TRAVELS WITH MY SISTER

I'm going to tell you the story of my reunion with my birth sister, Jill, little by little in several posts but first I want to share with you some of the things we did together over the past seven days.

We spent time at the Marina di Modica

and, as you see, I've got me a lovely brother-in-law as well!

We went for an evening walk in Ragusa Ibla with friends,

sat in the park

and ate ice cream in a crepe!

I must say, as we walked through the narrow, softly-lit streets, I felt completely surrounded by love and I hadn't felt like that for a long time.

On Sunday we took a guided tour around Catania. There is always something new to learn from a good guide and the city looked particularly elegant in the October sunshine:

Later, it was on to Militello in Val di Catania for the Sagra della Mostarda e del Fico d'India or Mostarda [made with prickly pears] and Prickly Pear Festival, where the highlight of the afternoon was the parade of Sicilian carts:

This last horse danced to the traditional music and was definitely the star of the show!

When I visited Militello for the same festival four years ago, I never imagined I'd be back there with my sister!

Then suddenly it was Wednesday, Jill and Paul's last full day in Sicily. We decided to spend most of it in Siracusa, for how could I let them go without taking them first to the magnificent Greek amphitheatre there?

The Roman Amphitheatre, Siracusa:

Sisters:

The Greek Amphitheatre, Siracusa:

The Ear of Dionysus, Siracusa:

We had fun calling to each other in the echoing cave where the tyrant Dionysus reportedly imprisoned dissidents and eavesdropped on them. 

Jill and Paul are safely home now and they have promised to come back to Sicily soon. I hope so because I'm already missing my wonderful, newfound sister!

A VERY SPECIAL SABATO MUSICALE

This was one of the first Italian songs I ever learnt and nothing could better describe my feelings this week.  Tonight I dedicate this song to my sister, Jill:

Gino Paoli - Prima di vederti

Long before I saw you

I'd already known you

in another world,

an ageless world,

so far away 

and so long ago,

Who knows where?

Who knows when

you lived with me?

Long before I met you

I was waiting for you.

My old life, that I had then

is ageless now.

So far away

and so long ago

Who knows where?

Who knows when

I knew you before?

So far away

and so long ago

Who knows where?

Who knows when

I knew you before?

[My translation]

TWO WORDS

Speaking as a linguist, I can tell you that no one ever knows every word in their own language and speaking as an only child I can tell you that there are two words in mine that I knew but never thought I'd be able to say. They are, quite simply, "my sister". 

But all that changed for me at 3pm Italian time yesterday when, after 64 years, I was reunited, here in Sicily, with my birth sister, Jill.  Here we are at that very emotional meeting:

Some of you will know that I was adopted at the age of nine months, and that story is here. Now my sister and I are living through another story and I hope I'll be able to tell you about it during the coming weeks.

Regular readers may have noticed that my posting has been a bit irregular lately and, if you have a blog that I normally visit, that I haven't made my visiting rounds as usual. Now you know why! The blogging will be back to normal soon but meanwhile I'm enjoying getting to know my sister and showing her Sicily. Please be happy for my sister and me!

A HEARTENING PROJECT

I often criticise Sicily when things go wrong so it is only fair to congratulate the island's administrators publicly when they come up with an excellent project.

By the end of the year, 310 defibrillators are to be installed in public places in Sicily and careful thought has been given to the eventual locations: Schools, universities, rural pharmacies, small prisons, public transport vehicles, archaeological sites, theatres and railway stations are among the locations selected and training courses in the use of the defibrillators have already begun. It seems that all the Sicilian provinces are included in the programme and the smaller Sicilian islands have not been forgotten.

The Ragusa Health Authority is responsible for developping a software programme to support the project.

Well done, Sicily!

BOOK REVIEW - "LA FIGLIA DEL PAPA"

La figlia del papa by Dario Fo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not sure what I think about the current fashion for writing historical fiction in the present tense and using conversation to carry the action forward. In English Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel do it superbly, if, in the latter case, rather academically.

However, Italian is a language in which the "vivid present " [the use of the present tense to recount past events] is more common and, as we are in the hands of the dramatist Dario Fo, we must surely expect mostly dialogue.

On the whole I feel he succeeds, though I got lost in some of the early dialogue concerning political intrigues, as I have in other books about the scheming Borgias.

