tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11559533862499026032024-03-26T02:26:47.582-07:00The Collected TravelerBarrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-35667263221630546542023-11-19T13:44:00.000-08:002023-11-19T13:44:46.133-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w6y-zadNzTk5WwXUaHYCTPYn8odOy5NU3DEUfuDZE07wO7KHy_lLN3Ps7R_Fx4QIYPYJs2d86tKc-4JBAOISDiU26pWHlASfdqwbyF_E2hoWuLSjBhq_3GSEzpfs_doMSZSyUUw82bkOwaBP965HbBAmZCCur8Ev1w05ydlZoryEQMH0oWFr8YUk1w8/s3264/canada.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w6y-zadNzTk5WwXUaHYCTPYn8odOy5NU3DEUfuDZE07wO7KHy_lLN3Ps7R_Fx4QIYPYJs2d86tKc-4JBAOISDiU26pWHlASfdqwbyF_E2hoWuLSjBhq_3GSEzpfs_doMSZSyUUw82bkOwaBP965HbBAmZCCur8Ev1w05ydlZoryEQMH0oWFr8YUk1w8/s320/canada.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Moraine</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Lake, Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park</span><br /><p>I'm just back from Portugal and the Extremadura region of Spain and will post about it soon, but in the meantime, a friend asked me recently for some advice about Banff and Jasper National Parks, in the Canadian Rockies, as she knew I'd been there some years ago. I didn't post about my trip at the time (not because it wasn't amazing - it was!) but I was swamped, and I saved all my notes intending to post about it later. Happily, there aren't a lot of changes to report on in this part of the world, which isn't surprising for an area that is mostly wilderness. Here are some brief notes: </p><p>First off, we flew into Calgary International Airport, which is quite a nice airport for its size, and the views for the entire ride to Lake Louise looked like they were created in Adobe Photoshop. The colors of the sky and the landscape were so intense they didn't look real, so the two-hour ride was really memorable. The Edmonton and Vancouver airports are other air options (Edmonton is closer), and the <a href="https://www.rockymountaineer.com/">Rocky Mountaineer</a> and <a href="https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/western-canada">VIA Rail train</a> are other (more scenic) considerations. </p><p>My husband, daughter, and I traveled with my brother-and-sister-in-law and our nieces, who are among my most favorite traveling companions. They stayed at the <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/">Fairmont Château Lake Louise</a> and we stayed at the nearby <a href="https://posthotel.com/">Post Hotel & Spa</a>, a Relais & Châteaux property. Both of these options are expensive, but I urge visitors to consider them because they're truly special, notably the Fairmont. What isn't immediately apparent from hotel photographs is that <i>there isn't anything else around the lake</i> - the hotel is it. If it was just another hotel on the edge of a beautiful lake it would not be distinctive enough; but the few trails that branch off from the lakeshore trail lead to the Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Glaciers tea houses, and when you get to them you can't believe they exist as they're really in the middle of nowhere. It's a unique setting and I cannot think of another place in the world that is quite like it. It's not at all similar to the northern Italian lakes, for example, or Lake Annecy in France or Lake Lucerne in Switzerland: once you leave the lakeshore you're in the wilderness. If <a href="https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff">Banff National Park</a> weren't so amazing it would <i>almost</i> be understandable to never venture very far beyond the hotel as there are numerous outdoor pursuits (such as canoeing, skiing, hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and sleigh rides) and indoor activities (such as wine tasting, yoga, in-room wellness, and a health club). At any given time, <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/offers/">Fairmont</a> offers special promotions to make a stay less expensive, and travelers may set up an Accor Live Limitless (ALL) account and save on reservations and earn points (AccorHotels Group acquired the Fairmont hotels group in 2022). <a href="https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/">Relais & Châteaux</a> also offers many promotional rates and has its own members program. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLpzGwfZrD_IUG2rtvNqATACuH06495rAl4E-wNj6fV1IBj6VUwM6eI67Q7TOLWW8KBhcuycyLxui1GCRiZJg4BcdEIE-5ICYm3-_Bp0M5VP9J82JoYKzj6AaKIsQNXHTZVq9Kf6ClXEWz1i1nTWO5jIM0jZ2exW30TCtHf3-XJKngqmVGgfKYBlhY58/s3264/IMG_0177.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLpzGwfZrD_IUG2rtvNqATACuH06495rAl4E-wNj6fV1IBj6VUwM6eI67Q7TOLWW8KBhcuycyLxui1GCRiZJg4BcdEIE-5ICYm3-_Bp0M5VP9J82JoYKzj6AaKIsQNXHTZVq9Kf6ClXEWz1i1nTWO5jIM0jZ2exW30TCtHf3-XJKngqmVGgfKYBlhY58/s320/IMG_0177.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>That's part of the Plain of Six Glaciers trail in the photo to the right (Lake Louise is at the back of the photo) and the trail is a bit unsettling as there is a steep drop-off on one side. The drop-off is more apparent in the photo below (that's my niece Caroline in the foreground). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaq9NVArn9A-5zH27Mu4AN4C4a8djd-J19C13D8jzYzLlJHkb_xgaQwj4v-57B9H-aP1zh2ntTGvO0eRzven_KDjE8eoOQjk4Oy2rJxutrzWlt2dpbh-uxNy4MGAz_sfeJmpJznwQV3a_tiOqe5yEyeuZWi6Bfwb7mxbB5DdYETf_mZF0xTg4EHSo9-nM/s3264/IMG_0178.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaq9NVArn9A-5zH27Mu4AN4C4a8djd-J19C13D8jzYzLlJHkb_xgaQwj4v-57B9H-aP1zh2ntTGvO0eRzven_KDjE8eoOQjk4Oy2rJxutrzWlt2dpbh-uxNy4MGAz_sfeJmpJznwQV3a_tiOqe5yEyeuZWi6Bfwb7mxbB5DdYETf_mZF0xTg4EHSo9-nM/s320/IMG_0178.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I didn't investigate any other accommodations in the Lake Louise area, but there is a handful of <a href="https://www.banfflakelouise.com/accommodation">other options</a> (though not as many as in other areas of the Canadian Rockies) including hotels, cabins, B&Bs, and campgrounds.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></b></p><p>Aboriginal peoples knew about the area that is now the <a href="https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/caveandbasin">Cave and Basin National Historic site </a>likely for millenia, gathering to trade or to dip into the sacred and curative waters found there. In 1883, two years before the completion of Canada's first transcontinental railroad, three railroad workers stumbled upon a series of hot springs on what is now called Sulphur Mountain (there are nine thermal springs on the mountain, and the Banff Snail - about the same size as an apple seed - lives here in the mineral springs and nowhere else in the world; it's an endangered species and is protected by Parks Canada). In 1885, after an ownership dispute, Prime Minister Sir John A Macdonald supported a landmark proposal to set aside the hot springs and the surrounding area and create a special reserve, and Banff became Canada's first national park. By now the Canadian Pacific Railway lines stretched across the country and the tourism potential of the Canadian Rockies was apparent. In 1888, the elegant, 250-room Banff Springs Hotel opened; other grand hotels opened along the line and Banff began to be advertised as an international tourism stop on what had become the fastest and most direct route from Europe to the Far East. Banff today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p><p>The view of Moraine Lake at the top of this post is stunning, so much so that it's featured on the back of Canadian twenty-dollar bills issued between 1969 and 1979. It's one of the most popular sites within the park, for good reason. Note that the road to the lake is only open to personal vehicles in June, July, August, September, and October (shuttles, public transit, and guided tours are also available). In the winter months, the road is reserved for cross-country skiing to the Ten Peaks viewpoint. </p><p>We stayed in nearby <a href="https://www.explorecanmore.ca/plan-your-trip/about-canmore/">Canmore</a>, which is a nice, laidback town that we really liked - it has a great vibe, and there are lots of independent shops and good places to eat and drink - while the other family members stayed at the <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/banff-springs/">Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel</a>. It is not quite as impressive as its Lake Louise sister but is still quite wonderful. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZO1xT5gzBv6YQh6wH7ott6vyy6g3YacVhYm3f6CanFQLgrq1pABmBnuaKrHfXgU1f7l4jVoWHRNAN7V9FB3DkKXjcSJ8rrYee9IUXTJR8ODaxXK2K8xttVYqanenv-MOM2JFrrxoHBKNtX_7Opilkpk0aeGuD-I13L6lCan4W7UDo-N6zeRV1KgOkfo/s3264/IMG_0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZO1xT5gzBv6YQh6wH7ott6vyy6g3YacVhYm3f6CanFQLgrq1pABmBnuaKrHfXgU1f7l4jVoWHRNAN7V9FB3DkKXjcSJ8rrYee9IUXTJR8ODaxXK2K8xttVYqanenv-MOM2JFrrxoHBKNtX_7Opilkpk0aeGuD-I13L6lCan4W7UDo-N6zeRV1KgOkfo/s320/IMG_0479.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Rainbow in Canmore<br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></b></p><p>If rafting is your thing, <a href="https://wildwater.com/">Wild Water Adventures</a> is the company we used for a trip on the Kicking Horse River, located in Golden, British Columbia, about an hour and a half from Banff. The Kicking Horse is a Canadian Heritage River for its historical, cultural, and recreational significance, one of only three in British Columbia. Rafting is most definitely not my thing. Before this trip, I had only been on one rafting adventure, on the American River in northern California. I was terrified for the entire journey, and I think the only reason I survived is because I molded my legs to the side of the raft and didn't move, even when our guide fell off (at that point, I was sure I was going to die). So when the family suggested this rafting trip, I was understandably lukewarm. While we were checking in and trying on life vests, etc., I overheard another, smaller family talking about how they had opted for the shorter version of the trip on the river, and I asked them if they would consider having me join on their raft. They said they would be happy for me to join, and I was buoyed by their welcoming attitude. When I told my own family, they were incredulous. "You're going to <i>what</i>? You're actually going to <i>abandon</i> us and go on a raft with <i>another family you don't even know</i>?" I was guilted into sticking with the original plan. Our guide was terrific and the river was beautiful and in some spots it was calm and quiet, but mostly, I was terrified yet again, especially when the guide announced that we were approaching a spot that was known as the meat grinder or something like that (I have successfully blocked out of my head what he actually called it). Obviously, I made it through, but I made it clear that I will never, ever be going on a rafting trip again. Everyone else <i>loved</i> it, and despite the fact that I couldn't relax for a half a second, I still recommend Wild Water for the friendliness of the staff and the overall professionalism of the operation. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">* </span></b> </p><p><a href="https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper">Jasper National Park</a> is equally as worthwhile as Banff. We loved Maligne Lake and we walked the 2.6 km Moose Lake Loop. Three other trails are longer - the Opal Hills Loop (8.2 km), Bald Hills one-way trail (5.2 km), and Mary Schaffer Loop (3.2 km) - and the Mona and Lorraine Lakes Skyline Trail is 2 km one-way. We drove along a portion of the <a href="https://icefieldsparkway.com/">Icefields Parkway</a>, named for the 100 glaciers that line the western side of Highway 93N. The route is 143 miles long and runs between Lake Louise and Jasper. The road traces the Continental Divide and is one of the world's most scenic drives - the Jasper tourist office refers to it as 'The Most Spectacular Highway in the World.' We did not visit the <a href="https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/columbia-icefield/experience/">Athabasca Glacier or the Columbia Icefield</a> but I think these would be really interesting - the "adventure of a lifetime" as they're referred to. These are a surviving remnant of the Ice Age, and there are few places in the world where you can step onto an active glacier. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqr4ldsjkNLvKtkQhLvdlZuM5daSKaA97WMzW8Ym-iExiTmAGZkBQC4INcNLVChNpWU11m-73MfQ3ezt35Q7_8woebKoyeeemqCc0DlxJBsENN4aGe_Q3WT4xkmKmdoAwDt1zkZ618A5Saw0_BVyfBLU2d3pRsXQPDgJ5JFNEWWFy14-RBswWSKr414Q/s3264/IMG_0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqr4ldsjkNLvKtkQhLvdlZuM5daSKaA97WMzW8Ym-iExiTmAGZkBQC4INcNLVChNpWU11m-73MfQ3ezt35Q7_8woebKoyeeemqCc0DlxJBsENN4aGe_Q3WT4xkmKmdoAwDt1zkZ618A5Saw0_BVyfBLU2d3pRsXQPDgJ5JFNEWWFy14-RBswWSKr414Q/s320/IMG_0304.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Wildlife really is everywhere...</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p>Note for all hikes anywhere: bring water (surface water may be contaminated with Giardia, an intestinal parasite) and wear layers of clothing or bring extra clothing in a daypack (the weather can change unexpectedly). Our trip was in the month of August, and while there was plenty of sun and mild temperatures throughout our stay, it's chilly at night (all the patios at restaurants in Canmore had outdoor heaters, and this was pre-Covid), and on one particular day there were snow flurries while we were hiking (bring gloves, hats, fleece jackets, etc.). Also, <i>stay on the trail</i>: this is wilderness and there are wild animals everywhere even if you can't see them. If you step off the trail you may startle an animal, and <i>any</i> animal (not just bears) can be aggressive if it feels threatened. </p><p>This was one of the very best family trips we've ever taken, and though this part of the Canadian Rockies is popular in the summer months, winter is considered high season due to the excellent <a href="https://www.banfflakelouise.com/ski-snowboard?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAgeeqBhBAEiwAoDDhnyiNzxrK9oZou7rAABLlhwFBD4m_vp9ronQRiVwfRwT-lWfHGZnC7RoCuPsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds">ski resorts</a> in the area (it will likely come as no surprise, if you've read this far, that downhill skiing is also not my thing; however, I very much excel at <i>après-ski</i>!). Besides downhill and cross-country skiing, other cold weather outdoor pursuits include dog sledding, snowshoeing, skating, and the game of Snow Battle. </p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; text-align: justify;"><i>"For better or worse, zoos are how most people come to know big or exotic animals. Few will ever see wild penguins sledding downhill to sea on their bellies, giant pandas holding bamboo lollipops in China, or tree porcupines in the Canadian Rockies, balled up like giant pine cones."</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; text-align: justify;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: times; text-align: justify;"> - </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: times; text-align: justify;">Author Diane Ackerman</em></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtiR7_QKjMzjbggQTaJ0MMRzkhXPB47MVn_4l1-SQZE9avdyEmaY22_zn5V1sMtWLW88X2L39QHcTNe3gQ6iztJuOdHGyMWSkYrEj67KsPyRgBI84hMZdqT2eV0eBO_aKVq8NOFJS96L9Z9sw6UOb4qifZgFCqP-vySkzNaKeQ2YLzf0M9Egr5TFbFsc/s3264/IMG_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtiR7_QKjMzjbggQTaJ0MMRzkhXPB47MVn_4l1-SQZE9avdyEmaY22_zn5V1sMtWLW88X2L39QHcTNe3gQ6iztJuOdHGyMWSkYrEj67KsPyRgBI84hMZdqT2eV0eBO_aKVq8NOFJS96L9Z9sw6UOb4qifZgFCqP-vySkzNaKeQ2YLzf0M9Egr5TFbFsc/s320/IMG_0473.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p> </p>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-53055402994464650542022-12-18T18:49:00.000-08:002022-12-18T18:49:10.844-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjEsSEUY5kQPjfpGMJ79mqJKZTo5Y4MjHbL83s287gOU3Kb1Z4ym1Hz7q6uTi9yeTi5KGKS8NpTw3qPaEbolxLmTJ0tqKk0w2NnREIYEmOOkaQh8fNjsS5vBChNSWBvmFUOpd8c8brQ28aPY_VgO-BeQaVErHThCWcn01frDaiSjM3o5gdkGndOyr/s640/IMG_1059.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjEsSEUY5kQPjfpGMJ79mqJKZTo5Y4MjHbL83s287gOU3Kb1Z4ym1Hz7q6uTi9yeTi5KGKS8NpTw3qPaEbolxLmTJ0tqKk0w2NnREIYEmOOkaQh8fNjsS5vBChNSWBvmFUOpd8c8brQ28aPY_VgO-BeQaVErHThCWcn01frDaiSjM3o5gdkGndOyr/s320/IMG_1059.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Postcard From New Orleans</b></p><p>I recently visited New Orleans and it was a great time to be there - <i>not</i> for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, <i>not</i> during summer, <i>not</i> for any holiday at all. Among my five other traveling companions (my husband, my brother-and-sister-in-law, and two friends) I was the only one who hadn't been to the city before, so it was a first for me. We checked the weather forecast a few days in advance, and then again early in the morning on the day of our departure, and there was no discrepancy that it was going to be a chilly, overcast day with some rain. We landed and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining bright, and it was in the mid-60s. Apparently, it had rained earlier in the morning, but we later learned that this is quite typical, and the locals all know that the forecast is changeable, even within the same day. </p><p>The locals also know that no one uses the standard directions of north, south, east, and west in New Orleans. Because the Mississippi River curves through the city, and doesn't flow in a straight north-south or east-west direction, people define direction by the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain. Therefore, instead of north, there is 'lakeside' (referring to Pontchartrain) and instead of south there is 'upriver' or 'uptown' (west) while 'downriver' is east. Plus it helps to know where the Gulf of Mexico is. It's confusing at first, but eventually you get it. </p><p>We stayed at the terrific <a href="https://www.henryhowardhotel.com/">Henry Howard Hotel </a>in the Lower Garden District. Henry Howard was a prolific 19th century architect and his work may be seen throughout the Garden District and much of Uptown as well as a few places downtown. Howard was a fan of Greek and Roman architectural elements but he designed shotgun houses, grand mansions, commercial buildings, and houses of worship (a good book for delving into his work is <u>Henry Howard: Louisiana's Architect</u> by Robert Brantley, co-published by the Princeton Architectural Press and The Historic New Orleans Collection in 2015). The Hotel was not designed by Howard but is a very attractive building that also dates from the 1800s and is in a quiet location on Prytania Street, one block from the St. Charles streetcar. The main first floor room, with a bar, has lots of comfy chairs and is a lovely place to sit - it's also where coffee and tea are served every morning. Guestrooms are large, nicely appointed, and feel of the place, and the staff is welcoming, helpful, and eager to make sure guests have a nice stay. The #wheretogeaux - a local guide featured on the hotel's website - is excellent, with dozens and dozens of worthwhile recommendations. Additionally, there is a 'Walk the Garden District' self-guided walking tour available on the site for $18. </p><p>On our first afternoon we went on a great tour of the city with <a href="https://celebrationtoursllc.com/">Celebration Tours</a>. Our guide was an amateur historian and very knowledgeable, and the tour was very thorough, taking in Basin Street Station (the tour begins here), the French Quarter, Treme, Armstrong Park (formerly Congo Square), Lake Pontchartrain, the central business district, the Garden District, City Park (with a stop for beignets and coffee at an outpost of Cafe du Monde), and Metairie cemetery. The tour is especially good for learning the geography of the city.</p><p>We enjoyed meals at <a href="https://www.paladar511.com/">Paladar 511</a>, <a href="https://www.bayona.com/">Bayona</a>, <a href="https://www.casamentosrestaurant.com/">Casamento's</a>, <a href="https://mollysriseandshine.com/">Molly's Rise and Shine</a>, <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><u>A</u></span><a href="https://acmeoyster.com/french-quarter/">cme Oyster House</a>, and <a href="https://www.galatoires.com/">Galatoire's</a> - Friday lunch is <i>the</i> time to come to Galatoire's (after a Ramoz gin fizz at the bar at the Roosevelt Hotel) but we had to make do with lunch on Saturday, which was big fun. There are three floors at Galatoire's but the first floor is where you really want to be, at least if it's your first time. The day we went it was super loud - nearly every table was taken by a bevy of young women who were all dressed up and wearing holiday tiaras and hats - but it was also super entertaining. The menu has all the New Orleans classics you might expect, but don't miss the <i>café brulot</i> at the end of your meal! </p><p>We also enjoyed rounds of absinthe at the <a href="https://www.ruebourbon.com/old-absinthe-house">Old Absinthe House</a> in the French Quarter, sazerac at <a href="https://patobriens.com/new-orleans/">Pat O'Brien's</a>, Negronis at the <a href="https://hottinbar.com/">Hot Tin bar </a>on the roof at the Pontchartrain Hotel (a block from the Henry Howard Hotel), and Pimm's Cup at <a href="https://www.napoleonhouse.com/">Napoleon House</a>. <a href="https://www.caneandtablenola.com/menu">Cane & Table</a> is also an excellent bar (and restaurant) near Jackson Square. There are so many specialty drinks in the city that you really have to plan out your evenings or you can end up drinking the equivalent of a Long Island Iced Tea and be quite unwell the next morning. I regret we didn't make it to <a href="http://www.bacchanalwine.com/">Bacchanal</a> in Bywater, which had been highly recommended by a friend who is from the New Orleans area. So many bars, so little time. </p><p>Bourbon Street is fine to walk along exactly once, though it's hard to escape entirely as you often have to cross it to reach somewhere else you want to go. Frenchmen Street is far preferable, especially for <a href="https://www.spottedcatmusicclub.com/">The Spotted Cat</a> club. The highlight of the visit for me was a performance of the <a href="https://www.preservationhalljazzband.com/">Preservation Hall Jazz Band</a>, which was awesome.</p><p>Without doubt, the very best preparation for a trip to New Orleans is the outstandingly wonderful book <u>Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas</u> by Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker (University of California Press, 2103). This edition is one in a small series (other editions feature San Francisco and New York) that I wish would grow into a very large series. Solnit and Snedeker are joined by 40 other contributors to create a thought-provoking compendium that is an all-encompassing picture of New Orleans. Each themed chapter is introduced with a map that illustrates that particular theme and how it's relevant to the history of the city. Readers discover so much here, some really good and some really awful, shameful things; but as the two Rebeccas explain in the Introduction, "fathom" is an Old English word that originally meant outstretched arms and an embrace by those arms, and it came to mean a measurement of about 6 feet, the width a man's arms could reach, as well as the embrace of an idea. "To fathom is to understand...New Orleans is all kinds of unfathomable, a city of amorphous boundaries, where land is forever turning into water, water devours land, and a thousand degrees of marshy, muddy, oozing in-between exist; where whatever you say requires more elaboration; where most rules are full of exceptions the way most land here is full of water...No matter how deeply you come to know a place, you can keep coming to know it more." </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OGkwZcbMzY0s0zlfELc37pMfMM6Atyy2xAxfz4bcJ8Mu4VncQQEz2cFy1K1unwEP6KmglcPF_n-fbHYLCrD8ftj_BANpSVBCMxTyw1GtMR4lEZTnb-Hn_zjsqqhUGdZma5Lx8w3WcOVHeD0skqlp2v9EJEe4BmUTmxQyO-UIUJOMlrtaOUZGudS4/s640/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OGkwZcbMzY0s0zlfELc37pMfMM6Atyy2xAxfz4bcJ8Mu4VncQQEz2cFy1K1unwEP6KmglcPF_n-fbHYLCrD8ftj_BANpSVBCMxTyw1GtMR4lEZTnb-Hn_zjsqqhUGdZma5Lx8w3WcOVHeD0skqlp2v9EJEe4BmUTmxQyO-UIUJOMlrtaOUZGudS4/s320/IMG_1066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Decorations on Saint Charles.<p></p><p><br /></p>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-13796376807297452472022-11-05T18:20:00.006-07:002022-11-05T18:20:56.791-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSD-bFAmc_5dpBOMd3tV719Jpsv-5yaUyU_e3T6RQc6LYyqfS4JFjBeafdDbShh7EvhrU5UJQ1oK2xZjDOVc68Bqk3d4NQYHSsn0VASGA22nAkiOf00pehFs6NycY2uy7gWQvl5gqm5ZoGRnYhPo8eMrE-DsdpWVD0Bbotz8k6KwUR7KRV0XPXK1Y/s640/IMG_0986.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSD-bFAmc_5dpBOMd3tV719Jpsv-5yaUyU_e3T6RQc6LYyqfS4JFjBeafdDbShh7EvhrU5UJQ1oK2xZjDOVc68Bqk3d4NQYHSsn0VASGA22nAkiOf00pehFs6NycY2uy7gWQvl5gqm5ZoGRnYhPo8eMrE-DsdpWVD0Bbotz8k6KwUR7KRV0XPXK1Y/s320/IMG_0986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeMpI-WMTS6EgNnha5qnTl5M_UsnUa9EvJT7HTfrs-ZEEyP7AnzMRYs28jWnvqrRVKwAFdbKRlX5dwYeqh-Dys8eNghurAhwevk6ZaZ0JnlSrjTqZLKQe1yH1YjEMuAheyloSMXAO7PM25ZyRC20-OZJoY72HvbU2s5Ij5vM9h1cVahqyTvl7BmYZ/s640/IMG_0991.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeMpI-WMTS6EgNnha5qnTl5M_UsnUa9EvJT7HTfrs-ZEEyP7AnzMRYs28jWnvqrRVKwAFdbKRlX5dwYeqh-Dys8eNghurAhwevk6ZaZ0JnlSrjTqZLKQe1yH1YjEMuAheyloSMXAO7PM25ZyRC20-OZJoY72HvbU2s5Ij5vM9h1cVahqyTvl7BmYZ/s320/IMG_0991.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>For my birthday, in September, I spent a night at the <a href="https://www.twahotel.com/">TWA Hotel</a> at JFK Airport. That might sound a little crazy - I mean, I live about 39 miles from the airport and I wasn't flying anywhere - but trust me, the hotel is incredible! The entire experience is meant to evoke 1962, the year the TWA Flight Center, designed by Eero Saarinen, opened. The website is very thorough (and is really hard to leave) so I won't fill this post with many of the same details. Before you even enter the hotel, you have an inkling of what's in store: outdoor speakers are playing '60s tunes and a vintage turquoise camper van is permanently parked on the sidewalk. Parking attendants are nearby so if you arrive by car (like my husband and I did), you will need to pay $60 for the night, which is a little less than the regular airport parking. Once you enter the hotel, the check-in area is to the left and the Food Hall is to the right. The '60s soundtrack is on continuous loop and is great (though I suspect the hotel staff must tire of it). The Sunken Lounge is directly ahead up a flight of stairs and there is a fake flight board displaying arrivals and departures - not digitally (how dull) but with flaps that make a clickety-clack sound when they adjust, the way airports and train stations once displayed this information. Also on the Sunken Lounge level is the TWA Shop (don't miss it), the Photo Booth (also don't miss), TWA Fitness, the wall of pay phones (remember them?), and the <i>Twister Room</i>. Yes, a giant Twister Room! This is also the level where you access the hotel rooms (Saarinen Wing on one side, Howard Hughes Wing on the other). If you haven't figured out by now, you have to make a plan in order to see everything... </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUUR8iZU7Rqc93tkhWnIOtj8CO0UjKWDTUEnIOU_Nf_dCY1tW3oZQsbQa_sqT6y5ACfVot3saQozzZoBm4VAOU_yp-Zw2La6jcbfnmUcQER42PgdefqAdVdFaoOsTay1joTMxOUs2QYqFxKeygQDmTZxgcxPfPJvSQr2kxRGLDr2vY1_85VsSFCcT/s640/IMG_0974.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUUR8iZU7Rqc93tkhWnIOtj8CO0UjKWDTUEnIOU_Nf_dCY1tW3oZQsbQa_sqT6y5ACfVot3saQozzZoBm4VAOU_yp-Zw2La6jcbfnmUcQER42PgdefqAdVdFaoOsTay1joTMxOUs2QYqFxKeygQDmTZxgcxPfPJvSQr2kxRGLDr2vY1_85VsSFCcT/s320/IMG_0974.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRnjdWtF2IGfmUNrw5IAaL2lP9y2heysEntvawiyK9dC5_p1kUZad8RScsQ1DvZC8r54EV4nuzeFu8b2oqDbeeFjMTMe-u64CCBK6WBLwaTfnHsIu9Mb1pH0ZpghtyJs01kDvEPoB2J5ARm3dxMaAesIds1oLHLFOQk5hYW2yEUUfbsGk2Q23OTMW/s640/IMG_0965.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRnjdWtF2IGfmUNrw5IAaL2lP9y2heysEntvawiyK9dC5_p1kUZad8RScsQ1DvZC8r54EV4nuzeFu8b2oqDbeeFjMTMe-u64CCBK6WBLwaTfnHsIu9Mb1pH0ZpghtyJs01kDvEPoB2J5ARm3dxMaAesIds1oLHLFOQk5hYW2yEUUfbsGk2Q23OTMW/s320/IMG_0965.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>...because there's a lot: Connie Cocktail Lounge (in an actual plane), Camp TWA (with giant Jenga, corn hole, bumper cars, and a runway rink), the rooftop pool (open year round), the Ambassadors Club (with a number of secret alcoves!), and the exhibits (Historic TWA Ground Crew Uniforms, The World in 1962, Howard Hughes's Office, 1962 Living Room, Eero Saarinen's Drafting Table and Office) which are all terrific and were curated in conjunction with the New York Historical Society. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMjI-w175i1Cv6djrbLDUkjTmisLYVmRa_IFYpFsK_tfJ1fkf-dmTNjkX86w1d1CmKBp7gPmFJpoIvMQVBz6my1rqjS-JYyI6BuXBrHH1oRpn9rr9vtHmNacTpnSnc_taY2Qo88UDin8QNukOnv15WP2Qzn88Q5ESEKqTDTN785Cj42SdqHw0MDxZ/s640/IMG_0978.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMjI-w175i1Cv6djrbLDUkjTmisLYVmRa_IFYpFsK_tfJ1fkf-dmTNjkX86w1d1CmKBp7gPmFJpoIvMQVBz6my1rqjS-JYyI6BuXBrHH1oRpn9rr9vtHmNacTpnSnc_taY2Qo88UDin8QNukOnv15WP2Qzn88Q5ESEKqTDTN785Cj42SdqHw0MDxZ/s320/IMG_0978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>1962 Living Room</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspE52H-qsfNaE8ZDlFOEIlfIGzIdlC_WA6AF90jHyNSJO1Bm9f90Kr5SzCc2ffmEqGn4eBI2E0PiKBNUNA7nJicckdmXxS_QDw7lyhf0MDtkGZaY1LJE7OyrmD8WSXf231cK36wr9eDQaEcLzwq1dO5uGNojWgzIHM4E_VnmXgodRzrp3JXYDZ4uv/s640/IMG_0981.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspE52H-qsfNaE8ZDlFOEIlfIGzIdlC_WA6AF90jHyNSJO1Bm9f90Kr5SzCc2ffmEqGn4eBI2E0PiKBNUNA7nJicckdmXxS_QDw7lyhf0MDtkGZaY1LJE7OyrmD8WSXf231cK36wr9eDQaEcLzwq1dO5uGNojWgzIHM4E_VnmXgodRzrp3JXYDZ4uv/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" width="240" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbv4-zwzl0HLh61YYNtg1CIccDLZPSNJM3iJa-LiiNiBAoDdruqmWbc5I5zD6-WVNaY2h02e2MuQrNG2QFqvH52EovH7l11dTrXXzTOI3GyTveiatvjfQU3eHo2CrI9zP11Ht82nXdX5Wenb_JnFumUUCfJaQUtAWLIFzoOJfp0JURGZsx2-HQZGS/s640/IMG_0983.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbv4-zwzl0HLh61YYNtg1CIccDLZPSNJM3iJa-LiiNiBAoDdruqmWbc5I5zD6-WVNaY2h02e2MuQrNG2QFqvH52EovH7l11dTrXXzTOI3GyTveiatvjfQU3eHo2CrI9zP11Ht82nXdX5Wenb_JnFumUUCfJaQUtAWLIFzoOJfp0JURGZsx2-HQZGS/s320/IMG_0983.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbzvIdN04s3F1bNSUztazG-vlD0_THd4AItBjGzBxdhBvh0EZIhbuMLkTRpCBAHwNO9JQGndiHcJ1VG7_msoyPP2RsXALEnRGWYpL8xquKNMExIK1y1SmQoJDSAT1wzxbXPBlST8P-g6wsCuFTtJ3LkXbTF8I4RzsLSp037dR7D8x4QI9PLQR6eKn/s640/IMG_0984.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbzvIdN04s3F1bNSUztazG-vlD0_THd4AItBjGzBxdhBvh0EZIhbuMLkTRpCBAHwNO9JQGndiHcJ1VG7_msoyPP2RsXALEnRGWYpL8xquKNMExIK1y1SmQoJDSAT1wzxbXPBlST8P-g6wsCuFTtJ3LkXbTF8I4RzsLSp037dR7D8x4QI9PLQR6eKn/s320/IMG_0984.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As the hotel connects with the Jet Blue Terminal 5 and the Airtrain, people are coming and going all the time; some have layovers (like a former TWA flight attendant we met), some are just walking around, and some are there to attend a wedding (like the one we saw in the Sunken Lounge). As a result, many people also have luggage, and our friends Pat and Linda, who had stayed at the hotel previously before an early morning flight to Jamaica (and who are the inspiration for my visit), had the brilliant idea of bringing a small bag on wheels and filling it with ice cubes, gin, wine, tonic, slices of lime, and snacks. We made no secret of making our own drinks out in the open and no one seemed to care. It's especially fun to hang out in one of the secret alcoves with a portable bar! Without one, there are food and drink options aplenty, including at the Paris Café by Jean-Georges and the Lisbon Lounge.</p><p>The wedding party left the Sunken Lounge for the Constellation Ballroom, an entire wing of the hotel that I didn't see due to this party. Apparently there is a section called the Fab Four because of course The Beatles flew on TWA when they came to New York in 1965. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcY6f7bBK8devOZB1EvOebH1gV6154XhIRj1rZuoXRoT5xyVVHSMRwffa_wDWPmzcTFya5ftFL7Cky67KYtyEuX9PzIaTOcUJRg-0_coIgVq-gf_9YfRsFARdwnt8eRa4144PZO2y_vtnABxCQ12KyzO45x4CxA_htqJq-UkauVGTK4RMmWf2weMGG/s640/IMG_0968.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcY6f7bBK8devOZB1EvOebH1gV6154XhIRj1rZuoXRoT5xyVVHSMRwffa_wDWPmzcTFya5ftFL7Cky67KYtyEuX9PzIaTOcUJRg-0_coIgVq-gf_9YfRsFARdwnt8eRa4144PZO2y_vtnABxCQ12KyzO45x4CxA_htqJq-UkauVGTK4RMmWf2weMGG/s320/IMG_0968.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>For anyone who lives in the New York metropolitan area, going to the TWA Hotel is a great day out (you don't really need to spend the night, but the guestrooms are worth mentioning because while basic, the beds are comfy; the bathrooms have great showers; and the bar has real glasses and glass ice buckets). There is no fee to walk around the whole hotel, including the exhibits, but there is a fee for the rooftop pool (worth it). And if you have friends or family who are flying into New York via Jet Blue, meeting them at the hotel will be a long lasting memory. [Note that there is one more night of Pickleball for the season, on the tarmac near Connie, this Friday the 11th.] It's all a reminder that airplane travel used to be an event itself - passengers used to dress up for a flight, and getting to a destination was part of the excitement of a trip. Flying may no longer be as novel and thrilling as it once was, but spending time at the TWA Hotel reminds us that decades ago, it truly was remarkable. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqneAbYrJkdq0inEKUJed4x79e3_7Z4lKnKkDNsHWmNO27WKxmVNLfN8mzQdgPv1SM9LYwRhtQpxWuV0-yCafOMRQmXyrLW6i7S5MDq_d1OGV-FGiJJRmgSf4Uu5edMFwMGWzU2_T9VSVyeJwJY2b0TLZu0JL0aU7cNipiiSsXYHAocy6Cg9wPHe_0/s640/IMG_0989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqneAbYrJkdq0inEKUJed4x79e3_7Z4lKnKkDNsHWmNO27WKxmVNLfN8mzQdgPv1SM9LYwRhtQpxWuV0-yCafOMRQmXyrLW6i7S5MDq_d1OGV-FGiJJRmgSf4Uu5edMFwMGWzU2_T9VSVyeJwJY2b0TLZu0JL0aU7cNipiiSsXYHAocy6Cg9wPHe_0/s320/IMG_0989.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> at t</p>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-25718407888052710712022-10-07T17:34:00.000-07:002022-10-07T17:34:18.565-07:00<p>Back in July, good friends Lisa and Peter renewed their wedding vows (36 years!) on Grand Isle (an island in Lake Champlain) in Vermont at the <a href="https://www.northherohouse.com/">North Hero House Inn and Restaurant</a>. The weekend was special, fun, and memorable for so many reasons - my husband and I saw friends we hadn't seen in a few years and we met some wonderful people who are now new friends - and apart from our time spent at North Hero House we enjoyed good meals at <a href="https://bluepaddlebistro.com/">Blue Paddle Bistro</a>, the <a href="https://alburggolflinks.com/alburg-restaurant/">Kraemer & Kin</a> outpost at the Alburg Golf Club, and the <a href="https://www.farmhousetg.com/">Farmhouse Tap & Grill </a>in Burlington. And we had to make a stop at <a href="https://www.vivamarketplacevt.com/">Seb's</a> in South Hero for a unique selection of postcards, greeting cards, culinary specialties, T-shirts, and gifts of all kinds (it's easy to spend <i>a lot</i> of time at Seb's). </p><p>The celebratory weekend was also an excuse to visit <a href="https://visit1000islands.com/">Thousand Islands,</a> where we've talked about going for years. Thousand Islands is so named because there really are a thousand (actually even more than 1,000) islands in the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes region of the U.S. as far inland as Duluth, Minnesota. Some of the islands are tiny, just big enough to hold a small house and nothing else, except a boat. We learned that most of these small islands are vacated during the winter months but there are definitely some people who live there year round. The border between the U.S. (New York) and Canada is in the middle of the waterway, so people who live on the New York side can't simply get in their boat and go visit their friends on the Canadian side, and vice versa. They can all get in their boats and <i>stay in</i> their boats, but they can't disembark, so crossing a bridge is how one gets to the other side (in this part of the Seaway the bridge to cross is the International Bridge at Ogdensburg-Prescott). People we met on both sides take this quite seriously. We stayed in Rockport on the Canadian side, and we took a scenic and informative boat ride with <a href="https://rockportcruises.com/">Rockport Cruises</a>; but we concluded that the best way to visit Thousand Islands is to stay in a house on the water and have access to a boat (not that my husband or I have any experience with a boat, so we would need an invitation to stay with people who have one). However, the <i>next</i> best way to visit Thousand Islands is to stay somewhere with easy access to <a href="https://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/visitor-information">Boldt Castle</a>, in <a href="https://visit1000islands.com/communities/alexandria-bay-ny/">Alexandria Bay</a>, positively the must-see attraction in the entire Thousand Islands area (Boldt Castle was commissioned by George Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York and the Bellevue-Stratford hotel in Philadelphia). Had we known about <a href="https://www.1000islandharthouse.com/">Hart House</a>, on Wellesley Island on the New York side, beforehand, we would have stayed there (full disclosure: among the 'wonderful people' we met in Vermont was Marianne, who owns Hart House with her husband, Jamie). We were given a complete tour of Hart House, within walking distance of the <a href="https://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/yacht-house">Boldt Yacht House</a>, which is quite worthwhile apart from the castle and is where visitors take the (very) short (and complimentary) ferry ride to the Castle. Marianne also showed us around the <a href="https://www.tiparkcorp.com/">historic section of Wellesley Island</a> and we had a great evening at <a href="https://www.diprinzioskitchen.com/">Di Prinzio's Kitchen</a>, which has dockside outdoor seating on the St. Lawrence. </p><p>The Thousand Islands National Park consists of several mainland properties and more than 20 islands between Kingston and Brockville. It's also the territory of two distinct Indigenous cultures, the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations-Iroquois Confederacy) and the Misi-zaagiing (Mississauga Anishinaabe). Within the National Park we enjoyed hiking several trails in the Landon Bay property, which is situated within the <a href="https://www.frontenacarchbiosphere.ca/">Frontenac Arch Biosphere Foundation</a>. There are 7 trails in Landon Bay and the Lookout Trail affords a great panoramic view over this section of Thousand Islands. </p><p>Rockport was a bit of a food desert, but nearby Gananaque and Kingston are much bigger towns, and in Gananaque we had drinks on the outdoor patio at <a href="https://www.gananoqueinn.com/">The Gananaque Inn</a> and dinner at the <a href="https://www.stonewaterpub.com/">Stonewater Pub</a> and in Kingston we had a great dinner at <a href="http://www.tangonuevo.ca/">Tango Nuevo</a>. Kingston, established in 1673, is worth exploring for Fort Henry (a national historic site built to protect the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard during the War of 1812), Princess Street, and walking around the area close to the water. </p><p>I haven't met many people who've been to Thousand Islands, which is somewhat understandable as there are many competing places to go in the summer that are closer (Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, Maine, etc.); but I think Thousand Islands is a worthy alternative, and I think it's gorgeous in the fall. </p><p>Our friends' niece, who lives near Gananaque, told us we "must" go to Ottawa, so <i>en route</i> there we stopped in Kemptville (one of the hamlets of <a href="https://www.explorenorthgrenville.ca/">North Grenville</a>) and had a great breakfast at <a href="http://www.bubbaandbugscoffe.com">Bubba & Bugs Coffee Bar</a>. The coffee here was quite good, menu items were made-to-order and all the baked goods appeared to be <i>à la maison</i>, and the staff were particularly friendly, taking time to talk to us enthusiastically about Canada Day in Ottawa. Kemptville is on the route of the North Grenville Giant Chair tour: a giant Adirondack chair in each place along the route was uniquely painted by local artists to reflect its character (a cool idea). The Kemptville chair is just below. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNyS-QzJXMpPXYteLDyE6MJ9Dvy2SVoCyYwwYRLNhVVCzEMuZ_1AIbGvQ1J2uA1r7zSBxEy2SNt9nRCv3_p7MhHbJi2Av6gnV7fhuxIglL6JKf1TnrEhzK4zF1dCP0xQ6ADfEsss7TuHejIPjM3Wj2v76JnekYYozW8YCzy1Bg9dYAIgIZuGdsP3X/s640/IMG_0929.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNyS-QzJXMpPXYteLDyE6MJ9Dvy2SVoCyYwwYRLNhVVCzEMuZ_1AIbGvQ1J2uA1r7zSBxEy2SNt9nRCv3_p7MhHbJi2Av6gnV7fhuxIglL6JKf1TnrEhzK4zF1dCP0xQ6ADfEsss7TuHejIPjM3Wj2v76JnekYYozW8YCzy1Bg9dYAIgIZuGdsP3X/s320/IMG_0929.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Ottawa is a very pleasant city, and is a nice, two or three days add-on to a Thousand Islands trip. Similar to being on the Saint Lawrence, the dividing line between Ontario and Quebec is in the middle of the Ottawa River. We stayed on the Ontario side within (a rather long) walking distance from the <a href="https://www.byward-market.com/">Byward Market</a>. We had a fantastic lunch at <a href="https://www.fairouz.ca/">Fairouz Cafe</a> and a very good dinner on the Quebec side at <a href="http://www.chezfatima.ca/">Chez Fatima</a>. The <a href="https://www.gallery.ca/">National Gallery of Canada / Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada</a> is an outstanding museum - works by the artist trio General Idea (AA Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal) grace the main lobby, pictured below. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPUq_smZycYQD-O3xkHhngqR67AnMTAzWAIX6zoRnjb900p563yJ4wnMinbCAzTC0AMZWwkJuG8CkLaGq4usonEIBdg4QDNxYJHZig560g9ChIvrh_zdrgpG2Lw0a5lF-OWKvTDUQ-t4gv99PyTgwvhE2wonSG_STVTfo528mstgcTD0Eip-YTgxS/s640/IMG_0933.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPUq_smZycYQD-O3xkHhngqR67AnMTAzWAIX6zoRnjb900p563yJ4wnMinbCAzTC0AMZWwkJuG8CkLaGq4usonEIBdg4QDNxYJHZig560g9ChIvrh_zdrgpG2Lw0a5lF-OWKvTDUQ-t4gv99PyTgwvhE2wonSG_STVTfo528mstgcTD0Eip-YTgxS/s320/IMG_0933.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The museum's collections are in Indigenous Art; Canadian Art; European, American, and Asian; Contemporary Art; Photography; and Prints and Drawings. We saw a terrific exhibit, 'Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons' on one of its final days in the Canadian Art wing. Artist after artist that you've never heard of: Helen McNicoll, James Wilson Morrice, Henri Beau, Franklin Brownell, and A. Y. Jackson among them. If the works weren't <i>entirely </i>as polished as those by the French Impressionists, there were definitely a few gems. At the time these Canadians were painting, their work wasn't always appreciated. A. Y. Jackson, for one, noted that "few people liked the work I brought home from Europe. The French Impressionist influence...was regarded as extreme modernism." The Indigenous Art section is outstanding. It's very thorough, beautiful, and thoughtful. A few of the great quotations on the walls throughout the collection are "Beauty is indispensable to all human life. That's why we must sow it all along our path" (Alfred Laliberté), "We have to grasp the wisdom of the old and introduce it into our present way of seeing" (Piqtou Kun), and "My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back" (attributed to Louis Riel, 1885). </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/rideau">The Rideau Canal</a> is the major highlight of Ottawa and it's truly fascinating. The canal is 125 miles of scenic waterway that winds from Kingston to Ottawa, and it's the oldest continuously operated canal in North America. <i>And</i> it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a National Historic Site of Canada <i>and</i> a Canadian Heritage River. The locks are operated nearly the same way as they were when they opened in 1832. We spent a fair amount of time watching the lock masters in the section next to the <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/laurier-ottawa/">Château Laurier Fairmont Hotel</a>, which is in a splendid location near the impressive Parliament Hill, before taking a boat cruise on the Ottawa River with <a href="https://www.ottawaboatcruise.com/tour/pauls-boat-line">Paul's Boat Line</a>.</p><p>My take-away phrase from this trip is the motto of the National Gallery, 'Ankosé - Everything is Connected - Tout est Relié. (<i>Ankosé</i> is a word that emerged in conversation with Algonquin Elders and Knowledge Keepers in 2021, and it's a powerful Anishnaabemowin word.) </p><p><br /></p>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-70048090443215100462022-02-06T14:54:00.000-08:002022-02-06T14:54:02.406-08:00<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><i>Happy
wishes to all in this new calendar year! </i></b></span>
I didn’t intend for so much time to pass before posting again, but it
has, and I have news, which is that I’ve switched to a new service, <a href="http://www.follow.it/"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">www.follow.it</span></a>, to support my blog. There are all sorts of additional features
for followers (that weren’t available on the former Feedburner service), and
you may now define filters and select delivery channels – please click to learn more and sign up: <a href="https://follow.it/thecollectedtraveler?action=followPub&filter"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">https://follow.it/thecollectedtraveler?action=followPub&filter</span></a>. Sincere thanks for continuing to ‘follow’ me,
and I’m grateful for your help in sharing <i>The</i> <i>Collected</i> <i>Traveler</i> with
others. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh8lFYhJfpP4LO2zgQgkmB4z0YhDsCEmbRbQ3VI_pj9vTLfXkVuoaMzWjT3UMUa-oz6gqtlscolqYABNZQgeCnh46E6cawhwwdHCXXR3WlQI5Y1Gp_nG8V7hBPL0qjETuCyxpeDkfScxy85UPmHde1-kVZTw4lvUj2v6zE7Yq5hrqtWyhDrV3oTieY=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh8lFYhJfpP4LO2zgQgkmB4z0YhDsCEmbRbQ3VI_pj9vTLfXkVuoaMzWjT3UMUa-oz6gqtlscolqYABNZQgeCnh46E6cawhwwdHCXXR3WlQI5Y1Gp_nG8V7hBPL0qjETuCyxpeDkfScxy85UPmHde1-kVZTw4lvUj2v6zE7Yq5hrqtWyhDrV3oTieY=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Photo of the lunch menu on 20 September, 2019: panelle, casarecce pasta with zucchine and pine nuts, Mediterranean style swordfish steaks, roast potatoes with fresh garden herbs, </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">almond milk biancomangiare, Regaleali Bianco 2018, Regaleali Nero d'Avola 2017, </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Vecchio Florio Marsala Secco Superiore 2013 </span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The passage of time really doesn't affect this post, my final one on Sicily: the specific topic -- the </span><a href="https://www.butera28.it/palermo-cooking-classes-sicily/" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">cooking class in Palermo with Nicoletta
Polo</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, the wife of Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, who is the adopted
son of Giuseppe di Lampedusa, author of </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">The Leopard</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Il
Gattopardo</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">) the singular book about Sicily – hasn’t changed, though the
pandemic certainly curtailed in-person classes for many months. As I mentioned in my initial post on Sicily,
the cooking class is the main reason I planned the trip in the first
place. The entire experience -- staying in one of the apartments in the
Palazzo Lanza Tomasi, taking the class, and seeing the private rooms of the
apartment </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">and the original manuscript of <u>The Leopard</u></i><u style="font-family: georgia;"> </u><span style="font-family: georgia;">--
is on my short list of the most memorable of my life. While there are some
cookbook authors who offer classes in their homes (Diana Kennedy, Giuliano
Hazan, and Patricia Wells are a few), I'm not aware of any other cooking
classes that are held in the homes of literary figures. It is
positively a completely immersive experience like no other. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some
background about the Tomasi, Lampedusa, and Lanza family names may be helpful
here as they are all interconnected: the Tomasi name dates back as far as the
late 1500s, to a Mario Tomasi, descendant of one branch of the Tomasi family
that moved from central Italy to the Kingdom of Naples. Mario was a
powerful lord who had armed two galleys for the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, but
he was also arrested for embezzlement and imprisoned. After his release,
he married Francesca Caro, heiress to the Barons of Montechiaro (Montechiaro
refers to the town of Palma de Montechiaro, in southern Sicily in the province
of Agrigento) and the Lords of Lampedusa, a family of sea captains who came to
Sicily from Spain. Lampedusa is an
island 173 miles off the southern coast of Sicily, southwest of Malta and very
close to Tunisia, and in recent years has become known as a refugee island due
to the large number of migrants who have landed there. A very moving account of a particularly tragic
day in the island’s migration history is </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">The Optician of Lampedusa</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> by
Emma Jane Kirby, an award-winning BBC reporter.
