from the supermarket doors to their cars unless they were by Prada! Therefore I shouldn't really have been surprised when, walking into the hairdresser's this afternoon carrying a rather inelegant shopper, I was greeted with a firm, "Questa borsa non va" ["That bag won't do"] and was then presented with this prettier [and seasonal] substitute:

Two of my students have just come back from London and have seen to it that I do not lack one British essential:

And I have finally imbibed enough cups of coffee in the bar opposite to be rewarded with this rather snazzy cup and saucer:

A very pleasant day!

A LESSON FROM INSIDE

Congratulations to the prisoners, officers and officials of the Casa Circondariale [district prison] Luigi Bodenza in Enna for agreeing to participate in this video. As the opening sequence tells us, the aim was to show that, even amidst so much suffering, it is possible to experience moments of happiness, so there is a deliberate play on words in the title - a lesson for us all. Thanks, also, to director Paolo Andolina.

Happy dentro - Happy inside

SABATO MUSICALE

I loved the scenography for this performance by Fiorella Mannoia at Una notte per Caruso on TV last week. Fiorella Mannoia is the winner of this year's Premio Caruso.

Fiorella Mannoia - Pescatore

THE ITALY WE LOVE

It is good to be able to end the week on a positive note and to be able to say , "Well done, Italy."

I'm sure that many of you, like me, were in tears when you saw the arrival of Meriam Ibrahim and her family in Rome yesterday. What a moment that must have been for Meriam, after having been imprisoned, forced to give birth in chains and threatened not once, but twice with execution.

Of course there has been an international campaign to free her and many countries have played their part but Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli was instrumental in securing permission for Meriam to leave Sudan this time. He accompanied the family on their flight to Rome on an Italian government plane and it gladdened the heart to see him carrying 18-month-old Martin down the steps as Meriam carried baby Maya. Prime Minister Renzi made time to be there, as did his wife and Italy's Foreign Minister, Federica Mogherini. An airport policeman gave Meriam's husband a reassuring pat on the shoulder and other officials played with Martin. Then, as the world has seen, the family were taken to meet Pope Francis.

This is the Italy we all love - not the Italy that talks about harsher and harsher immigration laws, that taxes the entrepreneurs it so desperately needs out of existence or the Italy of the 7,850 amendments. Yesterday we saw the kind, compassionate, humane country that can move mountains when it wants to.

To Italy I would like to suggest that we see more of the same and to Meriam and her family I wish a safe onward journey to the United States and a happy life, free of chains at last.

Corriere della Sera - l'arrivo di Meriam a Roma

ANTIPASTO

I'm always on the lookout for new antipasto recipes so I was pleased when I found one for aubergine polpette in a local newspaper, especially as they are cooked in the oven rather than fried. They also contain garlic, Parmesan, pinenuts, pangrattato [ready-prepared breadcrumbs] and rosemary. They should contain parsley as well but, as I didn't have any, I used mint, which is traditionally used in many aubergine recipes here. I made a roasted tomato sauce to go with them as per the recipe, but next time, if I'm serving the polpette as finger food, I think I'll leave the sauce out. 

SUMMER TIDES 6 - ANOTHER TRAGEDY

In Britain, as I write, a very famous baby is celebrating his first birthday; in Messina, as I write, arrangements are being made for the burial of a migrant baby of the same age who was found dead on arrival in the port.

Having been advised of a migrant boat in difficulty by a satellite phone SOS call at 4 am on Saturday, the Rome Coast Guard alerted a Danish tanker bound for Tunisia and the Coast Guard in Lampedusa. The tanker was first to arrive on the scene, between Libya and Malta, and immediately set about rescuing the passengers from the inadequate fishing boat. Some, however, drowned during the transfer.

But worse was to be discovered: 29 poor souls are known to have been asphyxiated by fumes in the hold, which they were prevented from leaving by the people traffickers and the 581 survivors who arrived at Messina on Sunday are saying that more than 60 people were killed at random by the traffickers; they were allegedly kicked, stabbed and their bodies thrown into the sea. It is estimated that the boat could have been carrying up to 800 people and that there are 180 dead but neither figure can be confirmed.

It has also been revealed that the people traffickers were operating a two-tier fare system, with migrants of Arab origin paying  $1,000 - $2,000 each for the journey and those of African origin paying $250 - $500.

Five men have now been arrested by Sicilian police on suspicion of mass murder.

The world watches Gaza, the world watches Ukraine and the world watches the little prince but no one outside Italy, it seems, is watching the Mediterranean.