Why did Fo choose to write about Lucrezia? Because, I would guess, there can be no doubt that she is one of the most maligned women in history and because her story of course lends itself to high drama. Fo portrays her as the political pawn that any woman in her position and time would have been but also as intelligent, politically astute, kind and even gentle. In an interview about the book, the Nobel laureate dramatist said that Lucrezia reminded him in some ways of his late wife, Franca Rame, because Franca, too, had taken up unpopular causes, helped the unfortunate and felt the need to intervene for the sake of social justice.

We cannot know to what extent Lucrezia was complicit in the outrageous plotting of her devious father, Pope Alexander VI and notorious brother, Cesare, but that she tried to save at least one of her three husbands from death at their hands is documented. As Duchess of Ferrara she was popular with locals and, at the end of her life, espoused charitable causes and set up a convent. We know that she had an affair with the poet Pietro Bembo and this is touchingly recounted in the book. It is commonly held that she also had an affair with Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantova, but Fo - uniquely, according to him - refutes this, citing the fact that Lucrezia would have known that Francesco had syphilis and would not have risked it.

The book is beautifully illustrated but I find it strange that none of the images - some of which are famous and some of which are, I presume, by Fo himself - are accredited.

As far as I am aware, the book is currently being translated into several other languages so, if you are interested in Lucrezia and get a chance to read it, I suggest that you do so. You may conclude, as I did, that she was a product of her time and class, neither wholly bad nor as good as Fo would have her but, like most of us, somewhere in between.

View all my reviews

This review is also posted on Goodreads.

SABATO MUSICALE

It's those two Italian Americans with the musical chemistry again!

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - I Can't Give You Anything But Love

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

As the world now knows, one year ago today 368 migrants perished off the island of Lampedusa when their overcrowded boat capsized, Today has been a day of remembrance on the island and I thought the best way I could again draw attention to the tragedy would be to re-post what I wrote on that horrific night:

3.10.13
7.14 p.m.

Just as I was thinking that I would be able to bring you a little light relief this evening, I happened to glance at the "Corriere della Sera" site and saw the news of a further tragedy at sea which is unfolding as I write.

The BBC and all main foreign media sites are carrying this one and you will be able to follow events as they happen and see the images on many of these and, of course, on television. I am not a journalist so cannot add to the MSM coverage but I will summarise for you what I know.  If further news of the tragedy breaks later and is not carried by MSM outside Italy, I will try to bring it to you. You will understand that this is an ongoing situation and there are some conflicting reports as to the exact sequence of events and as to numbers involved in the tragedy:

Early this morning fishing boat crews raised the alarm when they saw a migrant boat in difficulty off Lampedusa. The 20-metre boat is reported to have been carrying at least 500 Eritrean, Somali and Ghanaian migrants, among them around 100 women and an unknown number of children. A survivor has told reporters that conditions were so cramped on board that the passengers were unable to move.

The boat was near the southern tip of Lampedusa, off the Isola dei Conigli - which has a beach voted the second best in Italy in a web poll this summer - when the engine failed and the vessel began to take on water. Having no cellphones to call for help, some of the passengers lit a small fire to draw attention to their plight. However, fuel was leaking into the water on board and the fire became an inferno. Panicking, a large number of passengers scrambled to one end of the boat, causing it to capsize and then they began to jump into the sea.

Many could not swim and so far 93 bodies have been recovered. Only three of the women passengers are said to have survived and a three-year-old child is confirmed dead. As I write there is no news of the other children. The last Italian report I consulted said that 159 migrants have been rescued but Italian Coast Guard and police fear that there could be 40 more bodies under the boat and up to 100 inside the wreck. 

Survivors say that the boat left a Libyan port two days ago and that, prior to the lighting of the fire, three fishing boats had spotted the vessel in difficulty but had done nothing to help. This is unconfirmed.

One people-trafficker has been arrested.

Mayor of Lampedusa Giusi Nicolini has described a scene of "continuous horror" as bodies are being laid out on the quayside there.

Prime Minister Letta has spoken of a "terrible tragedy" and Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has already arrived in Sicily.  He has said that he hopes that the EU recognises that this is an event which involves every EU country. A few minutes ago, Mr Alfano said that he had seen the 93 bodies, a horrifying sight which he had never imagined he would see. He reiterated that Europe must act to prevent this kind of tragedy. "These women and children did not die to come on holiday", the shocked Minister said. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has praised the Italian Coast Guard for their swift action in rescuing so many. President Napolitano has said that Europe and the countries of departure of migrant boats must work together to stop the people traffickers and prevent disasters such as this one. Pope Francis has expressed his "shame" at what has happened and has called upon all nations to unite their strengths in order to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again.