The optician, Carmine Menna, rarely gives interviews because he is
haunted by what he witnessed that day.
“Hundreds of drowning people were in the water screaming for help with
their last breath,” Kirby writes, “And it was at that moment that the Optician
understood that it was no longer an option to stay a spectator on the
sidelines. He realized the migration
crisis was just as much his problem as anyone else’s.” Learn more, and help, by reading ‘</span><a href="https://globalcompactrefugees.org/article/europe-begins-lampedusa" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">Europe Begins at Lampedusa’ and Comitato
3 ottobre</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Lanza
name appears in the family history in the 13</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> century, when the
Lanza Branciforte family, of Swabian origin, moved to Sicily. This family eventually owned the whole
bastioned seafront on this side of Palermo, and in the 17</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> century
they built the Branciforte di Butera palace. In 1849 the palazzo was bought by Giulio
Fabrizio Tomasi, with the indemnity paid by the king of Naples for the
expropriation of the island of Lampedusa.
Giulio’s full name was actually Fabrizio Ferdinando Francesco Baldassare
Melchiorre Salvatore Antonino Domenico Rosario Gaetano Tomasi, and he was also
the 8</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Prince of Lampedusa and the 9</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Duke of Palma de
Montechiaro, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">and</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> the great-grandfather of </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">The Leopard</u><span style="font-family: georgia;">’s author. The author’s father was Giulio Maria Tomasi, and
his mother was Beatrice Mastrogiovanni Tasca Filangeri di Cutò, whose family
was from Naples. Giuseppe di Lampedusa
was the last Prince of Lampedusa, the 11</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (if you, like me, are
wondering how there could still be Princes of Lampedusa after Giulio Fabrizio,
it’s because the abolition of feudalism in 1812 separated titles from land, so
people who had titles might no longer own the actual places. This was explained to me by Louis Mendola,
author of </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">Sicilian Geneaology and Heraldry</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (and many other good books), who I had
the great pleasure of meeting in Palermo in 2019. He added that the state confiscated the island
of Lampedusa and compensated the prince for it, but the prince could still call
himself a prince and so could his heirs.)
An added note about the Tasca and Lanza names: you may recall in an
earlier post that I recommended the cookbooks by Anna Tasca Lanza, who was very
influential in introducing Sicilian cuisine to Americans. Anna was Nicoletta's sister-in-law, and since her</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> passing in 2010, the cooking classes at </span><a href="https://www.tascadalmerita.it/en/estate/regaleali/" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">Tenuta Regaleali</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> are
taught by Anna's daughter, Fabrizia, Gioacchino's and Nicoletta's niece (Regaleali wines are
poured during the lunch prepared in the cooking class; they’re imported by </span><a href="https://www.winebow.com/" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">Winebow</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;">
and are generally not too hard to find in North America).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><u style="font-family: georgia;"><span>The
Leopard</span></u><span style="font-family: georgia;">, which covers the years from 1860 to 1883 with the final chapter
placed in 1910, is one of my most favorite books, and is the most perfect
companion read for a trip to Sicily. The
edition I recommend is the 2007 paperback published by <a href="http://knopfdoubleday.com/imprint/pantheon/">Pantheon</a> on the occasion of the novel's 50th anniversary, which is the
version translated into English by Archibald Colquhoun and includes a Foreword
by Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi (as an aside, Gioacchino is a renowned music history educator, opera specialist, and author, and a former director of <a href="https://iicnewyork.esteri.it/iic_newyork/en/">The Italian Cultural Institute</a> in New York). When it was agreed that Lampedusa would adopt Gioacchino, Lampedusa went to Portugal to see King Umberto II (the last king of Italy who was exiled in 1946 after voters abolished the monarchy in a referendum) to ask his permission for the adoption and to carry on the title of Duke of Palma. ‘<i>Leopardo</i>’
is the more common translation for leopard, while a more proper translation of ‘<i>gattopardo</i>’
refers to wild cats, like ocelots, which (significantly) were diminishing in
number by the mid-1800s in Europe; in Sicilian dialects during Lampedusa’s time
a leopard was referred to as <i>gattopardu</i>. British critic Jonathan Jones, in a piece called 'A Place in the Sun' (<i>The</i> <i>Guardian</i>, 3 May, 2003) wrote that the book </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: georgia; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;">has become a morbidly seductive guidebook to Sicily, "its glamour and despair; the sensual revelling in decrepit palaces, burnt landscapes studded with temples, sugary pasticceria (Lampedusa spent a lot of time in cake shops) and the magnificent ball in a gilded Palermo salon that is so gloriously visualised in Visconti's just re-released 1963 film of the book, make you breathe Sicily." </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">In my opinion the book should be read slowly so that the beauty and
wisdom of sentences and passages may be fully understood and appreciated. While the film by Luchino Visconti (1963) is
quite good, under no circumstances should it be seen without first reading the
book. There are so very many quotable lines. Most quoted is, “If we want things to stay as
they are, things will have to change,” but I like others even more:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet;">“Again the
Prince found himself facing one of the enigmas of Sicily: in this secret
island, where houses are barred and peasants refuse to admit they even know the
way to their own village in clear view on a hillock within a few minutes’ walk
from here, in spite of the ostentatious show of mystery, reserve is a myth.”</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet;">“Then one of
them asked me what those Italian volunteers were really coming to do in
Sicily. ‘<i>They are coming to teach us
good manners</i>,’ I replied in English.
‘<i>But they won’t succeed, because we think we are gods</i>.’” </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet;">“I belong to
an unfortunate generation, swung between the old world and the new, and I find
myself ill at ease in both.” </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book's significance is enormous: it's one of the best selling Italian novels of the 20th century, with more than 10 million copies sold; it's required reading in many high schools in Sicily and throughout Italy; the book and its author were featured on an Italian postage stamp; and it was honored with the <i>Premio Strega</i>, a prestigious Italian literary award. Mary
Taylor Simeti, in her wonderful book <u>Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five
Centuries of Sicilian Food</u>, notes that the word <i>gattopardesco</i> entered the
Italian language, describing anything
that reflects the opulent tastes of the Sicilian aristocracy (the timbale of
macaroni in Visconti’s film is described as "Leopardesque"). </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Robert V. Camuto's <u>Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey</u>, in the chapter featuring Planeta, Camuto is in conversation with Peppe, the foreman of Planeta’s vineyards, and Peppe asks, “Have you read </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Il Gattopardo</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">?” and Camuto replies that he has. “Read it again,” Peppe said. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Further, the illustrated book </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">Sicilian Twilight: The Last Leopards</u><span style="font-family: georgia;">, by the team of Jean-Bernard Naudin, Gerard Gefen, Lydia
Fasoli, and Fanny Calefati di Canalotti (The Vendome Press, 2000), details this
unique aristocratic slice of Sicily in chapters like ‘A Brief History of the
Leopards,’ ‘The Character of a Leopard,’ and ‘A Day in the Life of a Leopard.’ As
revealed in the book, </span><a name="_Hlk92037650" style="font-family: georgia;">Sicily's great families had
several residences, "one in town, another a short distance away, and one
or several estates" and "When speaking of town, it was naturally
Palermo." Families were able to maintain these residences because of
the large incomes they were fortunate to enjoy over past centuries and because
of primogeniture, which guaranteed the right of succession to the firstborn,
legitimate child (as opposed to any illegitimate child or a shared
inheritance), so they were able to avoid the dissolution of their fortunes. Lampedusa had at least six family residences,
including the town house in Palermo (in the via Lampedusa at number 17, which
was destroyed by Allied bombs in 1943); the house and castle at Palma di Montechiaro; and
the castle of Santa Margherita Belice (an inland mountain town fictionalized as
the summer village of Donnafugata in the novel; the castle was destroyed by an
earthquake some years after Lampedusa’s death). Marlena de Blasi, author of <u>That Summer in
Sicily</u>, provides a note about the possible origins of the word Donnafugata:
<i>Ayn as Jafat</i> is Arabic for "fountain of health," which
then became Ronnafuata, and over centuries, was further corrupted into
Donnafugata. It's also the trade name of the Sicilian wines produced by
the </a><a href="https://www.donnafugata.it/en/the-company/" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">Rallo
family</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, fourth-generation winemakers of Etna, Marsala,
Pantelleria, and Vittoria. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Regarding the homes of the Leopards, Gerard Gefen notes in <u>Sicilian Twilight</u>
that many of them had no distinctive </span></span>façade <span style="font-family: georgia;">and were not limited
to a particular street or part of town. He adds that "we must settle
a little problem of vocabulary as in Sicily, more than elsewhere, the nature of
things counts more than their appellation. No Leopard would have used the
term Palazzo, or palace, to designate his dwelling. He would have left
that expression to the lower classes, accountants, lawyers, tradesmen, or
servants, while he would speak of his Casa, or house, with a capital C when
writing, but never when speaking. In fact, in Italian the word 'palazzo'
designates any large building, noble or ignoble, of which those that house a
state organization are to be absolutely avoided." </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While there is a resemblance between the Leopards
of Sicily and other aristocracies, Gefen says the Sicilian nobility was by far
the last feudal phenomenon in Western Europe, and on the final page of the book
he summarizes, "The truth is that there is no "last Leopard"
because the end of the species was already written into its generic structure,
and the race, already on the way to extinction at the end of the 19th century,
was swallowed up in the great cataclysm of World War I, at the same time as the
gold standard, the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">petits Savoyards</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, the Tsars of Russia, and the
supremacy of good old Europe.” (</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Petits Savoyards</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> refers to children from
the Savoy region of France who were sent to work in other parts of France
during the winter months when their families couldn’t afford to feed them; they
often became street musicians or chimney sweeps and were part of French popular
culture from the 18</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> to the early 20</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> century.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">And so now, after that rather long detour, we come back to
the palazzo at number 28, via Butera, the last home of Lampedusa until his
death in 1957 and the site of the cooking classes. The day begins at 8:30, when everyone gathers at the office and then finds seats in vans, which drive a short distance to the Il Capo market. Nicoletta, officially known as the Duchess of Palma as Gioacchino is the Duke, stops at a number of market stalls (she knows practically everyone) to pick up the particular ingredients for that day's lunch. Along the way she shares a lot of market lore and points out various culinary items that are unique to Sicily; what you see depends on the season of your visit. Once back at Butera, everyone goes up to the (gorgeous) outdoor terrace to pick herbs (and look at all the turtles that are walking around), and then it's downstairs to the kitchen, where everyone is assigned a task (culinary novices need not worry: there are all sorts of simple things to do to prepare for the meal, which is never very fussy, and almost all the tasks are undertaken by more than one person). After a few hours, when the preparation is nearly complete, everyone takes a break for a glass of sparkling wine. At this moment, as I looked around at everyone raising their glasses in a toast, sunlight was also pouring in through the floor to ceiling French doors which opened onto an interior courtyard open to the sky. This was the first time throughout the day that I had to pinch myself as a reminder that I <i>really was here</i>. In addition to helping prepare a meal, over the last four hours I had met some of my fellow students, wonderful people from other parts of the world, and our conversations were stimulating, warm, and sometimes funny, usually when Nicoletta made us laugh. Finally, the last steps in the meal are completed, and everyone walks to the dining room, where a beautiful table has been set. Students who are part of a couple are requested not to sit together, and Nicoletta sits at one end of the long table and Gioacchino sits at the opposite end. A team of servers brings out each dish and serves everyone individually. I loved <i>every</i> dish on our menu, but perhaps the casarecce pasta was my favorite precisely because it seemed like it would be good but not great, but it turned out to be incredibly delicious -- creamy even though there is no cream in the recipe; I think the quality of the pasta has something to do with this. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After the meal, Nicoletta and Gio lead everyone on a tour of the other public rooms of the palazzo (as opposed to their private quarters). These include the library and the ballroom, where the manuscript of <u>The Leopard</u> is kept in a glass vitrine. And then, by about 4:00 or so, the day with the duchess is over. At times when I think of it, it seems like a dream. <i>But I really was there. </i> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Interested travelers should visit the site noted at the beginning of this post and contact Nicoletta by email to inquire about joining a class as there is no set schedule. Some cooking class students stay elsewhere in Palermo, but I recommend staying in one of the <a href="https://www.butera28.it/">Butera 28</a> apartments (see my earlier Palermo post on 3 May, 2020 for more details). In her recent end-of-year newsletter, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicoletta wrote that the Palazzo Lanza Tomasi is now a member of the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Associazione Nazionale Case della Memoria</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">(National Association of Houses of Memory) and it has been accredited and certified by the prestigious Dream&Charme (the apartments in the palazzo received certification and the palazzo itself was awarded a five-star certification as well). She also reported that the accomplished </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Palermo-born pianist, Danilo Manto, now living in Milan, performed</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><a href="https://youtu.be/yezPPUQQYZ0" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">a recorded concert</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">in the ballroom of the palazzo in 2021 (not only is it a beautiful version of Chopin’s Walz in A Flat Major, Op. 69, No. 1, but there are great images of the ballroom). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: georgia;"><b>Related Recommended Reads & Walking Tours & Lampedusa's Grave:</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">'Annals of Place: The Palace the the City' by Fernanda Eberstadt, <i>The New Yorker</i> (23 December, 1991). This excellent, atmospheric article was what introduced me to <u>The Leopard</u>, thirty-one years ago. Besides being about Lampedusa, Gioacchino, and Nicoletta, it's also about Palermo, and is some of the best writing about the city, at that particular time, anywhere. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Childhood Memories and Other Stories</u>, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, foreword by Ian Thomson, translated by Stephen Parkin (Alma Books, 2013). In addition to Lampedusa's memories of two childhood houses -- the mansion in Palermo and the palazzo Filangeri di </span></span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Cutò</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: georgia;">in Santa Margherita di Belice, home of his maternal family members -- there are works of fiction. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Lampedusa: A Novel,</u> Steven Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019). A beautifully written book that recounts the last years of Lampedusa's life when he was working on <u>The Leopard</u>. The gorgeous jacket photo is of the ballroom in the palazzo Gangi in Palermo. Price quite brilliantly follows the events of Lampedusa's life near its end accurately while fully immersing himself in Lampedusa's head. Lampedusa was diagnosed with emphysema, and he expresses two key thoughts in the book: "We are from a world that no longer exists. If I do not write that world, write it down, then what will become of it?" and "And he understood his great regret: after him would come nothing. He had produced neither son nor daughter. He had failed them all." In his review of the book, Joseph Luzzi (author of the wonderful <u>My Two Italies</u>) observes that "Lampedusa's ancestor, the Leopard, strode across history's stage in the long, proud bounds of the majestic beast he resembled. His quieter, gentler scion, a creature of words to the last, was only ever truly at home in books. For him to have ventured forth late in life from his literary safe haven to write "The Leopard" is a story as improbable -- and at times fascinating -- as the historical paradoxes of his masterpiece." <a href="https://fsgworkinprogress.com/2019/09/13/in-search-of-lampedusas-sicily/"><span style="mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: black;">‘In Search of Lampedusa’s Sicily’</span></a> also by Steven Price is a wonderful companion piece written for 'Work in Progress,' a Farrar, Straus promotional newsletter. In it, Price wonders if Gioacchino </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "FreightText W01 Book"; font-size: 17px;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">felt he understood Lampedusa differently now, after all these years. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6; font-family: "FreightText W01 Book"; font-size: 17px;">“I understand him more now,” Gioacchino replied. He was older, I knew, than Lampedusa had been when he died. He added quietly: “He was much more, I think, than the book.”</span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: georgia;"><u>The Last Leopard: A Life of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa</u>, David Gilmour (Pantheon, 1991), the definitive volume on Lampedusa's life, and <u>A Biography Through Images</u>, Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi (Alma Books, 2014) with a foreword by David Gilmour and Nicoletta was responsible for the picture research. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">‘The
Oldest Money’ by James McAuley, <i>Town & Country</i> (December
2019/January 2020). A particularly good interview with Nicoletta and Gioacchino by McAuley, former Paris correspondent for <i>The Washington Post</i> (the article is accompanied by some wonderful photos of the palazzo's interiors). McAuley holds a PhD in French history and is the author of the excellent <u>The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France</u> (Yale University Press, 2021). </span><o:p style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">'Sicily, Through the Eyes of The Leopard' by Adam Begley, <i>The New York Times </i>(6 July, 2008). Begley writes, "I believe that if you love the novel (or the movie), you should start planning your trip right away, not because you'll find Lampedusa's Sicily waiting for you when you touch down (you won't, believe me), but because the bitter, resigned romantic nostalgia that pervades "The Leopard is also the sensibility that savors the decaying grandeur of an island burdened with layer upon layer of tragic history -- and blessed also with startling beauty, much of it perpetually waning." </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <span> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></b><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The tomb of Lampedusa and his wife, Alessandra Wolff Stommersee, is at the Cimitero dei Capppuccini in Palermo (piazza Cappucini 1, postal code 90129). </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.parcotomasi.it/">Sicilia Letteraria</a>, a cultural association that develops and supports literary tourism projects, offers Lampedusa-themed walking tours such as 'On the trail of the Leopard: in Palermo between the two houses of the Prince' and 'On the trail of the Leopard: at the Kalsa between Garibaldi memories and the set of Visconti's film.' Excursions to Palma di Montechiaro and Santa Margherita di Belice are also offered. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-500419683857051572021-06-19T10:48:00.002-07:002021-06-19T10:48:37.971-07:00<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpZke0NeXwbFiBkYd-M1JShm8DWGjb4_SSQbftFG3rQ_a3_6jdEYH-58s0M3HemqXW6oqNBJC9u6pmHPuz-ZKFPogy3fXFPSphKW7l_bOcSwJokf5dVZw8KDeVRDLr9vEAsylf72CW98/s337/shopping.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpZke0NeXwbFiBkYd-M1JShm8DWGjb4_SSQbftFG3rQ_a3_6jdEYH-58s0M3HemqXW6oqNBJC9u6pmHPuz-ZKFPogy3fXFPSphKW7l_bOcSwJokf5dVZw8KDeVRDLr9vEAsylf72CW98/s320/shopping.webp" /></a>Today is Juneteenth, a consolidation of the name of the month and the date (June 19th, 1865) on which federal troops under General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and officially announce the end of slavery. Though Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation on the first of January, 1863, he was then President of the United States but <i>not</i> of the eleven Confederate states, including Texas. The Proclamation was therefore only applicable to the Confederate states once the Civil War was over. Until this time, slavery still went on in these states, and it must have been fairly easy to withhold the news from the black residents of Galveston, an island two miles off the Texas mainland. Since General Granger delivered the message, however, Juneteenth has the distinction of being the longest-running African American holiday, has been rightly celebrated as an "occasion of monumental value to U.S. history," as Desiree Rew, creator of <a href="https://ruedesiree.com/category/travel/">Rue Desiree: For the Love of Food and Travel</a>, expressed in a piece she contributed to <a href="https://www.travelawaits.com/">Travel Awaits</a>. Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday, in 1980, and 47 other states (and the District of Columbia) later followed. Happily, it became a national holiday only a few days ago. There are lots of ways to join in Juneteenth celebrations -- see the <a href="https://www.blkfreedom.org/">Blkfreedom</a> site for details of its own 2021 program -- and as Rew noted that at many festivals there are vendors who specialize in "books that feature and educate on the history of Juneteenth and black advancement from 1865 to the present," it seems like an appropriate time for me to enthuse about Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) and the <a href="https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/">Louis Armstrong House Museum</a> in Corona, Queens. </p><p>I've been meaning to write a post about the museum since I visited in the summer of 2019 with my husband and our good friends Pat and Linda, but I got behind and then the pandemic happened. In fact the museum is still temporarily closed; but if you live in the New York metropolitan area or plan to be here, make a note to continue checking the website for its reopening as a visit is truly worthwhile. </p><p>All visits are by guided tours as only a limited number of people can fit in the rooms of the house, where Louis and his wife, Lucille, moved in 1943. I didn't take any photographs so I have none to share here, but there are some great ones included in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/t-magazine/louis-armstrong-home-queens.html">this article</a> that appeared in <i>The New York Times Magazine</i>. Photographer Jack Bradley, who first heard Armstrong and his band play on Cape Cod in the 1950s and who passed away in the spring of this year (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/arts/music/jack-bradley-dead.html?searchResultPosition=1">here is his obituary</a> which appeared in <i>The New York Times</i>), devotedly collected everything of interest related to Armstrong's life, and it was all acquired by the House Museum. The house is not at all fancy, and my favorite room is the kitchen -- the cabinets are bright and bold turquoise! Our guide was great, and at the tour's end, we had a few questions about some of the facts he shared and he recommended two books (that are for sale at the museum), <u>What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years</u> by Ricky Riccardi, who is the museum's Director of Research Collections (Pantheon, hardcover, 2011; Vintage, paperback, 2012) and <u>Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life</u> by Laurence Bergreen (Broadway, hardcover, 1997; Crown, paperback, 1998). I enjoyed them both, and there's not really much overlap between them. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8WaBIV5lq7tIaMu4NbwuOzEhiZcyNp7y7PVwPAmUFxc-IfTrQv9pdxe0fdHa4dM6E25npXvQCTGSYWQlGcX6qCB6_ciOuh8QW3HFFJPaluOS9uehje3CzfW8SuJ7tvz3BJF2kDSpkGg/s450/9780767901567.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8WaBIV5lq7tIaMu4NbwuOzEhiZcyNp7y7PVwPAmUFxc-IfTrQv9pdxe0fdHa4dM6E25npXvQCTGSYWQlGcX6qCB6_ciOuh8QW3HFFJPaluOS9uehje3CzfW8SuJ7tvz3BJF2kDSpkGg/s320/9780767901567.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Louis is incredibly quoteworthy, and a few of his memorable remarks in <u>What a Wonderful World</u> include: </p><p>"I never tried to prove nothing, just always wanted to give a good show. My life has been my music; it's always come first, but the music ain't worth nothing if you can't lay it on the public. The main thing is to live for that audience, 'cause what you're there for is to please the people." </p><p>"I don't give a damn how many come in, if it was one or one thousand. I ain't goin' play no louder or no softer, and I ain't goin' play no less. I might play a little <i>more</i>, but always up to par." </p><p>Not without criticism, he refused to participate in marches and protests, not because he didn't believe in the cause but because "...if I'd be out somewhere marching with a sign and some cat hits me in my chops, I'm finished. A trumpet man gets hit in the chops and he's through. If my people don't dig me the way I am, I'm sorry. If they don't go along with me giving my dough instead of marching, well -- every cat's entitled to his opinion. But that's the way I figure I can help out and still keep on working. If they let me alone on this score I'll do my part, in my way." </p><p>Ricky Riccardi, who also maintains a great blog, <a href="https://dippermouth.blogspot.com/">The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong</a>, wrote that Armstrong said the lyrics of 'What a Wonderful World' meant so much to him. Riccardi believes that "Few people could really know the meaning of the phrase "wonderful world" as much as Louis Armstrong." And about the song 'We Shall Overcome,' Riccardi adds, "To think about what Armstrong, singing those lyrics and all the obstacles he overcame to achieve what he did -- poor childhood, racism, becoming the scorn of younger black musicians and writers -- he overcame it all to become the greatest, most important jazz musician of them all." </p><p>In another good book, <u>Louis Armstrong: In His Own Words</u> (Oxford University Press, 1999), Louis noted in the first chapter, 'Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family,' "The Lord kept his Arms around us all the time. He could see that, all we wanted to do in life is to <i>live</i> and at least be <i>contented</i>. Respect people and be respected." </p><p>I think if Louis Armstrong were still with us today he'd surely be playing his trumpet, with much joy, on the occasion of Juneteenth. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-20384566126645110042021-01-19T13:20:00.001-08:002021-01-19T13:20:31.863-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9d-rGr7vY6xup_3VPTH5YUQ-xe-dlwMSxAJQ4MYlb1FXZrffhPQZZHSK0rpHAIA03MORlffVwBFY_MMcJVbisKaSJ3RrivjCxz3ov20dxQT4WM7J6-FYq34oTG2E0soOZghNGzbdox6Y/s640/IMG_0529.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9d-rGr7vY6xup_3VPTH5YUQ-xe-dlwMSxAJQ4MYlb1FXZrffhPQZZHSK0rpHAIA03MORlffVwBFY_MMcJVbisKaSJ3RrivjCxz3ov20dxQT4WM7J6-FYq34oTG2E0soOZghNGzbdox6Y/s320/IMG_0529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fontana Pretoria</i>, Palermo. The work of Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani, the nude statuary of the fountain represented mythological figures but to the Palermitani it was known as the Fountain of Shame. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholgSzznzE8jOpvmi05XOAng86qm3im-END9DQ1OuBFkMsMIR3RGYz44MMwYgBYuRUmUc_baVhWU5JqlZgV2XogR4e8fVAhcahwnLrQ7wFkR6_muV_I8AVQIQlnku9khVC1IXfyz_Nkek/s640/IMG_0527.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholgSzznzE8jOpvmi05XOAng86qm3im-END9DQ1OuBFkMsMIR3RGYz44MMwYgBYuRUmUc_baVhWU5JqlZgV2XogR4e8fVAhcahwnLrQ7wFkR6_muV_I8AVQIQlnku9khVC1IXfyz_Nkek/s320/IMG_0527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">"Anyone who keeps only to the main roads in Sicily, dashing from celebrated monument to celebrated monument, and who doesn't absorb some of the Sicilian way with time and take an hour or so to potter off along the byroads, turns their back on many delights of this island of parallel universes...In Sicily, the remote past, the near past and the absolute present are jammed together or piled on top of one another." -- Matthew Fort, <u>Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons:</u></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><u>Travels in Sicily on a Vespa</u></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">"Closer to Tunisia and Greece than it is to the north of the country, this is not the generic Italy of gingham tablecloths and breadsticks. But it is, genuinely, perhaps more than anywhere, the authentic Mediterranean." -- Mina Holland, </span><u style="color: #b45f06;">The World on a Plate: 40 Cuisines, 100 Recipes, and the Stories Behind Them</u></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">"Any story about Sicily will have love and death, betrayal and decay running through it." </span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span> <span> </span>-- 'Rick Stein's Long Weekends,' BBC </span><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">"The largest of Italy's twenty regions, detached by sea, with a grand history all its own and more rulers and a more diverse past than any part of the mainland -- Sicily is very much a different Italy." -- Mimi Thorisson, <u>Old World Italian: Recipes & Secrets From Our Travels in Italy</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Finally, here is Sicily A to Z. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Sicily has not had nearly the number of Covid-19 cases as elsewhere in Italy, and last year, the regional government launched a 'See Sicily' voucher program: visitors who reserved and pre-paid for a three-night stay at a lodging would receive the fourth night free, and discounts would be offered at various cultural sites and museums. I read about this program in several places at the time, and while it's unclear what its status is now, I recommend inquiring about it if you're planning an upcoming trip -- I did read that the program may be extended to December 2021. This <a href="http://www.visitsicily.info/en/coronavirus-disease-info-about-current-situation-in-sicily/">Visit Sicily page</a> has updates on coronavirus guidelines. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Travel + Leisure</i> announced that Italy is its <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/destination-of-the-year?did=580153-20201112&utm_campaign=just-in_newsletter&utm_source=travelandleisure.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=111220&cid=580153&mid=44687767285">2021 Destination of the Year</a>! Correspondent Maria Shollenbarger writes that "The posterity of the things that say Italy to us -- from an almond granita by the shore in Sicily to the illuminated façade of San Miniato al Monte in Florence -- is in our hands." Time to start planning! </div><div><br /></div><div>
<b>A</b></div><div><b>Accommodation Rentals</b>. For those who want to settle into in one area of Sicily, as opposed to exploring across the island, a good agency with singular properties is <a href="https://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/italy/sicily?infinity=ict2~net~gaw~ar~389566796063~kw~%2Brentals%20%2Bsicily~mt~b~cmp~IT_EN_Location_Sicily~ag~Sicily_Villa_BMM&gclid=CjwKCAiAo5qABhBdEiwAOtGmbvvZToxh64kFYTYuvADu34S6GGFINkMjk63YQWvlTIRp2VG3CddPzRoCh-cQAvD_BwE">The Thinking Traveller</a>. The husband-and-wife founders are Rossella and Huw Beaugié, and Rossella is Sicilian. They wisely don't concentrate on the entire world, instead specializing in certain corners of the Mediterranean: Sicily, Puglia, the Greek Island, Corsica, and Mallorca. The company has been voted Top Villa Rental Company in the World for five consecutive years by the <i>Condé Nast Traveller</i> (UK) Reader's Choice Awards, and its website is filled with substantive, well-written information. </div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div><br /></div><div><b>Agrigento</b>. Originally named Akragas by the Greeks who settled here on Sicily's southeastern coast in 528 BC, the site of the Valley of the Temples is absolutely beautiful. The temples are on the crest of a hill with an almost unobstructed view out to the sea -- if this was in the States, there would no doubt be massive commercial development between the temple site and the water's edge. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSZDVpVj6hkkLYM1yeZ3g281lje0qRftHngFJaq5ZgkHjtG6N5tsT3hfvgygJyF7FgDg7oJHTwbZHWXDfO8zFGDhz7SEwwRQI-xrMk4gYVQUypmMKttRmYS5Xs1LGnpu7IYayicoY84Q/s640/IMG_0492.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSZDVpVj6hkkLYM1yeZ3g281lje0qRftHngFJaq5ZgkHjtG6N5tsT3hfvgygJyF7FgDg7oJHTwbZHWXDfO8zFGDhz7SEwwRQI-xrMk4gYVQUypmMKttRmYS5Xs1LGnpu7IYayicoY84Q/s320/IMG_0492.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUaRdaeF1Mxl2X4BVKaQc37gqGzbk1j9P_6gPtHCOrG4_ODvSqZO9xAXz1nZj8u1jlACt3uLjMQQn5YKNv84R5Rx_X8CwN2NCWEiyfy32HLdd3BUdY3jEstlr0tSU642s1Tmc1YoHuto/s640/IMG_0491.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUaRdaeF1Mxl2X4BVKaQc37gqGzbk1j9P_6gPtHCOrG4_ODvSqZO9xAXz1nZj8u1jlACt3uLjMQQn5YKNv84R5Rx_X8CwN2NCWEiyfy32HLdd3BUdY3jEstlr0tSU642s1Tmc1YoHuto/s320/IMG_0491.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>The Greek philosopher Empedocles said of the citizens of Akragas that they "lived as if they were to die tomorrow and built as if they were to live forever." As <a href="https://www.parcovalledeitempli.it/en/">Agrigento</a> is covered well in other sources and is one of Sicily's most visited places, I won't dwell at length on it here; but I emphasize that it's wise to carefully consider a visit: especially in hot weather it's best to arrive early as not only will it be cooler but as the hours go by it gets more crowded (and the line for the WC is long). Another option is to visit late in the afternoon or early evening. Note, also, that there are two parts to the visit, the Archaeological Park with the temples and the <i>Museo Archeologico Regionale</i> <i>Pietro Griffo</i>, with its many objects found in the vicinity that really bring the entire site to life. The Valley of the Temples was proclaimed a World Heritage site in 1997 and the Concordia temple is one of the best preserved Greek Doric temples in the world. A descriptive sign at the temple -- '<i>Il Tempio Ligneo: Origine dell'Ordine Dorico</i>' (The Wooden Temple - Origin of the Doric Order) -- states that "Today almost nobody remembers an aesthetic truth that in Greek and Roman times was understood by artists, patrons and the general public: that before the monumental Doric temples were immortalized in marble, they were built of wood." Sarah Murdoch, author of the <u>Rick Steves Sicily</u> guide, adds that Sicily has no marble, so the temples were built with sandstone, which doesn't weather well. To prevent erosion from the sea winds and to imitate the look of marble, the sandstone was coated in plaster. The stone was quarried in a nearby hill (Murdoch says you can see the quarry if you look inland toward the modern city) and after a temple was constructed and the carved decorations were applied, it was "coated in plaster and painted in bold colors -- very different from the classical white that we associate with ancient temples (or, in this case, golden yellow). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGFXnNr1yJ04fMt1vBiXDSAu1wzEK_9DILQ_gJq2J6HeEShoSMrMJ7IMRL6CENPCDhtUexyCkRdk_KUAOnp3sCcUDmnRGheBqidCXDXOAvgZNQbvQjUfgPUhGQEmsxIQ8lITO6BDqsKE/s640/IMG_0496.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGFXnNr1yJ04fMt1vBiXDSAu1wzEK_9DILQ_gJq2J6HeEShoSMrMJ7IMRL6CENPCDhtUexyCkRdk_KUAOnp3sCcUDmnRGheBqidCXDXOAvgZNQbvQjUfgPUhGQEmsxIQ8lITO6BDqsKE/s320/IMG_0496.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Besides the temples, I liked the <i>Giardino dei Giusti del Mondo</i> (Garden of the Righteous of the World) and the pretty Villa Aurea, which is between the Concordia temple and the Temple of Heracles and was the private home of Sir Alexander Hardcastle, a captain in the British army. In 1921, Hardcastle came to Agrigento (called Girgenti at the time) to benefit from the mild climate and to admire the archaeological heritage. It didn't take long for him to decide to live here permanently so he had the villa built and stayed until his death in 1933 - can you imagine living in such a lovely place? The sign in front of the Villa notes that "Hardcastle had an insatiable passion for finding the ancient monuments of the Valley of the Temples and financed many excavations directed by the archaeologist Pirro Marconi. Thanks to Hardcastle's initiative, eight columns of the Temple of Heracles were re-erected and many ancient monuments were discovered." Today the Villa Aurea houses some offices of the Park Authority, and you can see a bronze bust of Hardcastle in the courtyard in front of the Villa's main entrance. </div><div><br /></div><div>In <u><i>La Passione</i>: How Italy Seduced the World</u>, Dianne Hales writes about walking around the Valley of the Temples with a local guide, Pina, who is of the last generation to have worked the nearby fields. Pina's grandfather plowed the land with a donkey and her grandmother bartered produce for household goods. "We didn't need money," Pina explained. "We didn't need anyone else. We had the earth." Hales emphasizes that this "profound appreciation" for the myth of Demeter and Persephone has endured. Pina tells her that 'I am proud to be a child of the people who came here and conquered and survived. This sea was their sea, and it is mine. This land was their land, and it is mine. I feel their passion in my veins." When Hales asks Pina if she could ever imagine living anywhere else, Pina shakes her head no. "We sit in silence, a<span style="font-family: times;">mid</span> the fallen gods and their temples, listening to the wind and the waves." </div><div>
<br />