UPDATE, 23.7.14

It now appears that the men who randomly killed some of the passengers were not the people traffickers, but passengers themselves. Presumably they thought that the boat was going to capsize and wanted to lessen its weight. The people traffickers, according to survivors, did nothing to stop the killing. Four men have now been arrested for people trafficking. This is in addition to the five arrests for mass murder.

SUMMER PUDDING SICILIAN STYLE!

Leafing through some British magazines yesterday, I realised it had been years since I'd made a summer pudding, so I decided to put that to rights and give the dessert a Sicilian touch by using mirtilli [whortleberries] and adding the rind and juice of an orange.  

My trusty pudding basin is bigger than the one needed for this recipe so I was expecting a right mess as I turned the pudding out but it was OK!

As the recipe is quite simple and people who like cooking can often follow instructions in the language they are learning, I've just put it on my blog for English students and you can see it here.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy this slightly Sicilian version of summer pudding!

SABATO MUSICALE

When Aida, directed by Enrico Castiglione, opened at the Greek Theatre in Siracusa last Saturday, the production received a ten-minute standing ovation. There is also a performance tonight and next Saturday, so let's take a peek:

Teatro greco, Siracusa, luglio 2014

Aida - Marcia trionfale  

IN MEMORIAM - PAOLO BORSELLINO

"Non importa dove si nasce se si combatte per le stesse idee e si crede nelle stesse cose."

"It doesn't matter where we come from if we fight for the same ideas and believe in the same things."

- Judge Paolo Borsellino

Twenty-two years ago today the antimafia Judge Paolo Borsellino was killed, along with five members of his escort, by a bomb as he rang the doorbell of his mother's apartment in Palermo. Sicily does not forget.

Strage di via D'Amelio, 19.7 92

Judge Paolo Borsellino

Agostino Catalano

Walter Eddie Cosina

Vincenzo Li Muli

Emanuela Loi

Claudio Traina

DELIGHTS FOR A DIVA

Every Italian man's favourite diva, Sophia Loren, will be 80 on 20th September and she has decided to celebrate early!

Tomorrow, as part of the Napa Valley Festival del Sole, Michael Chiarello and Modican chef Piero Selvaggio, owner of the Valentino restaurant in Santa Monica, will cook for Sophia and 400 guests at the Far Niente vineyard. Robert Redford will be Master of Ceremonies. Sophia's son Carlo Ponti Jr. will conduct the LA Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra in their debut concert and they will play the themes from some of Sophia's films.

The tomatoes, olives and capers used in the dishes will be from Sicily and the olive oil from Ragusa. Modica plays its part too, for there will be a croccantino of Bonajuto chocolate for dessert.

Congratulations, Sophia and, as you've always said you owe everything to spaghetti and we know, thank goodness, that you are not one of those skinny stars who are afraid to enjoy their food, buon appetito!

Sophia Loren receiving an honorary Oscar in 1991

CHICKEN INVOLTINI WITH GOJI BERRY RISOTTO

As soon as I saw dried goji berries in the supermarket here, I knew I wanted to use them with chicken and this is what I came up with:

12 chicken escalopes, pounded very thinly. [In Italy just tell the butcher you want breast slices for involtini.]
12 thin slices pancetta
400 gr risotto rice
juice and rind of 1 lemon
0.25 litre white wine
1 white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
50 gr dried goji berries
100 gr pinenuts
basil leaves
cinnamon, preferably freshly ground from a cinnamon mill
seasalt and black pepper

First, make the risotto: Heat 3 tablesp olive oil in a wide pan, add the onion and garlic and cook, strirring, over a low flame until soft but not brown. Pour the white wine and lemon juice into a measuring jug and make up to 1 litre with water. Add about 100 gr of the rice to the pan and stir around, then add the rest of the rice and about a quarter of the liquid, stirring. When the rice has absorbed it, add another quarter and repeat the process, until you have all the liquid in the pan. Add the berries, pinenuts, 3 - 4 twists of cinnamon from a mill or 1 teasp powdered cinnamon, the lemon rind, seasoning and a few torn basil leaves.  Turn the heat down and let the risotto cook for about 15 mins., stiriring occasionally. When it tastes right, take it off the heat and let it cool for up to 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 180 C.

Lay the pancetta slices on a chopping board or a couple of large plates and put a chicken slice on top of each one. Spread some of the risotto - about a dessertspoon for each one -  along the slices, then roll them up in the pancetta.  You won't need to secure them with anything - they will hold. Lightly oil a large, Pyrex-style roasting dish and place the involtini in it. Cook in the oven for 30 mins.