Latest Italian media reports say that the death toll could rise to over 300.

I cannot close without mentioning my disgust at the Italian political party which has used the situation in order to try to score political points this afternoon and I know that the majority of Italians will join me in this. 

Update at 20.40:  Tomorrow will be a national day of mourning in Italy.
Update at 22.09:  127 bodies have now been recovered, among them those of children. Sky TG24 Italia has interviewed one of the fishermen who first raised the alarm. Visibly moved, he spoke of the horrific scene and how he and his colleague managed to take 47 of the migrants onto their own boat.

3.10.14

It was heartening to read this morning that around 40 survivors of the tragedy returned to the island, after being received by Pope Francis, to thank their rescuers and to remember their fellow-passengers who did not survive.  They came to Italy from several European countries where they have since found refuge. 

The day has not been without its tensions on Lampedusa and this is understandable. However, tonight, on this blog, I just want to remember. Although, in the past year, there has been slightly more international coverage of the migration situation in the Mediterranean, I feel that there has been scant mention of the amazing rescue work that has been carried out by the Italian Navy, Coast Guard and other Mare Nostrum operatives, so let us remember these brave men and women too.

According to figures released by UNHCR today, over 3,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past year and Italy has received 140,000 migrant arrivals since the beginning of 2014, at the rate of 516 per day.

In November Mare Nostrum will be replaced by an EU operation known as Frontex Plus and no one really knows if this will make a difference. Everyone here hopes so. 

The Comitato 3 ottobre, formed to make the 3rd October a day of remembrance for all migrants, says,

"Proteggere le persone, non i confini - Protect people, not borders."

A LITTLE UPSET

In George Mikes's Italy for Beginners, a book I read when I was about 16, the author says, in a chapter on manners,

"Half tones will not even take you half way; understatements are taken at even less than their face value. If you are deeply worried about something, it is no good remarking softly, 'I'm a little peturbed.'  If, on the contrary, you run about the room berserk, beat the walls with your fists, froth at the mouth, turn purple and scream for half an hour then people may gather that you are slightly irritated, though not annoyed. Unless, of course, you are simply tired."

I was reminded of this whilst watching last Friday's Bake Off Italia, during which this lady got a little upset when her éclairs didn't turn out the way she wanted. I think I can guess what the estimable Mary Berry would have made of it, but haven't we all felt like this when our cooking has gone wrong?  [You only need to watch the first minute or so of the clip - the rest is a repeat of it.]

By the way, I'm rooting for the modest baking builder in tonight's Great British Bake Off, though all the contestants are so good that it's a shame that any of them have to lose!

BRONTE TRUFFLES

I enjoyed the joyful BBC series Sweets Made Simple and wish they would bring it back. Perhaps the recipe which most impressed me with its genius and simplicity was the one for gin and lime truffles. I wanted to try it, but unfortunately I can't drink alcohol any more as it's incompatible with my medication. I don't let this stop me sloshing wine into my casseroles or Maraschino into my "tipsy cake" but I was scared I'd find a bottle of gin in the house too much temptation!

This, then, is my take on the truffles and I really want to thank Miss Kitty Hope and Mr Greenwood for the inspiration and especially for pointing out that you can roll truffles in any coating you want. I don't think I'd have thought of the pistacchi otherwise! As I've mentioned before, Bronte near Catania is the pistacchio town and you may be interested to read of its connections with a certain British admiral and of his possible link with three very famous British sisters.

Modican chocolate and lime truffles

100 gr chocolate, broken up - I used half cioccolato fondente [dark chocolate] and half cinnamon-flavoured Modican chocolate
2 tablesp panna da montare if you are in Italy, or double or whipping cream [but don't whip it!]
zest of 1 lime and juice of 2
50 gr unsalted butter in pieces
farina di pistacchi - very finely chopped pistacchi - to coat the truffles

First I must confess that I've lost my double boiler so I decided to melt the chocolate in the microwave:  if you are going to do this, put it in a small Pyrex-style basin with the cream and microwave for 2 minutes on medium low [but keep an eye on it - your microwave may be more powerful than mine.] Give it a good stir.

Add the pieces of butter and stir well to melt.

Add the lime zest and juice and stir till mixed. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, scoop out coffee-spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls. Put on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate again for about an hour.

Now roll the truffles in the chopped pistacchi, known as farina di pistacchio [pistacchio flour] here.

Even without the gin, I think these taste quite exciting!