<section class="block block-ctools-block block-entity-fieldnodetitle clearfix" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e3438;"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; line-height: 1.1; margin: 8px 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Articles about Sicily</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">. Here are some articles from my files that I particularly enjoy, for one reason or another, and recommend (unfortunately, many of my most favorite articles are not to be found online, so I have not listed them here): '</span><a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1991/10/20/707991.html?pageNumber=410" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Norman Hill Towns of Sicily</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">' by Mary Taylor Simeti (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The New York</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;"> </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Times</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, 20 October, 1991); </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">'</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/travel/sicily-family-holidays.html" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Enthralled by Sicily, Again</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">' by Francine Prose (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, 5 June, 2016); '</span><a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2008-12-10/not-your-godfather-s-sicily" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Not Your Godfather's Sicily'</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;"> by Ondine Cohane (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Condé Nast Traveler</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, January 2009); '</span><a href="http://alexanderstille.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Head-Found-on-5th-Ave-May-24-1999.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Head Found on Fifth Avenue</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">' by Alexander Stille (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The New Yorker</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, 24 May, 1999); ''</span><a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1996/06/02/087840.html?pageNumber=433" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The Hill Towns of Sicily: Above the Fray</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">' by Theresa Maggio (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, 2 June, 1996); 'Sicily' by R. W. Apple, Jr. (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Departures</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, July 2001); '</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/travel/digging-up-family-roots-in-sicily.html?searchResultPosition=1" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">At Home in the Heart of Sicily</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">' by Russell Shorto (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, 18 August, 2013); and '</span><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/going-for-baroque" style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Going for Baroque</a><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">'</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;"> by Guy Trebay (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">Travel + Leisure</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal;">, March 2004; the online title of this article is 'Villas of Sicily'). In this last piece, Trebay shares some of the best observations about Sicily I've read anywhere. "In Sicily, a visitor is repeatedly left struggling to reconcile excesses of artistic splendor and moral squalor, to negotiate between the occult and the rational, sensuality and intellect," and his friend Piero Longo, the author of a book on Sicily's architectural history, tells him, "If you can't accept contradiction, you can't understand Sicily." And, "Colonized relentlessly over centuries, Sicilians appear to have absorbed and then subtly subsumed whatever it would have been fatal to resist outright. Thus the island became the exotic amalgam that it remains, and the Sicilians a blended people, so tempered by their heritage that they sometimes suffer from what the writer Gesualdo Bufalino called "an excess of identity." A Sicilian's birthright, Bufalino noted, is the conviction that he stands at the center of the world." </span></span></h1></section></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>B</b></div><div><b>Baglio Occhipinti</b>. As I noted in my first Sicily post, I always consult <a href="https://www.faithwillinger.com/">Faith Willinger's website</a> for recommendations on accommodations and places to eat in Italy, and <a href="http://bagliocchipinti.com/">Baglio Occhipinti</a> was an inn she enthused about so I took a look. Its location, in the southeastern part of the island, fit perfectly into the itinerary I'd worked out as it was not too far a drive from Taormina (where we were driving from) and close enough to Noto for a day trip. Plus, it was solidly in the countryside, providing a contrast to the urban locales where we'd been. In fact, it was so far out in the country that when we were only about fifteen minutes away we were wondering if we'd made a wrong turn; it didn't seem possible that a place as lovely as it looked online could be here, where the roads were narrow and there was nothing but farms. But suddenly, we arrived at the gates, and we were buzzed in and drove down a dirt lane lined with olive and almond trees to the small parking area. '<i>Baglio</i>' is a uniquely Sicilian word that refers to a walled country estate and today is often applied to contemporary wineries. According to the very helpful <a href="https://dobianchi.com/2014/05/28/baglio-meaning-sicily-wine/"><i>Do Bianchi</i> </a>site, maintained by Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D, the word <i>baglio</i> first appeared in the 17th century, when Sicily's Spanish rulers (who needed to expand wheat production for their growing empire) encouraged citizens to move from the cities into the Sicilian countryside, which then was largely undeveloped. Widespread banditry prompted the newly licensed land owners to build walled country estates around a <i>baglio</i> or courtyard. These fortifications helped secure the agricultural products and provided safety for those who lived there. Many formerly abandoned <i>bagli</i> have been turned into <i>agriturismi</i>, working farms with accommodations for guests. Baglio Occhipinti as a working farm dates from the 1800s and its transformation into a lovely inn was overseen by Fausta Occhipinti, a landscape architect. Other family members are involved in the daily running of the estate, which also produces numerous fruits and vegetables. The overall feel of the entire inn is one of warmth and light; white is the dominant color in all the rooms (even the interior stone walls are white) and in the public rooms there are comfy white sofas and tables piled with lots of interesting art books. Some contemporary furniture is mixed in nicely with antique country pieces. The most historic feature in the main house is the <i>palmento</i>, which I mentioned in my first Sicily post -- it refers to where the grapes are put so they can be pressed (stomped on, skins included) and it, too, is a uniquely Sicilian word. you put the grapes into the palmento where they were stomped on (skins included).The indoor dining room shares space with the <i>palmento</i> and is where we were served lunch on our first day. Otherwise we had breakfast and dinner outdoors, and all the meals were delicious and filling. Our first breakfast was so substantial that after we enjoyed the freshly squeezed juice, assortment of breads, coffee, and yogurt we thought we were finished only to be brought sliced fruit, eggs, toast with olive oil and herbs, and mini cannoli. The 12 guest rooms are of varying sizes and layouts. Our room (Etna) had a downstairs sitting room and the bedroom and bathroom were up a (steep) flight of stairs. The pool is in the citrus grove and is a delight. Fausta's sister, Arianna, oversees the 54 acres of the namesake vineyards, which are free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The vineyards produce the indigenous varietals of Albanello and Zibbibo (white) and Frappato and Nero d'Avola (red), and Arianna also produces a DOCG Cerasuolo di Vittoria blend of 50% Frappato and 50% Nero d'Avola (as an aside: Occhipinti wines have been served at Ottolenghi in London). It's easy to while away a day here and never leave the estate and be perfectly happy, or one can be more ambitious and visit the nearby village of Pedalino or drive to Noto, as we did. All guests are given a small jar of homemade jam when checking out, a wonderful parting gift. Note that some flies or bees or both may interrupt your outdoor lounging -- this is the real countryside, after all -- so bring some repellent if you think they will bother you. The two photos below were taken in the <i>palmento </i>room. </div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkXyhB4XI-Bysy2euyCTRaBpgh08-yC2koDrIxYIbmEc1XcmvHiv9Vme8Upf5wCVPFSzMg4POqoY_UpRCrniUr5j00OeJCVuQOlKbm9qBi76daIV0FvuEL1MHy6DpOplFHGyJB3wdOuU/s640/palmento.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkXyhB4XI-Bysy2euyCTRaBpgh08-yC2koDrIxYIbmEc1XcmvHiv9Vme8Upf5wCVPFSzMg4POqoY_UpRCrniUr5j00OeJCVuQOlKbm9qBi76daIV0FvuEL1MHy6DpOplFHGyJB3wdOuU/s320/palmento.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPbeFyYGHt_0Bb40vM2RyLVUY2Jtm_gzVOgdJ0RfRkKZ0vZx1xo4gEgzeiq9o-ZdkMib8IVnVL63u9UNfogJiq8oqNJfxISxD6rwxG1uvosXqgS-LqCy8H-T0BDOKusNDyjyji49PBkE/s640/palmento+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPbeFyYGHt_0Bb40vM2RyLVUY2Jtm_gzVOgdJ0RfRkKZ0vZx1xo4gEgzeiq9o-ZdkMib8IVnVL63u9UNfogJiq8oqNJfxISxD6rwxG1uvosXqgS-LqCy8H-T0BDOKusNDyjyji49PBkE/s320/palmento+2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>C</b><br /><b>Caltagirone</b>. When I saw a photograph of the long staircase with tiled risers in Caltagirone, knew I had to visit this hilltop town, known for its ceramics. There are several competing stories about its name: one is that it derives from Arabic, <i>Qal' at al Ghiran</i> (Rock of the Vases). Another is that it refers to the once bountiful supply of wild boar in the area, still another that it could be "belonging to Gela," a nearby settlement. "Castle of the Genoese" is another -- the Genoese occupied the castle in 1040, shortly before Caltagirone was first recorded. Whatever the origin of the name, the town is lovely and there are ceramics just about everywhere you look. The staircase (<i>Scala di Santa Maria del Monte</i>) is the most famous example, and I counted 141 steps from the bottom to the top. It's named for the church of Santa Maria del Monte which has, since 1608, connected the lower and upper parts of the town. The ceramic tiles were designed by Giuseppe Giacolone in 1606 and altered in the 19th century. Though there are lots of ceramic workshops along the Scala and throughout the town, Caltagirone didn't feel very touristy. It seemed like people were going about their (non-touristy) business on a beautiful day, and I would have liked to linger. Buying ceramics here is obviously a good idea (most artisans will ship purchases overseas), and Laura Morelli, author of one of my favorite books, <u>Made in Italy: A Shopper's Guide to Italy's Best Artisanal Traditions from Murano Glass to Ceramic, Jewelry, Leather Goods, and More</u>, wrote a very helpful piece for <i>Italy Magazine</i> with some good tips: '<a href="https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/best-sicily-shopping-ceramics-caltagirone">Best of Sicily: Shopping for Ceramics in Caltagirone</a>.' I found some great dinner plates and a large serving bowl at <a href="https://www.ceramichecaltagironeds.com/">Sammartino e Delfino Ceramiche Artistiche</a> (via Roma, 32). The work here stood out, to me, and seemed a cut above most of the other shops. Artisans Mila and Antonio are very committed to, and have a great passion for, the ancient ceramic tradition, and they initially began working in a tile factory. Later they made tiles for kitchens and bathrooms and sold them themselves all over Sicily. In 1985 they opened a small laboratory and decorated ceramic tiles and stained glass windows by hand. They bought a building in 2001 that was formerly a palace dating back to the 1700s and this became their workshop and store. Antonio is a ceramics technician and makes the shop's exclusive enamel himself, while Mila is the artist and merchant. Their daughter, Desirèe, has also joined them in the venture and she specializes in the <i>Testa di Moro</i> (see 'Head of the Moor' entry below). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SEl863aosnY-DoyZ1IX7AoGNS0KNUqez2Iy1ISmZ7hpuXUBk8v7Guz8dfOL32nJh85jJexi-WE-zkWNVsA1jaVK4nZjqIufzrVA5E76ITN2HE8c-CzPXdjGtUHWgU1jmmHi6TVCE_y4/s640/scala+1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SEl863aosnY-DoyZ1IX7AoGNS0KNUqez2Iy1ISmZ7hpuXUBk8v7Guz8dfOL32nJh85jJexi-WE-zkWNVsA1jaVK4nZjqIufzrVA5E76ITN2HE8c-CzPXdjGtUHWgU1jmmHi6TVCE_y4/s320/scala+1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgswrMkNzBuQNMCp0wD57Ygp0A5ufGgAps_e_zD9uf7k3iw1BiRdqN63nEs8mBj090V0kWuhqqnfEI56kobCEI20Vgo9_1q9vVp279GGiFJVeJVdT-ANRQvLSgpBEhBoXlIzvtzyOqTA/s640/scala+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgswrMkNzBuQNMCp0wD57Ygp0A5ufGgAps_e_zD9uf7k3iw1BiRdqN63nEs8mBj090V0kWuhqqnfEI56kobCEI20Vgo9_1q9vVp279GGiFJVeJVdT-ANRQvLSgpBEhBoXlIzvtzyOqTA/s320/scala+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgqaA-IGa4TdN88KwfuKYjgesQts3mrZIXcMvYynzxT90Uj6MnrGLEmUj8n3lyTSMxrgF6dqJ1Noq-rFvUcCbljIQHV75gTeG1LHciInDiA2hsEndZEjly3yQzCyaSaVCsTyAZhgwrx0/s640/scala+3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgqaA-IGa4TdN88KwfuKYjgesQts3mrZIXcMvYynzxT90Uj6MnrGLEmUj8n3lyTSMxrgF6dqJ1Noq-rFvUcCbljIQHV75gTeG1LHciInDiA2hsEndZEjly3yQzCyaSaVCsTyAZhgwrx0/s320/scala+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVe1m5sENdc3iT3WWkSl2da0CxuDvx9XIQJ2-qPB7oI50djraIwSzVTutNdlw0rmihuPtH6C6nbhZZRnY3hsd0H18IV9SjXWMHSGmir7Jnv9YlS6Dd6UuA93Z8Lk3QIjbjg9f7czyDTJg/s640/view+of+buildings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVe1m5sENdc3iT3WWkSl2da0CxuDvx9XIQJ2-qPB7oI50djraIwSzVTutNdlw0rmihuPtH6C6nbhZZRnY3hsd0H18IV9SjXWMHSGmir7Jnv9YlS6Dd6UuA93Z8Lk3QIjbjg9f7czyDTJg/s320/view+of+buildings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uNs0_gWiF8TKUEyLFY9fQw3F1qmkykoNsGIGK7Z6Z2ok40EYsIsDgs8Qi2WXDLvXOFZa02vM99R3CODedaKhYQlxqA5kQjVWL1FZycIt-4oH_VZCs0pC8JS1G9dRFRn7zZCsYmUv9ak/s640/ceramiche.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uNs0_gWiF8TKUEyLFY9fQw3F1qmkykoNsGIGK7Z6Z2ok40EYsIsDgs8Qi2WXDLvXOFZa02vM99R3CODedaKhYQlxqA5kQjVWL1FZycIt-4oH_VZCs0pC8JS1G9dRFRn7zZCsYmUv9ak/s320/ceramiche.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Carts. </b>The tradition of painted wooden carts is dying out in Sicily but it's still possible you'll come across one while there. The festive looking carts, which are pulled by mules or horses, date back to the 1800s, and they can be quite elaborate. John Keahey, in <u>Seeking Sicily</u>, refers to a book written by Marcella Croce and Moira Harris, <u>History on the Road: The Painted Carts of Sicily</u> (my parents met Marcella in Palermo when they visited there years ago), and in it the authors note that the carts differ from one part of the island to another, based on their function and the type of environment in which they were used. Keahey adds that "carts that hauled salt around the western Sicilian port of Trapani had higher wheels and did not have decorative iron axles because of the salty water they drove through. Other carts were named by type: the <i>tirraloru</i> carried sand, gravel, or dirt. The <i>vinarulo</i> hauled grapes or wine barrels; the <i>frumentaru</i> hauled wheat." The style of painting on the carts differed also: in the eastern part of the island paintings are framed in squares, and in the western half of the island they appear in trapezoidal panels. Additionally, as with the chivalric stories told in puppet shows (see my Palermo post under the <i>Opera dei Pupi</i>, the marionette puppet theater), some of these stories were so popular they were depicted on Sicilian carts. Vincent Cronin, in <u>The Golden Honeycomb</u> (below), adds that the carts vary greatly in the extent of their decoration, but the most elaborate "have carvings on wheels, shafts, sides, front and back, and are painted all over in crude colors traditional and unvarying: red, yellow, blue, and green to symbolize Sicily's oranges, sun, sea, and grass. Even if you don't see any carts in use they may be found at the <a href="https://www.palermoviva.it/museo-etnografico-g-pitre/">Museo Etnografico Siciliano Giuseppe Pitrè</a>, in Palermo. This little-visited museum dedicated to Sicilian folklore was established in 1909 and features an array of objects that were once common in the ordinary lives of Sicilians. In a nod to the charming tradition of painted carts, designers Dolce & Gabbana introduced a 'Sicily is My Love' espresso maker in partnership with Smeg in 2019. It was exclusively offered by Neiman Marcus (for $1,500) and was most definitely the most festive and brightly colored espresso maker ever. According to an article in <i>The New York Times Magazine</i> -- '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/travel/tmagazine/a-sicilian-slice.html">A Sicilian Slice</a>' by Horacio Silva, 25 September, 2005 -- Dolce & Gabbana "is as synoymous with Sicily as old ladies in veils and young Romeos on scooters. Since founding the label in 1985, the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have mined the island for inspiration with the zeal of latter-day Viscontis [referring to the director of the film version of 'The Leopard,' Luchino Visconti]..."We love Sicily," says Dolce, a native Sicilian. "It is the perfect place to just relax -- eat, read and not worry about the stress of work. And we always come back with so many ideas. It is very magical." </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Cuisine</b>. To quote again from Matthew Fort's <u>Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons</u>: "If ever there was a country whose history was written in its food, it was Sicily, in the methods of cooking, ingredients, finished dishes, even in agricultural techniques. This gave an extraordinary richness to the texture as well as the range of Sicilian food. History was woven through the fabric of the Sicilian kitchen. Food was - is -- the history of the island." Visitors to Sicily quickly discover that the island's cuisine bares only a small resemblance to the foods found elsewhere in Italy, so to avoid disappointment at not finding <i>bolognese</i> sauce, polenta, panettone, parmigiana, gorgonzola, or recognizable pasta shapes, it's wise (and fun) to read up in advance about what you'll find (and regarding pasta shapes, Mary Taylor Simeti, in a chapter in <u>Pomp and Sustenance</u>, shares a partial list of pasta shapes compiled in the 19th century, and most of them are completely unfamiliar: <i>ciazzisuotti, scivulietti, cavatieddi, gnucchitti, taccuna, melinfanti, filatieddi, pastarattedda</i>, etc.). It's also especially helpful to know the names of the types of eating places you'll encounter in Sicily. Some of these are also found on the mainland and include <i>paninerie</i>, <i>salumerie</i>, <i>alimentari</i>, <i>crespellerie</i>, <i>rosticcerie</i>, <i>trattorie</i>, <i>osterie</i>, <i>ristoranti</i>, bars, caffes, <i>tavole caldas</i>, <i>gelaterie</i>, <i>chioschi </i>(this last refers to beverage kiosks, which have been a tradition in Sicily since the late 1800s), etc. <u>Rick Steves' Sicily</u> guide provides a fairly thorough primer on eating out and an overview of Sicilian food. Writer Francine Prose has noted that the secret of Sicilian food is all in the ingredients, of excellent quality, very fresh, prepared with no fuss, but with the maximum personal style. "The Sicilian culinary palette, the vocabulary of its kitchen is -- as any Sicilian cook will tell you -- a relatively limited one. Olive oil, garlic, flour, eggs, ricotta, fish on the coast, meat inland. But every cook prepared every one of those same dishes just a little differently so that no two tomato sauces are the same, one cook's <i>pasta con</i> <i>sarde</i> (that sublime, uniquely Sicilian concoction of sardines, pine nuts, raisins, fennel, and bread crumbs) will never be mistaken for another's."</div><div><br /></div><div>Like Matthew Fort, John Keahy also has some good words of advice for culinary travelers: "In rural Sicily, pointing your car in just about any direction and going for it reaps wondrous rewards. You can find small villages that suddenly appear on hillsides or hilltops and possess perhaps a handful of streets and one, maybe two, local restaurants that almost never see a tourist. There might not even be a menu; guests are served whatever is being prepared that day...They are everywhere in Sicily. You just have to search them out. Most of the time, you won't be disappointed." </div><div><br /></div><div>Among the iconic culinary specialties of Sicily is <i>caponata</i>, which seems to be made many different ways, with or without celery or tomatoes, and pasta (about which it's said that "there are more pasta dishes than there are names for babies"); but perhaps <i>the</i> most iconic specialty is <i>cannoli</i> (plural) or <i>cannolo</i> (singular). You may also see the Sicilian names displayed (<i>cannolu</i> for the plural and <i>canola</i> for the singular). The words derive from the Italian for cane or tube but the dessert as we know it was created by the Arabs. Before I went to Sicily I felt that <i>cannoli</i> were sweets I could easily pass by, but now I find that I crave them incredibly. Thank God I live not far from the Arthur Avenue neighborhood in the Bronx, where I can get my fix at <a href="https://madoniaarthurave.com/">Madonia Bakery</a>. No matter where you try them, always get the shells filled on the spot or they'll be soggy and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. A bakery that sells pre-filled cannoli is not reputable. </div><div>
<br />
In my first post on Sicily, I recommended a number of books specifically devoted to Sicilian cuisine, but there are a few others that include chapters on Sicily. In <u>Lidia's Italy</u> (Knopf, 2007) Lidia Bastianich writes that "Sicily has the climate of North Africa. The sun in summer is relentless and gives Sicilian produce an intensity of flavor that is not found in the north of Italy. The tomatoes are sweeter, the oil is more deeply flavored, the fennel has more licorice, capers are nuttier, and the anchovies and sea urchins taste more of the sea." I completely agree with her assessment. <u>Pasta Pane Vino: Deep Travels Through Italy's Food Culture</u> by Matt Goulding (HarperWave, 2018) is one edition in a great series by Goulding, co-founder of the fabulous <a href="https://roadsandkingdoms.com/">Roads & Kingdoms</a>, and Anthony Bourdain. Goulding writes that "a road trip around the island will leave you love struck for Sicilia," but he devotes the Sicily chapter mostly to Palermo and recommends a number of good places to eat. He also interviews Leoluca Orlando, the mayor of the city, and Nicoletta and Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, the duchess and duke of Palma (mentioned in several of my previous posts). Not in the book, but on a list of travel tips for Sicily, Goulding reminds visitors to "Keep it casual: there are chefs doing interesting, creative things with the superlative raw materials of the island, but the best food of Sicily, lie the best food of Italy, isn't to be found in restaurants with Riedel stemware and Michelin pedigrees. The best food we ate -- grilled spring onions wrapped in pancetta, <i>pasta alla norma</i>, fried risotto balls -- were found at inexpensive bars and <i>trattorie</i> across the island. Signs of a potentially amazing Sicilian restaurant: no tablecloths, no walls, no menus." Micol Negrin's <u>Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking</u> (Potter, 2002) also features a chapter on Sicily, and she writes, "There is something magical about Sicily. Maybe it's the volcanoes, Etna and Stromboli and a handful of smaller ones, forever threatening eruption, making every day seem like a gift...Whatever it is, Sicily's magic extends to its food, to its Baroque concoctions of pasta, its monumental seafood creations, its exuberant almond-laced pastries, it sweet, potent wines that taste like a distillation of the Sicilian sun." (Note that the book's cover photo is of a Sicilian dish, Twice-Cooked Swordfish in Tomato, Pine Nut, and Caper Sauce.) Also in my first post I singled out the word <i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">monzù </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">in Mary Taylor Simeti's <u>Pomp and Sustenance</u>. As a reminder, the word refers to (mostly) Sicilian chefs who were sent to France in the late 18th century for training in French cooking or who were trained under a French chef sent from Paris - it's a Neapolitan corruption of <i>monsieur</i> and became a mark of prestige among master chefs in southern Italy, Naples, and Sicily. Another great description of the word appeared in an article by Gully Wells in </span><i>Condé Nast Traveler</i>, 'The Sicilian Syndrome': "The reign of the <i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">monzù</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> lasted as long as the Sicilian aristocracy could afford their palaces in town and their country estates, where they lived and entertained in unbelievably grand style. By the time World War II came along, the game was pretty well up, and most families were forced to scale way down, seriously cut way back, and say <i>au revoir</i> to their fabled chefs." </span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> </span></div><div> <br />In his fascinating book <u>Delizia! The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food</u> (Atria, 2010), John Dickie opines that "Sicily probably has the most distinctive cuisine in Italy. In a world increasingly habituated to the so-called Mediteranean diet, there is still something unpredictable and lingeringly strange about what Sicilians eat. To eat in Sicily is to appreciate the dizzying variety in Italian food, and to understand why the expression "<i>La cucina italiana non esiste</i>" -- "Italian food does not exist" -- has become a truism." Dickie's chapter 'Palermo, 1154' is especially good reading, and for further culinary reading, here are some articles from my files that I've enjoyed and recommend (and again, a number of my favorites I cannot find online, unfortunately): '<a href="https://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/Honor-and-Onions/">Honor and Onions: An American Actor Takes His Grandfather's Recipes Back Home to Sicily - and a Whole Town Celebrates</a>' by Vincent Schiavelli (<i>Saveur</i>, 2007); '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/22/dining/la-dolce-vita-sicilian-style.html">La Dolce Vita, Sicilian Style</a>' by R. W. Apple, Jr. (<i>The New York</i> <i>Times</i>, 22 December, 1999); '<a href="https://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/The-Empire-of-Ice-Cream/">The Empire of Ice Cream</a>' by Mary Taylor Simeti (<i>Saveur</i>, 2007); '<a href="https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201101/couscous.crossroads.htm">Couscous Crossroads</a>' by Gail Simmons (<i>Saudi Aramco World</i>, January/February 2011); '<a href="https://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/Sicily/#:~:text=The%20Soul%20of%20Sicily&text=This%20ancient%20isle%20is%20home,makes%20this%20place%20so%20unique.">Soul of Sicily</a>' special feature by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Dana Bowen, and Nick Malgieri (Saveur, 2011); '<a href="https://www.departures.com/lifestyle/food/best-sicilian-desserts">La Dolce Sicilia</a>' by Andrea di Robilant (<i>Departures</i>, 2011); and '<a href="https://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Fruit-as-Red-as-Fire/">Fruit as Red as Fire</a>' by David Karp (<i>Saveur</i>, 2000). <br />
<br />Whatever you eat when you're in Sicily, <i>arricriatevi</i>! (enjoy!)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>E</b></div><div><b>Mount Etna</b>. This active volcano, the largest in Europe, is on the eastern side of Sicily but it can be seen from points much further west. When my husband and I drove from Palermo to Taormina, the mid-September day was warm and sunny but after about an hour the sky filled with some clouds. A little while later, the clouds moved on and we were stunned to then see the mass of Etna in the distance -- we hadn't expected to see it so soon, but there it was. At its highest elevation, Etna is 10,900 feet, and the area around it has become quite a magnet for growing all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the volcanic soil, and there are lots of wineries to visit, good places to eat, and <i>agriturismi</i> (farm stay) accommodations. For further reading: '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/travel/italy-sicily-mount-etna.html">In Sicily, a Volcano's Dangerous Allure</a>' by Danielle Pergament (<i>The New York Times</i>, 28 August, 2016) and '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/15/magazine/at-home-on-etna-s-fiery-slopes.html">At Home on Etna's Fiery Slopes</a>' by Mary Taylor Simeti (<i>The New York Times Magazine</i>, 15 May, 1994), and <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/sicily-new-hotels-wineries">'A New Scene is Bubbling Up on Sicily - In the Shadow of an Active Volcano'</a> by Lee Marshall (<i>Travel + Leisure</i>, November 2020). <br />
<br /><b>F</b></div><div><b>Films</b>. I always encourage travelers who are planning trips to have several 'Dinner and a Movie' nights as part of immersing themselves in the destination. There is no shortage of Sicilian cookbooks to consult to make a meal (my first post on Sicily mentions a number of them), and there are movies galore, too, which either feature Sicilian characters or at least some scenes that were shot on the island, including: 'The Art of Getting Along,' 'The Big Blue,' '<i>Cinema Paradiso</i>,' '<i>Conversazione su Tiresia</i>,' 'Deadline,' '<i>Der bunte Traum</i>,' '<i>Divorzio all'Italiana</i>,' 'Don Juan in Sicily,' 'Flo Rounds a Corner,' '<i>Il</i> <i>Gattopardo</i>,' 'The Godfather' (some scenes from all three films), '<i>Il Postino</i>' (filmed on Procida in the gulf of Naples and on Salina, an Aeolian Island off the north coast of Sicily), 'Island,' 'Johnny Stecchino,' '<i>L'Avventura</i>,' '<i>Man nennt es Amore</i>,' 'Mighty Aphrodite,' 'Ocean's Twelve,' '<i>Popcorn e Patatine</i>,' '<i>Sicilia di Sabbia</i>,' 'The Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro,' '<i>Strasera Laura</i>,' 'Tempestuous Love,' '<i>La Terra Trema</i>,' 'Tini: The New Life of Violetta,' and '<i>Un Amore di Gide</i>.' Additionally, there are nearly 40 episodes in the '<i>Il Commissario</i> <i>Montalbano</i>' tv series (based on the books by Andrea Camilleri), and the late, great Anthony Bourdain filmed an episode in Sicily in 2005 for his show 'No Reservations,' and there is an episode of 'Cake Boss' devoted to cassata, cheesecakes and crates of wine (2010). </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Florio Family</b>. I neglected to mention the Florio family in my Palermo post, but later I read <u>The Florios of Sicily: A Novel</u> by Stefania Auci (HarperVia, 2020) so I'm including it here as the family's fame did extend beyond Palermo, notably in Marsala (in the province of Trapani), where the fortified wine of the same name has been made since the late 1700s. Published as <i>I leoni di Sicilia</i> in 2019, the book was the bestselling novel of the year in Italy, and I highly recommend it. Each chapter is named for a significant item in the lives of the family -- Spices, Silk, Bark, Sulfur, Lace, Tuna, and Sand -- and the Sicilian proverbs that accompany each relate in some way to what occurs in the chapter. Among these are <i>Cu manìa 'un</i> <i>pinìa</i> (Those who roll up their sleeves don't endure), a reference to the fact that only laborers roll their sleeves up and the men in the Florio family, who started out in Palermo opening an <i>aromateria</i> (a spice shop), intend to succeed. The Florios arrived in Sicily in 1799 from Calabria, a fact that hindered their acceptance into society. In part two (1810 to 1820), Vincenzo Florio notes that Sicilians were divided: Palermo hated Messina, Trapani hated Palermo, and Catania looked out for itself. "They could boast the oldest parliament in the world but didn't know what to do with it, as they had amply proved. They were united on just one thing: a loathing for everything "beyond the lighthouse," beyond the Strait of Messina." Author Auci expresses in her Acknowledgments that "The historical facts that concern the Florios are fully knowable and described in dozens of books, and it is on these facts that my plot hinges. Where knowledge was lacking, inventiveness and workable imagination came in: in other words, the novel came in. The desire to to justice to a family of extraordinary people who, for better or worse, marked an era." Production of Florio marsala began in 1833 and it grew to become the biggest competitor of the English companies (Ingham and Whitaker among them) that had been producing marsala since 1773. Marsala, which earned its <i>Denominazione di Origine Controllata</i> (DOC) designation in 1969 and was the first in Sicily, comes in both dry and sweet versions. <a href="https://winefolly.com/">Wine Folly</a> authors Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack say that "if you find a bottle that's not from Sicily, it should not be trusted!" In 1924, Florio was acquired by Cinzano and in 2001 it became part of ILLVA Saronno Holding. </div><div><br /></div><div><u><b>From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home</b></u> by Tembi Locke (Thorndike Press, 2019). I only recently learned of this book or I would have included it in my very first post on Sicily. Locke is an African-American who was studying in Florence while in college and where she met her future husband, Saro. But instead of her story turning into one of moving to Sicily and living happy days, it's heartbreaking -- Saro is diagnosed with cancer and he passes away early on in the book. Yet Locke and her young daughter, Zoela, manage to overcome their deep sadness, and I won't spoil the rest of the story except to say that after not being initially accepted into Saro's family (his parents did not attend their wedding), Locke is embraced by family members and neighbors in the village of Aliminusa -- when her parents visit to celebrate the procession of Sant'Anna, Signor Shecco tells them that '<i>Sua figlia è una di noi</i>' (Your daughter is one of us). Locke also becomes an astute observer of Sicilian ways of life and traditions. She writes, "The first thing I saw when we turned left on Via Gramsci was a stoic brigade of aging women and widows lined up on a bench along the stone sidewalk. The widows, as is customary, were dressed in all black. Of varying heights and girths, they sat in front of Saro's childhood home waiting for us. They were prepared for mourning. They had done this before, many times -- for themselves, for family, for neighbors, perhaps since the dawn of time. Sicilians were accustomed to welcoming home the dead." And she writes about one of the most defining dish of the island, caponata: "The dish was sweet and savory, quintessentially Sicilian. Just one mouthful told the island's entire sensuous story: sun, wind, earth, Moorish, and European, it was fantasy brined in reality. Fragrant and textured, caponata has the color of darkness and the taste of paradise." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>G</b></div><div><b>The Golden Honeycomb</b>. Yet another book I only found out about recently, by historian Vincent Cronin (originally published in 1954 in England by Rupert Hart-Davis). Years ago, I'd read Cronin's biography of Napoleon and quite liked his style, so I was prepared to enjoy this as well. His thesis is that Sicily owes its prevailing pattern of civilization to Daedalus, the mythical (or perhaps not) Greek inventor, architect, and sculptor. Cronin believes that of all the men who ever lived, those who really excite the imagination are figures that occupied the "twilight world where history and legend meet." Daedalus, for him, was perhaps the most interesting of all for he's said to be the first artist who ever lived, and the historian who's related the most about him is Diodorus, a Sicilian who lived shortly before the time of Jesus Christ. Diodorus says Daedalus remained in Sicily for a considerable time, and he completed a number of masterpieces, including a magnificent golden honeycomb, which he gave in offering to Aphrodite of Erice, whose shrine was the most famous in Sicily. Cronin sets out on a journey around Sicily in search of this golden honeycomb, and he's a most observant traveler. "Only the shepherds in Sicily are ever alone," he writes. "The rest of the population are always in company, usually parading the streets or, since the houses are inadequate, sitting at a <i>caffé</i>. It is a civic life, a life of talk and laughter which always takes place out of doors, and this fact is itself a reflection of the external and extrovert quality of the people. People in the streets, people continually passing, people talking and laughing and joking -- this is the life of a Sicilian small town." I won't spoil the end of his quest, but Cronin does conclude that "the golden honeycomb is nothing less than the archetype of all Sicilian art." </div><div><br /></div><div>
<b>H</b></div><div><b>The Head of the Moor (<i>Testa di Moro</i>)</b>. It won't take long before visitors encounter somewhat of a curious decorative tradition, that of ceramic heads. They are found all over Sicily, though in my experience they are most plentiful in Taormina, and they are actually planters, even though many are not used as such. There are several folk tales that explain these heads, the most common of which goes that a girl who lived in the Kalsa neighborhood of Palermo was tending to the plants on her balcony when an Arab merchant walked by. They fell in love, but the girl discovered that he already had a wife and children in his native land. Her jealousy caused her to think of a way to keep him with her forever, so she cut off his head and used it as a vase to grow a basil plant. Passersby marveled at how her plant flourished, so they created ceramic heads pots and hoped their plants, too, would thrive. The tale is about a thousand years old but I've read that the appearance of the heads only became popular fairly recently. Often, the head of the man is black while the woman is white, which on the surface seems shockingly insensitive; but I don't believe Sicilians see it that way -- the heads are everywhere and are on every kind of souvenir imaginable. Even Dolce & Gabbana introduced a line featuring the heads and, as with the espresso maker mentioned above under 'Carts,' they also created a large, hand painted ceramic candle holder in the shape of a woman's head. It, too, was a Neiman's exclusive ($695), and the woman's face is surrounded by pieces of fruit while on her head is a prickly pear cactus. It's as fanciful as all the ceramic heads found across Sicily. I took the photos of heads below at the Albergo Bel Soggiorno (details in the Taormina entry), where some of the heads displayed featured both a black man and a black woman, go figure. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRaNqEgyMwclzDXThHQrvRObQeOXSLYdusiruJ2M7LcKpCqJbdqNFLRNhDpLWEs0aq4DLLb2LAYR_Uuf6pz8JBhLGFNqZcCmL7suvMnfgC2vysteA9rIxBsHMe36qIHIEPBvd6UswVWA/s640/heads+1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRaNqEgyMwclzDXThHQrvRObQeOXSLYdusiruJ2M7LcKpCqJbdqNFLRNhDpLWEs0aq4DLLb2LAYR_Uuf6pz8JBhLGFNqZcCmL7suvMnfgC2vysteA9rIxBsHMe36qIHIEPBvd6UswVWA/s320/heads+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_b36PiA8igsGJMjyamPUZHvnkR_Bb34XksjGMVTgTl-cESoz9JfcH0g2S5jiEJf_lHRb_q9yQL3-Cw_jCB4_FqEqSR4Oou8GoRXZnaXYnBY0KqekBaFlry1GJatiW_vOhhKb_Ov98fg/s640/heads+on+table.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_b36PiA8igsGJMjyamPUZHvnkR_Bb34XksjGMVTgTl-cESoz9JfcH0g2S5jiEJf_lHRb_q9yQL3-Cw_jCB4_FqEqSR4Oou8GoRXZnaXYnBY0KqekBaFlry1GJatiW_vOhhKb_Ov98fg/s320/heads+on+table.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>J</b><br /><b>
Jewish History</b>. Sicily's Arab and Christian history is well known; its Jewish history less so, but before the Jewish population was expelled from the island by the Spanish Inquisition, it was quite large and prosperous. In <u>Pomp and Sustenance</u>, Mary Taylor Simeti notes that what we know about the Jews at this time is that they wrote and spoke Arabic as well as Hebrew; they were active in commerce, especially with northern Africa; and they "constituted much of the skilled labor that carried on traditions of Arabic craftsmanship in such industries as building and the production of silk and sugar." (And they apparently were the chief consumers of what little olive oil was then being produced in Sicily). Simeti goes on to say that there were "two bridges of trade," one to the south and one to the north, and "it is not too far-fetched to hypothesize Sicily as the principal link between the "court cuisine" of twelfth-century Baghdad and Damascus, and the elaborate dishes, many of them very similar to those of the Near East, that appeared on the tables of the Italian Renaissance several centuries later. It seems possible that traditions that had been imported to Palermo by the Arabs were maintained there by the Jews, and then exported to the north by Genoan and Venetian merchants." </div><div><br /></div><div>Authors Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio devote a chapter in their excellent book, <u>The Peoples of</u> <u>Sicily</u>, to Jewish history on the island. Mendola and Alio confirm that though a number of Jews left Sicily after 1492, perhaps as many as half converted to Catholicism and stayed, like the <i>conversos</i> in Spain (in Sicily these converts were known a <i>neofiti</i>). Jews who continued to practice Judaism in secret were known as <i>Marranos</i>. By the 1520s, baptisms and marriages in Sicilian churches located near formerly Jewish communities bear a number of family surnames like <i>de Simone</i> (son of Simon) as well as first names like <i>Isacco</i>, <i>Beniamino</i>, <i>Abramo</i>, and <i>Davide</i>, all of which were formerly rare among Sicilian Christians. The authors note that "most Sicilians have Jewish ancestors through one line or another." </div><div><br /></div><div>Recently, there has been renewed interest in uncovering Jewish history on the island, notably in Palermo, where a new synagogue has found a home in a former Baroque oratory known as <i>Santa Maria del Sabato</i> (Holy Mary of Saturday). In '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/world/europe/italy-jews-sicily-expulsion.html">Jews find a New Home in Sicily 500 Years After They Were Forced Out</a>' by Elisabetta Povoledo (<i>The New York Times</i>, 25 April, 2017), a member of Palermo's Jewish community stated that some scholars believe that the name of the oratory might be related to the memory of the celebration of Shabbat, the weekly day of rest from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday -- the oratory is on vicolo Meschita, part of an area once occupied by Palermo's Great Synagogue. Povoledo notes that there were once 51 Jewish communities in Sicily with Palermo's the largest and most important. The second largest community, with Europe's oldest mikveh (ritual bath), was on Ortygia, the peninsular <i>centro storico</i> of Siracusa (Ortygia is also where Caravaggio's 'Burial of Saint Lucy' masterpiece is; he came to Sicily in 1608 after escaping from prison on Malta). It dates from at least the year 660, possibly as early as 535, and authors Mendola and Alio state that Judaism was present on Ortygia "long before the arrival of Christianity on Sicilian shores." In 'Days of Awe in Siracusa' in the online publication <i>Times of Sicily</i>, writer Gary Duke met Rabbi Stefano Di Mauro, who established the synagogue there in 2008. "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: times;">Di Mauro swears though that there are more Jews in Sicily than one suspects and if Sicilians with certain names looked back at their family trees, they’d discover their Jewish past.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: times;">" </span>Historians say the Inquisition affected at least 35,000 Sicilian Jews, 5,000 of those in Palermo. The size of the Jewish community in Palermo today is unclear, but it's growing, and efforts have been made to identify historical Jewish sites around the city. An example that Povoledo mentions in her article is that the street sign for <i>via dei Calderai</i>, named for the metal and coppersmiths who had shops there, is now trilingual, in Italian, Hebrew, and Arabic. However, apparently the Hebrew isn't quite right: the Hebrew letters were simply substituted for the Italian letters but weren't translated. A few resources for more information are <a href="http://www.visitjewishitaly.it/en/">Visit Jewish Italy</a> and <u>The Guide to Jewish Italy </u>by Annie Sacerdoti and photos by Alberto Jona Falco (Rizzoli, 2003; one short chapter on Sicily). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>L</b></div><div><b>Language</b>. In <u>Seeking Sicily</u>, John Keahy shares that in his quest to learn a little more about the differences between Sicilian dialect and Italian, he was intrigued by the fact that there is no future tense in Sicilian. He notes this could stem from the Arabic language that, even today, has no future tense. Modern day Sicilians have adopted Italian, which does use the future tense, as does the English that Sicilian immigrants embraced in the early years of the 20th century. Alex Caldiero, a folklorist, poet, and university professor who Keahy met, points out that the Sicilian immigrants "were suddenly immersed in a culture that believes you can be anything you want, that you have the power to shape your future...Remember, Sicilians have always been dominated by other cultures; they never had self-determination as a people. Their blood constantly told them that they have no control over their lives, that everything was controlled by the will of God." This is a theme that finds its way into many of the short stories by Giovanni Verga, and pre-20th century Sicilians viewed the future as an obligation. As Caldiero says, "Instead of saying 'I will do it,' they say, '<i>l’aiâ farsi</i>.' [I have to do it.] It's all in that one grammatical difference. Instead of saying "I will sing," it's "I have to sing." Instead of "I will bring it," it's "I am about to bring it." </div><div><br /><b>
M</b><br /><b>