I served these with roasted datterini tomatoes which I had sprinkled with herbs, seasoning, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

You can freeze any leftover risotto mixture for the next time!

Serves 6.

Buon appetito.

SUMMER STYLE

Hi, folks.

It's Simi here!

I've just had my summer haircut and I'm driving the Italian dogs wild - especially that ole black poodle!

But I couldn't spend all day parading up and down for them. I had serious things to do!

My mummy has gone all curly-wurly. What do you think?

I think she looks almost as cool as me!

Well, see you soon, fans.  Be good and have a waggie summer!

Love,

Simi xx woof!

BONNE BASTILLE 2014

As many of you know, the language, culture and literature of France have also played a big part in my life so I always commemorate Bastille Day on this blog.  And who better to sing today than the great Monsieur Aznavour and one of my favourite Italian singers, Laura Pausini? After all, it's nearly August!

Charles Aznavour et Laura Pausini - Paris au mois d'août

Also, because I'm a sentimental old fool and it's a long time since I saw Paris, here's Dino: 
Dean Martin - The Last Time I Saw Paris  

Bonne fête de la Bastille à tout le monde!

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear from the palermitano baritone Nicola Alaimo, who tonight sings Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory at La Scala:

Nicola Alaimo - Di Provenza, il mare, il suol [La Traviata]: Muti

"I'LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN......"

Two claps of thunder, five minutes of rain, a pause for brilliant sunshine then another clap of thunder and three more minutes of rain - that was enough to cause chaos in Modica Bassa yesterday morning.  The "storm" sent everybody scurrying back into town from the sea for the duration and, being modicani, those who usually travel on their motorbikes abandoned them for their cars. No one, naturally, considered catching a bus.

This would have caused a traffic jam in the old town anyway, but with the closure for maintenance work of the Ponte Guerrieri, one of the main arteries into the city and the highest road bridge in Europe until the French spoilt it by building a higher one a few years ago, it was a disaster.

Now the Mayor has promised that the bridge will reopen in September, which is rather strange as the maintenance contract runs until the end of December, so no one's betting on it.

Meanwhile, how about bus lanes and an efficient bus service with a revolutionary commitment to taking people where they actually want to go?

Ponte Guerrieri, Modica

MODICAN ENGLISHITIS

There is, as Tim Parks writes in Italian Ways, an Italian fantasy about English usage and the proof is in the execrable attempts at translation which can be seen on notices and in advertisements everywhere in this lovely land. The modicani, however, have taken this art to new heights and I have finally identified the habit as a disease called Modican Englishitis.  

Modican Englishitis first manifests itself in a stubborn refusal to imitate correct pronunciation, so that if an English teacher corrects a student who prononces guitar as gweetar, with the stress on the first syllable, the student will listen politely, nod, say, "Ah, gweetar" and happily continue with the erroneous pronunciation.

As the disease progresses, sufferers will insist on pronouncing all past simple tense - ed endings as a separate syllable [finish-èd] and are particularly resistant to the final -s on any English word. I used to think that this refusal to pronounce the final -s came about because foreign nouns which are used in Italian don't have plural forms but now I've come to the conclusion that it is just bloody-mindedness. Patients are perfectly capable of pronouncing the final - s, for where there is not one you can be sure they will add it!  

In Modica you will be invited to use "slots" [but not slot] machines, eat your dinner in the chicken rather than the kitchen and visit the say-ah [sea] to "have a bath". This last is presumably because you don't have a bathroom in the "eighth century" house you have purchased [a mistranslation of ottocento - the nineteenth century]. 

You may not understand a word of the English used in Modica, but never let it be said that life is dool hair [dull here]!

Saying "goodbye" if you have Modican Englishitis

SUMMER TIDES - 5

The saddest news I have to report tonight is that, when the migrant boat involved in last week's tragedy was finally brought to Pozzallo, 45, not 27 or 30, bodies were found, jammed into the hold.  Four men have beern arrested by Sicilian police on suspicion of people trafficking.  Last Wednesday the front page of La Sicilia carried the headline "Mare Mortum".

On Sunday night around 100 migrants, including women and children, arrived on Ispica beach. It was the usual story: an inadequate boat carrying them had managed to elude patrols, brought them within sight of the beach, forced them into the water and then made a fast getaway.  Let us hope that no one drowned.

It is estimated that 2,600 migrants were saved by the Italian Navy and other Mare Nostrum operatives over the weekend. Premier Renzi has again said that the operation must continue but with EU support:

"It is not possible, in 2014, to let a ship full of children sink because we don't know whose jurisdiction it is in.  We save them."