SABATO MUSICALE

Two other great Italian artists have celebrated their 80th birthdays this week and they are Ornella Vanoni and Gino Paoli. Tanti auguri and thanks to both of them for all the pleasure they have given to so many of us.

Ornella Vanoni - L'appuntamento

Gino Paoli - Una lunga storia d'amore

SEPTEMBER SALAD

The end of summer means the disappearance of these

but heralds the appearance of these

and calls for a special salad, don't you think? Here's the one I came up with last week:

September salad

You need one skinless, boneless chicken breast if you are in Italy and two if you are in the UK, because here the breasts are sold as a pair and in the UK singly. Ask the butcher to cut it or them into escalopes and pound them.  Marinate the escalopes in 2 tablesp balsamic vinegar with 1 teasp sumac for at least two hours [No, I've never found sumac here - friends send it from the UK.] 

Now you need to deal with 4 prickly pears: to peel one, lay it on its side on a board, plunge a fork into it to hold it steady, then make a slit on one side and start peeling the skin off with the knife. Don't touch the skin as, even if the thorns have been removed prior to sale, you can still get some nasty scratches. Then cut the fruit crossways into slices. Grill the slices in 1 tablesp oil on a griddle pan. They won't go very brown or show griddle marks but the grilling will make the flavour quite interesting. Drain the slices on kitchen paper.

Next, cut 1 large red pepper and 1 large yellow pepper into strips, not very thinly, and grill these in the griddle pan in 2 tablesp. oil.  Drain.

Peel and deseed half a large cucumber or a whole small one and chop it. Put the pieces on a plate, sprinkle with fine seasalt and leave for half an hour or so. Then rinse and drain.

Drain the chicken escalopes and discard the marinade. Pat the escalopes as dry as you can with kitchen paper. Now grill them in 2 tablesp oil in all in a griddle pan. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut the escalopes into bite-sized pieces with a kitchen scissors. Put the pieces in a large salad bowl and leave in the fridge.

Make a dressing with 6 tablesp olive oil, 1 tablesp honey, 1 teasp sumac, fine seasalt and black pepper to taste. Mix it all well with a fork and refrigerate this, too.

When you are nearly ready to serve the salad, add  some washed salad leaves to the bowl: I used a whole small radicchio and half an iceberg lettuce, but you can use what leaves you like.  Then add the peppers, prickly pears and cucumber.  Add a few basil leaves and then toss it all in the dressing and serve. 

Serves 4.

WHAT'S THE POINT?

Over the years, I've received some nice "gifts" through my supermarket's loyalty card scheme, including a battery-operated cheese grater, a coffee machine, china, bed linen, numerous saucepans, an onion chopper and a cake slicer that plays "Jingle Bells". Therefore I am sorry to see the "gifts" scheme go, and even sorrier to see what has replaced it.

Sometimes I think the Italian national motto should be, "Don't make things simple if you can make them complicated" and there can be no finer example than the new discount coupon scheme that replaces points and gifts. Here's what you have to do to get your €5 discount coupon:

Present your card at the checkout every time you spend so that you can get one "bonus" [instead of a point] per euro. OK. Then, when you've accumulated 200 "bonuses" you have to BOOK your discount coupon. Yes, book it! You get a receipt for the "booking" which you are supposed to keep and after a week you can collect your coupon - if you remember to ask for it before the expiry date on the receipt and can find the latter in the first place . Finally, if you spend €25 in one go, you  can use the coupon!

For goodness sake! Why can't the coupon just be automatically sent to customers' home addresses? Because it would be too simple, that's why! I give up, Italy.

Bring back the points and gifts, please! I could do with another fun cake slicer.....

VEDERE PER CREDERE

"Seeing's believing."

I've needed new specs for a very long time and on Saturday I finally managed it. I'd forgotten the world was three-dimensional!

SABATO MUSICALE

Italy's favourite lady Sophia Loren is 80 years old today and still lighting up lives with her beauty, grace and intelligence. Buon compleanno, Sofia!

Sophia Loren - Guarda la luna ["Nine"]

And does anyone else remember this piece of delightful nonsense? 

  Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers - Bangers and Mash

Buon divertimento, bella!

WEEKEND TREAT

Now, what do we have here in these pretty packages?

Home-made Modican chocolate, sent to me by a student's mum:

It's always nice to be appreciated and anyone who cooks knows how much work it takes to create such perfection.  Grazie!