Mafia</b>. Driving from the airport to Palermo visitors will see a red monument, sort-of in the shape of an obelisk, that marks the spot where Judge Giovanni Falcone (and his wife, Francesca Morvillo, and three bodyguards) were blown up in a car in 1992. This is the Italian equivalent of Americans remembering where they were on the day JFK was assassinated. Two months later Judge Paolo Borsellino, along with five police officers, were also murdered. The airport in Palermo, formerly called Punta Raisi, was renamed Falcone Borsellino in honor of these two very brave men who came closer than anyone since Mussolini to break up the mafia (see '<i>Il Traditore</i>' -- The Traitor -- for an excellent film version of Falcone and his relationship with Tommaso Buscetta, the first Sicilian mafia boss who became a <i>pentito</i>, repentant). </div><div><br /></div><div>Horatio Clare, editor of <u>Sicily: Through Writers' Eyes</u> (see below under 'S'), notes that the word mafia is an international term today, and can refer to Russian, Balkan, American, and Mexican organized crime, as well as other Italian groups like the <i>n'dranghetta</i> of Calabria and the <i>Camora</i> of Naples. "But in the history of crime," he writes, "there has been nothing to compare with the Sicilian mafia, <i>Cosa Nostra...</i>It is necessary for any non-Italian to abandon fundamental misconceptions before considering the question of the mafia. Put aside the dark-eyed Hollywood heroes who have done so much to glamorise the term...To face the mafia is to face the unholy trinity of human life: violence, fear and malign power. To follow its rise and prospering is to study the genesis and processes of evil. As we know, as we have always known, the most frightening thing about evil is the way it insinuates itself into normal life." It would be a mistake, however, to place too much emphasis on the mafia today in Sicily. Though the mafia is not entirely gone, it is not nearly as powerful or as prevalent as it once was, and at any rate Sicilians are really not interested in talking about it; it's become a tired topic. Yet, I think it's important to have a fundamental understanding about it because the mafia, at least in its early existence, is a uniquely Sicilian concept. </div><div><br /></div><div>Historically, the mafia has been more entrenched in the western half of Sicily. The town of Corleone, made internationally famous from <u>The Godfather</u> book and movie (even though the movie was not filmed there), is about 35 miles south of Palermo, in western Sicily, and it was the seat of Sicilian organized crime for most of the 20th century. Corleone is, since 2000, the home of <a href="https://www.cidmacorleone.it/?lang=en">CIDMA</a> (<i>Centro Internazionale di Documentazione sulle Mafie e del Movimento Antimafia</i>), the Anti-Mafia Museum (reservations must be made online or by contacting the office). Writer Norman Lewis, whose first wife was the daughter of a <i>mafioso</i>, made a reference to the difference between western and eastern Sicily in his outstanding book <u>The Honoured Society</u> (originally published in 1964; Eland Publishing introduced an edition in 2003; subscribers to <i>The New Yorker </i>may read three excerpts online from the 8th, 15th, and 22nd of February, 1964). The book focuses on the fact that during the Second World War, Mussolini came very close to destroying the mafia, but when the U.S. Army was in Sicily it unwittingly restored the mafia's power. Lewis introduces readers to the <i>mafioso</i> Don Calogero Vizzini, who had "dedicated the whole of his life to what the mafia calls 'winning respect,' and his prestige was now enormous. He had been nicknamed by the Allies 'General mafia.' Whether or not he was responsible for American strategy in western Sicily, his followers certainly gave him the credit for it, and no one could deny that the mafia had most efficiently cleared all obstacles in the path of the American advance, while in the east the British and Canadians were still fighting their way round the slopes of Etna and it was to be three more weeks before they reached their goal at Messina." </div><div><br /></div><div>It seems no one has definitively named an exact time when the mafia began, but as early as 1610, when British traveler George Sandys visited Sicily, he wrote that the interior of the island was dangerous and most inhospitable to strangers, and that robbing and murders were not uncommon. Allan Langdale, in <u>Palermo: Travels in the City of Happiness</u>, notes that when Scottish author Patrick Brydone traveled throughout Sicily in 1770, he was told about a particular group of bandits: "He says that in some circumstances these bandits (<i>banditti</i>) are the most respectable people on the island; and have by much the highest and most romantic notions of what they call their point of honour. That, however criminal they may be with regard to society in general, yet, with respect to one another, and to every person to whom they have once professed it, they have ever maintained the most unshakable fidelity. The magistrates have often been obliged to protect them, and even pay them court, as they are known to be perfectly determined, and desperate; and so extremely vindictive, that they will certainly put any person to death, who has ever given them just cause of provocation." The violence of the <i>banditti</i>, Langdale notes, is balanced by their <i>omertà</i>, their total devotion to each other and their code of honor. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Garibaldi and his volunteers began the <i>Spedizione dei Mille</i> (Expedition of the Thousand), in Marsala in 1860, which was the first event of the <i>Risorgimento</i> (the unification of Italy), the countryside of western Sicily lent itself perfectly to the development of an organized criminal class that at any rate had been around centuries before. "The <i>mafiosi</i> helped Garibaldi and Garibaldi helped the <i>mafiosi</i>," notes Langdale, and when Garibaldi left, the mafia <i>capi</i> (heads), many of whom had been managers of the noble estates, easily took advantage of the vacuum of power left by the absence of any kind of authority. Langdale observes that "like the devil, the most ingenious thing the mafia ever did was convince people it didn't exist." Well into the 20th century, many people, including Sicilians, didn't believe the mafia was real. Rather, it was an invention of foreigners and northern Italians who wanted to insult Sicilians. This is why, according to Langdale, the mafia preferred the '<i>lupara bianca</i>,' the 'white shotgun' assassination, a murder for which a body is never found, leading one to wonder if the murder ever happened. Lastly, Langdale writes, "There's a story that may or may not be true, or, most likely, may be partly true," and this is that when the Allies were planning on the invasion of Sicily in 1943, the American military contacted the New York mobster Lucy Luciano and made a deal: when General Patton and his troops landed on the 9th of July, they need to move swiftly to Palermo, so Luciano was asked to insure this would be the case. Luciano united the mafiosi of western Sicily to run the Fascists out ahead of the invasion, and Patton's army met no resistance en route to Palermo, where Patton was hailed as a liberator (even though Allied planes had just bombed the port and the historic core of the city). As with Garibaldi, when the Americans left they had to reward those who had helped them, so the mafia became as powerful as it had ever been as corrupt officials filled the power vacuum left behind by the defeated Fascists. The mafia went on to deliver votes to politicians, who in return delivered protection from prosecution as well as promises for all kinds of government projects the mafia could exploit. </div><div><br /></div><div>Other works to read on this topic include <u>Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic </u> by Alexander Stille (Vintage, 1996) as well as those I mentioned in my first Sicily post: Peter Robb's excellent and absorbing <u>Midnight in Sicily</u> (ostensibly focused on the mafia but about so much more; "In the deep sea of Sicily, things go on changing and things go on staying the same" Robb astutely notes) and the novels of Sicilian writer Leonardo Sciascia, who excels at pointing out to his readers where and how to see the mafia. However, Robb notes in his book that by 1961, Sciascia's picture of the mafia as an essentially rural force was less true. "By the end of the fifties, the mafia's centre of gravity had shifted to the cities and Cosa Nostra was heavily into construction and real estate...The more Sciascia became known as an authority on Sicily and the mafia, the more out of touch he became with what the mafia was becoming in that time of rapid change." Still, again as Robb points out, Sciascia's <u>The Day of the Owl</u> was the first Italian novel, published in 1961, to feature the mafia as its subject, and the book has been taught in Italian schools as a classic. I very much recommend reading it, as well as any of Sciascia's other books. Robb adds that "the <i>New York Review </i>briefly praised Leonardo Sciascia as the exponent of a <i>brilliant and haunting</i> crime fiction in which <i>what matters is not so much the crime as the danger of knowing anything about it</i>". </div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, if you see the words '<i>addio</i> <i>pizzo</i>' on signs or stickers, it refers to a 'denounce the <i>pizzo</i>' campaign by an organization of the same name, <a href="https://www.addiopizzotravel.it/default.asp?p=chisiamo&hl=en">Addio Pizzo</a>, which opposes Cosa Nostra kickbacks. Browse its website for tours, activities, accommodations, etc. that refuse to pay the mafia bribe. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mandranova</b>. <i><a href="https://www.mandranova.com/">Azienda Agricola Mandranova</a></i> is another countryside inn that I think was my most favorite accommodation, though I wasn't so sure about that when we pulled off the main road onto the estate. It seemed to me that the property was too close to the road and that it would be noisy, but the buildings that comprise the estate -- the <i>casale</i> (the main house), the restored train station, and a <i>palmento</i> -- are set back quite far from the road in a garden of palm trees. It was perfectly quiet, wonderful, relaxing, and beautiful in every way. All of the 15 guest rooms are unique, some with original family furnishings, and all have fine quality linens and nicely appointed bathrooms. We stayed in the <i>casale</i> and when we opened the heavy wooden door to our room the first thing we saw was a carafe of chilled water waiting for us, which was most welcome. The room was spacious, pretty, and a bit elegant, with a large, wooden armoire, majolica floor, windows on two sides, and a really comfy bed. The bathroom was fairly large and the tiled stall had a great rainfall shower head. There are also two villas available for rent on the property. The pool was in ancient times a <i>gebbia</i>, used for irrigation, and as it's set on a small hill there are views out over the estate, with all its olive trees, and to the sea, which is just minutes away. Breakfast, which is included in the rate, is an elaborate spread, perhaps the best I've ever experienced at an inn; it included an assortment of breads, freshly squeezed juices, olives, yogurt, tomatoes, <i>panna cotta</i> with fruit, assorted baked tarts, slices of kiwi, nectarines, prickly pear, watermelon and other melons, grapes, jams, coffee, and tea. Dinner, which is extra, is really special: clearly Mandranova's owners, Silvia and Giuseppe, believe that a memorable meal consists not only of quality ingredients and finesse in the kitchen but also of good conversation and the happy sparks that occur when guests meet other guests. We were all assigned seats at the large indoor table, and couples were seated across from one another. At first we chatted with the guests sitting next to us but it didn't take long to meet the guests seated further down the table. The food was exceptional and the wines continued to flow. After many hours, we walked outside onto the stone terrace and some of the trees were spotlit at their bases and there were lanterns placed just so and it was absolutely magical. It was a beautiful, charming evening. Madranova's location turned out to be serendipitous for me as it is five minutes from the town of Palma di Montechiaro, founded in 1637 by an ancestor of Giuseppe di Lampedusa, who inherited it. As the main reason for this Sicily trip was to take a cooking class taught by Lampedusa's daughter-in-law, in Palermo, it seemed I was destined to stay here. I really didn't want to leave. Happily, I bought some Mandranova olive oil, which is the very best souvenir of this special place. At the reception there are single oils in glass bottles, tins, and boxes (as well as a tasting box with 4 small tins) and marmalades, pistachio pesto, and almonds. I wish I'd taken more photos but I was too busy enjoying every inch of the inn, both inside and outside. The two photos below are of seating areas just outside the <i>casale</i> and of a public room available to guests inside the <i>casale</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimltLCzSojfB9RiXuswc8OR7PKwmNBq6G2-3sQv6GeMOHBjr1C1WnLYoDBM4QpcfZhUBkmG0UOaQgJ8YYMVefuK-ZM7wiH91S6toJ5HMRxaLvMe965J91N7CTMLd2Aeo7EtmUdFuMEYc/s640/mandranova+outside.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimltLCzSojfB9RiXuswc8OR7PKwmNBq6G2-3sQv6GeMOHBjr1C1WnLYoDBM4QpcfZhUBkmG0UOaQgJ8YYMVefuK-ZM7wiH91S6toJ5HMRxaLvMe965J91N7CTMLd2Aeo7EtmUdFuMEYc/s320/mandranova+outside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AGjkXycqV0JYIFVlabnJc_wHvCFW0niGxj2rqJFNhsIxYCJAEvu74h9rPIDpzI2uU8efmIze38QKQmWKFkfr-WnfWr0EIimTBniMFs8XuhpUBC2U17zgaCBsvDJDuA6j_rJKwoLYuW4/s640/mandranova+inside.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AGjkXycqV0JYIFVlabnJc_wHvCFW0niGxj2rqJFNhsIxYCJAEvu74h9rPIDpzI2uU8efmIze38QKQmWKFkfr-WnfWr0EIimTBniMFs8XuhpUBC2U17zgaCBsvDJDuA6j_rJKwoLYuW4/s320/mandranova+inside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div>Messina</b>. I include Messina here not because I visited the town (though I'd very much like to) but because of its key geographic location, across the Strait of Messina from Reggio di Calabria on the mainland, and because of its symbolic importance in Greek mythology. In Homer's Odyssey, the monsters Scylla and Charybdis lived at opposite ends of the Strait of Messina, making it quite dangerous (and deadly in the case of six of Homer's shipmates) to cross (the waters in the Strait are said to be rather whirlpool-like). The tale is the source of our modern day idioms, "to choose the lesser of two evils" or "to be between a rock and a hard place." In more modern times, as recently as 2012 and then 2016, a bridge was to be constructed between Messina and Reggio, which would connect Sicily to the Italian mainland. Not only would the bridge help facilitate trade between northern and southern Europe, it would have an enormous psychological impact on Sicilians. The bridge project, managed by the <i>Stretto di Messina </i>company, was introduced as the world's biggest structure, surpassing all other bridges, and was to cost three billion euros. Building a bridge, even across the narrowest point, less than two miles wide, is a true technical challenge, with six (or twelve) vehicle lanes and two railway tracks, not to mention that the location is in a highly seismic region that's also quite windy. In his book <u>Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey</u>, Robert Camuto writes that for more than two thousand years, emperors, kings, and politicians have talked about bridging the Strait, but "now it seems doubtful that Sicily will survive the twenty-first century -- or even another decade -- as its own <i>continente</i>." Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi steamrolled the project, and said the bridge "will give Sicilians 100 percent status as Italian citizens," a comment Camuto feels is "a bizarre statement implying that Sicilians have less than whole status." Yet by now you've likely assumed the bridge hasn't been built, and indeed it hasn't. Camuto found that polls said Sicilians were in favor of a bridge, "though I imagine many are caught in a Sicilian paradox: being for the bridge <i>as long as it is not actually constructed</i> in their lifetimes. I have yet to find one Sicilian who wants the thing built." In the chapter 'A Bridge Too Close,' Camuto introduces a Messina wine producer, Salvatore Geraci, in a busy bar: "The place had the kind of pulse you can only find in Italian cafes: fueled by the beat of pop radio in the background, the hissing and droning of the espresso machine, and the clinking of porcelain and metal. In an instant, I saw Salvatore in his element, moving to the beat. He was Sicilian. He was worldly. He was continental. As long as the continent kept its distance." Geraci expressed to Camuto what is the most fundamental reason to oppose the bridge: '<i>Meglio che La Sicilia resta isolate' </i>(Better that Sicily stay apart). <i> </i></div><div><br /><b>N</b></div><div><b>Noto</b>. The original Noto Antica was destroyed by a massive earthquake (as well as nearly all of southeastern Sicily) in January of 1693. Instead of rebuilding the town in the same spot, it was decided to start fresh in a location about eight miles to the south. This clean slate presented both an architectural and urban planning opportunity, and a master plan was created for the new Noto, uncommon in Sicily at the time. The plan was essentially a grid and featured wide, straight streets, imposing arches, and large, open squares, and of all the towns in Sicily it's the most uniform in period and style. Over time, Noto started crumbling, literally, and by the 1990s many of the town's buildings were covered in scaffolding. In 1996, the cupola of the San Nicolò Cathedral crashed to the ground. Thanks to funding from the European Union in the early 2000s, buildings were beautifully restored, and as a result, Noto is now the capital of Sicilian Baroque. The architects of this style have been referred to as "stone-gardeners" and they were interested in much more than a building's façade: entryways, staircases, arches, courtyards, loggias, and real gardens were all used to display the wealth of the inhabitants. In 'Basking in the Baroque' from the Italian magazine <i>Gambero Rosso</i>, Noto chef Corrado Assenza shared that "Baroque architecture glorified the ruling class and was meant to stupefy and fascinate ordinary people." This very wild and bold style is not to everyone's taste, but I find it fascinating, and in 2001 UNESCO added the eight towns of the 'Val di Noto Baroque' to its World Heritage list (the other seven towns are Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli). Noto itself may be too spiffed up for some, but I like it, and it has long been considered the capital of the Baroque. The authors of <u>Magnificent Interiors of Sicily: Val di Noto</u> (a gem of a book described below) write that Noto is now the cradle of travelers "looking for art, culture, and authentic traditions. They are also looking for an active and contemporary social scene to enjoy themselves while seeped in the Sicilian way of life." </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucyrgq7-RUXSybyWzfLqz1fYV55cb0VUJ5-B4al-Q87iMKriXoBqZ_xk-TuhyphenhyphenQZDI4_aNbZF_hLRSYRzlHMxqp9AOGjAwB671IkkN5kT6u4RPVAZh__J6VauEyPN0qgchiz4yluhPtV8/s640/IMG_0465.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucyrgq7-RUXSybyWzfLqz1fYV55cb0VUJ5-B4al-Q87iMKriXoBqZ_xk-TuhyphenhyphenQZDI4_aNbZF_hLRSYRzlHMxqp9AOGjAwB671IkkN5kT6u4RPVAZh__J6VauEyPN0qgchiz4yluhPtV8/s320/IMG_0465.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_k4a7DbWhmFEFCPKzhdPkVo30WvFiR3QLmq-Fotg9lJwHkg_i3nvXtA2JEivwN3hTI2XNsePbdnqU6LhAjavD2RmfUO-hEd6S-GVqohLy2lt-tTSP1MBOFa91P7VjzsnDAXX3dUw0wc/s640/IMG_0469.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_k4a7DbWhmFEFCPKzhdPkVo30WvFiR3QLmq-Fotg9lJwHkg_i3nvXtA2JEivwN3hTI2XNsePbdnqU6LhAjavD2RmfUO-hEd6S-GVqohLy2lt-tTSP1MBOFa91P7VjzsnDAXX3dUw0wc/s320/IMG_0469.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQZDoQiRoSvEY3xD3uQpC96aJNSmL1SRB_SPW-rt7z0f3M3QMo31ndda3nloz-tpJFsnttV5FgW9QGs_ETKhmMOdbYW4LN3l5lox2ItIWFxh33EZe77E18hTaYEmJ2FpUP_X_U2kaVgo/s640/IMG_0466.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQZDoQiRoSvEY3xD3uQpC96aJNSmL1SRB_SPW-rt7z0f3M3QMo31ndda3nloz-tpJFsnttV5FgW9QGs_ETKhmMOdbYW4LN3l5lox2ItIWFxh33EZe77E18hTaYEmJ2FpUP_X_U2kaVgo/s320/IMG_0466.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We drove to Noto for the day from Baglio Occhipinti (mentioned above) but in retrospect I wish we'd also spent at least one night in town, and if we had it would be at <u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">S</span></u><a href="https://www.7roomsvilladorata.it/en/charming-hotel-in-noto.html">even Rooms Villadorata</a>. This very special inn opened in 2008 and is located in a dedicated wing of the Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, named after the Principe di Villadorata (Giacomo Nicolaci, whose wealth came from tuna fishing) and the palace was completed in 1737. Cristina Summa, previously a designer and hotelier in Torino, bought the wing of the palace when it was up for sale, and she is the owner and manager of 7 Rooms; she also lives in the palace with her husband and children. Seven Rooms is, to again quote from <u>Magnificent Interiors of Sicily: Val di Noto</u>, "one of the most beautiful residences in all of Sicily" and "it is no coincidence that it is the most photographed building in Noto. The exceptional series of balconies, supported by mythological creatures carved in stone, including hippogriffs, sphinxes, mermaids, and winged horses are astonishing." The interior of the boutique B&B is rather the complete opposite of the Baroque exterior, with its soothing, monochrome colors and uncluttered decor. I showed up with my husband, unannounced, and we were given a fairly extensive tour. The overall feel is one of being a guest in someone's (very nice) private home. It's luxurious, but in the best way, comfortably so, not at all stuffy. Each of the seven guest rooms (one is a suite) is named after the seven winds of Sicily, and each is a quiet little world unto itself. I felt I was enveloped in a very calm and welcoming place, meant for utter relaxation, yet right in the center of Noto. My impression was that every single detail had been carefully considered. Even if you don't stay at Seven Rooms, I recommend stepping into the pretty reception area (the vine-covered entrance is in a far corner of the palace's courtyard), where the products of the <i>Officine Villadorata</i> -- handcrafted soaps, body oil, and liquid soap -- are for sale. The original Nicolaci estate produced almonds, lemons, oranges, prickly pears, and olive oil, so the establishment of the <i>Officine</i> continues this agricultural tradition. All the products feature raw materials from Sicily and from the nearby Aeolian islands of Lipari, Salina, and Stromboli, and the scents are really pure and appealing. The soaps are nicely packaged in heavy colored paper and wrapped with matching twine and metal seals, and they make great gifts (for yourself or others) as they're small and pack easily. All the products are made with Orti Villadorata extra virgin olive oil, and there is an online shop as well. Perhaps not entirely content with one distinctive inn, Cristina Summa also established <a href="http://www.countryhousevilladorata.it">Country House Villadorata</a>, about ten minutes outside of Noto. This eco-friendly, 28-acre property is a working farm, with olive, almond, and citrus trees; it's more casual than 7 Rooms but is still quite stylish. Note that children under 14 are not permitted at either property. </div><div><br /></div><div>We had a great, great lunch at <a href="https://www.anchegliangeli.it/site/">Anche Gli Angeli</a> ('Even the Angels,' via Arnaldo da Brescia, 20), which is more of a concept store that just happens to have a really good restaurant inside the pretty building (there is also a wine bar and a shop with quality Sicilian items and books). The grilled <i>pulpo</i>, Etna salad (tomatoes, capers, red onion, ricotta salata, and basil) and pasta with <i>vongole</i> and pistachios were excellent and memorable. Of course we stopped in at <a href="http://www.caffesicilia.it/homepage.html">Caffé Sicilia</a>, home of the famous creations of pastry chef Corrado Assenza, the second Italian to be featured on the 'Chef's Table' series by Netflix (after chef Massimo Bottura of Modena). Food writer, cookbook author, and one of my most favorite people, Faith Willinger, is hugely responsible for Assenza being the subject of a 'Chef's Table' episode, and if you've seen it you've already heard what sets Assenza apart from others in the field. Our visit was entirely too rushed, and while I did have a quite delicious Basilico and Zafferano gelato (basil and saffron, what a combo!), I think I did not sample the best of what Assenza creates. It's clear a return visit is in order!</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from leisurely walking around Noto (also known as "the Garden in Stone"), I recommend visiting the <a href="http://www.palazzocastelluccio.it">Palazzo Castelluccio</a>, a beautifully restored palace that has only been open to the public since 2017. The palace was built in 1782, after the earthquake, by the Marquis di Lorenzo del Castelluccio, one of the oldest families in Noto. The palazzo was in bad shape when it was purchased in 2011 by French journalist, filmmaker, and collector Jean-Louis Remilleux -- it had been abandoned since the 1970s, when the last marchese had passed away. Guided tours are the only way to visit the palazzo (reservations are recommended), and though some rooms are off-limits (reserved for Remilleux), the tours are extensive and include a lot of indoor and outdoor spaces. Walking through the meticulously renovated rooms reveals a thorough peek into how Noto's nobility once lived. A special feature is the original Sicilian ceramic tile floors, which were perfectly preserved; many of the Sicilian and Neapolitan pieces of baroque furniture are from Remilleux's personal collection. "Antiques are not dead things," Remilleux said in an interview with <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/remilleux-burgundy-chateau-article">AD in December 2014</a>, "They have a lot to teach us about how we lived and thought." Photos of the palazzo's interior were featured in <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/see-a-sicilian-palazzo-brought-back-to-life">AD in 2017</a>, in a piece by Mitchell Owens (Remilleux was not identified as the owner). There are other palaces to visit in Noto, but Remilleux confirms that "not one palazzo in Noto is intact like this." The photo below is of the palazzo's outdoor terrace. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYINNRFFmpEkHTDIlr66XcfnmCRR4TckIkCTgoJGx7Zqb5yZU-Q6pn-GdcjRwbU40CF5Y9UFTMzJa3tf7wvWb2gqhxwFvgU7aXF0xeRXNu0A728nOxCmij85_3PF6k_YEpR1NGMQAuCgI/s640/IMG_0462.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYINNRFFmpEkHTDIlr66XcfnmCRR4TckIkCTgoJGx7Zqb5yZU-Q6pn-GdcjRwbU40CF5Y9UFTMzJa3tf7wvWb2gqhxwFvgU7aXF0xeRXNu0A728nOxCmij85_3PF6k_YEpR1NGMQAuCgI/s320/IMG_0462.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The book I mentioned above, <u>Magnificent Interiors of Sicily: Val di Noto</u> with text by Samuele Mazza and Richard Engel and photos by Matteo Aquila (Rizzoli, 2019), <i>really</i> makes you want to plan a trip as soon as possible. Country homes, farms, and villas are featured, all of which were restored in a successful combination of tradition and innovation. The authors explain that "this book is a story told less with words than through a visual and aesthetic experience. It is a book that wants to express through images sensations that are hard to put into words, if not emerging oneself completely in the atmosphere." There are good suggestions on what to see and visit at the back of the book. In addition to this splendid tome, a few good articles to read are <span color="inherit" style="font-family: times;">'</span><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/sicily-old-and-new" style="font-family: times;">Sicily Old & New</a><span color="inherit" style="font-family: times;">' by John Seabrook (</span><i style="color: inherit; font-family: times;">Travel + Leisure</i><span color="inherit" style="font-family: times;">, August 2009; despite the title of the article, the author focuses exclusively on the southeastern corner of the island -- he describes the landscape as "neither European nor African, but something in between);</span> '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/travel/on-a-road-trip-in-sicily-churches-everywhere.html">Defying Nature With Exuberant Design</a>' by Celestine Bohlen (<i>The New York Times</i>, 2 June, 2013); '<a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-05-19/why-noto-sicily-is-our-italy-destination-of-the-summer">Noto</a>' by Pilar Guzman (<i>Condé Nast Traveler, </i>June/July 2016<i>); </i>'<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/travel/the-baroque-side-of-sicily.html?searchResultPosition=1">The Baroque Side of Sicily</a>' by Frederika Randall (<i>The New York Times</i>, 15 June, 2003); and 'Seduced by Sicily' by Lauren Mechling, about the Val di Noto (<i>Departures</i>, 2019 -- I can't find this online, which seems odd to me, but Mechling writes that the Noto Valley "has become a destination for in-the-know Europeans and the American magazine editors who travel like them" and she and her husband visited Noto and Ragusa Ibla; she also describes Seven Rooms Villadorata as "think John Derian by way of old-world Italy," and at Duomo, in Ragusa Ibla, she had what was "hands-down the best meal of our lives" at the Michelin-starred restaurant of Sicily's most celebrated chef, Ciccio Sultano).</div><div><br /><b>P</b><br /><b>Piana degli Albanesi</b>. The name of this small, mountain town derives from its founding by Christian Albanian immigrants who were fleeing the Ottomans in the 15th century. Arbërisht, a pre-Ottoman Albanian that is from the Tosk dialect of southern Albania, is still spoken here, and signage in many spots are in both Albanian and Italian. Just south of the town is a pretty artificial lake (it provides drinking water for Palermo) and at one of the surrounding mountain passes is the Portella della Ginestra, which at first glance is perhaps an unlikely setting for a tragic event, one that occurred on the first of May, 1947. On this day, residents of Piana degli Albanesi walked up to the Portella to meet the villagers of St. Guiseppe Jato, who lived on the other side of the pass, to celebrate international workers day as well as the end of years of Fascism. But the legendary bandit Salvatore Giuliano and his gang were hiding out behind the rocky peaks at the pass, and they fired indiscriminately at men, women, and children. Eleven people were killed and thirty-three were wounded. As Horatio Clare writes in <u>Sicily Through Writers' Eyes</u> (below), "The truth of Giuliano's motives died with him and his murderer, his cousin Gaspare Pisciotta, who was poisoned, probably by the mafia, in the Ucciardone prison. It seems likely that rightist elements in Sicily's political structure, in collusion with the mafia, convinced Giuliano that he would be striking some sort of definitive blow against the left; 'Boys, the hour of our liberation is at hand,' he is said to have told his men, on receiving his orders in a letter, sent by persons unknown. Perhaps he thought that the outrage might somehow count towards his own rehabilitation." A good article by writer Lucy Gordan, in <a href="https://www.lavocedinewyork.com/en/travel/2018/10/03/piana-degli-albanesi-for-its-albanian-heritage-and-the-worlds-best-cannoli/"><i>La voce di New York</i></a>, describes in more detail this infamous event, and she recommends a few worthwhile attractions in Piana degli Albanesi, notably <i>La Casa del Cannolo</i>, the lab and shop of Marco Cuccia, dubbed 'the King of Cannoli.' </div><div>
<br /><b>Piazza Armerina</b>. The reason to come to the town of Piazza Armerina is not for the town itself but for the Villa Romana del Casale, a private villa built by a man of the Roman aristocracy dating from about the year 300. Norman Lewis writes in <u>In Sicily</u> that, "Those who have had the opportunity to see the Roman mosaics of Piazza Armerina may conclude, as I have done, that there is nothing of the kind to compare with them elsewhere on earth." Though there is a lot of Roman history in Sicily, not many examples of that history survive due to looting and destruction in later centuries. The Villa's fairly remote location in the countryside likely helped it avoid plundering, and a landslide in the 1300s that also caused a flood kept it hidden for 600 years. It was only in the 1930s that a systematic exploration of the Villa began, and the most notable excavations were made between 1950 and 1960. The floors of the Villa represent the largest collection of Roman floor mosaics ever found <i>in situ</i>, and due to a thick covering of mud from the flood, they were discovered in excellent condition and preserved intact. Vincent Cronin, in <u>The Golden Honeycomb</u>, observed that "It is an unusual experience to find masterpieces lying on the ground. For it is at once evident, from the scale, colour and grouping of these pavements, that they are productions of nothing less than unique achievement." The Villa was named to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1997 but it doesn't receive nearly the number of visitors as Agrigento. Scholars believe the decoration of the Villa was done by African craftsmen, and among my favorite mosaics are the 'Great Hunt' and the so-called 'Bikini Girls' in the Chamber of the Ten Maidens. It's all very much worth adding to an itinerary. The <a href="http://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/">Villa's website</a> offers a good, complimentary brochure with background information and a visitor's itinerary (click on 'Guides' and select language (Italian, English, or French). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Planeta</b>. In <u>Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey</u>, Robert Camuto writes in the chapter 'Planet Planeta' that it's impossible to consider Sicilian wine in the 21st century without Planeta. "That is not to say that Planeta produces the most singularly profound wines from Sicily -- nor, for that matter, the most <i>Sicilian</i> wines. Yet in the last twenty years, no one has been more effective in showing the world that Sicily and its vines have something important to express." <a href="https://planeta.it/en/">Planeta's</a> wines are available around the world and the enterprise is very successful, but it remains a closely-knit family business. Its vineyards are in Capo Milazzo, Etna, Menfi, Menfi, Noto, and Vittoria, and in Menfi, on the southern coast of the island, there is the La Foresteria Planeta resort and restaurant (and there is a <a href="https://www.planetaestate.it/en/palazzo-planeta">Palazzo Planeta</a> in Palermo, which I mentioned in a previous post). The restaurant welcomes non-guests, and we had a terrific lunch there consisting of a salad with lettuce, green beans, marinated shallots, artichokes, and tomatoes; grilled octopus with chickpeas; fried fish with cipollinata and marinated red onions; a bottle of Planeta rosé 2018; and delicious breads with Planeta olive oil. I wish time had allowed for a stay at the resort, but the restaurant is most definitely <i>vale la deviazione</i> (worth the detour). The photo just below is of a pretty centerpiece on a long table in the restaurant - I was told the pieces of ceramic fruit are made nearby - and the others were taken from the terrace of the restaurant. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhEca2ldEr9apmYYFMcUpOuoaTxJBg1w3C7YbmdZOGkojuubJmq2sZN9qMFCXrITzdeI3uublCdGFLO02eHTjj5z0WJkVLnCBOX63ZLjPO7A0hpZBR1RRj7nE3hQTWAOePN8NyGpVeBY/s640/fruit.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhEca2ldEr9apmYYFMcUpOuoaTxJBg1w3C7YbmdZOGkojuubJmq2sZN9qMFCXrITzdeI3uublCdGFLO02eHTjj5z0WJkVLnCBOX63ZLjPO7A0hpZBR1RRj7nE3hQTWAOePN8NyGpVeBY/s320/fruit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYAGYu0af44CB9zxh7VtuxkKekeaU74u-D1b7TaeNhMSOQVV-vp8E1dxqnevRp2XG3Brs0PhCSX40DBRk5HGgfEwlQpUn0MQh7LKpKNLBEP0yWmGQZuuxTImtI70sJBjx6FsmJCiMh9E/s640/resort.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYAGYu0af44CB9zxh7VtuxkKekeaU74u-D1b7TaeNhMSOQVV-vp8E1dxqnevRp2XG3Brs0PhCSX40DBRk5HGgfEwlQpUn0MQh7LKpKNLBEP0yWmGQZuuxTImtI70sJBjx6FsmJCiMh9E/s320/resort.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJaP1Iq07lmbk4muD0_2BVrKSD_CPFIPUh6ajk4X0g40b7xJIOTE1tJHFWgdVqLyeDyholVyGa7e8iSnv_buMFDmvtUXMlIH0eMUvWcPFCyn2ncyOq7gFCXXJsOKa2WYYS7VGapVQF_M/s640/pool.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJaP1Iq07lmbk4muD0_2BVrKSD_CPFIPUh6ajk4X0g40b7xJIOTE1tJHFWgdVqLyeDyholVyGa7e8iSnv_buMFDmvtUXMlIH0eMUvWcPFCyn2ncyOq7gFCXXJsOKa2WYYS7VGapVQF_M/s320/pool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Poverty</b>. That Sicily was very poor is well documented. By the late 1880s, when production of American grain and exports undercut the Sicilian agricultural market, Sicily became even more impoverished than it had been. Mass emigration to America -- approximately 150,000 Sicilians a year up to 1913 -- brought not only hard working peasants but also those with mafia connections, thus beginning the bond between organized crime in the States and in Sicily. (As an aside, out of 4.5 million Italians that came to the U.S. between 1800 and 1930, one out of four was Sicilian, according to the <a href="https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Sicilian-Americans.html">Countries and Their Cultures Forum</a>.) What is far less known is the report of Booker T. Washington, the African-American principal of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute from 1881 until his death in 1915. Washington visited Europe in 1910 to observe how the lives of the lower classes compared with those of African-Americans, and what he observed in Sicily led him to conclude that "The Negro is not the man farthest down. The condition of the coloured farmer in the most backward parts of the Southern States in America, even where he has the least education and the least encouragement, is incomparably better than the condition and opportunities of the agricultural population in Sicily." </div><div> </div><div>Norman Lewis, in <u>The Honored Society</u>, writes of his friend, journalist Marcello Cimino, sadly killed later by the Mafia, who was reporting on the distribution of uncultivated land in Sicily in the late 1940s. Marcello reminded Lewis that the Sicilian peasantry had at that time lost their capacity for hope: "Between 1951 and 1953, 400,000 Sicilians - more than 10 per cent of the population -- had emigrated. The majority were working males, and in some areas only old people, women and children were left behind to work the fields." John Keahy, in <u>Seeking Sicily</u>, references the black-and-white photographs of Enzo Sellerio (1924-2012), a photographer born in Palermo whose work is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photos taken by Sellerio in the 1950s and early 1960s show very few cars, a lot of mule- and horse-drawn carts, elderly women dressed all in black, and children wearing tattered clothing, all of which make Keahy feel that 21st century Sicily is light-years away from mid-20th century Sicily: northern Italy was already well on its way to recovery after the war, but Sicily was literally still digging out of the rubble. It's perhaps easy for the average 21st century visitor to never know what the island was like for the vast majority of Sicilians. Keahy shares that he once was on a train south of Naples and he was sitting next to a very well dressed older man on his way to visit his mother in Sicily. He casually mentioned that he wondered why southern Italians and Sicilians left their villages that today draw tourists by the thousands. "He held me in a long gaze and said, in precise English, "Well, you can't eat quaint." As a middle-class American, he said in a kindly way, I could have no comprehension of what it was like in the South. Now, many years and plenty of visits later, I begin to understand." </div><div><br /></div><div>
<b>S</b><br /><b>Sarni</b>. Similar to the wonderful Autogrill, <a href="https://www.sarniristorazione.it/">Sarni</a> is the name of a rest stop chain. We stopped at one on the A19 between Palermo and Catania at kilometer 188 in Misterbianco and for 1 euro, I had a really, really good cappucino served in a real china cup and saucer with a real (not plastic) spoon. As Matt Goulding, mentioned above under 'Cuisine,' says, "There's not a highway rest stop barista [in Sicily] who couldn't grind and extract circles around the mustachioed coffee police of Portland, Brooklyn, and other hipster havens." '<i>Qualità per</i> <i>passione</i>' (quality for passion) is Sarni's motto, and while you could just stop at a Sarni to fill up your gas tank, you could also sit down in a restaurant setting and have a better than average meal (again, served on real china plates) or get a few items to go, like a freshly made sandwich not wrapped in plastic. When I last looked on the Sarni website, there was a picture of a winter offering: a bean soup served in a terracotta bowl on a real plate with four slices of toast. Definitely not found at any American rest stop. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sicilian-American Organizations</b>. Becoming acquainted with these local or national organizations is another way of immersing oneself in Sicily, and you never know who you might meet and what you may learn in the process. <a href="https://www.arbasicula.org/">Arba Sicula</a>, affiliated with St. John's University in Queens, New York, is a non-profit organization that promotes the language and culture of Sicily by publishing <i>Sicilian Dawn</i> and <i>Sicilia Parra</i>; by promoting books about Sicily ("books are our best bet to overcome the silly stereotypes of Sicilians produced by the mass media"); organizing lectures and poetry recitals; and by hosting an annual tour of Sicily for members. Local Sicilian Clubs like the <a href="http://legasiciliana.org/">Lega Siciliana Social Club</a> in Waterbury, Connecticut are numerous. The Waterbury club, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, features 'Fabulous Friday Night Dinners' and there are videos from Siracusa on its website, which also notes that WATR 1320-AM plays Italian and Italian-American favorites and is the only local radio station with commercials in English and Italian. <a href="https://www.niaf.org/">NIAF</a> (National Italian American Foundation) is based in Washington, D.C. and is "the largest and most loyal representative of the more than 20 million Italian American citizens living in the U.S." </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Sicilian Vespers</b>. This episode, which occurred on 29 March, 1282, became one which embodied the ideals of the Italian Risorgimento, when Italy was unified in 1861. Some background: after the battle of Benevento in 1226, Manfred was killed and Sicily became the possession of Charles of Anjou, who crowned himself king. So once again the Sicilians were the subjects of a distant power, and French rule on the island was notorious for the heavy taxes it imposed and the disdain it had for the population. The 29th of March in 1282 was Easter Sunday, and on Easter Monday, crowds of people came to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Palermo to attend the Vesper service. In his book <u>The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century</u>, noted historian Steven Runciman documents the chain of events, which begin with a group of French officials who try to mingle with the gathered crowd. They were apparently drunk and treated the younger women there with a familiarity that didn't sit well with the Sicilians. A sergeant named Drouet pulled a young married woman to the side and pestered her with his attentions, which was more than her husband could tolerate so the husband drew his knife and attacked Drouet, stabbing him to death. The Frenchmen wanted to avenge their comrade's death but found themselves surrounded by men with daggers and swords. Not a single Frenchman survived, and at that precise moment, the Church's bell -- and all the bells of the churches in Palermo -- begin to ring for Vespers. "To the sound of the bells messengers ran through the city calling on the men of Palermo to rise against the oppressor. At once the streets were full of angry armed men, crying 'Death to the French' - '<i>moranu li Franchiski</i>' in their Sicilian dialect. Every Frenchman that they met was struck down. They poured into the inns frequented by the French and the houses where they dwelt, sparing neither man, woman nor child. Sicilian girls who had married Frenchmen perished with their husband. The rioters broke into the Dominican and Franciscan convents; and all the foreign friars were dragged out and told to pronounce the word '<i>ciciri</i>,' whose sound the French tongue could never accurately reproduce. Anyone who failed in the test was slain." The revolt spread to the rest of the island and over 3,000 French men and women were killed. Six weeks later, French control of Sicily was over. Below is a painting of the event by Erulo Eroli (1854-1916), in the collection of the <i>Galleria d'Arte Moderna</i> (G/M) in Palermo (though the image here is from the <a href="https://historycollection.com/">History Collection website</a>). </div><div><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHKZTDn7_8t4RgW9j2ATGEuKpghAVh9OYeL77F3GdgEDBMvBqROn_PPNxwWXkZCFyw0kXk3_GAHRYcoPUQN5IfJScrordhR5dFSPTCHq5Gvx6Ih0y7FrdcM3dWPIafx22_Ib7LrJKkeQ/s1200/darker+vespers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHKZTDn7_8t4RgW9j2ATGEuKpghAVh9OYeL77F3GdgEDBMvBqROn_PPNxwWXkZCFyw0kXk3_GAHRYcoPUQN5IfJScrordhR5dFSPTCHq5Gvx6Ih0y7FrdcM3dWPIafx22_Ib7LrJKkeQ/s320/darker+vespers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><u>Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History</u></b>, by Sandra Benjamin (Steerforth Press, 2006) is a book I hadn't read when I posted the recommended reading list in my very first post on Sicily, but I'm including it here because it's an excellent read "on the economic and demographic aspects of Sicily's story." Benjamin hardly touches on the fine arts, and adds that her book is a general history and an account of welfare and warfare, and she highlights certain threads that run through the centuries: the island's particular patterns of land use and Sicily's unique relationship with the church. Additionally, "Sicily's character has also been determined by the <i>lack</i> of influence from events that affected Europe generally, namely the Crusades and Columbus's discovery of America." The book is nearly 500 pages so it's not for the casual reader, but it's written in a lively manner and also includes maps, a glossary and notes on Italian word endings, a glossary of notable names, and suggestions for further reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><u><b>Sicily Through Writers' Eyes</b></u>, written and edited by Horatio Clare (Eland Publishing, 2006). I didn't discover this wonderful book until after I'd posted the recommended reading list, my very first post on Sicily. This is one edition in a great series that I highly recommend, and <a href="https://www.travelbooks.co.uk/about">Eland Books</a>, in London, is also a publishing house that deserves the attention of anyone who likes to travel (its motto is 'Keeping the best of travel writing alive"). Eland's publisher is Barnaby Rogerson, who I referred to as 'Mr. Morocco' in my own Morocco book (Rogerson is also the author of five editions of the Cadogan Guide to Morocco as well as a number of other very interesting books). Editor Clare shares that the first time he saw Sicily was at daybreak from the deck of an overnight boat from Naples. A man came out on deck and faced the city of Palermo. "He gathered his breath and let it out, 'Ai...' he said, his tone somewhere between a wish, a tribute and reproach, '...Palermo!' He rolled the sound slightly between the syllables. 