The week has seen several protests in Sicily by both residents and migrants: The inhabitants of Siculiana [Agrigento] protested against the sheer numbers of migrants arriving in their small town but things seem to have calmed down for the moment now that the Mayor has had a meeting with Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, who listened to her concerns. Mr Alfano promised that the number of arrivals in the town would be carefully regulated and gave assurances regarding public health. He also said that the EU at last appears to be realising that Italy, and especially Sicily, cannot take sole responsibility for the migrants after they have been rescued.

Yesterday in Caltagirone, where 110 unaccompanied migrant minors have been living in overcrowded and quite insanitary conditions, the situation exploded. The young migrants destroyed furniture and broke glass in their centre, then set up street blocks nearby. Who can blame them? They say they cannot maintain personal hygiene in these conditions, that they do not have enough drinking water [temperatures in Sicily are reaching 40 C now ] and that their meals are served cold. They also say they do not have enough clothing and are not given any spending money - to which, as asylum seekers, they are entitled - or phone cards. They only want to be listened to but at the moment have no access to anyone who might understand their problems.

As I write, Sicily waits: a Libyan politician said last week that at least 3 million migrants are preparing to leave Libya in an attempt to reach Italian shores during the summer.

SABATO MUSICALE

At no. 12 in the Italian singles chart this week is this pleasant song from Francesco Renga:

Francesco Renga - Il mio giorno più bello del mondo

SUMMER ITALIAN COURSES IN MODICA!

I am re-posting this because there is still time to sign up for these courses!

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:

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

Tailored to your needs

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!

A SURPRISE FROM WALES

It had been a long time since the postwoman brought me something pleasant so imagine my delight today when a completely unexpected package arrived from Britain. It contained goodies from my friend Carol King, who last week visited Wales for the first time:

The coloured card shows three very woolly sheep and says, "Rush hour in Abergavenny".  Below it are three fridge magnets - Cardiff Castle, the cutest dragon and a "Patricia" magnet with a picture of a daffodil.  The other cards have the text of the Lord's Prayer in Welsh and in Italian. Perhaps now my students will believe me when I tell them that the Welsh language is completely different from English! The slate beermat says, "Happiness is having Welsh friends."  Happiness is also having friends like Carol!

I loved the television series Call the Midwife so I was very happy to receive this book as well. I can't wait to read it!

Thank you, Carol.

A KING IN TAORMINA

Elvis Presley has had, since his death, a habit of turning up in the most unlikely places and I was always disappointed not to find him packing my supermarket bags in Britain. But now here he is in Taormina and it's just possible that the town will be "all shook up"!

From now until 21st September visitors to Taormina will be able to see, at the Palacongressi in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, a travelling exhibition, approved by the Presley family, of objects from Graceland. Taormina is the only European venue for the exhibition this summer.

Among the items on display are:  some of Elvis's guitars, stage and personal clothing, letters, gold discs and other awards, autographs and - the star of the show - his last Fleetwood Brougham Cadillac with its 1 - Elvis numberplate. A special Elvis a Taormina postmark has been created for the occasion and on 16th August and 20th September there will be concerts by the Elvis impersonator Joe Bavota.

I cannot possibly close this post without a song from the "king". As far as I know, apart from Santa Lucia, Elvis did not record any songs in Italian but we do have this, which was and is successful precisely because it is not an attempt at a direct translation. 

Elvis Presley - Now or Never

In case you missed it, I wrote some years ago about what Elvis meant to me in my youth.

SUMMER TIDES - 4: A TRAGEDY

This is being reported by the world's media this morning but I'll try to give you the view from here:

In one of several migrant rescue operations carried out by the Italian Navy last night, 27 - 30 migrants were found dead in the hold of a fishing boat carrying up to 600 people, including two pregnant women. It is thought that the migrants died of asphyxiation. By the time the naval ship Grecale arrived on the scene, there was nothing the personnel could do for these poor souls and, because of the position in the boat that the bodies were in, only two were transferred to the larger ship. The boat, carrying the living and the dead, is being towed to Pozzallo as I write. 

La Repubblica is reporting that 919 migrants have arrived in Pozzallo overnight and many more in other Sicilian ports. Over this weekend alone, 5,000 migrants were rescued at sea in the Mare Nostrum operation and it is estimated that 60,000 have arrived in Sicily since the beginning of this year. The possibility of 100,000 arrivals by the end of the year has not been ruled out.