SAVING THE INSPECTOR

Old factory at Sampieri beach, often seen in the Montalbano films

Which fictional character has done the most, in recent years, to improve Sicily's image and attract tourists?  The answer, unsurprisingly, is Il Commissario Montalbano, both in Andrea Camilleri's books and in the TV films based on them, which have been shown all over the world. Now you can see Montalbano's supposed house [in Santa Croce Camerina], partake of Montalbano arancini [rice balls] and other gastronomic delights and tour the film locations in Modica, Scicli, Ragusa Ibla and at the beach at Sampieri.

Why, then, would the show's producers want to stop filming in Sicily and transfer the sets to Puglia? The answer this time, again unsurprisingly for anyone with a knowledge of how Italy works [or doesn't] is the production company's frustration at the lack of financial report from the Sicilian Region over the last 15 years and it seems that author Andrea Camilleri agrees. 

As you may imagine, there has been an outcry in Sicily and this evening producer Carlo Degli Esposti met [after a long wait] with Sicilian Governor Rosario Crocetta, who has said that no one had told him about the situation and that he would do all he could to resolve it.  

I can't help thinking that, whilst a British Prime Minister is tonight at risk of going down in history as the "man who lost Scotland", Mr Crocetta may be remembered as "the man who lost Montalbano."

Don't let it happern, please, Mr Crocetta - Sicily needs and loves her Montalbano!

Luca Zingaretti as Montalbano
Image:  Wikimedia Commons

AUTUMN TIDES

The news that there have been two major new migration tragedies in the Mediterranean is tonight breaking all over the world and one of these may, according to an IOM [International Organisation for Migration] spokesperson, be "the worst shipwreck in years", for this time we may not be dealing with an accident, but with cold-blooded murder. 

Neither incident occurred in Italian waters but both affect Italy, so I will report them here. I should emphasise that reports of the incidents differ in detail and that the sequence of events has yet to be confirmed .

In the more widely reported incident, which IOM believes happened on Wednesday but which UNHCR thinks happened on Friday, it is possible that up to 500 migrants died after people traffickers deliberately sank their boat off Malta when an argument broke out on board. According to two Palestinian survivors of the wreck who have been brought to Sicily, the migrants started their journey towards Europe from Egypt and were forced to change boats several times. Finally the traffickers,who were travelling in another boat, ordered the migrants to transfer to a vessel which they judged too small and when they refused, the traffickers rammed the migrant boat until it capsized. 

Nine survivors were rescued by Maltese and Greek ships but the other passengers, of Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian and Sudanese nationality, are feared dead.

The Italian police have begun an enquiry into the circumstances of the wreck.

In another incident which took place on Sunday, a boat carrying 250 migrants sank off Tanjaura, east of Tripoli. The British press are reporting that 26 survivors have been rescued by the Libyan Navy but La Repubblica puts the figure at 36. All these migrants are said to be from North Africa and many of them are women,  This rescue has proved difficult as the Libyan Navy say they do not have specialist boats for the task.

A further 18 people may have died in the wreck of another migrant boat which got into trouble in international waters 300 miles south-east of Malta on Friday night, bringing the total number of deaths in the Mediterranean  in the past few days to over 700 if the rammed boat story is confirmed.

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, who has been visiting Maltese Naval Rescue HQ, said on Monday,

"We all need to wake up to the scale of this crisis. There is a direct link between the conflicts in Syria and elsewhere and the rise in deaths at sea in the Mediterranean. We have to understand what drives people to take the fearful step of risking their children's lives on crowded, unsafe vessels; it is the overwhelming desire to find refuge. It is also part of a bigger problem - the soaring numbers of people displaced by conflicts around the world today, which now stands at over 51 million. Unless we address the root causes of these conflicts, the numbers of refugees dying or unable to find protection will continue to rise."

The Italian Navy rescued 2,380 migrants in the Mediterranean during the weekend.

SABATO MUSICALE

The soprano Magda Olivero died on Monday, aged 104. La Scala honoured her with a minute's silence before that evening's performance.

Magda Olivero - Un bel dì vedremo

DAMNED IF YOU LOO.....

"....and damned if you don't." Thus might the thoughts of the priests of Palermo Cathedral have run last week, when they were subjected to much criticism because of a prominent "WC" sign in a side chapel. Where is the loo in question? Directly behind the altar, a fact which has astonished locals and tourists alike.

One of the priests has said it was the only place in the cathedral where they could have put a toilet facility and that it is needed because there are no public conveniences, or other premises with toilets, nearby. He also said that the general feeling among his colleagues is that it is better to offer the facility than not and emphasised that the altar in question is not used for Mass or to store the host and wine.