'Ai, Pa-lermo!' I felt I could immediately appreciate, though it has taken me all my time here to understand, something of what he meant." Clare has gathered an outstanding selection of writers' words about Sicily and has organized them by themes ('Arrivals,' 'Miracles,' 'People of the Earth,' 'The Curse,' 'The Life,' and 'Departure'). There were a few entries that I started reading and thought I might skip over them, but I ended up reading every single one and I'm so glad I did. Among the writers featured are D. H. Lawrence, Homer, Luigi Pirandello, Giovanni Verga, Ibn Jubayr, Andrea Camilleri, W. H. Auden, Mary Taylor Simeti, Carlo Levi, Leonardo Sciascia, Peter Robb, John Dickie, and Vincent Cronin, whose book <u>The Golden Honeycomb</u> I've just ordered. There is also an excerpt from a book called <u>Milocca: A Sicilian Village</u> by Charlotte Gower Chapman, who grew up in Chicago and learned Sicilian from immigrants there. In 1928, she went to Milocca, in the island's interior (in the the province of Caltanissetta, about 80 miles south of Palermo) and immersed herself in the life of this small, isolated community. She wrote the manuscript and sent it home but it got lost in the mail. It somehow reappeared in the 1970s, when it was finally published (there are several editions by a few publishers). Clare provides fascinating back stories like this one for each excerpt, and this book is definitely <i>essenziale</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Strada degli Scrittori</i></b>. The <a href="https://www.stradadegliscrittori.com/">Strada</a>, or the Route of the Writers, is an itinerary in the south of Sicily that highlights particular places related to a number of Sicilian writers. The route is a great way to delve into literature, see some beautiful sites, and try some culinary specialties. The writers featured are Andrea Camilleri, Luigi Pirandello, Antonio Russello, Leonardo Sciascia, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Piermaria Rosso di San Secondo (known as Red of San Secondo), and among the sites on the route are Agrigento, the Scala dei Turchi, Palma di Montechiaro, Porto Empedocle, Favara, and Racalmuto, home to the <a href="http://www.fondazioneleonardosciascia.it/">Fondazione Leonardo Sciascia</a> (2021 marks the centenary of his birth). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Stupor Mundi, 'The Wonder of the World</b>.' This phrase refers to Frederick II, son of the German King Henry VI of Hohenstaufen (Holy Roman Emperor who was also the son of Frederick I 'Barbarossa') and Constance (the daughter of the Norman Roger II). In 1198, when Frederick was three and a half years old, he was crowned king of Sicily (Henry had gotten sick and died). When he was fourteen, Frederick also was crowned king of Germany, and later, in 1220, he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at St. Peter's in Rome, on the same day he proclaimed that the Kingdom of Sicily was legally separate from his empire. Sandra Benjamin, in <u>Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History</u>, writes that Frederick was rare among human beings not only in being royal. "He was rare in having grown up as an orphan without brothers or sisters -- indeed, at least in Sicily, without any relatives at all. That Frederick was not born on the island of Sicily is a technicality; he was to all effects a homegrown prince, and he considered the island his home. In his youth he knew the reality of his subjects' lives as well as anyone of any epoch born to the purple." Frederick's reign during the first half of the 13th century was "Sicily's finest hour," according to the authors Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio. They emphasize that slavery was nearly abolished in Sicily and serfdom was never as prevalent as it was in England, France, or Germany. Literacy, and a certain freedom of speech, were considered every Sicilian's birthright. For a few decades, there were separate but equal jurisdictions based on Koranic law for Muslims, Judaic law for Jews, Byzantine Greek law for Byzantines, and Norman feudal law for Normans, and important documents were multilingual. "True, a Latin (and Roman Catholic) orientation prevailed by 1200, but into the reign of Frederick II a quasi-egalitarian society existed. At least for a time, it was a successful experiment." Writer Beniamino Inserra, in an article for <i>The Best of Sicily</i>, adds that Frederick was especially interested in poetry and literature, and the Sicilian language flourished at his court. Falconry, ecology, and efficient government were a few of his other obsessions, and he had a true intellectual passion that was rare in the thirteenth century. After his death, "...never again would Sicily achieve the glory, prosperity, and true independence she had enjoyed under this most singular of sovereigns." </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><b>T</b></div><div><b>Taormina</b>. "Should you only have one day to spend in Sicily," writes Guy de Maupassant in <u>Towards the Golden Skies</u> (1885), "and you ask me 'what is there to see?' I would reply 'Taormina' without any hesitation. It is only a landscape, but one in which you can find everything that seems to have been created to seduce the eyes, the mind and the imagination." The landscape of Taormina is one of the most spectacular on earth, and it's easy to see why it's the most visited place in Sicily. Goethe referred to it as a "patch of paradise" and it has been a favorite of numerous film, theater, art, and music celebrities around the world, including D. H. Lawrence, Alexander Dumas, Paul Klee, Luigi Pirandello, Oscar Wilde, Gustave Klimt, Ingmar Bergman, Francis Ford Coppola, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, and Truman Capote (see '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/travel/truman-capote-mediterranean.html?searchResultPosition=1">Retracing Capote's Mediterranean Path</a>,' by Ratha Tep, for more on his time in Taormina). While I expected it to be popular, I was still surprised that when I was looking for accommodations almost every place was fully booked -- and this was in March for a September visit. So if you'd like to include Taormina in your itinerary it's essential to plan very far in advance. We were happy to secure a reservation at <a href="https://www.belsoggiorno.com/en/">Albergo Bel Soggiorno,</a> which had been recommended, and it was among the few rooms still available. The inn is on the hillside below the town, so it's quiet and removed from all the bustle. It takes about 20 minutes to walk (uphill) to town, so that might be a deal breaker for some; we enjoyed the exercise and walking through the pretty <i>Giardini della Villa Comunale</i>, once the private garden of Florence Trevelyan, a wealthy British woman who came to Sicily in the 1880s and never left (the scuttlebutt is that after Queen Victoria, who invited Florence to Balmoral on numerous occasions, found out about an affair between Florence and Edward VII, she sent Florence off on a Grand Tour of Europe and arranged for an allowance of 50 pounds a month; Florence fell in love with Taormina -- she declared it "as beautiful as a fairy tale" -- and she initially bought Isola Bella, which visitors pass just before the serpentine-like road winds up to Taormina proper. She built a house there and created a garden, and today Isola Bella is a protected site overseen by the Archaeological Park of Naxos-Taormina. Florence later married and moved to the center of Taormina). The Bel Soggiorno is a good value considering the price of hotels on and around Taormina's Corso Umberto I, and the front desk staff were very friendly and accommodating, as was Nino in the large dining room (a shuttle service to the beach is also provided but we didn't take advantage of it). As it was my birthday, I had requested a room with a balcony, and upon arrival I learned my request had been granted. Absolutely fabulous. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFU1vSf_VbrcRb5aK68S1KSGf6UO4IDymm2lsLoJytQLAT2F__GDSQH_DINKTtQn6WDQ-jqMqyRJablpBnFkkKAL0PtuEAX5fhWhmu-HFhtgsKleJz0hyuQRB4Fdi0vzWVNb38mIEya6c/s640/view+1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFU1vSf_VbrcRb5aK68S1KSGf6UO4IDymm2lsLoJytQLAT2F__GDSQH_DINKTtQn6WDQ-jqMqyRJablpBnFkkKAL0PtuEAX5fhWhmu-HFhtgsKleJz0hyuQRB4Fdi0vzWVNb38mIEya6c/s320/view+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTzbHkfiNzn1UNMGXaYKEedTpDnpbuTrefpNy22zlKktPpT2fJhT527SUWo7B4jwW5NkpmwfxGHBM0YQzHzKFSDe_9eXpbMyWRfudH3mbbA47USszpcmFu21RPNz993Ii3kNUno5r0m0/s640/view+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTzbHkfiNzn1UNMGXaYKEedTpDnpbuTrefpNy22zlKktPpT2fJhT527SUWo7B4jwW5NkpmwfxGHBM0YQzHzKFSDe_9eXpbMyWRfudH3mbbA47USszpcmFu21RPNz993Ii3kNUno5r0m0/s320/view+2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div>Our guestroom itself was more functional than charming, and fairly spacious, though the bathroom was small and the shower stall quite tiny. The public rooms are nice, including the hotel hallways, which have windows with great views at either end. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoSU76vDZ2ed10edBAiyDfonqsGRWk51pMcSj75K-HuKc4V8OqyhuylNArbb06WBzMKKZkZHm8rG7FlvRMcyFkLWxSJ0YHXAMomJHag3dM1NdKls5rax4DsQGfNnbW4hcXVnsrT-4yGE/s640/hallway.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoSU76vDZ2ed10edBAiyDfonqsGRWk51pMcSj75K-HuKc4V8OqyhuylNArbb06WBzMKKZkZHm8rG7FlvRMcyFkLWxSJ0YHXAMomJHag3dM1NdKls5rax4DsQGfNnbW4hcXVnsrT-4yGE/s320/hallway.jpg" /></a></div><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bzk3AkOaQD_f2Dc6Espsrq-1JjJ7Jgl4LVgFbSkxE4B4XewUaT2S_c_3_57LkMy90_1gfZTvjM3ZOQNbtVPJC7hnmKRvmLMYBdpH5npoKJXAzHTiJoNZoz_c4lCrCFph9tACy3yxb2M/s640/view+out+window.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bzk3AkOaQD_f2Dc6Espsrq-1JjJ7Jgl4LVgFbSkxE4B4XewUaT2S_c_3_57LkMy90_1gfZTvjM3ZOQNbtVPJC7hnmKRvmLMYBdpH5npoKJXAzHTiJoNZoz_c4lCrCFph9tACy3yxb2M/s320/view+out+window.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div>After a quiet walk up the hill from the Bel Soggiorno on our first evening, we were dismayed to see how crowded it was on the Corso Umberto, "the long, determined Corso Umberto I, the main (and inescapable) street of Taormina" as Barbara Grizzuti Harrison refers to it. The pedestrian street "delivers you from one end of town to the other, its narrowness of purpose redeemed by piazzas and panoramic belvederes that rhythmically open the straight thoroughfare up when it threatens to become claustrophobic." The Corso was jam-packed and we <i>did</i> feel claustrophobic, and it seemed like this famous street had nothing to offer except designer shops, souvenir shops for tourists, and restaurants. I was glad to have the 'Taormina Town Walk' from the Rick Steves Sicily guide as I would otherwise have missed some of the truly beautiful architectural gems on this thoroughfare, and I wouldn't have known to look up at the many balconies or that there is an annual balcony-decorating competition every spring. One worthwhile address on the Corso, at number 61, is the Casa del Cinema, where we saw the exhibit '<i>Le Stelle di Taormina</i>' (The Stars of Taormina), a collection of posters, photos, and film clips of the many movies shot in Taormina. An annual Film Fest is held in Taormina (the 2019 Fest was the 65th) as well as a full calendar of cultural events organized by the <a href="https://www.taoarte.it/default.asp?lang=2">Fondazione Taormina Arte Sicilia</a>. One shop on the Corso I did like is <i><a href="http://www.lagora-taormina.it">L’Agorà Galleria d'Arte</a></i>, at number 133, which has a very nice selection of antique maps, drawings, contemporary paintings, rare books, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's helpful to know that there are three parts to Taormina: Isola Bella and the beaches; the town itself; and Castelmola, the small village even higher up than Taormina that was built on the ruins of a Norman castle. The area around it is rather wild and undeveloped and is a nice contrast to Taormina proper (it's about a two-hour walk from the center of Taormina). Among the sites of interest in Taormina's historic center are the Badia Vecchia, Palazzo Corvaja, the Odeon, Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, Palazzo Ciampoli, and the Naumachie. They're all worthwhile, but by far the most significant site is the <i>Teatro Antico</i>, the Greek-Roman Theater, set on a cliff with a magnificent panorama: overlooking the Bay of Naxos and with a view of Mount Etna. The theater is referred to as both Greek and Roman because its origins are still open to debate among experts in the field, though it's generally believed that the Greeks built it in the third century BC and the Romans later enlarged it. We arrived at the theater a half hour before opening (9:00) and it was a wise decision as it wasn't crowded and even the Corso was pleasant to stroll at that time. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iHUCpW-EWfE0E4sQKDJbi-Nm5IFptn-8xyPt6TdC4g0ZhyDgeikvRYe1pwgOOfmZYeEGkP7583Gn2IiLAzyIom4xUxa3PAK7DDbs7tf9I4DzrndqQfgizImHRpHvtnpRy5loMm-2YEc/s640/theater+1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iHUCpW-EWfE0E4sQKDJbi-Nm5IFptn-8xyPt6TdC4g0ZhyDgeikvRYe1pwgOOfmZYeEGkP7583Gn2IiLAzyIom4xUxa3PAK7DDbs7tf9I4DzrndqQfgizImHRpHvtnpRy5loMm-2YEc/s320/theater+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeVanl_eAqmoMj2vu3cisnecx6CUluHNcHA7i1HOqPVKyAxC1KV9FsgBcEwP-pkUQ-jl-mXvZB1n3pmxpZ44pC8w9VIYW5uUf4YoaLkcgdAujSlMb_lBOSfwx7wDiSVp2s7Cg1HwXQQY/s640/theater+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeVanl_eAqmoMj2vu3cisnecx6CUluHNcHA7i1HOqPVKyAxC1KV9FsgBcEwP-pkUQ-jl-mXvZB1n3pmxpZ44pC8w9VIYW5uUf4YoaLkcgdAujSlMb_lBOSfwx7wDiSVp2s7Cg1HwXQQY/s320/theater+3.jpg" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsPstP1vdKELUtTO353isxIH4ynigGtq3zwa_H9-BozD0oHQdlVEtVv945czmzIm56if3zX7E0JfmeuN1rZ2ewEpoArBKuVFFwNBE-lpTVzkoGu_hry4XOgCdoMXaJdtnQbkH8GU93PI/s640/theater+2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsPstP1vdKELUtTO353isxIH4ynigGtq3zwa_H9-BozD0oHQdlVEtVv945czmzIm56if3zX7E0JfmeuN1rZ2ewEpoArBKuVFFwNBE-lpTVzkoGu_hry4XOgCdoMXaJdtnQbkH8GU93PI/s320/theater+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Taormina's two most posh hotels are the <a href="https://www.belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/taormina/belmond-grand-hotel-timeo/">Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo</a> (the first hotel built in Taormina, in the 1860s) and the <a href="https://www.san-domenico-palace.com/en/">San Domenico Palace Hotel</a> (currently closed for restoration). The Grand Timeo is right next door to the Theater -- literally steps away -- so staying there is really convenient and it's gorgeous; but even if a stay there is prohibitively expensive, you could visit the Theater in the late afternoon and then have drinks at the hotel's Literary Terrace & Bar, or dinner at the Michelin-starred Otto Geleng or the Timeo restaurant. <b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Tischi Toschi (off Corso Umberto at vico (alley) Francesco Paladini 3) is a family-run, Slow Food endorsed trattoria that's really good and doesn't feel touristy. The unusual-sounding name defines a Sicilian emigrant who upon returning home seems to have lost the dialect and traditional ways of doing things -- it was said the emigrant spoke to the <i>tischi toschi</i>. Therefore the emigrant was reminded not to speak <i>tischi toschi</i>: "talk as your mother made you." </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>A word about driving and parking: cars are not permitted in the historic center of Taormina, so I strongly recommend that you inquire about parking before you arrive. Some hotels have parking or valet parking (the Bel Soggiorno has a number of parking spots) or you may have to drop your luggage off at the hotel and then park in one of the two parking garages in town. None of this may sound problematic or different from other European locales, but the thing is that the road into Taormina is a one-way, twisty loop and it's easy to find yourself past where you want to be, and then there is no alternative than to keep going because you can't turn around. We had great directions from the Bel Soggiorno staff and didn't have any trouble, but I have several friends who tell what are now funny stories but who were at the time quite stressed out by the vexing route.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The Ten Pains of Death</b>, by Gavin Maxwell (Dutton,1960). Maxwell also wrote one of my most favorite books about Morocco, <u>Lords of the Atlas</u> (Dutton, 1966), so when I learned of this book I knew I had to read it. I won't give away what the ten pains of death are but they were named by Giovanni Florio in 1591 in 'Second Fruits.' Maxwell dedicated the book to "the common people of Western Sicily, who know the ten pains of death," and the book recounts his time living at Scopello <i>tonnara</i> on the gulf of Castellammare in the northwest corner of the island, in 1953. He originally planned to write about the bandit Salvatore Giuliano (mentioned above under Piana degli Albanese) but after three years of gathering material, he found he'd become both horrified and fascinated by Western Sicily, "horrified by its desperate poverty and misery, and fascinated by an intensely individual people whom I had come, a very little, to know, to understand, and to feel for." <i>Then</i> he realized that Danilo Dolci had already written a book that was very similar to what he envisioned for his own; but Maxwell's aim was less strictly socio-economical than Dolci's, and he presents a broader picture of life in Western Sicilian villages. It's a fascinating look at this area as it was in the mid-20th century and many different types of people are presented as well as many topics, such as the mafia, olives, religion, wine, the church, marriage, and America (at the time Maxwell was there, perhaps three-quarters of all Castellammarese families had relations in America). Maxwell concludes his Prologue by writing, "The union with Italy in 1862 brought no material benefits to the island, and the people's way of life and outlook has remained unchanged for perhaps a thousand years...When the President of the Italian Republic visited Sicily in 1958 he said he had seen things that had 'frozen his ability to smile.' </div><div><br /><b>
W</b><br /><b>
Wine</b>. In <u>The Wine Bible</u>, Karen MacNeil writes that "In no place is the <i>Santa</i> <i>Trinità</i> <i>Mediterranea</i> -- Mediterranean Holy Trinity -- of wine, olive oil, and bread more evident than in Sicily. The island's hilly terrain, poor soil, and unfaltering sunlight are tailor-made for the production of all three Italian necessities." Some of Sicily's grape varieties are also found on the Italian mainland while a few are only grown on the island. Among the varieties you'll encounter are <i>Catarratto</i>, <i>Grillo</i>, <i>Perricone</i>, <i>Inzolia</i>, <i>Frappato</i>, <i>Cerasuolo di Vittoria</i>, <i>Nerello</i>, <i>Carricante</i>, and <i>Nero d'Avola</i>, probably the island's most popular (it's a red wine grape that produces a rather intense, very full-bodied wine). As an aside, Marsala, Sicily's most famous wine, is made principally made from <i>Grillo</i> and <i>Catarratto bianco</i> grapes. The <span style="font-family: times;"><i>Do Bianchi</i> website, mentioned previously, has an <a href="https://dobianchi.com/italian-grape-name-pronunciation-project/">Italian Grape Name and Appellation Project</a> that includes Sicilian names as well as an <a href="https://dobianchi.com/dizionario-italiano-inglese-vino/">Italian-English Wine Glossary</a> that's very helpful. </span>Eric Asimov, wine columnist for <i>The New York Times</i>, featured the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/dining/drinks/wine-review-etna-bianco.html?searchResultPosition=2">white wines of Sicily</a> and a tasting report in 2019. He writes that the whites of Sicily, "particularly those grown in the foothills of Mount Etna, have been earning attention as among the most distinctive and unusual white wines in <span style="font-family: times;">Italy, if not the world." It's no longer true, as it was a few decades ago, that Sicilian wines were made for quantity as opposed to quality, and travelers can expect to find real treasures and very decent <i>vino da tavola</i> in most corners of the island. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0Dd3qD3veNYoEFFD36h1whNL1wIhNE7T0tMKVVSMsv0dntfomeooHEZF_a5-TGxny0jfO1j-_gBVWpgSS5NLsdsIVzVrINShyphenhyphendpHxYjqwqMeGbzYez4REIWzCDjr0EDIJu9GEwD39ao/s640/farewell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0Dd3qD3veNYoEFFD36h1whNL1wIhNE7T0tMKVVSMsv0dntfomeooHEZF_a5-TGxny0jfO1j-_gBVWpgSS5NLsdsIVzVrINShyphenhyphendpHxYjqwqMeGbzYez4REIWzCDjr0EDIJu9GEwD39ao/s320/farewell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 1.2rem 0px;"><br /></p></div>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-5221895146261797682020-11-10T14:15:00.000-08:002020-11-10T14:15:12.403-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGRt_TuKE_UO0nyWkjm1yrUr6E_U7ELG_iK5yhXjuof6SEBKq68QE6tBv5I3PVLnvad3RZ1-mzAfvP1YK99froyOir5e0FxfapLpdbcaQlOMkzjAl7a5dOaJ00mSU4RSvo2pHDrmsgRw/s640/IMG_0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGRt_TuKE_UO0nyWkjm1yrUr6E_U7ELG_iK5yhXjuof6SEBKq68QE6tBv5I3PVLnvad3RZ1-mzAfvP1YK99froyOir5e0FxfapLpdbcaQlOMkzjAl7a5dOaJ00mSU4RSvo2pHDrmsgRw/s320/IMG_0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My husband (at far right) with friends in <span style="text-align: left;">E</span><span style="text-align: left;">ğ</span><span style="text-align: left;">irdir, </span>Turkey, 1990</span></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, </div><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. </h1><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired </h1><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”</h1><div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>-- Mark Twain, <u>The Innocents Abroad</u>, 1869</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Special thanks to Stacey Abrams and <a href="https://fairfight.com/">Fair Fight</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-68458725127070717282020-10-26T12:17:00.000-07:002020-10-26T12:17:28.765-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGtQC4NtW9DbGZplwb37aqft6NHWvHMl4WZqV3H6mvX8vqtzAGZsLJtTSaQeSEQEQJSwZBr5xDq3qhgQHTgEAEmZysvlKbOi9RsB0ietnfWwE6T8-HNdylRQC4EEFYGIx-v0caDEjDGk/s640/IMG_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGtQC4NtW9DbGZplwb37aqft6NHWvHMl4WZqV3H6mvX8vqtzAGZsLJtTSaQeSEQEQJSwZBr5xDq3qhgQHTgEAEmZysvlKbOi9RsB0ietnfWwE6T8-HNdylRQC4EEFYGIx-v0caDEjDGk/s320/IMG_0418.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p>Photos taken at Monreale Abbey, outside Palermo</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoUeh7VrRPimBnquzgdm7X7lYFmE_RJsREDoUa67bWtuHW7FUUJyEAr9WZRtVa9xdADCTnBDVnrCfISgE5jxhFnLNW8sL2t2gKB7xtxDnUoZFeMdeeqVnZms2SkbXRXRZa-VoIPnVADU/s640/IMG_0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoUeh7VrRPimBnquzgdm7X7lYFmE_RJsREDoUa67bWtuHW7FUUJyEAr9WZRtVa9xdADCTnBDVnrCfISgE5jxhFnLNW8sL2t2gKB7xtxDnUoZFeMdeeqVnZms2SkbXRXRZa-VoIPnVADU/s320/IMG_0422.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUKqW2bhdWzrDiINYjTQ8yQT0N0Sr7mFpEKmhA1oG3bqJRtfGFLYc0YspDcNrPT00NCIjgzdlrQqg_RRfCAiRe80fWx1fbvn_o8VggZcTtuHN38RUZ_MZxOAy3Yeyw4v-T3yIBhfGmWc/s640/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUKqW2bhdWzrDiINYjTQ8yQT0N0Sr7mFpEKmhA1oG3bqJRtfGFLYc0YspDcNrPT00NCIjgzdlrQqg_RRfCAiRe80fWx1fbvn_o8VggZcTtuHN38RUZ_MZxOAy3Yeyw4v-T3yIBhfGmWc/s320/IMG_0419.JPG" /></a></div><p>Serendipity: I'm finishing up my A to Z Sicily post and I learned that one of
my favorite travel guide companies,
<a href="https://www.contexttravel.com/">Context Travel</a>, is offering
<a href="https://conversations.contexttravel.com/collections/destination-italy?sort=created-ascending">8 virtual classes on Sicily</a>! And, one class, 'Sicily Through the Centuries: An Introduction' is
being hosted by Cetty Spoto, the wonderful guide I had in Palermo! (see
my previous post devoted to Palermo for more on Cetty.) </p>
<p>
There is still space available in all of the classes as I type this, but one,
on Sicilian Baroque Art, is scheduled for tomorrow so I urge you take a look
if you have even the slightest interest. Two are cooking classes (one on
<i>cannoli</i> and the other on <i>arancini)</i> and I guarantee that
every single class is a winner. If you're not already familiar with
Context, make a mental note to remember the company when we're all traveling
again (and we will be) because you will want to reserve a tour.
</p>
<p>
Among the many accolades Context has received are these, from <i>Afar </i>("A
great day tour combines an interesting topic, a fascinating place, and an
engaging tour leader. And that's exactly what you'll get when you book a
tour with Context Travel") and <i>Newsweek</i> ("The second most useful bit of
advice was from a representative of Context Travel, a service that provides
scholars as guides. To take a tour with Context Travel is to take a
virtual graduate seminar in architecture or art. Her advice was to go
deep, to look at something we were familiar with, but to look at it carefully
and for a long time.").
</p>
<p>
<i>Andiamo! </i> I signed up for Cetty's class on 18 November at 1:00
p.m. Eastern Standard Time - maybe I'll see you there.
</p>
Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-13969644564238703202020-07-13T13:38:00.000-07:002020-07-13T13:38:13.197-07:00<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Photo to the right</span>: Dome inside Monastero Santa Caterina d'Allessandria</i><br />
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"Of the city of Palermo it would be fair to say that it is a place of limitless excitements." -- Norman Lewis, <u>In Sicily</u><br />
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"What I love about Palermo is what we call <i>promisquità</i><br />
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-- the way everything is mixed together indiscriminately. You have beautiful palaces next to alleys filled with rubbish, vivid colors and terrible smells, incredible gardens and grimy buildings. I don't like tidy cities. Palermo is a fascinating place because it's very ugly and very beautiful at once."<br />
-- Fabrizia Lanza, Director, Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking<br />
School and author, <u>Coming Home to Sicily</u><br />
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"Except for the hot summers, I'd be happy to live in Palermo. I know it has problems, some all its own, others not that different from those of Milan, Rome, or many American cities. But despite the decay and occasional squalor, Palermo is devastatingly beautiful and thrillingly alive." -- Victor Hazan, <i>Travel + Leisure</i>, April 1995<br />
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I'm a big fan of A to Z concepts -- if you've read any of my books you know there is an A to Z Miscellany in each one, and my Barcelona and Catalunya e-book is in an A to Z format. So this post is a Palermo A to Z, more or less (I omitted some letters for which I have no entries).<br />
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<i>An addendum to my last post: when I mentioned rental cars and warned against parking on the street, I neglected to explain that from Monday to Friday the historic center of Palermo is designated a limited traffic zone from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The staff at your chosen accommodation will assist you with parking, and they will notify the local police if you will need temporary street parking. </i><br />
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<b>A</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.alabpalermo.it/">Associazione Liberi Artigiani e Artisti Balarm</a> (ALAB)</b> is an organization of artisans in historic Palermo. Edizioni Precarie, highlighted in one of my recent posts, is a member of ALAB. All of these shops and workshops are worth seeking out, and as nearly all of them are concentrated within the<i> centro storico</i> it's easy to include them in any itinerary. Click on the translate link on the website, scroll down a bit, and click on the Here we are! box to see all the member artisans.<br />
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<b>B</b><br />
<b>Best articles about Palermo. </b>My<b> </b>favorite articles in my files about Palermo are: 'Understanding the Mosaic of Palermo' by William Weaver (<i>The New York Times</i>, 27 September, 1987), for its descriptions of the city more than 30 years ago. What is still essentially the same is that Northern Italians (and others) say, "Sicily's not Italy, it's Africa." Weaver writes, "Well, in a way, they are right; but it is this foreign savor that makes Palermo so alluring." 'Italy in Full' by Dan Hofstadter (<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Condé Nast</span></i> <i>Traveler</i>, December 2009). 'Culinary Crucible' by Faith Heller Willinger (<i>Gourmet</i>, January 2009). 'Sicilian Summer' by Theresa Maggio (<i>Islands</i>, March 1995). And <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-palermo-italy-inspires-our-obsessive-devotion">'Why Palermo, Italy Inspires Our Obsessive Devotion'</a> by Antonia Quirke (<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Condé </span>Nast Traveler</i>, March, 2019). In this last, Quirke asks her friend Luca if he thought Sicilians were pessimistic. "Oh, no," he said, carefully shaking his head, "not pessimistic. But our wisdom lies in expecting the worst." Her friend Domenico adds that "In Naples, all hell is sure to break loose, but they know it will be okay. In Palermo we just pray all hell doesn't break loose in the first place."<br />
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<b>C</b><br />
<b style="font-style: italic;">Cappella Palatina. </b>The Palatine Chapel is inside the <i>Palazzo dei Normanni</i> (also known as the <i>Palazzo Reale</i>), which has always been the palace of the rulers of the island. Roger II, Sicily's first king, ordered the construction of the chapel shortly after his coronation in 1130. The chapel is one of many must-sees in Palermo. Fabrizia Lanza, quoted above, says "It's like getting inside a golden box of jewelry." Alta Macadam, author of the <u>Blue Guide: Sicily</u> for many years, says "Every detail of the decoration is exquisite." Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls, authors of the <u>Cadogan Guide to Sicily</u>, refer to it as "the crown jewel of Palermo...intimate, utterly incandescent." The chapel's magnificent wooden ceiling was carved by Arab craftsmen and is the largest surviving Fatimid work of its kind. Greek artisans were responsible for the gold mosaics that cover the dome and apse as well as those of Christ the Pantocrator and angels (on page 102 of the <u>Time Traveler's Guide to Norman-Arab-Byzantine Palermo, Monreale & C<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">efalù</span></u>, by Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio, there is a helpful diagram indicating what each mosaic depicts). The many details of this gorgeous space are easily found elsewhere, so I won't repeat them all here; but there is some interesting background in the 'Norman Monuments: Churches and Palaces' brochure published by <i>Regione Siciliana</i>. To fully understand the Norman buildings and their lavish mosaic decorations, remember to consider their function as a way of enhancing the stature of the sovereign. New rulers need some method to exalt their rise to power, and Roger (and the two Williams after him) turned to the Byzantine world, which fascinated them. "All these mosaics are dominated by the heavenly representation of the earthly monarch, Christ Pantocrator, He who can do everything. And amongst the representations of the Saints and the stories of the Old Testament and the New Testament, there is always -- in a privileged position -- a picture that portrays Christ himself investing the sovereign with his earthly powers." <br />
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<i><b>Conca d'Oro</b></i>. The expression Conca d'Oro refers to the very fertile and green land that Palermo was built on as well as the land immediately around it, surrounded by mountains. The name was documented for the first time in a 15th century poem by a Sicilian poet named Angelo Callimaco; he used the Latin phrase, <i>aurea concha</i> (golden shell), but <i>conca</i> in Italian translates as 'bowl.' Helena Attlee, author of a really fascinating book, <u>The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and Its</u> <u>Citrus Fruit</u> (Countryman Press, 2014), explains that "the level ground between the city of Palermo, the mountains and the sea has been known as the <i>Conca d'Oro</i> for hundreds of years." Indeed, the area around the city was already in the 4th century BC known as "being full of gardens," and under Arab rule it was known by the name of Genoard (<i>Giannat al-ard</i>), garden paradise. At one time, sugar cane was the main cash crop in the countryside around Palermo, but when it became far more economical to cultivate in America, sugar cane was replaced with vineyards, olive groves, almonds, orchards, figs, prickly pears, carobs and citrus fruits. The reproduction below, 'View of Palermo From Santa Maria di <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gesù</span>' (1875), by Francesco Lojacono, is one of many <i>vedute</i> <i>di Palermo</i> (views of Palermo) that were painted in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries (Lojacono was among the most noted landscape painters).<br />
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Another<b> </b>image is this one below, a lithograph by Emanuele Lajosa, with the exact same title as Lojacono's painting, dated circa 1839. It, too, well illustrates the true garden surrounding the city.<br />
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When Goethe visited Palermo in 1787 for twenty days, a painter name Kniep traveled with him; but Goethe was more than an amateur painter himself and he painted a number of his own vistas. He also, as Attlee relates in her book, "encapsulated a universal longing among northern Europeans for the beauty, warmth and ease of life in the southern Mediterranean in a question that seems to haunt our collective imagination: 'Do you know the land where lemons grow...Do you know it well?'"<br />
Today, visitors to Palermo can still see traces of the former garden paradise on the drive from the airport to the city center, but it is much reduced. Beginning in the 1920s, the green spaces began to decline. The influential Florio and Whitaker families lost money, the socialites of Europe were attracted to other destinations, recovery from the Second World War was difficult, and urban expansion almost entirely erased the ancient Conca d'Oro. But before the decline, the money that was made from citrus translated into almost unimaginable wealth: Attlee notes that in 1860, "Sicilian citrus production earned more money than any other agricultural activity in Europe," and the Mafia got involved. I'll devote more to the Mafia in a separate post, but Attlee continues by stating that "...many of the new <i>mafiosi </i>were aristocrats, and all of them were modern entrepreneurs who had become the most powerful landowners on the Conca d'Oro. The speculation, extortion, intimidation and protection rackets that characterize Mafia activity were first practiced and perfected in the mid-nineteenth century among the citrus groves of the Conca d'Oro..." <br />
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<b>Crossing the Street</b>. Traffic in Palermo is very much in the vein of every-driver-for-him-or-her-self, and though it may seem counter-intuitive, the way to cross a busy street where there is no light or crosswalk is simply to walk right onto it as if you, and not the drivers, own it. If you're too intimidated, just wait for others to start walking and follow them (even better is to join a teacher crossing with young students). The cars will definitely slow down and allow you to reach the other side without incident. <br />
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<b><i>La Cuba</i></b>. Taking its name from the Arabic <i>qubba</i> (cupola), the Cuba was a palace (still standing) built during the reign of William II. <i>La Cuba</i> is similar in style to <i>La Zisa</i> (see entry below under Z) though it's smaller and doesn't have as much left inside it. However, it appears in Boccaccio's <u>Decameron</u>, in the sixth story of the fifth day. It's a story that the reader doesn't think will have a happy ending, but it does, and it involves Gianni of Procida (a physician and counselor of Frederick II who later was an instigator of the War of the Vespers - more about this event in my next post) who is in love with a young woman named Restituta and she is in love with him. Restituta was abducted and then given to King Frederick, who "because he was a little out of sorts, he ordered that she should be placed, until he was stronger, in a palace of his known as La Cuba, situated in a garden, and kept there, and this was done." Gianni is discovered in La Cuba with Restituta and they are tied to a stake and about to be burned alive but Ruggieri of Lauria, "a man of inestimable worth and at that time the King's admiral," recognized Gianni as the son of Landolfo of Procida, blood brother of Messer Gianni of Procida, "by whose contrivance you are the King and lord of this island" and Restituta as the daughter of Marino Bulgaro, "to whose influence you owe it that your officers have not been expelled from Ischia." King Frederick was shocked by what he'd intended to do and had Gianni and Restituta released from the stake. The king arranged for the couple to be married, gave them magnificent gifts, and sent them home quite contented. <br />
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<b>D</b><br />
<b><i>Ditta Parlato</i></b>. This is an excellent textiles shop, founded in 1858, with a great and vast selection of fabrics. You can buy fabric to take home or the staff will make what you want on the premises (obviously, you'll need to be in Palermo for a few days in order to do this, or you could go elsewhere in Sicily and come back). Beautiful towels and bathrobes by the luxury Italian brand Bellora (founded in 1883) are also sold here at good prices.<br />
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<b>G</b><br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.gampalermo.it/en/">Galleria d'Arte Moderna</a></i> (G/M) and <a href="http://www.villazito.it/en/home"><i>Villa Zito</i></a>. </b>Palermo has great museums, and I couldn't visit them all. These two art museums are devoted to Sicilian works and I think they're both must-sees. G/M highlights works from the 1800s to the mid-1900s and it's located in the pretty complex of Sant'Anna alla Misericordia. The museum is arranged thematically: 'The Celebration of Garibaldi Between History and Myth,' 'The Realism of Verga in the Painting of Social Protest,' 'Renato Guttoso and the Group of Four,' 'Antonino Leto and the Fortune of the Mediterranean Landscape,' 'Pathways of 20th Century Italy,' etc. Villa Zito has works beginning from the 17th and 18th centuries and also includes Italian artists from outside Sicily in its galleries of more contemporary works. The Villa was once a private home and at the time, in the 18th century, it was located outside the city limits, which explains the Latin inscription over the doorway: <i>Hinc lites, strepitus, curae, hinc procul ite cadentes, hic reparent animos otia, rura, quies</i> (Fights, screams, and stress stay away from here / let rest, the countryside, and quiet restore our spirit). Before visiting these museums, I was unfamiliar with every single artist except Francesco Lojacono, but I left feeling that they all deserve to be better known. Among them are Giovanni Boldoni, Elisa Maria Boglino, Mario Rutelli, Michele Catti, and Ettore de Maria Bergler.<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/palazzoabatellis/english/home.htm">Galleria Interdisciplinare Regionale della Sicilia</a></b></i>. This fantastic museum, in the beautiful Palazzo Abatellis, is an even more "must-see" than the two art museums above. The palazzo dates from the 15th century and is in the Gothic-Catalan style. It was damaged during World War II and in the 1950s it was restored and then was redesigned into a museum by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. The museum's collection features paintings, drawings, prints, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the late Baroque period, and as with the more contemporary museums above, I was unfamiliar with nearly every artist. I'd seen illustrations of 'Our Lady of the Annunciation' (Antonella da Messina, 15th century) and 'Bust of a Gentlewoman said to be Eleanor of Aragon' (Francesco Laurana, 15th century) before coming to the museum, but I was completely mesmerized by both of these stunning works. And the famous fresco, 'The Triumph of Death,' whose creator is unknown, is also an incredible work. I was also quite taken with 'Madonna and Musician Angels' by Antonello Crescenzio and 'The Last Supper' by Pietro D'Asaro. The museum prohibits reproducing the works without permission so I can't include them here but these are all easily found online. If I lived in Palermo, I would come here once a week.<br />
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<b>Guide</b>. My feeling of many years that a great tour guide can make the difference between an excellent trip and an outstanding trip was confirmed again in Palermo. Concetta (Cetty) Spoto was recommended to me by the author and guide Jacqueline Alio, and Cetty is indeed a guide <i>per</i> <i>eccellenza</i>. Like the best guides anywhere, Cetty, who is also an architect, has some of her own themed walks she can propose or she can craft a custom walk for visitors with particular interests. We enjoyed a full itinerary in Palermo and then had a quick lunch and went to Monreale. Cetty knew of my great interest in Giuseppe di Lampedusa, so after we left the Monreale Cathedral she led us through some narrow, picturesque alleyways behind the Cathedral known as <i>La Ciambra,</i> the oldest part of the city. This little neighborhood covers a little more than three acres and sits on a rocky spur overlooking the Conca d'Oro. It used to be a citadel and served as a defense outpost for enemy attacks on the Conca d'Oro. Later, it was filled with workers and artisans of all kinds who were engaged in the building of the Cathedral. '<i>Ciambra</i>' is from the French word <i>chambre</i> (room) because there were always rooms available here for those serving the Crown. We ended up in a small piazza, the largo <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cutò</span>, where there was a historical marker for the Palazzo <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Cutò</span>. The palazzo was built in the 17th century by Alessandro Tasca, otherwise known as the Principe di <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Cutò. He was the father of Beatrice Tasca, who married Giulio Tomasi, Prince of Lampedusa, and Beatrice was the mother of Giuseppe di Lampedusa. </span>It seems not many people know about this at all, and it felt special -- I was happy to be in this quiet, pretty spot that was like being in a cocoon. It really feels like time has stopped here, and another Lampedusa connection is like icing on the cake. Cetty may be reached via e-mail at spotocetty@libero.it, and I recommend contacting her as soon as you know of your Palermo plans as she is in demand. <br />
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<b>M</b><br />
<b>Markets</b>. Palermo's famous street markets are <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ballarò, </span>Borgo Vecchio, Il Capo, and La Vucciria. As I mentioned in a previous post, La Vucciria is no longer the authentic market it once was, but I think it's true that none of these markets has retained quite the atmosphere they once did. That's not a reason not to walk through at least one of them, however, especially for the street food (see entry below under 'S'). Both Vucciria and Borgo Vecchio are more authentic as nightlife venues, attracting mostly young people, and they can get a bit rowdy (drinking contests, etc.). <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Ballarò is the largest and oldest market and does still have a medieval feel to it. However, according to Dan Tano of We Are Palermo, the market "seems to be a training camp for tomorrow's professional criminals" so be on the lookout for pickpockets. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Ballarò also has stalls selling household goods and clothing. Il Capo is really lively and best visited in the morning. The cooking class with Nicoletta Polo, the Duchess of Palma di Montechiaro, begins at Il Capo, and she told us that though she's been shopping for years now at Il Capo, she used to be a regular shopper at a different market that was closer to via Butera. One day at the other market, she overheard a conversation between a customer and a vendor she had bought from previously, and she felt that the vendor was not treating the customer with respect and was downright rude. Understanding one of the rules of shopping regularly at a market -- you cannot switch vendors -- she decided she would have to stop going to that market. Nicoletta explained further that there is an expression known among all market vendors, <i>un taglio di faccia</i>, which translates as a diagonal face cut, and it refers to how you'll be treated if you stop frequenting one vendor's stall and go to another's. The expression is also tied to a question -- who do you belong to? -- as it becomes clear which shoppers "belong" to which vendors. It's only permissible to go to a different vendor if the one you frequent doesn't have what you're looking for, in which case your regular vendor will send you to another one, making it clear that you "belong" to the first vendor and that this is only a one-time purchase. The painting below, </span>'La Vucciria' by Renato Guttoso (1974), may be seen in the Sala Magna at the Quadreria Mediterranea (piazza Marina 59) at the request of the painter.<br />