The Mayor of Pozzallo, Luigi Ammatuna, a man who has always expressed sympathy for and solidarity with the migrants, has said that the situation has become unmanageable, as the town's Cpa [centre for migrant arrivals] is full and the administration is having to rely on other institutions to accommodate them. Even the cemetery is full and there are now only two mortuary cold chambers available. The Prefect of Ragusa has promised that a plan will be put into operation to relieve the pressure on Pozzallo.

Lega Nord Federal secretary Matteo Salvini has said this morning that Premier Renzi and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano have "blood on their hands" because the Mare Nostrum operation is encouraging migrants to leave Africa.

Italy's calls for international help in the migration crisis continue to fall on largely deaf ears. Frontex [the European Border Agency] is to be strengthened but there has been no new EU agreement on asylum, as requested by Italy. The Italian government believes that the Dublin Regulation, under which the country of arrival is responsible for any asylum application by a migrant, puts too much pressure on border areas. Italy has also suggested that migrants be processed whilst still in Africa.

As politicians score points, let us remember the migrants who lost their lives last night whilst in search only of the rights and comforts that most of us enjoy without question.

Update at 15.09: A video just published by La Repubblica shows that the 600 migrants were jammed into a space of 30 metres on the fishing boat.

SABATO MUSICALE

It's over a year since we heard from the lovely Mr Patrizio Buanne on this blog so let's put that right with this: 

Patrizio Buanne - Sorridi [Smile]

BOOK REVIEW - "LA MIA CASA E PIENA DI SPECCHI"

When I first settled in Italy and started watching Italian cookery programmes, I wondered who the striking, well-dressed woman who often appeared as a judge was, for there was something very familiar about her. Then I saw  her surname on the credits - SCICOLONE - and this was familiar too. Scicolone, Scicolone.... of course! This was the birth surname of Sophia Loren and Anna Maria Villani Scicolone is her sister.

In Britain, as an Italian teacher who had always followed the Italian news, I knew of the politician Alessandra Mussolini but I hadn't realised who her mother was. Anna Maria Scicolone's first husband was the dictator's fourth son, the jazz musician Romano Mussolini and Alessandra is their daughter. The marriage failed, largely due to Romano Mussolini's womanising but it is clear from Maria Scicolone's writing that she always held him in great affection.

I decided to find out more about Maria Scicolone and my chance came when the film of her autobiography, La mia casa è piena di specchi, [My House is Full of Mirrors] was shown on Italian TV a couple of years ago. In this film, Sophia Loren plays her own mother. This was not the first time she had done so, for there is an English language film of her life [Sophia Loren - Her Own Story], but this Italian version focusses on Maria's story.

After I had seen the film, I read Maria Scicolone's book of the same name and found it a fascinating and very honest tale: It is not a chronological  autobiography but is divided into chapters describing the sisters' young lives in Pozzuoli [Campania], their relationship with their determined but domineering mother, Sophia's rise to fame and Maria's struggles to obtain an education and be known as someone other than "the sister."

Maria, like Sophia, was the illegitimate child of Romilda Villani and Riccardo Scicolone but, whilst Riccardo recognised Sophia as his child, he refused to acknowledge paternity of Maria, who had to be locked away in her bedroom during his visits and saw him only through the keyhole. But there came a time, some years later, when Riccardo needed money. Romilda said she would help him if he would recognise Maria as his child and thus it was that she took the Scicolone surname.

Romilda and Maria had a troubled relationship, as mothers and daughters often do, but they loved one another dearly. Romilda didn't want Maria to continue with her studies before she was legitimised, because of the shame this might have brought upon the family, and afterwards she seemed to have thought it was too late and was also probably jealous. Maria, though, was, in her way, as determined as her mother and went on to obtain a degree in literature in 1976.

Maria often travelled with Sophia and Carlo Ponti and in Hollywood became interested in cookery. She writes of the friendships she formed with several Hollywood stars, including Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra and later she wrote a recipe book based on the meals she had enjoyed at their homes.

I was fascinated by Maria's account of her relationship with Benito Mussolini's widow,  the formidable Donna Rachele, who seems to have had a soft spot for the naive and lonely young girl and taught Maria to cook the dishes of her region.

Hospitalised for depression after her divorce, Maria fell in love with her doctor and has a happy second marriage.  

My one issue with the book is the lack, on Maria's part, of any censure of her deceased father-in-law's political ideas. That said, "Sophia Loren's sister", as she was known for so long, might have appeared, to the world, to have everything. This book charts her long and difficult search for autonomy. 

La mia casa è piena di specchi - wedding scene

HEDGIFREDDO?

Spotted in local bar.