What do you think? Would you expect to find a toilet in a cathedral?

BUON COMPLEANNO, ROSA!

Happy birthday to Rosa, who is my friend and also sorts my house out. I made her a summer pudding and Simi thought it was a good idea, too!

BOAT OF HOPE

After writing about so many tragedies and so much sorrow regarding migrants in the Mediterranean, it is nice to be able to bring you a positive story on this theme: When I read about the Barca di Cioccolato ["Chocolate Boat"] project, I contacted Pierpaolo Ruta of the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, Modica, who in turn, put me in touch with the project's creator, the artist Jonida Xherri.

Jonida is from Albania and is currently living in Modica and Florence. Jonida, too, had dreamed of coming to Italy so felt that she could identify with the migrants and, having received a Modican welcome herself as an immigrant seven years ago, she wanted migrants at the Pozzallo Reception Centre to have a similar experience. Thus, in January this year she launched the first Barca di Cioccolato project and, at the end of August, the second. 

Jonida wanted to demonstrate not only the economic links that we have with Africa, but also the important cultural ones and the ways in which our traditions are connected. The project was carried out in three phases:

1.  The historical phase: It was the Spanish colonisers who brought the Aztec method of making chocolate to Sicily but the cocoa bean of course had to come from Africa.  At first, it arrived by sea, just as migrants in search of a better life do today, even risking that life to do so.  For this reason, it was decided to make the second "chocolate boat" out of 'mpanatigghi [the word has variant spellings] the traditional Modican pastries containing chocolate and minced beef which, in times gone by, were carried on long journeys, because they would keep. In all, 600 'mpanatigghi were made by the migrants with the help of the staff at Bonajuto. The public were able to see the finished boat from 29th August - 1st September and when it was dismantled the 'mpanatigghi were distributed to the migrants in the reception centre.

2.  Ceramic tiles:  The migrants painted their own designs or wishes on to the tiles, often using African colours or chocolate themes.  Then the tiles were fired and displayed in the reception centre.

3.  Video: the viewing of a video about the first Barca di Cioccolato project, with the aim of showing people that even the poorest countries have a rich cultural heritage and can contribute to the world economically.

After making the boat, the migrants were offered lunch at the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti and ice cream at the Caffè Adamo, both in Modica. They visited the Salvatore Quasimodo exhibition at Modica's Palazzo della Cultura and the town's Garibaldi Theatre.

Jonida writes.

"The young migrants want to use art to express their dreams.  These dreams have led them to undertake a very difficult journey and to risk their lives.  They want to say that they are here and that they need the help of the whole of Europe to have a normal working life."

Slideshow - Barca di Cioccolato 2

Barca di Cioccolato - Video Maker

Jonida did not receive any public funding for the project and wishes to thank the following private sponsors:

Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, Franco Ruta e Pierpaolo Ruta

Osteria Dei Sapori Perduti

Caffè Adamo

Alessandro Di Rosa

Girolamo Pavingross Srl Carpentieri

Paper Copy Design

Giovanni Modica Scala (fotografo)

Thank you, Jonida, for the information and photos.
All photos are the work of Giovanni Modica Scala.
Giovanni Modica Scala on flickr

SABATO MUSICALE

Here are two Italian Americans who make beautiful music together:

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - Anything Goes

A PIZZA FOR NELSON?

I'm not a very nutty person - well, not foodwise! - but I do like pistacchi, so when I saw that you could get a pizza containing them, I couldn't resist it. My local pizza takeaway calls this a "Bronte" pizza because, as every Sicilian knows, the best pistacchi come from that town.  Here's my "Bronte" pizza, which also contained mozzarella, tomatoes and mortadella:

Now, in 1799 Admiral Horatio Nelson was created Duke of Bronte. Click here to discover how this happened and to find out about the town of Bronte's possible connection with the British Brontë sisters.

Gateway to the Nelson Castle at Maniace

Pistacchi from Bronte

A SWEET COMPLIMENT

"These are sweet, like you", said the student who brought me these scrumptious cannoli today. One is filled with Modican chocolate and the other with ricotta:

What a sweet thought!

POLPETTE AL LIMONE

I'd studied several recipes for polpette al limone and was particularly inspired by one which suggested cooking the polpette on a bed of lemon leaves but we can't get lemons with the leaves on at this time of year. [They will come in the autumn.] I wondered for a few days what I could use instead and then it came to me - I would try with fresh bay leaves! In my version, I added pinenuts, for the very good reason that I like them in polpette and I used pane grattugiato [very fine dried breadcrumbs which we can buy in packets in Italy] instead of soaking bread in milk and then squeezing it.