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<b>Monreale Cathedral</b>. In a '36 Hours' column in the travel section of <i>The New York Times</i> in 2008, writer Ariel Foxman shared that "There's a saying in Palermo that goes something like: "He who visits Palermo without visiting Monreale arrives as a donkey and leaves an ass." While Foxman adds that the slogan is not likely to be seen on T-shirts any time soon, I agree with the sentiment. It's not a far drive outside of the city and there is parking available, but it's so easy to take the bus (#389 from piazza Indipendenza) that I recommend it over driving. The Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was constructed at the request of King William II, who Dante included in 'Paradise' in his <i>Divine Comedy</i>, and in the cathedral's cloister there is a statue of William holding a replica of the cathedral. There is also a mosaic in the sanctuary of William giving a replica of the cathedral to the Virgin Mary, and another showing William being crowned by none other than Jesus Christ (which imitates the mosaic at La Martorana -- see below in the entry for Piazza Bellini -- showing Roger II being crowned by Christ). The sanctuary's walls are covered with mosaics, and at nearly seventy thousand square feet, it's larger than Saint Mark's in Venice and is the largest medieval display of its kind in western Europe. Ariel Foxman concluded in his column that the 65-foot-high mosaic of Jesus "glows like the sun over the central apse. The golden age of Palermo, it seems, never really ended." Don't miss it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.stanzealgenio.it/en/stanze-al-genio-en/"><i>Museo delle Maioliche / Stanze al Genio</i></a>. I mentioned the <i>Stanze al Genio</i> B&B in my last post without saying much about the ceramics (<i>maioliche</i>) museum, which is fantastic. The owners of the Palazzo Torre-Pirajno have a collection of glazed tiles from Sicily and Campania that were made between the 15th and 20th centuries, and if you are crazy for ceramics like me you will positively love this and your head will pop off. There are almost 5,000 pieces on display, making it one of the largest private collections in Europe open to the public. Tiles are arranged by period and geographic origin in 8 rooms, and they may be seen by advance reservation only (book online). Guided visits are 45 minutes and the museum is ordinarily closed on Mondays. I took lots of photos but here are a much smaller number below:<br />
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<b><i>Opera dei Pupi </i>(marionette puppet theater). </b>The popularity of puppets<b> </b>in Sicily<b> </b>can be said to<b> </b>date back to the Middle Ages, when France had its stories of Charlemagne and England had the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In the 1500s, writers Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso wrote an Italian version of the French stories of Charlemagne, and by the 19th century, puppet shows telling tales from medieval literature, like the 11th century '<i>Chanson de Roland</i>' (Orlando in Italian), as well as those about the lives of saints and notorious bandits, began to be very popular in Palermo and elsewhere in Sicily. The Normans' rule in Sicily was looked upon as a Golden Age by Sicilians -- none of the island's subsequent rulers even bothered to visit and they left the management (which was mostly corrupt) up to viceroys and petty officials. As Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls wrote in the <i>Cadogan</i> guide to Sicily, "Dogged by centuries of injustice and misrule, the Sicilians preserved the Norman code of honour amongst themselves. Even the poorest illiterate could follow the adventures of <i>Carlomagno</i>'s [Charlemagne's] paladins in the <i>Opera dei Pupi,</i> where the moral of the story is always the same: a man's most important possession is his honour." In the early 20th century there were 25 marionette companies in Sicily but today there are only 11, with 4 in Palermo -- read this <a href="http://www.visitsicily.info/en/puppet-opera/">Visit Sicily page</a> for details on each theater as well as the difference between the school of Catania puppets versus the school of Palermo puppets. In 2001, The <i>Opera dei Pupi</i> was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, and while it will likely never return to its heyday, it does not fail to delight audiences, of both locals and tourists. The shows are performed in Sicilian dialect and can be hard to follow, but it really doesn't matter as the general theme is easily understood. There is no script <i>per se</i>, so the action is mostly improvised while the 20+ characters are played by only two puppeteers against beautiful, hand-painted backdrops. Every November, over two weekends, the Antonio Pasqualino International Museum of Puppets hosts the Festival di Morgana in Palermo. The festival brings together puppeteers from all over the world to celebrate the art, and performances are free until seats last. In the 1990s, a reader of <i>The New York Times</i> travel section wrote a letter about a show she saw at the <i>Museo Internazionale delle Marionette</i> in Palermo. When she and her fellow travelers arrived they were told that "it was not uncommon for the men to become so involved in the heat of battle that they would shout and throw things. We felt mildly superior. Then the show began and we were lost in the 11th century in '<i>Chanson de Roland</i>.' When at last two giant figures loomed over the little stage, we gasped. What did giants have to do with the story? Then we realized that these were the puppeteers who had made us believe the illusion." <b> </b><br />
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<b>Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Cita</b>. There are a number of oratories -- similar in size to small chapels -- in the historic part of Palermo, and these feature the best of the city's Baroque decoration. Typically, each oratory was paid for and maintained by a confraternity, which was made up of members of the nobility and those of high society. On the surface, the confraternities did this out of religious piety (they paid for social services not covered by the government) but the Palermitan oratories provided them with a place to gather to strengthen their political, social, and business bonds. A new type of building thus emerged for these confraternities: it was annexed to a prestigious church and had no exterior indication of its internal use or beauty. The surprise generated by the oratories' decor was reserved only for the members, who competed among themselves for social prestige and public recognition, and each oratory had to be the most beautiful in order to express the power and wealth of the group. The name of Giacomo Serpotta (1656-1732) is most associated with the oratories in Palermo, and he is the acknowledged master of the art of stucco sculpture. He created a technique called <i>allustratura</i> for covering stuccoes with a thin layer of wax and marble powder, which had the affect of making the stucco shine. Art historian Rudolf Wittkower referred to Serpotta as "Sicily's one great boast" during the late Baroque and Rococo period, and said he was "a meteor in the Sicilian sky." I was especially interested in seeing the Santa Cita oratorio because I have a particular interest in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), which is featured here, so our guide, Cetty, was happy to include it in our day's itinerary. Serpotta's work is like nothing I've ever seen. The walls at Santa Cita are filled with cupids, angels, and <i>putti</i>, which Wittkower noted was Serpotta's specialty: "playing, hugging, weeping, flying, and tumbling, they accompany every one of his decorations, spreading a cheerful and festive atmosphere." A few photos I took are below:<br />
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Note that <i>serpotta</i> means serpent or lizard, and Serpotta often punned on his name and included snakes in his work, as in the photo to the right here.<br />
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The Battle of Lepanto is depicted in the photo below, and it's here because the oratorio is dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary -- the battle, fought in the Gulf of Lepanto in Greece, was between the Ottoman Turks and the Holy League fleet (mostly Spanish but generally a coalition of European Catholic states organized by Pope Pius V). The Holy League won, and in the photo the Virgin is seated on clouds with an entourage of angels and she gives the rosary to St. Dominic, who kneels before her. (Meanwhile, the battle scene is reduced to a much smaller number of galleys than actually participated in the battle.) The victory of Catholicism over the Turks is attributed to the miraculous intervention of the Virgin of the Rosary. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TI92j4zqfkUwp3UDdgs0Ziyg2ixKhy1yQKyxwSfrpgaHEFo3Sf0Si2OUmwQizP5sFJX0uadmmS4dCby-20aAZtS7vGlfkrItrJja2EENSkMErrTRvlbo6prIHt1MHQhFAvnAMCrW3IE/s1600/IMG_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TI92j4zqfkUwp3UDdgs0Ziyg2ixKhy1yQKyxwSfrpgaHEFo3Sf0Si2OUmwQizP5sFJX0uadmmS4dCby-20aAZtS7vGlfkrItrJja2EENSkMErrTRvlbo6prIHt1MHQhFAvnAMCrW3IE/s320/IMG_0417.JPG" width="240" /></a>As an aside, the Christian victory reasserted Spanish supremacy in the Mediterranean and was celebrated with much fanfare in Europe. However, Sir Charles Petrie, in <u>Philip II of Spain</u> (1963) noted that "The battle of Lepanto did not break the back of the Ottoman naval power...but morally it was decisive, for by lifting the pall of terror which had shrouded eastern and central Europe since 1453, it blazoned throughout Christendom the startling fact that the Turk was no longer invincible." More recently (2000), historian Bernard Lewis, in <u>A Middle East Mosaic</u>, notes that Lepanto made very little difference to the real balance of power in southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean. "The Turkish armies remained dominant on land; the Turkish fleets were swiftly rebuilt; When the sultan expressed concern about the cost, his grand vizier replied: "The might of our empire is such that if we wished to equip the entire fleet with silver anchors, silken rigging and satin sails, we could do it." <b><i>The photo to the right is of the Santa Cita confraternity members, painted just outside the oratory</i></b>. Serpotta devoted his entire life to decorating oratories, and the tradition of creating these white masterpieces was continued by his son, Procopio (whose work may be seen in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/oratoriosantacaterinapalermo">Oratorio di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria</a>).<br />
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<b>Ortigia</b>. The small island of Ortigia, designated a UNESCO landmark for its "remarkable testimony of the Mediterranean cultures over the centuries," is at the edge of Siracusa, on the eastern coast of Sicily. It's also the name of a fine line of natural soaps, scents, candles, and lotions created by Sue Townsend, a British woman who was also a founder of Crabtree & Evelyn. Townsend started Ortigia in 2006 and the perfumes are distilled from flowers of Sicily by noted perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi, based in Florence. I was unfamiliar with Ortigia before going to Sicily, but now I'm a big fan. The shop in Palermo is on via Principe di Belmonte, 100/b, and there is another one in the Villa Igiea hotel (other Sicilian locations are in Cefalu, Noto, Sciacca, Siracusa, and Taormina, while elsewhere in Italy there are stores in Florence and Rome; there are no boutiques in the U.S. though some Ortigia products may be found some stores; these appear on the <a href="https://www.ortigiasicilia.com/">Ortigia website)</a>. Townsend designs the packaging for all the items, and most of it has an appealing Art Deco look; I'm especially fond of the items that borrow motifs from Roger's Hall (<i>Sala di Re Ruggero</i>)in the <i>Palazzo dei Normanni</i>:<br />
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<b><i>Palazzi </i>(Palaces)</b>. There are so many former (and current) palaces in Palermo that it's impossible to see more than a few in a single visit. In the 1670s, Palermo became the sole capital city in Sicily (up until this time Messina shared the role of capital city), and by the early 18th century there were a lot of aristocrats in Palermo -- something like 142 princes, more than 750 marquises, and around 1,500 dukes and barons -- so <i>palazzi</i> were in demand. In his book <u>In Sicily</u>, travel writer Norman Lewis wrote that it was estimated at the time of his last visit in the late 1990s that "three hundred of Palermo's splendid palaces -- among them superb examples of baroque architecture -- were in desperate need of repair." Since that time, a number of the splendid palaces he saw have indeed been at least partially renovated. Some descendants of the families who owned the palaces still live in their ancestral homes; others donated the buildings to the state. In either case, some <i>palazzi</i> have regular visiting hours and others require an appointment to visit. The best known <i>palazzo</i> is the <a href="http://nyitarch161.blogspot.com/2016/12/ballroom-at-palazzo-valguarnera-gangi.html">Valguarnera-Gangi</a>, which is where director Luchino Visconti filmed parts of 'The Leopard' (the wonderful ballroom scene was shot in the spectacular Galleria degli Specchi, which has been compared to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles). An appointment is required and requests may be made by e-mail to: palazzogangi@hotmail.com. <a href="http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/palazzomirto/storia.html">Palazzo Mirto</a>, in the Kalsa neighborhood, belonged to the Filangeri and the Lanza Filangeri dynasty (princes of Mirto, from the name of their feudal property near Messina) for over 400 years (Vittoria Filangeri married Ignazio Lanza in 1830). The palazzo has regular opening hours but I recommend sending an e-mail to confirm: museo.palazzomirto@regione.sicilia.it. <a href="http://www.palazzoalliatadivillafranca.wordpress.com/">Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca</a>, the home of the princes of Alliata, has a noteworthy art collection including a Crucifixion by Anthony Van Dyck. The <i>Sala dello Stemma</i> is named after the family's coat of arms, which is depicted in a huge, Neapolitan majolica pattern (it was originally on the floor but now hangs on a wall). There are regular visiting hours but reservations are required: palazzoalliatadivillafranca@gmail.com. <a href="http://www.palazzoasmundo.com/it/">Palazzo Asmundo </a>was once home to the Marquis of Sessa: Giuseppe Asmundo Paterno, who hosted European royalty at the palazzo on what was then called Cassaro Road, Palermo's oldest and most desirable street (it was later renamed via Vittorio Emanuele II after Italian unification). The frescoes here, by Gioacchino Martorana, are especially nice. There are regular visiting hours but I recommend sending an e-mail to confirm: info@palazzoasmundo.com. <a href="http://palazzoalliata.it/">Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata</a>, on via Bandiera, is a gem of the Sicilian rococo style. The owners, Prince Biagio Licata Baucina and Princess Signoretta Alliata di Pietratagliata, are each direct descendants of the two families who originally owned the palazzo, so it has remained in the same family for six centuries; this continuity is very unusual in the owning of a private historic residence. One of the most memorable features of the palazzo is its 18th century Murano glass chandelier. With 100 lights and 9 feet in size, it's considered the largest of its kind. Visits are by reservation: palazzoalliata14@gmail.com. <a href="http://www.musei.unipa.it/carceri.html">Palazzo Chiaramonte</a>, also known as the Steri, is one of Palermo's most iconic palazzi. It was built in 1320 by Manfredi I Chiaramonte, from Modica, and during the years of Spanish rule it was the infamous seat of the Spanish Inquisition. Graffiti from victims of the Inquisition may be seen here. Today the palazzo is owned by the University of Palermo. <a href="http://www.fondazionesantelia.it/">Palazzo Sant'Elia</a> (full name Palazzo del Marchese di Santa Croce di Trigona di Sant'Elia) dates from the 1600s. During the Spanish period, a project was begun to widen via Maqueda (Strada Nuova), and the palazzo was modified to fit the new layout of the city. Sant'Elia is gorgeous, and today it's the home of Palermo's contemporary art scene, with a full schedule of exhibitions (by Sicilian artists) year round. <a href="https://www.palazzobranciforte.it/en/home/">Palazzo Branciforte di Butera</a> reopened to the public in 2012 after a major restoration by renowned architect and designer Gae Aulenti. It also houses the offices of Fondazione Sicilia, and there are collections of archeology, majolica, stamps, coins, and sculpture; an historical library; a gallery for contemporary art exhibitions; the <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Città</span><br />
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del Gusto, a cooking school run by Italian food authority <i>Gambero Rosso</i>; Ristorante Branciforte; and Emporio Branciforte, with books, art objects, food, and drink. The beautiful restoration of <a href="http://www.palazzobutera.it/en/palazzo-butera">Palazzo Butera</a> has been personally financed by Francesca Frua de Angeli and Massimo Valsecchi, who acquired it in 2016. The Valsecchi Collection of art was to be installed here in 2020 but I'm not sure if Covid-19 has delayed those plans (the collection has been on loan in England). In the June 2016 issue of the prestigious art magazine <i>Apollo</i>, writer Susan Moore wrote, "<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until now, these works of art constituted what was probably the least known private holding of great art in London--an unusually rich and complex assemblage that almost no one had ever seen</span></span><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">." </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">To the Valsecchis, the "fundamental idea behind the collection is the proposition that placing outstanding artworks from different worlds side by side, is a way to understand the ties that lie beneath apparent cultural differences." </span></span><b>Staying in a palazzo</b>: a few palazzi are available for accommodations, like the Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata (above). A beautiful apartment for 4 is available by the week or a 3-night minimum. <a href="https://palazzoajutamicristo.it/it/">Palazzo Ajutamicristo</a>, which dates from the late 1400s, has two double rooms with private bathrooms and breakfast. Contact: info@palazzoajutamicristo.it. <a href="https://www.contefederico.com/newsite/en/home/">Palazzo Conte Federico</a> has seven light and airy apartments for rent and also offers guided tours in English of the palazzo and the Arab-Norman tower. For the apartments, contact contefedericoapartments@gmail.com; for tours, contact contefederico@contefederico.com. (Note: this palazzo is not to be confused with Torre dei Federico!).<br />
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<b><i>Perna</i></b>. If you are crazy for stationery shops, like me, you will be right at home at <a href="https://www.cartoleriaperna.com/en/product-category/tipologia-articoli/penne/sfera-penne/page/10/">Cartoleria Perna</a> (via Roma 68/70). Founded in 1937, Perna sells all the things you'd expect to find (notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, organizers) and some things you wouldn't (key rings, mouse pads, backpacks, leather bags). Among the many brands offered are Lamy, Caran d'Ache, Delta, Fedo, Monteverde, Pelikan, Pineider, and Waterman. Another shop is near Teatro Massimo at via Sperlinga, 14.<br />
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<b><i>Piazza Bellini</i></b>. Three of Palermo's major sites are situated on this large plaza: the Church of Santa Maria Dell'Amiraglio (also known as La Martorana), the Church of San Cataldo (both of these churches are part of the UNESCO-designated 'Arab-Norman Palermo,' and the Monastery and Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria (not to be confused with the Oratorio di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria). There is plenty to read elsewhere about these buildings, which are fascinating in their historic details as well as architecturally. La Martorana is the gem among them and should absolutely not be missed: the interior is stunning and leaves one gob-smacked. There are so many interesting features, but perhaps the most noteworthy is the mosaic showing Roger II, wearing what looks like Byzantine robes, being symbolically crowned by Christ. This is not surprising, based on what's been written about Roger's life. He had long been attracted to the Byzantine concept of monarchy, "a mystically tinged absolutism," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "in which the sovereign, as God's viceroy, lived remote and elevated from his subjects in a magnificence that reflected his intermediate position between earth and heaven." The nuns here at La Martorana became quite famous for their marzipan confections in the shapes and colors of fruit. Known elsewhere as <i>pasta reale</i>, in Palermo it is more often referred to as <i>frutta martorana</i>. Nuns at Santa Caterina also had a history of making marzipan treats, but until 2014, when the last sister left the premises, the bakery had been closed to the public for about 700 years. Now there is a shop where visitors may buy a full range of <i>I Segreti del chiostro</i> (the secrets of the cloister) baked goods and marzipan. The <i>frutta martorana</i> is available in pre-packaged assortments and individual pieces, or travelers may choose to customize their assortments; there is also a choice of packaging, from basic cardboard to handmade ceramic containers. Either way, it's a good gift as with care, it will hold up even in hot weather. There is no fee to enter the bakery, but there is to enter the church and an additional one to walk up to the rooftop, which I recommend. Photos of the interior and from the roof below:<br />
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<b><i>Quattro Canti</i>. </b>Located at the intersection of via Maqueda and corso Vittorio Emanuele, the <i>Quattro Canti</i> (Four Corners) is an octagon-shaped crossroads dating back to the 1600s during Spanish rule. Its official name is piazza Vigliena because it was built to honor the Spanish viceroy who commissioned its construction in 1609. I think it's a beautiful intersection, and the four decorative corners feature the four seasons at the top, the four Spanish kings (Charles V, Philip II, Philip III, and Phllip IV) in the middle, and the four patron saints of Palermo before Rosalia (Cristina, Ninfa, Olivia, and Agata) who were the protectors of the four old districts of the city: La Kalso, Il Capo, La Loggia, and L'Albergheria, which all converged here. The engraving just below is by Antonio Bova and dates from 1761. You can see two of the city's medieval gates at the end of each street, and while I believe one of them is the Porta Nuova, I'm not <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">certain</span> if the other one is Porta Felice or Porta Carini. <br />
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To<b> </b>best<b> </b>capture the <i>Quattro Canti</i> in a photo, you would have to lie down in the middle of the intersection and aim your camera at the sky. I've seen this image on a postcard and it's magnificent, but I didn't have the nerve to ask the policemen I saw there if they would divert traffic for me for a few minutes while I took pictures, so the photos below are all I have.<br />
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<b><i>Ristoranti</i>. </b>As I mentioned<b> </b>in my first post about Sicily, I always check <a href="http://www.faithwillinger.com/">Faith Willinger's website</a> for her recommendations for places to eat in Italy. In addition to the Palermo suggestions on her site (<a href="http://www.coronatrattoria.it/">Corona Trattoria</a>, <a href="https://buattapalermo.it/">Buatta Cucina Popolana</a>, and <a href="https://www.fud.it/">Fud</a>), right before I left she also shared that <a href="http://www.icuccibistrorante.it/">I Cucci Bistrorante</a> was a "don't miss." I'm sorry to say I was unable to try any of them (sometimes things just don't go as planned, especially when there are other people involved), though perhaps you will be fortunate to do so, assuming they can make it through the pandemic. But I did get to a few other places that I very much recommend: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/anicaristorante/">A'nica Ristorante & Pizza Gourmet</a> (via Alloro, 135) is a casual, trendy place with both indoor and outdoor seating. The pizza choices here are a little more creative than other places, but we stuck with margherita (which was admirable), all the other dishes we ordered were good, the service was friendly, the prices moderate, and the vibe was fun. <a href="http://palazzosambuca.thefork.rest/en_GB/">Ristoranti Palazzo Sambuca</a> (via Alloro, 26) is just steps away from Palazzo Abatellis (same side of via Alloro) and is excellent. It's a small place -- there are only a few tables -- and the owners (who I believe are husband and wife) are exceptionally friendly and speak some English. Handwritten menus are in little notebooks, and every dish we ordered -- fennel salad with olives, anchovy, and orange slices; caponata; grilled squid; and pasta with tiny clams and tiny tomatoes -- was superb. As an aside, the proprietress makes necklaces using beads and charms that are displayed in a small vitrine by the front door and they're moderately priced and attractive. <a href="https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/sardina-pastabar-r475735">Sardina Pasta Bar</a> (via Cassari 41-43) has indoor and outdoor seating, a small but select menu, and affordable prices. There is great people-watching from the outdoor tables as it's in a busy area and the atmosphere is very lively. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/osteriapantelleria/?fref=ts">Osteria Pantelleria</a> (in a part of the original building that now also houses BB22, via Pantelleria at the angle with Cavalieri di Malta) is run by the husband and wife team of Anna and Filippo, who renovated this space in 2016. The menu features some innovative dishes as well as standards, and I had a dish of fettucine with sardines, anchovies, tomato sauce, and breadcrumbs that was quite delicious. <a href="https://foursquare.com/v/bar-santoro/4cbd8c634495721ec00c607a">Bar Santoro</a> (piazza Indipendenza) is a good place to know about if you are taking the bus to Monreale. It's not a destination place but has a range of room temperature dishes and hot choices like <i>arancine</i>, as well as sweets, coffee, and a full bar. There are some tables inside but most of the seating is outdoors, and while some areas are designated for waitress service, there are a number of tables set aside for self-service, which are best if you're catching the bus. I mentioned <a href="http://www.idealcaffe.it/">Caffe Stagnitta</a> in a previous post, and I love it, but another very good coffee place that's been around since 1860 is <a href="http://www.spinnato.it/">Antica Caffe Spinnato</a> (piazza Castelnuovo 16). <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cioccolateria-Lorenzo-290351371017509/">Cioccolateria Lorenzo</a> (via Quattro Aprile, 7/7a) is a good place for breakfast and brunch. I actually didn't have anything chocolate, but I can vouch for the cappucino and a good quality <i>cornetto</i> (the Italian version of a croissant), and there is a pretty little garden to sit in. <a href="http://en.madonieat.com/">MadoniEAT</a> (via Butera 20, steps away from Palazzo Butera and Butera 28) is a self-described 'Sicilian deli and bistro' but I think a more accurate description is 'wine bar with great <i>panini </i>and salads.' It's a small place - there are only a few tables - but it's a pleasant place to sit for a quick meal or a drink (and it's great for take-out). There are a few more substantial dishes on the menu if you're in the mood, and there are a lot of packaged culinary specialties to buy as souvenirs (though most are too large for carry-on bags). The name is a nod to the <i>Parco Naturale Regionale delle Madonie</i>, a beautiful area 70 kilometers east of Palermo that also incorporates 15 historic towns and villages, including Gangi, named <i>Borgo <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Più </span>Bello d'Italia</i> (most beautiful village in Italy) in 2014. Nearly all the products, fresh and packaged, are from this natural area. The staff at MadoniEAT are super friendly and they are happy to accommodate if you're staying nearby and need a bottle of wine and have, um, forgotten a corkscrew.<br />
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<b>Sicilian World Heritage</b>. UNESCO has designated 9 World Heritage sites in Sicily. Six are of cultural importance and three are of importance from the point of view of nature and wildlife. The six sites include Arab-Norman Palermo (which includes Palermo Cathedral, Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Zisa Palace, Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Admiral's Bridge, and the Church of Santa Maria Dell'Ammiraglio) and the cathedral churches of C<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">efalù</span> and Monreale; Syracusa and the Pantalica rock necropolis; the late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto (which include Catania, Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Ragusa Ibla, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide, and Noto); L'opera dei Pupi (puppet theatre); La Villa Romana del Casale); and Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples. The three other sites include and Mount Etna; Le Isole Eolie (the Aeolian Islands; the island of Salina is where '<i>Il Postino</i>' was filmed and of course the island of Stromboli is where the film of the same name was made with Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman ; and the island of Pantelleria and its vine cultivation (an upcoming post will be devoted to Pantelleria). UNESCO has published a great walking tour map taking in all the sites in Arab-Norman Palermo (plus C<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">efalù</span> and Monreale) and it's also available online: visit www.unescoarabonormanni.it, click on 'Downloads,' and select 'Mappa ENG.' The walk can be done in a day, though it would be a very full day if time is allotted for also visiting most of the sites. I recommend doing the walk in full without going inside anywhere, and then going back to the sites you want to see separately.<br />
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<b>Street Food</b>. Much has been written about the variety and joys of Palermo's street food. As it's been comprehensively presented elsewhere I won't provide a list of what you can expect to find here, except to say that some of the specialties -- <i>pani ca' meusa</i> (boiled spleen, lung, and other veal organ meat) and <i>frittola</i> (fried leftover cow parts, like cartilage and bone) -- may appeal only to adventurous eaters. I became a huge fan of the deep-fried rice balls known as <i>arancine</i> (singular, <i>arancina</i>) in Palermo and the western part of Sicily, where they originated in the 10th century, and as <i>arancini </i>(singular, <i>arancino</i>) in Catania and the western side of the island. Besides the slight difference in spelling, the western <i>arancine</i> are round and don't have tomatoes while the eastern <i>arancini</i> have a pointed shape (supposedly resembling Mount Etna) and the hot <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>ragù</i> </span>inside represents the volcano's hot lava. Sarah Murdoch, in the <u>Rick Steves Guide to Sicily,</u> adds that "no matter which one you pick, watch your language: Never call it <i>arancino</i> in the west, or <i>arancina</i> in the east. Just...don't." One of the best known Sicilian confections, available as street food and also in bakeries, is <i>cannoli </i>(singular is <i>cannolo</i>). Supposedly the best time of year to enjoy it is in the spring, when the sheep ricotta is tastiest, but whenever it's eaten, make sure the filling is added to the shell on the spot (pre-filled shells will be soggy and are the sign of an inferior product). While most of these street specialties have been around for a long time, there are some that are gone, or at least aren't sold in the same way. Author Mary Taylor Simeti wrote a piece for the travel section of <i>The New York Times</i> ('<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/17/magazine/totally-authentic-flavors-of-sicily.html?searchResultPosition=1">Totally Authentic Flavors of Sicily</a>,' 17 September, 1995) and it's a reminiscence, even by that time, of the favorite specialties of Gaetano, her hairdresser. It's fascinating to read, and <i>frittola </i>is described in more detail: the scraps from the butcher are boiled and drained of fat and sent off to make bouillon cubes, while the little pieces of meat that remain are fried (I still have no desire to eat it). She also mentions that sellers would walk around with clay pots like amphoras tied over their shoulders with a cord and inside the pots was boiled octopus or anise water. Another uniquely Sicilian specialty that isn't entirely relegated to street food is gelato stuffed into a <i>brioscia</i> (brioche), which is often eaten for breakfast (!). Chef Giuliano Bugialli says that Sicilians "absolutely refuse to eat gelato in a cone," and Matt Goulding, author of <u>Pasta Pane Vino</u>, says that eating ice cream for breakfast is "what the locals do, and if you don't do the same you'll stick out like an idiot tourist. But seriously, you'll never find yourself in another place where it is socially acceptable to consume 800-calories worth of sugar and fat before noon." (Don't postpone joy - go for it). Theresa Maggio, author of <u>Mattanza: Love & Death in the Sea of Sicily</u>, observed that "In Sicily, where food is love and the street is a stage, street food is more than a cheap meal, it's communion." Three-hour gastronomic walking tours are offered by <a href="http://palermostreetfood.com/">Palermo Street Food</a>, 7 days a week for from 2 to 12 people, 30 euros per person (there's a good video to watch on the website). Regularly scheduled tours are at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. but customized itineraries may also be arranged as well as wine tastings and cooking classes. <br />
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<i><b>Teatro Massimo</b></i>. Palermo's beautiful opera house is Italy's largest and is the third largest in Europe. The Neoclassical building is on piazza Verdi and opened in 1897, after thirty-three years of planning and construction. The inaugural performance was Verdi's 'Falstaff,' but after only two seasons the theater closed, reopening again in 1901. In 1974, at the height of the Mafia's power, the theater closed again for renovations, and it remained closed for 23 years while also becoming a negative symbol of Palermo. Since its reopening in 1997, <a href="http://www.teatromassimo.it/eng">Teatro Massimo</a> hasn't looked back, and today there is a full, year-round schedule of ballet, opera, and classical music. Ticket prices are very much lower than at opera house venues elsewhere -- nearly three decades of closure raised generations of people unfamiliar with going to the opera -- and the Teatro also started the <i>Opera Camion</i> project, a truck that carries a stage into Palermo's poorest neighborhoods for free performances. Additionally, the Teatro started a Rainbow Choir, made up entirely of children of immigrants, for most of whom Sicily is their first landing place in Europe. Superintendent Francesco Giambrone said in 2018 that, "In our community, migrants are an important part." Fans of 'The Godfather' might recognize the front staircase as the one in the final scene of the third film. While I was unable to attend a performance at the Teatro, I did go on an excellent, 30-minute tour of the building, which was begun by Giovan Battiste Basile. He was unable to complete it in his lifetime so it was finished by his son, Ernesto Basile. Unlike the exterior, the interior of the building is in the Liberty style, and the tour includes the Auditorium (known for its outstanding acoustics), the Royal Box, the Royal Sitting Room, the Pompeian Hall, and the Choir Room. My guide said while seats in the Royal Box are reserved for the Mayor and members of the Regional Parliament, it's often possible for these premium seats to be made available to the general public, usually on the same day. Two photos of the front columns are below, and one is a view of the neighborhood taken from the same spot.<br />
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<b><u>Tipping.</u></b> This is probably the topic I am most asked about, and I've never been entirely sure why it seems like a difficult concept, except I think Americans are so used to tipping 15-20% that they can't conceive of doing differently. Tipping in Sicily, and elsewhere in Italy and in Europe, is discretionary but customary. However, it's done much more modestly than in the States, and is considered in poor taste to over-tip; it's seen that you're showing off how much money you have. Here's a brief guide: in bars and cafes where you consume your drinks at the bar (remember that the price charged at the bar is cheaper than at tables) you need only round up the tab -- if the bill is 2.50 euros, leave 3 euros for the barista or bartender. If you're sitting at a table and have had a good meal, also round up the tab. If you really enjoyed the meal and the service, feel free to leave an additional euro. Unique to Italy is the <i>coperto,</i> a cover charge ostensibly to offset the cost for bread, olive oil, or table linens. Some years ago there was a movement to do away with the <i>coperto</i>, but some places still use it and it's usually written on menus. If there is a <i>coperto</i> (which is about 1 to 3 euros per person), there will be no charge for bread (without the <i>coperto</i>, bread is usually 1 -1.50 euros per person). If there is a <i>coperto</i> and you don't want the basket of bread, you could refuse it, but the <i>coperto</i> is compulsory regardless and at a few euros you'd be creating a fuss for nothing. If the menu displays <i>servizio incluso</i> (service included), this means a tip is already included but is typically for groups of 8 people or more, and there is no need for or expectation of an additional tip. [Additional asides about eating out: leave the tip in cash even if you're paying the bill with a credit card; if you're with a group and not everyone wants an antipasto, don't be surprised if the waiter is puzzled - it's somewhat foreign to Italians that diners order so individually, and waiters don't want anyone at the table to be left out of a course, so sometimes waiters will bring diners who didn't order an antipasto their main course at the same time as the antipasti for the other diners so everyone will be eating at the same time; and don't think a waiter is being rude for not bringing you the bill when you're finished with the meal: it's considered rude to bring the bill before the customer asks for it. I was once in Umbria with friends who lived there and though we asked for the bill, it wasn't until we actually stood up as if to leave that the bill was brought.] For porters at a hotel, 1 euro per bag is sufficient. As I have a bad back and arthritic knees, I am extremely grateful for the effort, so I give 5 euros, but I only give this tip at arrival as I bring my own bags to reception when I check out. It's my understanding that giving this 5 euro tip is best appreciated as a paper note rather than coins. For a concierge, a few euros is customary, but I recommend giving more (20 euros) if you've received a particularly hard-to-get restaurant reservation or tickets to a special event. For the hotel employees who hover near the main entrance, giving a tip is not necessary but if you are helped with your bags it's kind to give a few euros. For housekeeping staff -- typically the most overlooked in the entire hospitality business -- one or more euros per night is much appreciated, though at a very expensive inn I recommend leaving 5 euros per night (and it's advised that you leave the tip on a daily basis or the people you intend it for may not receive it). At a spa, 10 euros is appreciated but not expected. For tour guides, 5 euros for a half day tour and 10 euros for a full day is average. For hair stylists, rounding up to the nearest 10 euros is sufficient, but if you want to give the person who washed your hair 3 euros and the total is 57 euros, give the hair stylist more than 60 euros (62 or more). For airport shuttles, only tip if the driver helps with your bags, one euro per bag. In all cases, if you've had poor service don't leave a tip, and don't tip the owners of any establishment (though admittedly it may not always be clear who the owners are, but they will likely refuse a tip if offered). Finally, for taxi drivers, round up the fare to the next euro. Note that there may be a surcharge added to the fare for each piece of luggage and this is completely legal, and note that at the end of a ride the driver may adjust the fare upwards to the next euro (say, from 9.10 euros to 10 euros), and this, too, is completely legal. It's because the driver doesn't have change. As Kate Simon wrote in her wonderful book, <u>Italy: The Places in Between</u> (Harper & Row, 1970), "Remember that no one ever has any change. When you pay a gas attendant, he will ask you for <i>spiccioli</i> (coins). The girl in the small chain department store will leave her register and a group of customers to run from one co-worker to another for change from one hundred lire you have give her for a seventy-five lire purchase. She returns with ten-lire pieces -- no fives -- after a long absence, and one or the other of you has to be sporting about the difference between twenty and thirty lire." Though this is over 30 years later and it's euros now and not lire, it is absolutely still true. <i><b>Also, be prepared to tip</b></i>: get the equivalent of $100 in euros <i>before </i>you arrive and make sure some of that is in small bills and coins. This way you can leave the airport quickly and not run the risk of long lines at the cash machines (or machines that are broken or out of money) and make your way to wherever you're staying, and you'll have the cash on hand to tip appropriately and start making an impression of a seasoned traveler. <br />
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<a href="http://www.visitsicily.info/en/visit-sicily-take-away/"><b>Visit Sicily</b></a>. This <i>Regione Siciliana</i> website is quite good, especially for its series of "Treasure Maps: Twenty Itineraries Designed to Help You Explore the Cultural Heritage of Palermo and its Province." Themed brochures are available for complimentary download in pdf format. These brochures are quite substantive and are filled with illustrations. Among the themes are Markets and Street Food; Botanical Wonders; The Conca d'Oro: Images, History, Memories; Villas and Palaces in the 18th Century; The Lustre of Majolica: Vases and Tiles; The Voice of Angels: Ancient Organs; Archaeology; From Gothic to Renaissance: The Seasons of Art; and Norman Monuments: Churches and Palaces. The author of this last one notes that "The Sicilian buildings of the Norman era, with their mix of European, Byzantine and Islamic architecture and their arabesque forms and rich mosaic decorations generate, in those who see them for the first time, an impression of something singular and unique. Actually, it could be said that the entire history of the Norman occupation of Sicily should be classified as being singular and unique...it left a very particular imprint that makes Norman Sicily one of the most "exotic" and surprising lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages." Words that are very much worth keeping in mind! It's unusual for a tourist office to provide such good quality publications, and <i>Regione</i> <i>Siciliana </i>deserves recognition for doing so. <br />
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<a href="http://www.wearepalermo.com/">We Are Palermo</a>. There are a few sections of this website that may be a bit corny, but the site is actually filled with some good, practical information and helpful themes, such as '20 Facts Every Traveler Should Know About Palermo' which includes the tip, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">If you find yourself in </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222;">need of a </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222;">doctor</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, it may be easier to
shell out the €50 or €100 for a house visit. This will be much more efficient
than spending your entire day waiting around a packed hospital with wailing
people.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Your hotel will be able to call
a doctor on your behalf, though you can also call </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222;">Dr.
Mario Belvedere</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> +39 328 5351761. He speaks Italian, English and
Spanish." Thirteen audio guides are also available on the site (for a small fee) as well as seven free itineraries. </span><br />
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<b><i>La Zisa</i></b>. I often have to leave 'Z' out of alphabetical miscellanies because there are few entries that begin with the letter, but happily there is a very worthwhile example for Palermo: the <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/3760">Castello della Zisa</a>. William II took over the building of the palace from his father, William I, and it was finished in 1189. The palace takes its name from <i>aziz</i>, Arabic for "splendid" or "dear," and historian Louis Mendola says this word survives in the Sicilian language as <i>azzizare</i>, "to make attractive." The Zisa is rectangular in shape, and is located in what once was the Genoard, the royal park south of the Norman Palace. It's one of the nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites that make up the designated Arab-Norman Palermo (along with the Cathedral Churches of C<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">efalù</span> and Monreale), and the interior features some North African Fatimid design details, especially the <i>muqarnas</i>, a form of ornamented vaulting and a common element of Islamic architecture. It's also known as a honeycomb vault and is found in Morocco and at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. In <u>The Normans in Sicily</u>, John Julius Norwich wrote, "But step now into the hall of the palace. At once you are in a different world. Nowhere does Norman Sicily speak more persuasively of the Orient; nowhere else on all the island is that specifically Islamic talent for creating quiet havens of shade and coolness in the summer heat so dazzlingly displayed." As impressive as all this is, a tombstone dating from 1148 in one of the rooms may be the most significant and meaningful item in the museum. It was made for Anne, the mother of Grisanthe, who was the clerk to Roger II, and it was inscribed in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic. Pictured below, the tombstone represents what historians Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio refer to as "more than a rainbow:" the Kingdom of Sicily at that time included the island itself and most of the Italian peninsula south of Rome, as well as Malta and some of Africa. To again quote John Julius Norwich: "Norman Sicily stood forth in Europe -- and indeed in the whole bigoted medieval world -- as an example of tolerance and enlightenment, a lesson in the respect that every man should feel for those whose blood and beliefs happen to differ from his own." A more contemporary voice, that of Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi of Palazzo Butera, reminds us that for 3,000 years, migration has shaped Sicilian culture. "In this historical moment, with its extensive migration and globalization, the continent of Europe appears to be in the grip of an identity crisis. What may rescue Europe from its crisis is a re-invigoration of its deep rooted traditions of openness and hospitality. Sicily, with its history of millennial migrations, offers a rich and seasoned point of departure to re-imagine European identity...Sicily has become a cultural crucible of diversity."<br />
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-82849029537105952042020-06-10T11:58:00.000-07:002020-06-10T11:58:22.159-07:00<div style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While I'm just about finished with my Palermo post, I'm taking a detour first to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/saga/index.htm">Augustus Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire</a>. I was familiar with the sculpture of Saint-Gaudens (pronounced to rhyme with the name of the poet, W. H. Auden) but had never visited his home (and studio) until a few summers ago. The beautiful site celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015 and it has the distinction of being the least visited park in the country. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saint-Gaudens began his life as an artist working for a cameo cutter in New York at the time of the Civil War. He witnessed regiments of men marching off to war, he saw Ulysses Grant and Abraham Lincoln, he saw wounded soldiers returning home from the war, and he saw President Lincoln lying in state at New York City's City Hall. All of these images remained with him for his entire life and he would go on to create seven sculptures that memorialized the War. He also became a pacifist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like other artists of his day, Saint Gaudens went to Paris in 1867 and was the first American ever to enroll at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His work was exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900, and reportedly Auguste Rodin doffed his hat in homage to the artist. When he came back to New York he was married, to a painter named Augusta Homer (they became known as Gus and Gussie), and a lawyer friend proposed that they come up to New Hampshire for the summer. Saint-Gaudens had just been commissioned for a Lincoln sculpture for the City of Chicago, and he converted an old hay barn on the property into a studio. He ended up buying the house and its 80 acres and named it Aspet, after his French father's birthplace in France. As Saint-Gaudens became more well known, other artists, such as Isadora Duncan and Maxfield Parrish, came to live in the area and their residences were known as the Cornish Colony. Trails connecting their houses to each other still exist, and they wind through more than 100 acres of the park. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Among the truly great works of Saint-Gaudens, one stands out: the Shaw Memorial, which is my favorite and is the real reason for this post. It has been referred to as the greatest American sculpture of the 19th century, and it memorializes the 1st African American volunteer infantry unit of the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. Saint-Gaudens was commissioned to create it for the city of Boston -- it stands at the corner of Beacon and Park Streets -- but there is another (slightly different) version of it in Cornish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saint-Gaudens once remarked, "It's the way a thing is done that makes it right or wrong. That's the only creed I have in art." It took him 14 years to finish the Shaw Memorial, and curator Henry Duffy said, "It haunted him. I think he just couldn't get it out of his mind." From the day it was unveiled in Boston in 1897, the Memorial has moved people, including the writer Henry James, poet Robert Lowell, and composer Charles Ives. Historian and author David McCullough noted in an interview with NPR that "The Shaw Memorial is the first time black Americans were ever portrayed in a work of sculpture as heroic, otherwise they were background. But here they are the heroes who would, many of them, pay the ultimate price." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who was white, chose to fight with his men, instead of command from the sidelines. In 1863, Shaw led the attack on Fort Wagner, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, and it was doomed before it began as the Union troops were overwhelmingly outnumbered by Confederate forces. Shaw's soldiers fought fiercely and valiantly, but out of the 600 men, close to 300 were killed, including Shaw, who was the first to be shot. After the battle was over, commanding Confederate General Johnson Hagood returned the bodies of Union officers who had died, with the exception of Shaw's. Hagood explained that had Shaw been in command of white troops, he would have returned his body, as was customary for officers. Instead, Shaw's body was stripped and thrown into a mass grave with his fallen black soldiers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 1989 film 'Glory' brought the history of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment to national prominence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Shaw Memorial was one of 16 public artworks damaged when protesters stormed through Boston Common on the 31st of May, exactly 123 years to the day it was dedicated to the city. A three million dollar restoration project for the Memorial, delayed because of the Covid-19, had just been granted clearance the previous week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>BLACK LIVES MATTER.</b></span></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-53989580393039735382020-05-18T15:14:00.000-07:002020-05-18T15:14:39.705-07:00As I mentioned previously, I'll be writing in more detail about the cooking class I took in Palermo, which was the main reason I planned a Sicily itinerary, a little later on. You might remember that the class is taught by Nicoletta Polo, who is married to Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, the adopted son of Giuseppe di Lampedusa, author of <u>The Leopard</u>. Lampedusa, who passed away in 1957, was the great-grandson of Prince Giulio Fabrizio Tomasi di Lampedusa, among whose titles were Prince of Lampedusa (an island between Malta and Tunisia that is part of the autonomous region of Sicily) and Duke of Palma di Montechiaro (a town on the southern coast of Sicily near Agrigento). Not long before Lampedusa's death, Gioacchino's birth father went to King Umberto II, who was then living in exile in Cascais, Portugal, to ask his permission for Gioacchino to be adopted by Lampedusa and to carry on the title of Duke of Palma. Permission was granted, so years later, when Gioacchino married Nicoletta, she became a Duchess, and so the name of her class is officially called 'A Day Cooking With the Duchess.'<br />
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Until I get to this upcoming post, I'm sharing here a note from Nicoletta about what she's doing to keep her class going during these strange days of Covid-19. I admit it's not the same as being there in that wonderful palazzo, in the kitchen with the floor-to-ceiling windows that open out onto an interior courtyard, but it's close, and it's a great distraction for our times. More importantly, it's also a generous gesture that will help to insure this historic legacy continues.<br />
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Hello from sunny Sicily,</h1>
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I hope you’re doing well and that you and your family are all healthy.</div>
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We are all well here, but obviously things at <strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3D158c3840bd%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNHrPIdAllRzFnyMX84VD5_HOqb4Ug" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=158c3840bd&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Butera 28 Apartments </a></strong>have had to change with the current COVID-19 Crisis, especially with Italy having been so badly affected at the beginning. Although we have had very few cases here on our paradise island in Sicily, we have been included in all of the government’s plans to overcome the situation. Alas, it means that for the time being we have no tourists here - and thus, I’m not able to be hosting my beloved cooking classes, <strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3Db6b993ca04%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNGePfmAyGc2cJCi5QlIXZBaat1nxg" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=b6b993ca04&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">A Day Cooking with the Duchess</a>.</strong></div>
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As this is my passion, I have been missing these cherished moments dearly; being able to meet all of you, share my culinary knowledge and delight in the fruits of our labour together. So, instead of dwelling on what cannot be, I decided to get busy creating something to keep up with the times, while waiting for the world to become a friendlier and safer place.</div>
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Over the last few weeks, I have been working devotedly with <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3D07819803bf%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNEoTPjST3okYfNObYgDpnZYIoG3CA" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=07819803bf&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">mi.o Modern Italian Network</a>, a wonderful community of people passionate about Italy and Italian culture. Together we have lovingly crafted something rather special. I have shifted my Sicilian cooking classes (as seen on <strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3D1506cbc582%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNEGStt2FO6NXxkNMdQcb0h77t8Oww" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=1506cbc582&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Rick Stein’s Long Weekend Palermo Edition</a></strong>) to the world wide web. This way I can teach live, private classes from my <strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3D865495c3a8%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNHWlgvB1PjY3HWjdfW9JZCid-3WIA" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=865495c3a8&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">18th century Palazzo kitchen</a></strong> in Palermo, all the way to you, in the comfort - and safety! - of your own home.</div>
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These 2-hour long classes are currently exclusive<strong> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652%26id%3D4ada106470%26e%3D32756af24e&source=gmail&ust=1589926139438000&usg=AFQjCNFZvg5fIFcKDQgDCAlpfo-A_oxA5g" fg_scanned="1" href="https://butera28.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bf7a2e5ccaa737167ee2d652&id=4ada106470&e=32756af24e" style="color: #bd9f52; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">here</a>,</strong> so get in touch to reserve your space. You will need to sign up<strong> for free</strong> on the site to gain access to the course information including my truly Sicilian menus that I have created for you, the dates and the price. Choose between a menu selection of Sicilian Springtime 2020, one for Citrus Lovers, or request my totally Vegan 3-Course Delight (very soon online, stay tuned). After you sign up, I will contact you so that we can discuss all of the details.</div>
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Of course you can buy this for yourself, but also as a gift for a loved one who may still be stuck in 'lockdown' and needing a bit of a ‘pick me up’.<strong> Food is love</strong> after all, <strong>because we create it to share with others</strong>. I am encouraging families, who may not even be in the same household to get involved as a wonderful family activity.</div>
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It goes without saying, this would also be a much-appreciated opportunity to help us cope financially through these terribly hard times, when our business, that I have worked so hard to build up, has been completely destroyed by the pandemic.</div>
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Please feel free to reach out to me for more information. I cannot wait to get back to sharing my culinary love with you all, even from afar.</div>
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All my warmest wishes and positive energy,<br /><em>Nicoletta x</em></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-23768250850375630472020-05-03T13:41:00.000-07:002020-05-03T13:41:24.657-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These old photos of Palermo are from a volume in the John L. Stoddard's Lectures series, "Illustrated and embellished with views of the world's famous places and people, being the identical discourses delivered during the past eighteen years under the title of the Stoddard Lectures," dating from 1905. My friend Jen B., who knows how much I appreciate old books, gave me the set and I've been thoroughly enjoying looking through them. Palermo may have changed much in the last 115 years, but its panoramic setting has not. Stoddard wrote, "...the Sicilian capital lay glittering in an amphitheatre of imposing, violet-tinted mountains, which close about Palermo to the sea, and form the noble arc of an almost perfect semicircle, of which the coast line is the chord. " <br />
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Palermo was founded in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicians, but its name is derived from the Greeks, <i>Panormos</i> ("port for all") as at the time the rest of Sicily was nearly all Greek. It's an absolutely fascinating city, with tons of energy and layer upon layer of history; the word 'palimpsest' is most accurate here perhaps as nowhere else in the world -- there are so many visible traces of all the people who conquered Sicily. In their <u>Time Traveler's Guide: Norman-Arab-Byzantine Palermo, Monreale & <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cefalù</span></u>, Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio refer to "polyglot Palermo" of the 12th century, and they note that "In this city history reaches its hand out to us at every corner. Here the streets talk. They speak the language of diversitude, of Sicanians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Aghlabids, Fatimids, Kalbids, Normans, Swabians, Angevins and Catalans." Barbara Grizzuti Harrison writes in <u>Islands</u> <u>of Italy</u> that "...in the center of Palermo, Spanish baroque and Moorish and Byzantine and Norman dazzlingly coexist: whoever conquered -- Berber emir, Byzantine, Spanish viceroy -- left his mark in stone." Harrison adds that the city is "fabulous, intoxicating," and I completely agree. For too long now Palermo has been underrated and bypassed. Its image of a dirty, Mafia-driven, unsafe city was once valid, but that image hasn't been true in years. Palermo isn't, however, coiffed and perfect. Rather, its charm lies in its jumbled pattern of beauty and decay side by side. It's common to walk by gorgeous buildings that are next to vacant storefronts covered with graffiti, and beyond that chic boutiques and hip bars next to a hole-in-the-wall produce vendor, and beyond that an open space given over to weeds surrounding a building bombed during World War II. It reminds me of Naples and Genoa (both cities I also really like), and I find it all really refreshing and appealing.<br />
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Palermo also has an embarrassment of riches in its art and architecture, and its Teatro Massimo is the largest opera house in Italy; not for nothing was Palermo European Cultural Capital in 2018. There is a great deal to see and do, and the city deserves more than a cursory visit. As writer Dan Hofstadter observed in '<a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2009-11-05/italy-in-full">Italy In Full'</a> (<i>Condé Nast Traveler</i>, 2009), Palermo is "so filled with treasures that many of its people have grown oblivious of them. There is a sense here that only profusion expresses devotion, that a thousand pictures and statues surely grace a church more handsomely than a mere ten or twenty." <br />
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This post will focus on <i>Informazioni Pratiche</i> (Practical Information) and the next one will focus on everything else about Palermo.<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Flights</b></span></u>: It's impossible, of course, to predict what airline travel will be like once it has resumed, and which airlines will even still be in business; but if it happens that United's direct flights to Palermo from Newark are no longer an option and you have to take two flights to reach Palermo, I highly recommend Emirates (again, assuming it's still around), which had regular departures from New York to Milan (for fares that were less than flights to Rome). It's a top-notch airline, the service is great, and, at least last fall, there was no fee to check bags. Now, my husband and I had already decided that we didn't want to check bags -- years ago, we'd read somewhere that "there are two kinds of luggage: checked and lost" -- so this Emirates feature didn't immediately appeal to us; but when we looked at the choices for flights from Milan to Palermo and had decided upon Easy Jet, it <i>did</i> appeal, and here's why: first, we never check bags in a situation where they're (supposedly) going to be unloaded from one airplane and loaded onto another. We would be collecting our luggage in Milan and then going to the Easy Jet counter, where they would be checked in separately. Easy Jet doesn't have the same luggage size requirements as Emirates (they're smaller), but it does have a "hands-free" feature that for a small fee (the equivalent of about 10 dollars), passengers can check a bag as long as it doesn't exceed the weight requirement. Since Easy Jet's definition of "carry on" is stricter than that for Emirates, I wouldn't have been able to carry both my handbag and a tote bag, so the "hands-free" option seemed to be a good one (the alternative was to pay the official checked bag fee, and at $50 per flight per person, this would have added $200 to the total, nearly more than the total cost of the round-trip tickets). <i>However</i>, when we arrived at the Easy Jet counter in Milan, the attendant told us I had to put my tote bag <i>inside</i> of my checked bag and Jeff had to put his day pack <i>inside</i> of his bag -- she said we could take them out again before the bags were sent through on the conveyor belt but we had to prove that they would fit inside (this was <i>nowhere</i> in the fine print). We'd purposefully packed light so this wasn't a problem (but it could have been), so <i>caveat emptor</i>: it is <i>possible</i> to travel with only one carry-on bag, but it sure isn't easy. And <u>regarding the definition of a carry-on bag</u>: the luggage companies need to coordinate with the airlines because the measurements are not uniform among airlines or the luggage manufacturers. The so-called standard measurement of 9" x 14" x 22" does not apply to every airline (make sure to check) and the measurements of some carry-on bags I looked at differ by a few or a lot of inches, so at check-in, travelers risk being charged a fee to check bags if the airline representative decides to enforce the rule. <br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Best Reads</span></b></u>: The two reads I recommend are the Time Traveler's Guide by Louis Mendola and Jacqueline Alio I mentioned above (Trinacria Editions, 2017), and <u>Palermo: Travels in the City of Happiness</u> by Allan Langdale (publisher not indicated; it could be self-published, 2015). If you've read my previous posts you know I hold Mendola and Alio in very high regard, and I think their <u>Time Traveler's Guide</u> is <i>essenziale</i>. They provide far more details about Palermo's history and the city's major sites than any guidebook (though they note that their emphasis is "the <i>medieval </i>history and architecture" of sites, so any modern additions to, for example, Palermo Cathedral, are generally ignored). They also write very engagingly, and the chapters devoted to Monreale Abbey and the nearby seaside town of C<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">efalù are excellent. Allan Langdale's book is a series of chapters based on a week he spent in Palermo in 2014 (he'd also visited previously), and while there are some details of his trip that aren't, frankly, that interesting, the majority of his reflections are quite thought-provoking and relevant. Langdale writes in his Introduction that there was much written about Palermo in the 1990s that was true and unpleasant; the accounts "didn't describe my Palermo, which was a city blessed with wondrous art and architecture. Whenever I encouraged people to visit they would always raise their eyebrows and ask me about the mafia. It was as if I'd suggested they take a vacation to the Gaza strip. Yet today you're far less likely to be a victim of crime in Palermo than in many American cities. As for crossing the street, well, it is Italy after all." </span><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Accommodations</span></b></u>: As I mentioned in the very first Sicily post, for our first three nights in Palermo we stayed in one of the self-catered apartments at <a href="http://www.butera28.it/">Butera 28</a>, in the Palazzo Lanza Tomasi. There are 4 Standard apartments (all with 1 bedroom), 6 Superior apartments (4 with one bedroom, 2 with two bedrooms), and 2 Deluxe (both have sweeping views over the bay of Palermo, and apartment 9 has a grand piano!), and the palazzo is located in the Kalsa quarter (from <i>al Khalesa</i> in Arabic), named during the the Arab period in Palermo's history, which began in the year 827. I'll be writing much more about the neighborhood, the palazzo, Lampedusa's <u>The Leopard</u>, and 'Cooking With the Duchess' separately, so for now, I'll only briefly share more here about the unique location of Butera 28.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6encPWoGiwdqMUVkIArGd8DuTRdkPcyBoHvOCeyIL7tvibo9IhtmxeF5Dgw6tgvMx3rKc8F6Lhyphenhyphen_rbs-o-izL2FsceigRSABCmGUbTgd6m2_aX-temYEXkZNN-xVUteVh9iPDwPEPNC8/s1600/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic1painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="400" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6encPWoGiwdqMUVkIArGd8DuTRdkPcyBoHvOCeyIL7tvibo9IhtmxeF5Dgw6tgvMx3rKc8F6Lhyphenhyphen_rbs-o-izL2FsceigRSABCmGUbTgd6m2_aX-temYEXkZNN-xVUteVh9iPDwPEPNC8/s400/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic1painting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This painting (and the images that follow) are from the Butera 28 website; in the painting, the palazzo is the long yellow building on the right side. I don't know who painted the picture or the time period it depicts, but the building dates from the second half of the 17th century, and it was built on top of the Spanish wall. The wall was originally built in the early 1400s, when it bordered the coastline, which over centuries gradually receded about 55 yards. Here's a contemporary photo of the same view:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEj-vMhutW_ZCM31KKVOBQpdeI-0ysdnfYC605N1t2NAjdV66cSDR3s0kadwx5bC6t5ARS5aA8lConz6FbJO9sH5O7ka_GBmsBNpV8xZ4l4VXWLMhSUkVVZPxa9de_vhErQ2VT5RBfq8/s1600/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic2+today.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEj-vMhutW_ZCM31KKVOBQpdeI-0ysdnfYC605N1t2NAjdV66cSDR3s0kadwx5bC6t5ARS5aA8lConz6FbJO9sH5O7ka_GBmsBNpV8xZ4l4VXWLMhSUkVVZPxa9de_vhErQ2VT5RBfq8/s320/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic2+today.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And here are two photos of the sea-facing side of the palazzo and the public walkway that runs along the length of it:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__RktA1WHA1DxfYmEKxFIfIMDTUxC2K5CoUlOmROP17hUmZ0S13lfitHWW76ts6GLuW_E2a73eyXdoVe3Az1Rjw23w8I7guPHLGHyvCWaHSfMMhcqoqJjknE1icPpMHM2B82-jgo_VzM/s1600/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic3+windows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__RktA1WHA1DxfYmEKxFIfIMDTUxC2K5CoUlOmROP17hUmZ0S13lfitHWW76ts6GLuW_E2a73eyXdoVe3Az1Rjw23w8I7guPHLGHyvCWaHSfMMhcqoqJjknE1icPpMHM2B82-jgo_VzM/s320/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-pic3+windows.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZk8We9mMtLWi46GGkBh2J-cST68M1szmrFgwSP-gpCDf-gLvwtR2YG-aQfgjKNo7idMgxHeW8D7Jn26YQAM_XYgeu97YTitR4k6EkocrfGY-V0asRx_eiBeAebKHiEVmvx1n9V3GicY/s1600/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-walkway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZk8We9mMtLWi46GGkBh2J-cST68M1szmrFgwSP-gpCDf-gLvwtR2YG-aQfgjKNo7idMgxHeW8D7Jn26YQAM_XYgeu97YTitR4k6EkocrfGY-V0asRx_eiBeAebKHiEVmvx1n9V3GicY/s320/palazzo-lanza-tomasi-gallery-walkway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Beyond the walkway is the busy Foro Italico Umberto I roadway -- until 1948, the shore ran along what is now the middle of this street -- and the grassy park area beyond, right next to the shore, was built on top of all the debris leftover from the buildings that were reduced to rubble during the Allied bombing of 1943. </div>
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We stayed in Apartment 6, pictured here...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gL_NXKvL03pl3vVq5sPSojNlkZ4c03djBSmEWg-KYrE12oyYKlWq0pG0oPM2AHx752YEUTQGBsdPDnT53RwDDUkZojWAKF4drhCsX35wcIPbBlkHpFCfKzczZl_s9HiFtSHNxAJhAc/s1600/butera-28-palermo-standard-apartment-6-pic-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gL_NXKvL03pl3vVq5sPSojNlkZ4c03djBSmEWg-KYrE12oyYKlWq0pG0oPM2AHx752YEUTQGBsdPDnT53RwDDUkZojWAKF4drhCsX35wcIPbBlkHpFCfKzczZl_s9HiFtSHNxAJhAc/s320/butera-28-palermo-standard-apartment-6-pic-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...and like all the other charming apartments, it has colorful tile floors, period furniture, nice artwork, Wi-Fi, a/c, heating, washing machine, tv, and basic kitchen facilities. Nearly everything in the historic center of Palermo is within walking distance, and plenty of guests stay here who don't take the cooking class. The most recent rates range from 85 euros to 165 euros for Standard rooms; 180 euros to 265 euros for Superior rooms; and the two Deluxe rooms are 240 euros per night. Weekly rates are available for all room types. Butera 28 is a member of <a href="http://www.dimorestoricheitaliane.it/en">Dimore Storiche Italiane</a> (Historic Houses of Italy), one of my favorite accommodation groups, with a variety of lovely palaces, castles, villas, and farms, plus restaurants, parks and gardens, and wine cellars. </div>
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When we returned to Palermo after visiting other parts of Sicily, we stayed at <a href="http://www.bb22.it/">BB22: Charming Rooms & Apartments</a>. The BB22 concept was created by Patricia Marchetti, originally from Milan, which she and her husband left in 2000. They bought the Palazzo Pantelleria-Varvaro, built in 1500 and located on the tiny via Pantelleria that's at an angle with largo Cavalieri di Malta, behind the church of San Domenico, and set about renovating it into a stylish B&B. Characteristics that many B&Bs share -- dated or shabby rooms, fraying carpets, thin walls, skimpy breakfasts -- are nowhere to be found at BB22. Marchetti strives to create a special atmosphere, with smart, stylish, design-forward guest rooms. I neglected to take photos of my own, but here a few just below from the website, of my room and bathroom, and the room of a friend who met us in Palermo at BB22:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvZfZsFxkTlr3hs30IAtqqc7d3UpMrFSCc2Cx_0ETI4ojFq2FiCoXjb4LbYhsqbk2mbFkj5T58ExSk2xZPENUQZKDKQjXkbmJArbBOxajBScac4c0q_FCzyt6JxilervaW4xr-tfWknE/s1600/bb22-my+bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvZfZsFxkTlr3hs30IAtqqc7d3UpMrFSCc2Cx_0ETI4ojFq2FiCoXjb4LbYhsqbk2mbFkj5T58ExSk2xZPENUQZKDKQjXkbmJArbBOxajBScac4c0q_FCzyt6JxilervaW4xr-tfWknE/s200/bb22-my+bedroom.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjU78hcKggjWP2Ia2BYw48a7NjjKio3VI90dN1qnO0dvZV0M_6rM8JWguJYVVd-uciVAyRHrjNZex6XnQll83OHlhn8HStCFo-3OsIiwGvlGxWsQiKi6MkpBZAG9A8i57BBPk8eaowM8Y/s1600/bb22-gallery-my+bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjU78hcKggjWP2Ia2BYw48a7NjjKio3VI90dN1qnO0dvZV0M_6rM8JWguJYVVd-uciVAyRHrjNZex6XnQll83OHlhn8HStCFo-3OsIiwGvlGxWsQiKi6MkpBZAG9A8i57BBPk8eaowM8Y/s320/bb22-gallery-my+bathroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ8_985dBzhTmbmhlQEr0fvCucC38kifgLxWQvnx31oouBJWQO5tsm5mqWeYuBQHGOE1xygG0qRV8_TTmCwdWzoGY6nVmXGruLwu3fSOz8lQkki4JPQA07k51oFevFub4T5-vsY0b-nY/s1600/bb22-gallery-lorraines+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ8_985dBzhTmbmhlQEr0fvCucC38kifgLxWQvnx31oouBJWQO5tsm5mqWeYuBQHGOE1xygG0qRV8_TTmCwdWzoGY6nVmXGruLwu3fSOz8lQkki4JPQA07k51oFevFub4T5-vsY0b-nY/s200/bb22-gallery-lorraines+room.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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A brief history of this building is that it was once known as the Palazzo Requesens as its construction is attributed to Berengario Requesens, a member of an illustrious Spanish family. The palace was sold at auction in 1835 and bought by Francesco Varvaro Querola. After World War II, it was divided among his sons, and then it landed in the possession of his nephew, Francesco Varvaro Patti. Marchetti opened BB22 in 2004 with 7 rooms, each original, each very comfortable and furnished with quality pieces. Marchetti's passion for interior design is evident in the way she mixes contemporary pieces with those that have a flea market feel, as well as her love of texture in the bed linens, chair upholstery, towels and bath mats. The bathrooms are appointed with very thoughtful items other than the usual sets of toiletries. Breakfast is served in a bright living room (that shares space with a small reception area and a bar) and is a fairly generous spread, with good choices for all tastes and diets. The living room opens out onto an enclosed, glassed-in terrace providing views over the historic center of Palermo, and this is a really nice spot to relax at any time of day but especially late at night -- there is an honor bar/refrigerator stocked with an assortment of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. BB22 is not a hotel and therefore the reception desk is not open around the clock; hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. -- if you arrive outside of those times, the staff will accommodate your entry into the building, and at any time you have only to call the wonderful Francesca, who is incredibly vivacious, helpful, and super-knowledgeable. <i>Everyone</i> who I corresponded with before my arrival was prompt and attentive, especially Costanza Paladino, who was also especially patient during my initial stay and then again when I returned after a trip to Pantelleria. All the restaurant reservations and airport transfers I requested were handled flawlessly. </div>
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In addition to BB22, Marchetti opened the BB22 Palace, a few hundred meters away inside the Moncada Palace, as well as apartments that may be rented separately or as a whole (for 8 people total). Here are some photos:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlQXzSTgLh9IS4aaY9428A9LZaC5ttGyMI8CLtea4i4uVoZONZ_nxhcUYwi5vLoZfxpCfjtYDY8EJCJ90qbFArTroVZwIhyphenhyphenAF6RxhqHkuoXnIS5Z1o48v8ZpRmdNWBvA5mA3jLFZ-6BA/s1600/slide_bb22-palace_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlQXzSTgLh9IS4aaY9428A9LZaC5ttGyMI8CLtea4i4uVoZONZ_nxhcUYwi5vLoZfxpCfjtYDY8EJCJ90qbFArTroVZwIhyphenhyphenAF6RxhqHkuoXnIS5Z1o48v8ZpRmdNWBvA5mA3jLFZ-6BA/s320/slide_bb22-palace_004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmHheB6sMYM_uE2d56MeJOS1KHC8-fpwUQGMdKleNnU6SZmP1beSraeZTJUip1944HSbk4a-LGtB1p5JC5iSVVt2GdOwjIzTA9V5xIdLhJxcM2ZQm1ejOaZTzcMgZ4AN9VXvSyJJf3j4/s1600/bb22_lapartment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmHheB6sMYM_uE2d56MeJOS1KHC8-fpwUQGMdKleNnU6SZmP1beSraeZTJUip1944HSbk4a-LGtB1p5JC5iSVVt2GdOwjIzTA9V5xIdLhJxcM2ZQm1ejOaZTzcMgZ4AN9VXvSyJJf3j4/s320/bb22_lapartment.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The BB22 staff can arrange special experiences for guests, including a half-day visit (including a cooking class and countryside tour) to the Susafa farmhouse in the Madonie natural park area, about an hour and a half from Palermo. Patricia Marchetti has been described as "the mind and the heart of BB22," and I wouldn't be surprised to learn, after this Corona virus is truly behind us, that she opens another creative lodging. The most recent rates, which include breakfast, range from 80 euros in low season to 180 euros in high season for BB22 and the BB22 Palace, and for the apartments, rates range from 150-200 euros (2 people); 200-250 euros (3 to 4 people); and 700 to 1,000 euros (for a maximum of 8 people). </div>
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Other Palermo lodgings to consider:</div>
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<a href="https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/villa-igiea/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local&utm_campaign=villa-igiea">Villa Igiea</a>, new to the Rocco Forte hotel group, just opened in 2019 with great fanfare. Much of what's been written about the beautiful, landmark building is in the vein of, "finally, Palermo has a true luxury hotel". Originally a private villa owned by an English admiral, Cecil Domville, it was purchased by Ignazio Florio, of the very successful Palermitano family of the 19th century (the Florios were involved in several industries, notably Marsala; <i>Le Cantine Florio</i> was founded in 1832 and has since been sold, but is still a leading label). Ignazio wanted to turn the villa, overlooking the Bay of Palermo, into a luxury hotel and he named it Igiea after his daughter, who was named after Hygieia, the Greek goddess of sanitation and health. Ignazio hired Ernesto Basile, the pioneer of Sicily's <i>Stile Liberty</i>, the equivalent of Art Nouveau, for the renovation and Basile worked on it from 1899-1901. More recently the Villa had been owned by Hilton and then the AccorHotels group. In its Rocco Forte incarnation, the 66 rooms and suites are designed by Olga Polizzi (Forte's sister and Director of Design for the group) and Paolo Moschino, of Nicholas Haslam Studios. If you want luxury in Palermo, there's no better place to find it, especially since the <a href="https://www.grandhotel-et-des-palmes.com/en/">Grand Hotel et des Palmes</a>, on via Roma, is closed for renovation. </div>
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<a href="https://planeta.it/en/planetaestate/">Palazzo Planeta</a>, apartments owned by the Planeta wine estate family (more about Planeta in an upcoming post). The 7 apartments (Il Capo, <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ballarò, </span>Al Borgo, Vucciria, Kemonia, Kalsa, and Olivella) are in the family's palazzo on the fashionable via Principe Belmonte. The palazzo dates from the early 1900s and overlooks the piazza Ignazio Florio. Two photos from the website are here:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAdLUi23jSdLYJAij2gyRH5lJQi8ZA0ZkSfxCSzULg06JBPuN349xAAaoSef_IBfbNynxNtJJKej519z2CLlPWc6bUe6EQJY075Rv_71LRulWYTmQhc9o4hqHDUvW1iLaiTckcvt4JBk/s1600/planeta+full+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="570" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAdLUi23jSdLYJAij2gyRH5lJQi8ZA0ZkSfxCSzULg06JBPuN349xAAaoSef_IBfbNynxNtJJKej519z2CLlPWc6bUe6EQJY075Rv_71LRulWYTmQhc9o4hqHDUvW1iLaiTckcvt4JBk/s320/planeta+full+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwVEwHcDXKjoNq0ZXjC1QcN5ob6TZu9lLHTw6f4UdUOLekpYx5lrt1Ldw7lgvep3PAtYbZd64fEMM9VbcmOUYnBuYBLPq_U1ylEoiFv9BoDCjyf2C2tDBzMBAfsMakoGsD0Ty7jkiaZ4/s1600/planeta+bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="570" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwVEwHcDXKjoNq0ZXjC1QcN5ob6TZu9lLHTw6f4UdUOLekpYx5lrt1Ldw7lgvep3PAtYbZd64fEMM9VbcmOUYnBuYBLPq_U1ylEoiFv9BoDCjyf2C2tDBzMBAfsMakoGsD0Ty7jkiaZ4/s200/planeta+bomb.jpg" width="200" /></a>The unusual-looking pieces in the facade here are actually pieces of a bomb from World War II. The 1943 Allied bombing destroyed a large part of the building, and the family wished to preserve "this harsh warning of the horrors of war, by conserving it in our collective memory." A few photos below, also from the site, are of the light-filled and colorful apartments: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHHKeYKLY38kBMRsigmu6v_rsSXdovuOukf4RtXWtvHuwK1g9ZJ5ItViMvcEGAaZeGGMvbGMTAlywjJvAG07OyqKvxYuFVSlO-8ZZTZRh6kPZC7RtX_uoKZcpHHdFV1ZwJPt9IgInEEE/s1600/planeta+kalsa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="570" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHHKeYKLY38kBMRsigmu6v_rsSXdovuOukf4RtXWtvHuwK1g9ZJ5ItViMvcEGAaZeGGMvbGMTAlywjJvAG07OyqKvxYuFVSlO-8ZZTZRh6kPZC7RtX_uoKZcpHHdFV1ZwJPt9IgInEEE/s200/planeta+kalsa.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXjm1wuCdQZJiZRkem4Z9PtsZ8XntsD9j-lhBac8tjVZs2QIsDtxiQtE1V1hzvWmRa-nN15UKYj8-jxGzWldFgrv8uyTXlAt7VXeB8G-8MLLm2EJan1lP6Aq5CuZWgK5azCOzx1kBnGM/s1600/planeta+vucciria.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="569" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXjm1wuCdQZJiZRkem4Z9PtsZ8XntsD9j-lhBac8tjVZs2QIsDtxiQtE1V1hzvWmRa-nN15UKYj8-jxGzWldFgrv8uyTXlAt7VXeB8G-8MLLm2EJan1lP6Aq5CuZWgK5azCOzx1kBnGM/s200/planeta+vucciria.png" width="199" /></a></div>
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The apartments are of different configurations and sizes, and Planeta's personal city tour advisor, Arianna Patti, provides special experiences for guests. </div>
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<a href="https://stanzealgeniobnb.it/en/home-2/">Stanze al Genio</a>, on via Giuseppe Garibaldi in the Kalso quarter, is one of the most unique lodgings anywhere: 4 guestrooms are inside of the <i>Museo delle Maioliche</i>, a wonderful ceramic tile museum (more on that in my next post). The building itself is the historic Palazzo Torre-Pirajno, which dates from the 16th century, and the museum takes its name from the Genio (Italian for genius) fountain in the nearby piazza Rivoluzione. When I visited the house-museum, there was a considerable amount of construction going on in the street level space, but once I entered the museum on the first floor <i>piano nobile</i>, it was whole different world, quiet and beautiful. Here are a few pictures of the guestrooms from the site (note that each room accommodates two people, and the lodging is not suitable for young children; breakfast is served in the pretty <i>Sala Grande</i>): </div>
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Lastly,<u> <b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">car rental</span></b></u>: we ended up renting a car at the airport and driving into Palermo, but I'm not necessarily recommending that. The drive itself is not difficult and the roads are well marked, but we parked it in the garage at the Palazzo Lanza-Tomasi for three days before we used it again. However, I admit that when we left for Taormina on the fourth day, all we had to do was put our luggage in the car and drive off. Note that it may seem like parking on the streets of Palermo is a haphazard affair, but it isn't. <i>Do not think you can squeeze into a spot on the street while you check into your hotel</i>. In fact, the streets are monitored by camera, and by the time you return to your car a ticket will have been issued. Alert the staff at your hotel if you'll have a car when you check in, and they will inform you of what to do. </div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-90429633634504825032020-04-13T08:48:00.000-07:002020-04-13T08:48:17.234-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thinking about travel in the time of Covid-19 has made me remember a personage I read about in Alain de Botton's <u>The Art of Travel </u>(Pantheon, 2002): Xavier de Maistre was 27 in 1790 and a soldier in the army of the Sardinian Kingdom (which occupied present-day northern Italy and southern France). He fought an illegal duel and was placed under house arrest in Torino, and during his 42 days of confinement, he wrote <i><u>Autour de ma chambre</u></i> (A Journey Around my Room). The book parodies travel journals of the time, such as <u>A Voyage Around the World</u> by Louis de Bougainville (1771), and de Maistre proclaimed that this was a new form of travel with absolutely zero risk or expenses. One could be a "housebound <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>flâneur</i>," an idea which inspired Joris-Karl Huysmans to write a novel entitled </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><u>À </u></i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><u>Rebours</u></i> (Against Nature), about a character named the Duc des Esseintes, a domesticated </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>flâneur</i> living in Paris. In one scene, Des Esseintes had set out to go to London, got in a taxi, stopped in at an English tavern before his train departure, but then decides he can't complete the journey and goes home. The imaginary journey is, for him, far preferable, "after all, what was the good of moving, when a fellow could travel so magnificently sitting in a chair?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">This "stationary travel" has been referred to as psychogeography by Merlin Coverley, author of a book by the same name as well as <u>The Art of Wandering</u> (Oldcastle Books, 2012). Coverley defines psychogeography as "the point where psychology and geography meet in assessing the emotional and behavioral impact of urban space." I was thinking of all this a few weeks ago, at the time of my last post, and while there is something ridiculous about the idea of journeying around a room, there is nothing ridiculous about armchair travel, at any time but especially now. (By the way, if you want to read de Maistre's book, Hesperus Classics issued an edition in 2004, with a Foreword by Alain de Botton, fittingly.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Back in November, I went to a book signing at <a href="https://www.albertine.com/">Albertine Books</a>, in the beautiful <a href="http://frenchculture.org/about-us/payne-whitney-mansion">Payne Whitney Mansion</a>. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and haven't been yet, add a visit to your To Do list at whatever point in the future that may be. The Mansion (at 972 5th Avenue, 78th/79th) has been owned by France since 1952, and is home to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and Albertine, today the only French bookshop in New York City (there are some English titles available in the store as well). The Mansion is also one of the few remaining buildings of New York's Gilded Age, and at least before Covid-19, was open to the public daily, welcoming around 30,000 visitors per year. The Mansion was designed by Stanford White, of the prestigious McKim, Mead & White architectural firm, and in 1970 it was designated an official landmark of the City of New York. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">It's also a perfect venue for a book signing, and I was there for one by Elaine Sciolino, whose book <u>The Seine: The River That Made Paris</u> had just been published. If you loved her previous <u>The Only Street in Paris</u> as much as I did, you will love this one even more, and if you ever have the opportunity to meet her in person you won't be disappointed: she is vivacious, interesting, funny, smart, and warm. She engaged the audience throughout, and hands down, it was the best book signing I've ever attended. I probably monopolized too much of her time afterwards, when she was signing books, but she was gracious about it. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Too many other projects prevented me from writing about this previously, but Elaine's book deserves continued notice, and perhaps now is an even more opportune time to read it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">When I was a student in Paris, living with a family in the 7th arrondissement, the Seine was not a far walk from the rue de Grenelle and I walked to the river often. In 1979 we hadn't yet heard of global warming, so then, even in April, it was not warm enough for long strolls (I was glad I left Paris for three weeks of spring break in Nice; it was rainy and cold when I left and the same when I returned, and on May 2nd, the day my parents arrived for a visit, it snowed). But later in May, I saw this painted on a wall along a pedestrian walkway next to the Seine:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">(Long live the sun; always smiling -- this is actually on page 558 in my Paris book but it's not as easy to read because it's in black-and-white) In her book, Elaine presents the Seine in all seasons, and she traveled the length of the river from its source in deep Burgundy "to the estuary where its waters meet the sea, and to cities, towns, tributaries, islands, ports, and bridges in between." The idea for the book came about during a conversation with a friend, who asked her what had given her joy and comfort when she first moved to Paris as a young journalist many years ago (Elaine is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for <i>The New York Times</i>). The answer to the question was the Seine, and among the many interesting details she reveals are these:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">*There is evidence that Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Italian explorer who discovered New York, may have departed from Rouen, where the Seine spans three and a half miles, on his legendary journey to the New World. Verrazzano was part of the team assembled by King Francois I to search for new trade routes and sources of wealth, and he Frenchified his name to Jean de Verrazane when he landed in Rouen. Volunteer carpenters have been at work creating a full-sized replica of <i>La Dauphine</i>, the ship Verrazzano sailed to the New World, and they are aiming to finish in 2024, five hundred years after Verrazzano's exploration. Whether or not Verrazzano really did set sail from Rouen is a subject of debate; but Sciolino writes, "As an American whose four grandparents emigrated from Sicily to the United States, I'm on the side of Rouen's believers in Verrazzano." (New Yorkers may recall that in 2018, the bridge's name that had (inexplicably to me) been misspelled for decades (as Verrazano) was finally corrected, with the missing 'z' added (to Verrazzano). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">*Sequana was the original name for the Seine, and Elaine is a member of the Sequana Association, whose mission is "preserving the <i>patrimoine</i> -- or heritage -- of historic boats and honoring the memory of Alphonse Fournaise, a master boat maker who founded La Maison Fournaise." Renoir's masterpiece, 'Luncheon of the Boating Party,' depicts a group of friends on the balcony of La Maison Fournaise, which is still thriving today on the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Île </i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>des Impressionistes</i>, formerly known as the island of Chatou. Elaine writes that "If you sit on the balcony and ignore the modern buildings on the other side of the river, you can imagine that you are near the spot where Renoir and his friends lunched, talked and laughed together on those distant Sunday afternoons that never seemed to end." Members of the Sequana Association are also rowing fanatics. "For three decades, its members have bought, restored, rebuilt, exhibited, and rowed some of the most important boats to have plied the waters of the Seine between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." (Elaine also shares a tip that the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Musée Archéologique </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">de Dijon is "a hidden jewel, housed in a former Benedictine abbey with high stone ceilings and grand halls," and its prized treasure is a bronze statue of the healing goddess Sequana. "I find her superb," the museum's curator told Elaine, "She is our Mona Lisa.")</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">*One chapter is devoted to the <i>bouquinistes</i> along the Seine in Paris, and in particular one <i>bouquiniste</i> who is now her friend, Jacky. But it was another <i>bouquiniste</i> who gave her the name of a book dealer who sold her an original first edition of <i><u>Tableau de Paris</u></i> by Louis-Sebastien Mercier, the subject of Elaine's doctoral dissertation. A little investigating has turned up that this 12-volume work (sometimes referred to as Panorama of Paris) was published between 1781 and 1788, and is a complete picture of everyday life in Paris on the eve of the French Revolution. I love it when one book leads a reader to another, and I can't wait to find out more about this one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">*The famous ice cream purveyor Berthillon, on the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Île<i>-</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Saint-Louis, apparently also makes a superb </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">tarte</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">tatin</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">. Somehow, I did not know this, and as </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">tarte tatin</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> is probably my most favorite dessert on earth, I will not miss it on my next visit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">"A book full of reasons to love Paris" is how author Edmund White described <u>The Seine</u> for <i>The New</i> <i>York Times Book Review</i>. It's also full of wonderful facts that make for a compelling read -- every single chapter is jam-packed with interesting people and stories -- and is far more rewarding I think than a journey around a room in an apartment or a house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">The promised Palermo post really will be next. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-26518717477675634782020-03-29T09:04:00.000-07:002020-03-29T09:04:13.935-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94my9la34r0IU42e0v8NbiiWts9Hkq1CfnZyPme9x76sGkmjN1P2aKzcfjWCdu2pZn8a_ah-bnNx2sqaCGTzCt4zvVMGT5Hs0PlbM8avvbIJvWc2cWcLAW_9y-Rt7f9wwPMKvYd_GUzg/s1600/SaintRosalie.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94my9la34r0IU42e0v8NbiiWts9Hkq1CfnZyPme9x76sGkmjN1P2aKzcfjWCdu2pZn8a_ah-bnNx2sqaCGTzCt4zvVMGT5Hs0PlbM8avvbIJvWc2cWcLAW_9y-Rt7f9wwPMKvYd_GUzg/s320/SaintRosalie.jpeg" width="236" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">'Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague-Stricken of Palermo'</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Anthony van Dyck, 1624</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">The Metropolitan Museum of Art</span></div>