OK, you need:

500 gr minced veal
2 large Sicilian or unwaxed lemons
1 clove garlic, crushed
c. 1 tablesp. chopped parsley
a few cut rosemary needles
about 8 leaves fresh sage, chopped
125 gr pane grattugiato
80 gr grated Ragusano or Parmesan cheese
olive oil
seasalt and black pepper
50 gr pinenuts
2 eggs, beaten
about 20 fresh bay leaves

In a bowl, mix the veal, grated zest of the lemons, garlic, herbs, cheese, pane grattugiato, pinenuts, seasoning and eggs with a fork. Roll the mixture into balls with your hands - it should make about 14.

Lightly oil a small roasting tin and place the bay leaves in the base. Put the polpette on top of the bay leaves, then cut the zested lemons into wedges and put these in the gaps.  Drizzle some olive oil over the polpette and scatter a few rosemary sprigs over the top.  Cook at 180 C for 25 minutes.

These are also pretty good cold, so would make interesting picnic food.

Serves 4 generously.

SABATO MUSICALE

Let's hear again from fabulous 60-year-old Fiorella Mannoia, who is currently touring Sicily and appears in Palermo tonight:

Fiorella Mannoia - Caffè nero bollente

HELP AT LAST?

On Tuesday I reported that Mare Nostrum operatives had rescued 73 people and recovered 18 bodies from a migrant boat which had got into trouble off Lampedusa on Saturday night. The poor souls who lost their lives were thought to have died from asphyxia but, even more horrifically, it now emerges that some of them had cranial and spinal fractures which would indicate that they had been hit with metal bars and survivors are saying that this happened as they were embarking in Libya. Investigations continue as I write.

There has, however, been one heartening story from Pozzallo where, among 439 migrants arriving on Wednesday, were a young girl and her beautiful, white cat. The two were separated upon landing despite the girl's protests, for the cat had to be taken to a veterinary centre to be medically checked and vaccinated and it has to be said that, following the ordeal of the journey, puss was not happy either. His owner is hoping to get to Germany where she has relatives and everyone is hoping that her feline friend will be able to accompany her. I somehow think that Italian officials will do their best to ensure that this happens.

A total of 800 migrants were brought to Sicilian ports during Wednesday and 546 more were saved by Mare Nostrum operatives in the Sicilian Channel during the night. Seven people traffickers were arrested and helpfully presented evidence against themselves in the form of selfies taken during the journey.  [This is not the first time this has happened.]  Sadly, the 24 bodies recovered from the wreck of a fishing boat south of Lampedusa on Tuesday were brought to the Port of Augusta.  

Wednesday was also the day when Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano met European Home Affairs Commisssioner Cecilia Malmström and it has been agreed that a new Frontex operation will, from November, complement what Italy is doing. Commissioner Malmström's  press release on the meeting can be read here.  As she says, the success of such a joint operation will depend upon the willingness of all member states to contribute and Italy, as the current holder of the EU presidency, is expected to be instrumental in finding funding solutions. Let us hope that this is the help that Italy has been requesting for so long.

SUMMER STYLE 2

Not quite as curly-wurly as last time - more wavy in navy!  What do you think?

WORDS AND DEEDS?

Once again it has taken a tragedy for the migrant situation with which Italy is dealing every day to make the international press: on Saturday night the Italian Navy saved 73 people and recovered 18 bodies from a boat which had partially sunk 120 miles south of Lampedusa. The 18 dead were found on the bottom of the boat and they are presumed to have died from dehydration or the inhalation of petrol fumes. Ten migrants who had either fallen or jumped into the sea were saved by inflatable life rafts thrown to them by the crew of the naval ship but it is thought that up to another ten migrants were lost at sea. On Sunday evening the survivors and the bodies were taken to Pozzallo where Mayor Luigi Ammatuna spoke of an unending tragedy, a genocide with consequences that Italy, and Pozzallo in particular, cannot shoulder alone. The bodies have now been transferred to the Protezione Civile morgue in Ragusa while Mayor Ammatuna makes arrangements for their burial in the cemeteries of neighbouring towns. The Mayor has asked both the Prefect of Ragusa and the Italian Interior Ministry for help.

Meanwhile another Italian naval ship has arrived in Reggio Calabria carrying 1,373 migrants who had been saved in recent days. Fifty people aboard had scabies and the ship was also tragically carrying the body of an Eritrean man who had, according to survivors, been hit with a metal bar by a people trafficker as the migrant boat left Libya. 

Yet another overcrowded migrant boat sank half a mile off Libya on Friday night and it is estimated that 250 passengers have died. Bodies were still being washed up onto Libyan beaches today [Tuesday].

Tuesday as a whole has brought no better news, with another fishing boat carrying migrants having capsized south of Lampedusa. The Italian Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 364 people and six bodies were initially recovered, a figure which has now risen to 24.

It is reported that a total of 4,000 migrants were rescued or recovered by Mare Nostrum operatives last weekend alone. Perhaps the Vatican City newpaper L'Osservatore Romano put it best, saying that a "silent war" is taking place in the Mediterranean.

Today representatives from the Italian Interior Ministry, Frontex [the European External Borders Agency] and the European Commission met to discuss the situation and an urgent meeting between Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano and European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has been scheduled for Wednesday. Cecilia Malmström has said that this is to define priorities and decide how Italy and other Mediterranean countries can be helped in this situation. Can we really hope that words will be accompanied by deeds this time?

SABATO MUSICALE

Orietta Berti has always been one of my favourite Italian singers and, as I'm feeling sentimental, here she is in 2013 performing  the song that she and Massimo Ranieri sang at Sanremo in 1969, when it was placed tenth.

Orietta Berti - Quando l'amore diventa poesia

LUNCH IN THE SHADE

A very pleasant lunch with friends at Basilico', in a shady corner of Modica Bassa today, consisted of:

beautifully presented antipasti,

a tagliata steak served with rucola [rocket] and Grana cheese for me,

spatola [scabbardfish] with vegetables for one friend

and linguine with tuna for the other:

There were small, warm bread rolls too, and plenty of them:

For dessert, this chocolate and orange mousse was definitely a winner!

There was service with a smile, shade and relaxing music too - well done, the Basilico'!

SUMMER TIDES - 8

As I've mentioned, it can seem, in Sicily, as if everything has stopped for the Ferragosto holiday and the days around it but there are two things which did not - the incidence of migrant boats foundering in the Mediterranean and the political debate arising from these sad events.

On 14th August 750 migrants who had been rescued in the Sicilian Channel arrived in Brindisi [Puglia] on an Italian naval ship. Among them were 140 children, many of whom were unaccompanied. On 15th August 1004 migrants, most of them from the Middle East and Nigeria, were taken to Naples, where taxi drivers given the job of driving them to hospital or reception centres turned up for work wearing masks. Scabies and illnesses such as gastroenteritis are feared although more serious diseases have been ruled out. A fine "welcome" but an understandable one, perhaps.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on August 15th [the day of the bank holiday] that Operazione Mare Nostrum, launched on 18th October last year, must be wound up by Italy before its second anniversary and that Frontex [the European External Borders Agency] and the EU must take over. He said that Italy had shown itself to be a world leader in migrant reception and that Italian police had arrested 539 people on suspicion of people trafficking between 1st August 2013 and 31st July this year. The European Commission accorded him a curt response on Tuesday, saying that Frontex does not have the resources to replace Mare Nostrum and that EU member states must each help more. This last is exactly what Italy has been asking for all along, a plea which has fallen largely on deaf ears so I would like to know what guarantee we have that it will happen now.

Bureaucrats may argue, but people will always try to escape from hell and the absence of hope.

ANOTHER MENTION

For those of you who read Italian, my post about tourist attractions in Modica being closed for Ferragosto has attracted the attention of the Corriere di Ragusa:

Thanks for the mention, guys!

A PATH FOR THE INTREPID

Last week, our street was closed for three days for lavori stradali [roadworks], much to the chagrin of my neighbours, who drive everywhere. [What anyone who was disabled was supposed to do during this period, I don't know - not go out, I suppose, it being assumed that they would have family to help them.]

The workmen helpfully cleared a pedestrian path around the hole

but the path came to an abrupt end here:

Several of my intrepid neighbours seemed to find clambering over the low wall quite normal

but take a closer look at the slope below it and you'll understand why I didn't take the risk!

However, I did make the acquaintance of several neighbours I hadn't spoken to before because they had never, to my knowledge, actually walked down the street and one day a kind workman carried my shopping right to the door.

Quannu a sorti ti voli aiutari, anfina a casa ti veni a truvari.

When Fate wants to give you a hand, it will come to your house to find you.

- Sicilian proverb