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Since the spread of the Corona virus, I've been struggling to figure out how to continue with my blog posts on Palermo, Sicily, and Pantelleria without appearing insensitive or flippant. While there is no question that the situation will continue to get worse and more lives will be lost, that some businesses of all kinds will close, and that life as we once knew it will likely not be quite the same, I am by nature an optimistic person and I think that without hope for better times I would shrivel up and die. I am buoyed by what others have written: consumer advocate <a href="http://www.elliott.org/">Christopher Elliott</a>, writing for <i>Forbes.com</i>, stated, "Ask experts and they'll tell you that travel will come back quickly. Probably faster than anyone expects." Writer Francesca Bezzone contributed a piece to <i>L'Italo-Americano</i> in early March, and noted, "A virus won't stop the heart of Italy." Additionally, United Airlines announced last August that it would be offering direct flights from Newark to Palermo, which will presumably resume at some point, and <i>The New York Times</i> included Sicily on its '52 Places to Go in 2020' list.<br />
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The answer to my dilemma arrived in the Weekend Arts section of <i>The New York Times</i> this past Friday 27th, in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/arts/design/van-dyck-metropolitan-museum-virus.html">the front page piece</a> by critic Jason Farago. Farago's excellent article is about a particular painting (pictured above) created at a particular time in Palermo's history, during the plague. Art historian and lecturer Allan Langdale, author of <u>Palermo: Travels in the City of Happiness</u>, says it's believed that 10,000 people died between May and December 1624. He recounts that the plague arrived aboard a ship from Tunis, and within two months the <i>lazzaretto</i> (quarantine hospital) was filled to overflowing. After Santa Rosalia's relics were paraded through the streets of Palermo, "its atmosphere thick with the stench of putrefying corpses," the plague lifted, and ever since she's been Palermo's patron saint. Rosalia is believed to have been the daughter of Sinibaldus, a nobleman of King William I's court. She decided to renounce worldly materialism after witnessing the decadence of the courtiers around her, so she hiked to the (then) wilderness of Monte Pellegrino, on a hill north of Palermo that Goethe described as "the most beautiful headland in the world." (Today it's a popular spot for weekend picnicking and hiking, and the cave-chapel of Santa Rosalia receives a great many female visitors who believe in Rosalia's power to help them conceive; other visitors are lovers whose families don't approve of their union, "thus ensuring her continued reputation with new generations for whom the menace of bubonic plague no longer holds compelling sway.") Rosalia found a spot, a cave-grotto, where she could worship in peace. She died there and her body was gradually entombed in a crust of limestone from the cave's drippings of mineralized water. Fast forward to the plague: a man in Palermo had a dream of a white dove that led him to Monte Pellegrino, and when he awoke, he climbed the mountain and found Santa Rosalia's forgotten relics in the cave-grotto. The crust had to be chipped away to get at the bones, and these were carried through the streets of Palermo. Langdale debunks this legend by saying it's extremely slim that the bones found in the cave were those of a medieval female saint. More likely is that they were the fossilized bones of a dwarf elephant or mammoth, "animals that were common on pre-Neolithic Sicily. Dwarf elephants and pygmy hippopotami have been found on many other Mediterranean islands, such as Malta, Crete, and Cyprus. When humans arrived on these islands they found these defenseless creatures easy prey and good sources of meat, hunting them to extinction in a few centuries. The bones were often disposed of in heaps." <br />
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Flemish painter van Dyck was among the crowds when Rosalia's relics were exhibited in the streets of Palermo. He had been commissioned to paint the portrait of the Spanish Viceroy Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy (Sicily was at this time ruled by the kings of Spain by governors and viceroys). Van Dyck's painting of Filiberto is in the collection of the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London (the painting was used as a starting point in a 2012 exhibit, <a href="https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/about/exhibitions-archive/exhibitions-archive-by-date/2012-van-dyck-in-sicily/">'Van Dyck in Sicily'</a>). Filiberto succumbed to the plague, dying only a few moths after his portrait was finished. Langdale writes that "It's been said that when the portrait was finished and hung in the palace it fell to the floor a few days later. Filiberto had rightly taken this to be a bad omen."<br />
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<i>La Festa di Santa Rosalia</i> (known as <i>U Fistinu</i> in Sicilian dialect) is the most important festival of the year in Palermo. On the evening of 14 July, a huge float in the shape of a boat (a new one is made every year) carries a statue of Rosalia (known as the <i>santuzza,</i> "little saint"). The boat is pulled by oxen who make their way from the old town to the marina, where there is a fireworks display. On the 15th of July, Rosalia's relics are carried through the streets of Palermo and they end up at the Cathedral, where they are blessed by the Archbishop of Palermo. Then, on the 4th of September (the day of Rosalia's death), there is a pilgrimage to her sanctuary on Monte Pellegrino. When I was in Palermo in mid-September, a church on via Butera was still hosting celebratory events nearly every day of the month.<br />
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Jason Farago informs us that van Dyck painted other images of Rosalia while he was in quarantine (he was in Palermo for six months): Apsley House in London, the Prado in Madrid, The Menil Collection in Houston, and the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico all have a van Dyck Rosalia; but Farago didn't mention one in Palermo's excellent Palazzo Abatellis museum, '<i>Santa Rosalia incoronata da Angeli</i>' ("Santa Rosalia crowned by Angels"), and Jacqueline Alio, the Sicilian author I mentioned in two previous posts, wrote to me that there is still another one in the collection of the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas. The Met's painting is part of the museum's big anniversary exhibition, 'Making the Met: 1870-2020,' which was set to debut tomorrow, the 30th of March. I'm very much looking forward to the exhibit <b><i>when</i></b> it opens. <br />
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It will not only open but it will be worthy of celebration. <i><b>Sicily, too, will reopen</b></i>, so I will now proceed to post without apology. After all, as Farago writes, "Plagues are random. They are merciless. They are, I'm now learning, most terrifying for their uncertain duration. Yet Rosalia, floating over Sicily like a hot-air balloon, promises that the horror of epidemic will lift eventually, and beauty will return." </div>
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<br />Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-55628635243221839852020-02-27T06:48:00.003-08:002020-03-29T09:04:23.972-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_31QLt2hn8NfiWQjtQArMi8r9IQRIe9oXS7xxPmm73dy-BSQqrCZbqBpOrOS9xLRkqzo0TENA7vtwF4x_-eto2twqgYPza1c2R1FSH8OXi89kO7xIxLcvMpk2qHFgEYeNx0OrbIPNN8/s1600/simposio-italian-culture-magazine-scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_31QLt2hn8NfiWQjtQArMi8r9IQRIe9oXS7xxPmm73dy-BSQqrCZbqBpOrOS9xLRkqzo0TENA7vtwF4x_-eto2twqgYPza1c2R1FSH8OXi89kO7xIxLcvMpk2qHFgEYeNx0OrbIPNN8/s400/simposio-italian-culture-magazine-scaled.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i>Note</i>: I'm posting this a second time because I made a few corrections; it originally appeared on the 27th of February. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've heard from Claudia Rinaldi, founder of the Gourmet Project (and the subject of my previous post), and she has some news to share: she has officially changed the name of the Project's magazine to <i><a href="https://www.gourmetproject.net/italian-magazine/">Simposio</a>. </i></span><br />
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The magazine had been named the Gourmet Mag, but as she wrote to me, "I was worried because many people, when reviewing the magazine, compared it to the former <i>Gourmet </i>magazine. It was confusing, and I wanted my own distinct identity!" Claudia had a brainstorming session and wrote down every insane idea she could think of, until finally arriving at the name 'Simposio,' which I think is terrific.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Claudia explained further that "Simposio is my dream of a perfect night: every time I really enjoy a night out, it's because, after eating good food, we end up with a few glasses of wine, amaro, and limoncello (well, maybe a lot of glasses!), talking about a specific topic, diving deep into the subject. We are quite serious, then cheerful, then serious - maybe more melancholic - and then someone tells a joke, and so on. It must be, more or less, what happened during the symposiums in Ancient Greece and Rome. It's so nourishing, so interesting, and sadly not so common nowadays."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seems that the magazine has quite naturally evolved into a <i>simposio</i>: Claudia chooses a topic and builds around it, and she travels, reads, and researches recipes, stories, traditions, jokes, and curiosities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought the Palermo issue was great, but the new one (pictured above), the first to bear the new name, is devoted to Chianti Classico and the Chiantigiani (the people who live there) and it's even better. In addition to her fantastic photos and very good recipes, she has included a short story ('A Day in the Life'), an interview with a winemaker, a cheat sheet of Chianti wines and a history of Sassicaia (the first Super Tuscan wine), the Zuppa Project (devoted to soups), the Carnevale Project (devoted to sweets -- rice fritters and bundt cake, traditionally eaten during Carnevale, and tricks --<i> a</i> <i>carnevale ogni scherzo vale, </i>which<i> </i>t</span><span style="font-size: large;">ranslates as "anything goes </span><span style="font-size: large;">during Carnevale" or "all tricks are permitted;" children go to a </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">cartoleria </i><span style="font-size: large;">(stationery shop) to buy as many tricks as they can find), an essay on Italian Culture, the Winter Project (more inside, less outside), and the Rosemary Project. Lots more, in other words, to savor. And the next issue will feature the Cinque Terre. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-37620640158711659882020-01-27T18:03:00.000-08:002020-01-27T18:03:15.304-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhConIYDMzO9ljEhMWI8brmC7nmGzt4KHd3XCh5pVsp9N1_BoCO4HiBh0qSl2pdpjofNjch4qokbX40JU2BYzAQkqPdkAMVeoOYcF4ZVhxxVb6-nTep7h2D7-aWxOiT20SHjm2zt1QkOfg/s1600/IMG_0553+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhConIYDMzO9ljEhMWI8brmC7nmGzt4KHd3XCh5pVsp9N1_BoCO4HiBh0qSl2pdpjofNjch4qokbX40JU2BYzAQkqPdkAMVeoOYcF4ZVhxxVb6-nTep7h2D7-aWxOiT20SHjm2zt1QkOfg/s320/IMG_0553+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uL1O5dTec4nUxhuXYdwD4DF0b4DUtyaYCp3qn1YoOlEor93HNgTfuRxtQn8iTkOK4B4HjXQKicAkrDU2KbptBB1vo6xZSny29usmkXARx7ZhCG6a1-DsYY1dAcbyGQlgwVzfagUNGRU/s1600/IMG_0554+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uL1O5dTec4nUxhuXYdwD4DF0b4DUtyaYCp3qn1YoOlEor93HNgTfuRxtQn8iTkOK4B4HjXQKicAkrDU2KbptBB1vo6xZSny29usmkXARx7ZhCG6a1-DsYY1dAcbyGQlgwVzfagUNGRU/s320/IMG_0554+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2IBvuB9Ga_NfaiXSxsD6yLMyG4SxoLiD4gWi0CglqAQoQd2DFfkCnMdJqceFiuSLRukyR8Y6IGgZZsT7f2joeStZe6zjLu3r5H4mjXprY8Eeo8yipgRN3uf3roG_c1SMDK37InbTg0E/s1600/IMG_0558+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2IBvuB9Ga_NfaiXSxsD6yLMyG4SxoLiD4gWi0CglqAQoQd2DFfkCnMdJqceFiuSLRukyR8Y6IGgZZsT7f2joeStZe6zjLu3r5H4mjXprY8Eeo8yipgRN3uf3roG_c1SMDK37InbTg0E/s320/IMG_0558+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a>These images are of the most unique journals I've seen anywhere. I bought them at <a href="http://www.edizioniprecarie.it/">Edizioni Precarie</a> (via Alessandro Paternostro 75) in Palermo, in the heart of the Vucciria neighborhood. La Vucciria is one of Palermo's four historic outdoor markets (the others are Ballarò, Borgo Vecchio, and Il Capo), and while it's acknowledged that La Vucciria is no longer the authentic market it once was, taking a walk through the area is quite interesting. There's a chance I would have discovered Edizioni Precarie (Precarious Editions) on my own because the shop's window display is very eye-catching; but I learned about it (and much more about Palermo) from a wonderful, new-ish publication called <i><a href="https://www.gourmetproject.net/">Gourmet Mag</a></i>, a seasonal Italian food and travel magazine, created by Claudia Rinaldi, who is a Venezuelan-Italian living in Rome. The magazine is just one part of the larger Gourmet Project that Claudia founded (scroll down for more...)<br />
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Edizioni Precarie creates these handmade journals with food wrapping papers from La Vucciria "as a tool to talk about the historical markets of Palermo, precarious realities, in transformation." Each journal is composed of different colors and textures of paper, and not all the pages inside are of the same size. "The papers will used today for the market's tasty foods become letter papers and notebooks in which to keep thoughts, images, projects, ideas that must be kept fresh." <i>Conserva La Tua Freschezza! </i>(Keep your freshness!) The notebook called <i>Ricettacolo</i> is meant to be for recording recipes, and each of these is referred to as a<i> carta alimentare da lettera mercati di Palermo </i>(which sort-of translates as food letter paper in the markets of Palermo series). There are a few other appealing products for sale at this shop and studio, such as the <i>Viaggio in Sicilia</i> journal that I now wish I'd bought, and prices are modest, ranging from approximately 11 to 23 euros. Hours are 11:00 to 7:00 Monday through Friday and 2:00 to 8:00 on Saturday. <br />
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Back to the<i> Gourmet Mag</i>: I stumbled across a reference to it when I was searching for something about Palermo. I'd never heard of it, though it is a relatively new publication, and each issue is devoted to a particular theme. Palermo was the theme for the Spring 2019 issue and it's a must-have for anyone who is a fan of authentic recipes paired with gorgeous photos and travel tips -- and don't stop with this issue devoted to Palermo: you'll want to buy all the back issues and subscribe to future issues, all of which are available in printed editions and pdf. I haven't been as excited about a magazine, and a culinary project, in a long time. 'For slow living people' is one of the phrases Rinaldi uses to describe what she's doing, which of course appealed to me immediately. She also emphasizes that the magazine is an indie publication totally made in Rome, and she believes "handmade (flaws included) is always better than industrial...Make this world a person's world again."<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was clear to me</span> that I needed to contact Rinaldi, so I sent her an e-mail and we began a chain of messages that led to a Q and A interview: <br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">*What inspired you to start the Gourmet Project? </span><br /> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was in a really dark place. I had been working as the HR responsible for 9+ years, in the same place... a place I loved. But I got a new boss, who turned the place into hell. Not because of long hours, or impossible tasks, nearly the opposite. There was no more space for creativity, no more challenges... my brain was atrophying, and my soul was numbing. I knew I had to go away. And I also knew it was the time to chose between corporate life and an entrepreneurial one. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At some point, the company launched incentives to exit, and without thinking twice, I volunteered. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had no idea what I was going to do with the money or with my life. I only knew I was going to gravitate around food - I've cooked since I'm 10 years old! - so I opened a Facebook page, named it Gourmet Project, and asked my former colleagues, my family, and my friends to like it on spec.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For the first couple of years, I planned, dipped my toes, launched a couple of projects, and failed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then I began writing about Italian food, realizing how little I knew and how immense the world of Italian regional cuisine is. The more I dug, the more I found how it was deeply rooted in the culture, the lifestyle, and the traditions. Like many Italians, I took it all for granted, and I sadly realized most of it was disappearing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm a (compulsive, maybe) planner, and I love projects, and I had just found a big one: preserving Italy's heritage and sharing it with the rest of the world - or at least the few that were interested and listening!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">*The <i>Gourmet Mag</i> -- there is an obvious similarity to the former (wonderful) </span><em style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Gourmet </em><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">magazine in the States. Were you familiar with it? Did you consider other names? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">I remotely knew </span><em style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Gourmet</em><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">, I had probably read an issue or two, so I didn't think of it at all. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I already had the blog, Gourmet Project, and I needed a food-related name for the mag. But not a name exclusively related to Italian cuisine, as I wasn't sure it would be about Italy, at least not forever. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It came naturally to name it the Gourmet Mag. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Indeed, I was quite embarrassed when, a few months after the first launch, I realized people would think I was trying to benefit from its popularity! That's not my style!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My real concern was to make a new product, a magazine I would love to read, worth my time and my money. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had stopped buying magazines, they were full of advertising, product reviews, and articles about... more products! It wasn't fun anymore. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I only read <i>La Cucina Italiana</i> (Italy's Gourmet equivalent) and indie publications, like Kinfolk, or <i>Cherry Bombe</i>. Still, I wanted to make something different, a little more personal, much more similar to a blog or a travel journal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">*Is there a particular past issue that has been very popular? </span><br /> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Palermo issue, no doubt!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Is there an issue of the magazine devoted to Rome? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rome is my city. Beautiful, dirty, enchanting, chaotic, rich... but most of all, immense. I have included recipes, traditions, and specific neighborhoods in some issues. But it deserves more. Not a single issue, though. My mind is at work: neighborhoods? Historic ages? Great families from the past? Seasons? I need to put it all together and see what comes out of my swirling mind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*What are some of the magazine's upcoming themes?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm working on the Winter & Chianti Classico (Tuscany) issue, so expect a lot of wine and meat. But also introspection, it's my favorite part of Winter! Then the sun will be back with the Cinque Terre issue in Spring. And more sun, a lot of lemons and limoncello in the Summer - Capri issue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">*Is there a part of Italy you haven't yet visited?</span><br /> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A lot of them!!! Talking about regions, I've never been to Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Molise. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I want to go back to places that I visited when I was very young - and didn't appreciate as I do now that I am old and wise - like Venice. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A couple of years ago, I took the DNA test for ethnic origins and... guess what! I'm almost 15% Sardinian. I must explore that island, very, very deeply! </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And why stop? There are places that I didn't even know existed, like the Riviera del Conero in the Marche region (google it: it's wonderful), that a friend recently told me about.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Many visitors to Sicily stop in Rome at the beginning or end of their trip. To give them a few more recommendations, here are a few questions: What are your five favorite places to eat and drink in Rome right now? </span></span></div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mamma Angelina (viale Arrigo Boito 65, no website) - a neighborhood restaurant near my home, it's our Sunday lunches and family reunions spot.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://ristorantecapoboi.it&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNF3QOApwnJNYpw227KwNp28xKL4Gg" fg_scanned="1" href="http://ristorantecapoboi.it/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Capoboi</a>, Northern Rome: a delicious, superb, Sardinian fish restaurant. Plus, when you finish eating, you can go for a walk in the beautiful Coppedè neighborhood: the entrance is right in front of the restaurant.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://tavernatrilussa.it&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNHpi5rPvR4VkLjexrfFywOu7A2Q3Q" fg_scanned="1" href="http://tavernatrilussa.it/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Taverna Trilussa</a> in Trastevere: creamy carbonara, amatriciana, and other traditional pasta dishes. They serve you the pasta in the same pan where they sauteed it - very cute.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://feliceatestaccio.it/en/rome/&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNHCDps0rlSmI8S--yinFQscv2qbjQ" fg_scanned="1" href="http://feliceatestaccio.it/en/rome/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Felice a Testaccio</a> - historic venue for lovers of traditional Roman cuisine.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.casableve.com/en/home_en/&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNE7RDkY34W_10d0YnycT4R8Rb21rA" fg_scanned="1" href="http://www.casableve.com/en/home_en/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Casa Bleve</a> near the Pantheon - Roman and Puglia cuisine (and ingredients!) mixed in every dish.</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let me add one more, it's worth it:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.roscioli.com&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNFAa_4wfp_aTls7_7FP9if6i7c5ow" fg_scanned="1" href="http://www.roscioli.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Roscioli</a> in the historic center: I go for the greasy "pizza bianca", the best in the city, and always come back with some other sinful "pizza al taglio" (street-food Roman pizza squares), a crostata, and a bundt cake.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*What are your five favorite places to go to in Rome? </span></span></div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Villa Ada, the biggest urban forest in Europe. It's a garden near my house. I go there, at least twice a week for a walk with my dog, to read a book, or for a Pandoro picnic!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Galleria Borghese inside villa Borghese: Caravaggio's self-portrait, Canova's Paolina Borghese, Bernini's Rape of Proserpina... plus the building, and the gardens, and villa Borghese that surrounds it!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art: a messy exhibition of modern art. The spaces are huge, it's never crowded... I could spend a whole day there!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I love the walk from the Trinità dei Monti church to Villa Borghese: it's a magnificent panorama of the roofs of Rome, including amazing terraces, domes, and statuary monuments.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A good day is a day spent in the Ghetto, the Jewish neighborhood of Rome. You can eat fried artichokes at one of the delicious restaurants (I'm a traditionalist, so I still go to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.giggetto.it&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNGGIVwMd6dsp43QIPJP1Im6K2uikQ" fg_scanned="1" href="http://www.giggetto.it/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Giggetto's</a> . You can eat "bruscolini" (salted and toasted sunflower seeds - a typical Roman snack) while walking around, admiring the synagogue, the old buildings, and the Ancient Roman ruins. And you can buy tomorrow's breakfast at Forno Boccioni, a tiny, old-world, bakery that makes the traditional ricotta and wild cherry pie, and cookies of the Jewish/Roman cuisine.</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*You're buying a gift -- what are your five favorite shops in Rome?</span></span></div>
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<ol style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e29; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For a foodie gift, I go to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.castronicoladirienzoshop.it&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNHhozanC9VvHj27F0hE3M428dj7kw" fg_scanned="1" href="https://www.castronicoladirienzoshop.it/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Castroni</a> (in the Prati neighborhood) they have la creme de la creme, specialties from all Italian regions. My favorite gift is putting together a themed basket like a bread spreads kit!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Most of my friends are wine and spirits connoisseurs (or at least learning to be), so I often visit <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.enotecarocchi.it&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNGeHethDfSohDO7NLdtRHpyo9gV0Q" fg_scanned="1" href="https://www.enotecarocchi.it/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Enoteca Rocchi</a> (one of the shops is near me): they have gems from every Italian wine-making region and from any part of the world!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">For jewels, I recently fell in love with a Roman artisan, </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sancesariobijoux.it/home.html&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNFDowh9QCmfEhoJplG450fpgIl4bQ" fg_scanned="1" href="https://www.sancesariobijoux.it/home.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Sancesario</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> that makes vintage style jewelry - I love handmade!</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Some of my friends and family share my passion for vintage, so, a few weeks before Christmas, you'll find me hunting around Ponte Milvio's antique market. </span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I love books, especially old books: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/search?client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26q%3DLibreria%2BCesaretti%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8&source=gmail&ust=1580260641562000&usg=AFQjCNHsaifSqm__q5e4NGXCpv-1JCZeCA" href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Libreria+Cesaretti&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Libreria Cesaretti</a>, near the Pantheon, is a magical place!</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">*Are there aspects of your life in Venezuela that you miss in Italy? </span><br /> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My family moved to Italy when I was very young (8 years old), so it's hard to compare the two countries. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But there's something undoubtedly: generally speaking, of course, people in Venezuela are really joyful. A bucket of ice, a bottle of rum, and some good music are all it takes to have a party and dance all night. And I love to dance! Here in Italy, people gather almost exclusively around the table: dinners with friends last at least three hours, savoring food and drinking wine and the end-of-the-meal spirits. I love it, really, but I still miss the dancing...</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Claudia also generously shared a few of her Palermo favorites with me, notably Basile-Focacceria del Massimo (via Bara All'Olivella 76), very near the Teatro Massimo, where I had a tour (more about that in the next post). She also recommended <a href="https://m.facebook.com/makmixology/?ref=bookmarks">Mak Mixology</a> on via Maqueda for cocktails and Osteria Mercede (via Pignatelli Aragona 52, also near the Teatro Massimo) for a seafood dinner but I regret that I was unable to get to these last two. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Get lost in the Gourmet Project while I prepare the Palermo post. </span></span></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-7904733058224320292019-12-13T08:44:00.000-08:002019-12-13T08:44:19.493-08:00<br />
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I had the opportunity to meet the authors Jacqueline Alio and Louis Mendola in Palermo. While we were seated outside at historic Caffe Stagnitto we had a lively conversation about the books they've authored together and individually; about Sicily in general; and about Palermo, where they both live now. I didn't have my tape recorder with me and my pen couldn't keep up with their comments, so we had to complete our conversation by e-mail.<br />
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Jackie and Lou each lived in the States for some years and they are fluent in English, Italian, and Sicilian. The books they've co-authored include <u>The Peoples of Sicily</u> and the <u>Time Traveler's Guide: Norman-Arab-Byzantine Palermo, Monreale, and </u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Cefalù</u>. Among others, </span>Jackie has written <u>Margaret: Queen of Sicily</u>, and <u>Queens of Sicily: 1062-1266</u>, published in June of this year, and with Francesca Lombardo (a food writer, sommelier, and culinary travel consultant), <u>Sicilian Food & Wine: The Cognoscente's Guide</u>. Lou has written <u>The Kingdom of Sicily: 1130-1860</u> and the popular <u>Sicilian Geneaology and Heraldry</u>, "worth its weight in gold" according to a reviewer for <i>The Best of Sicily</i> blog (Louis he is one of the foremost experts in the field of Sicilian geneaology). All of these have been published by Trinacria Editions, a Sicilian publishing house with an office in New York. I admire them, and their books, enormously, but I hold a special place for <u>The Peoples of</u> <u>Sicily</u>. <br />
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<b>You have individually and together written books that focus on Medieval Sicily. What about this period in history is particularly fascinating to you?</b><br />
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<b>JA</b>: <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks to my parents, I have always had a connection with my Sicilian heritage and history. As a child, I spent three summers in Sicily and when we moved here it was only normal that I wanted to learn all I could about my family homeland. It is wonderful that I have been able to make a career from my passion in Sicily. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The unique religious and ethnic tolerance that existed in Medieval Sicily is something that I have always tried to promote in both my books and in my work as a guide. I believe that this is a heritage and a treasure to cherish for every single human being and not just for us Sicilians.</span><br />
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<b>LM</b>: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Well, I've always been interested in the Sicilian Middle Ages, through heraldry and books like Steven Runciman's "Sicilian Vespers," a classic, which was the first lengthy book I read on medieval Sicily. I met Sir Steven in England a few years before his death. He was a very nice man. For me, being Sicilian is a big part of my interest. That's different from many foreign scholars who "adopt" Sicily as their field of study. So I guess we could say it's a personal interest. My first article dealt with the Battle of Benevento in 1266. It was published in 1985.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It seems to me that no one else could have written <u>The Peoples of Sicily</u> quite like you. What makes you uniquely qualified to do so?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JA</b>:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #9d1811; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I started to do some of my own research on the topics touched by "Peoples" for over 25 years and thanks to both my own travels and those together with Lou, we have been able to help people living outside Sicily to "connect the dots" with all the European and Mediterranean history and culture that have made Sicily and Sicilians what they are today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>LM</b>: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you! We know Sicily, that's for sure. And we've traveled to places where the various civilizations came from. But "Peoples," compared to some of our other books, is based on the original research of a lot of other scholars, not our own. We just brought it all together in one volume, which nobody had ever done in this way. It sells better than our other books, even the guide to Sicilian genealogy. Readers find the implicit message appealing. The response to it has always been amazing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Do you lead tours in Palermo and elsewhere in Sicily? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>JA</b>:</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #9d1811; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have been guiding for over 25 years and this didn't just start out as a job; it was a way to transmit my passion for Sicily to others. I used to guide all around Sicily but now I only focus on tours in and around Palermo in order to have more time for research and writing (which is my other passion).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>LM</b>: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We do work together sometimes but Jackie is an official guide while I handle the planning and promotion, and an occasional lecture. I should mention that here in Italy becoming a tour guide requires having at least a bachelor's degree, sitting an oral exam, and being fluent in Italian and at least one other language. Those qualifications might be compared to what is required to be a high school history teacher.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Y</b></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ou wrote in the Preface that while the word 'multicultural' has become somewhat of a meaningless mantra, "Sicily reached its cosmopolitan apogee in the first half of the twelfth century. It was not Camelot, but Sicily came closer to that legendary ideal than any other European kingdom of the Middle Ages." Has this spirit continued to the present day?"</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">JA: </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Back in the 90's I did some volunteer work at the Ballarò market area (which is now a street market but was founded as a <i>souk</i> over a thousand years ago) helping recently arrived sub-Saharan immigrants to integrate. Nowadays those who arrived back then and who have had a chance to integrate are helping some of the newly arrived. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The fact that so many immigrants live in the old city center alongside the locals and not in separate suburbs has allowed for us to find new ways to get along notwithstanding religious and ethnic differences. Both the municipal administration and the Archdiocese of Palermo have contributed in many ways (for example, by granting the use of deconsecrated Catholic churches to use for different religious designations, or by choosing a Palestinian doctor as the new municipal Cultural minister amongst other things).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">LM</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">: </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you look at the statistics, Palermo and Catania don't have large right-wing, vigilante-type groups that actively target Africans or other minorities, and despite some organized crime and political corruption the rate of street crime in Sicily is extremely low compared to Rome and Milan. There isn't even much drunk driving because alcoholism is virtually unknown among Sicilians. Palermo is actually one of the safest cities of its size in Europe. In the area around Ballarò the immigrants live among the locals. Visitors from northern-Italian cities, or even France and England, are amazed to see that. It's not full integration, not yet, but it's a good first step. Personally, I view it more as Sicilians' indifference than actual acceptance, for now, but the effect seems to be the same. It's 'live and let live.' Historically, we've had a Latin-based monoculture here since around 1300. The Jews were suppressed in 1493 and some Albanian refugees fleeing Ottoman expansion began arriving around that time. Until recently, there hadn't been much real-life multiculturalism here, but the new immigration has re-introduced it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>What are some sites or places you think are <i>essenziale</i> for first-time visitors to Palermo and elsewhere, and what are some places you recommend for visitors who've been to Sicily before?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JA</b>: </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My favorite sites are the Arab-Norman ones: <a href="http://www.monrealeduomo.it/">Monreale's Cathedral and Cloister</a> are important, and a few other must-sees in Palermo are: the <a href="https://arabonormannaunesco.it/en/il-sito/monuments/royal-palace-and-palatine-chapel/">Norman Palace with its Palatine Chapel</a>, the <a href="http://www.cattedrale.palermo.it/">Cathedral</a>, <a href="http://www.ilgeniodipalermo.com/en/itinerari/il-circuito-del-sacro/chiesa-della-martorana.html">La Martorana Church</a>, <a href="https://italoamericano.org/story/2017-3-14/ballard-palermo-market">Ballarò Market</a>, and <a href="http://www.archnet.org/sites/3760">Zisa Castle</a>. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Personally, I like Palermo's colorful <i>marmi</i> <i>mischi</i> (mixed marbles, referring to marble inlays that are often white or gold reliefs on a blue or black background) Baroque that you find in some churches in town (such as <a href="https://www.monasterosantacaterina.com/">Santa Caterina d'Alessandria - click on 'Chiesa' for a panoramic video of the interior)</a> and also the Baroque Giacomo Serpotta oratories with their lovely stucco <i>putti </i>and women personifying Christian virtues.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>LM</b>: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's a tricky question because it depends on the visitor's interests. Etna is not to be missed if you're a hiker or just an outdoors person. Personally, I hate the Baroque, which we have a lot of, but I love the Gothic, of which there's very little in southern Italy, where most medieval churches are Romanesque. But getting back to your question, my killer itinerary is Palermo, Monreale, Erice, Segesta, Cefalù, Piazza Armerina, Taormina, Etna and Siracusa. My feeling is that the Baroque, which attracts visitors to Ragusa and Noto, exists throughout Italy, and Segesta's temple and Greek theatre are more impressive, in a pristine rural location, than Agrigento's, which is too close to a city for my taste. By the way, unless you're a hardcore beach person, the best time to visit is mid November through late March. Fewer crowds, nice temperatures, and the countryside is green.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>When you have a day off in Palermo, what are some of your favorite things to do? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JA:</b> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Exploring the old city center on my own where there is always a new cafè or restaurant opening up (too many neighborhoods to just mention one) is always exciting. I also love Ristorante La Galleria (no website; Salita Ramirez 2, right behind the Cathedral; (39) 091.251.5037): they only cook whatever is in season. I enjoy visiting new exhibits at the <a href="http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/salinas/">Archeological Museum</a> and just sitting in the cloisters inside. Of course going to a winter ballet at the <a href="http://www.teatromassimo.it/">Massimo Opera House</a> is always fun.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>LM</b>: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have a few "secret" places. A nice restaurant is the Vecchio Club Rosanero trattoria (Vicolo Caldomai, 18; no website but near the Quattro Canti), down some steps off Via Candelai, a medieval street along a Phoenician wall overlooking the area where the Papyrus River used to run. You can actually see the depression left by the river. The restaurant is rustic, with stone walls, and very accommodating but don't even think of going without a reservation. They only do Western Sicilian and the prices are good. We have lots of good gelato places in Palermo but the absolute best is the Gelatone, on Via Rizzo outside the center of town. Organic ice cream in all kinds of flavors. Worth an excursion.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Contact Jackie at <a href="http://www.palermoguide.net/">this web page</a> for detailed information about her tours in Palermo and the surrounding area. Click <a href="http://www.mendola.com/interview.htm">here</a> for an in-depth interview with Lou that appeared in <i>The Best of Sicily</i>.</span></span>Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-51224487757286072862019-12-01T17:56:00.002-08:002019-12-01T17:56:19.362-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(<i>Sicilia carta corografica stradale</i>, 1900, Antonio Vallardi editore,</div>
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in the collection of the Library of Congress)<br />
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"Sicily is Sicily -- 1860, earlier, forever." -- Giuseppe di Lampedusa, in a letter to his friend Enrico Merlo</div>
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"Sicily is everything we love about Italy --<br />
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-- Dana Bowen, <i>Saveur, issue No. 136 </i><br />
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(Tempio di Giunone, Agrigento)<br />
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The <i>trinacria</i>, symbol of Sicily</div>
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"To live in Sicily -- or to wander among its small villages and<br />
towns -- is to repeatedly step into and out of the past. There are remnants everywhere, commingled with the modern, of the seventeen or so civilizations that have swept over this island for more than three thousand years..."<br />
-- John Keahey, <u>Sicilian Splendors</u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm back from a truly amazing</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> an</span>d unforgettable trip to Sicily and Pantelleria, and in an attempt to <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">post in somewhat of a more timely manner,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I'l</span>l focus on this trip exclusively and return to older journeys later. The <em class="mw_t_it" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #225f73; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">raison d'être</span></em> for this trip was a cooking class, though not an ordinary one: Some years ago I was working on a special edition of <i><a href="http://dreamofitaly.com/">Dream of Italy</a></i> that was devoted to cooking classes in Italy, and I came across a class taught by Nicoletta Polo, the wife of Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, the adopted son of Giuseppe di Lampedusa, author of <u>The Leopard</u>. Not only was that enticing enough but the classes were taught in the Lanza Tomasi family palazzo in Palermo <i>and</i> some rooms in the palazzo had been converted into apartment accommodations (so of course my husband and I stayed there). Mio, Dio! I've been a fan of <u>The</u> <u>Leopard</u> for many years, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I knew I had to act upon. But, all the details about that will follow...<br />
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This post is about preparation and resources, helpful in deciding where to go in Sicily as well as in knowing what the essential reads and online sources are. So as not to completely overwhelm you, I will write separate posts about Palermo and other Sicilian destinations, so the resources here are exclusively about Sicily in general. I've received a great number of e-mails over the years from readers who say their most favorite part of my books are the suggestions for recommended reading. I've long felt that it is not enough to give someone a list of books to read or websites to browse without identifying what is worthwhile about each book and each site. So my recommendations are annotated, and readers may decide what they want to delve into on their own. One reader wrote to me and said that he found my annotated recommendations valuable as a stand-alone resource, even if he would not go on to read any of the books, and I agree that one can learn a lot from my suggestions. Earlier this year, a reader from Boston wrote to say "<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">Thank </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">you so much for your books. They have changed my life and my travel perspective for the better. Your selections for further reading are amazing and the excerpts are so interesting and powerful</span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;"><b>.</b>" </span> (That might be the very best note I've ever received!) There are <i>a lot</i> of sources here, just as there are in my books, and while I'm not implying that travelers need to consult them all, I do hope you'll want to read a few. <br />
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Perhaps the first decision to make about a rip to Sicily is when to go. I went in late September into October, and it was full-on summer, with temperatures solidly in the '80s and humid; but it's hotter in June, July, and August. Our guide in Palermo (more about her in the Palermo post) told us that November is a particularly pleasant time to visit, and in fact the busy season is in the fall (but if you're keen to spend time at the beach that may not be ideal). I was a little surprised at the wide open, uninhabited stretches of countryside we drove through from Palermo to Taormina. Outside of cities and towns, Sicily is not nearly as developed as most of mainland Italy. It's also not generally a perfectly tidy and polished island: visitors should not expect Sicily to resemble the Lake District, the Amalfi Coast, or Portofino. They should also lose old preconceptions about the Mafia, whose grip is much reduced these days. What visitors <i>will</i> find is a warm welcome; unpretentious people; good, fresh food; layers of fascinating history and mythology (Sicily is believed to be the setting for many Greek and Roman myths, including the abduction of Persephone by Hades); and a staggering array of art and architecture. As Goethe concluded in <u>Letters From Italy</u> in 1816, "Italy without Sicily leaves no image on the soul; here is the key to all."<br />
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<b>Websites</b><br />
<a href="http://www.bestofsicily.com/"><i>Best of Sicily</i> magazine</a> - this is an online, monthly magazine published in English, and it's jam-packed with information and articles. There are tabs for Localities, Scenic Regions, Food and Wine, History, Sights and Activities, Sicilian Identity, Sicily Concierge, etc., as well as information on student tours, places to stay, and FAQs. Visually, the site is too crowded, but take your time browsing and you'll likely find some very helpful tips. <br />
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<a href="http://www.faithwillinger.com/">Faith Willinger</a> - whenever I'm going somewhere in Italy, this is the resource I turn to first. Faith is an author (<u>Eating in Italy</u>, <u>Red, White & Greens,</u> <u>Adventures of an Italian Food Lover</u>, etc.), food writer (the former <i>Gourmet</i>, <i>The Atlantic</i>, etc.), friend to many in the culinary world, and someone whose opinions I absolutely trust (about anything, not just food). As a writer I've been lucky to interview Faith twice, in her Florentine kitchen, and I cherish those visits. As it happens, while she is a self-proclaimed "born again Italian" and has lived in Florence for more than 40 years, she really loves Sicily, and the recommendations on her site are perfect.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sicilyinsideandout.com/">Sicily Inside & Out</a> - this site, with the subtitle 'Lifestyle From a Mediterranean Island,' is maintained by writer and blogger Rochelle Del Borrello, originally from Australia. Rochelle met and married a Sicilian and has now been living on Sicily for many years. She is filled with enthusiasm for the island and features lots of good interviews with others who love Sicily. The site is "a real mixed bag, a combination of travel writing, personal essay, ravel advice, expat diary, culture shock, history, culture, language, and creative writing." What it's not: "a light and fluffy tourist magazine...it's about both the beauty and ugliness which exist side by side on this island." <br />
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<a href="http://www.visitsicily.info/en/">Visit Sicily</a> - a site with good visuals and a number of good brochures in PDF that may be downloaded on such topics as beaches, UNESCO sites, traditions, nature, ports, archaeology, Norman monuments, Baroque decoration, majolica, botanical wonders, villas and palaces, etc., plus MP3 audio guides.<br />
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<b>Sicilian History</b><br />
<u>The Peoples of Sicily</u>, by Jacqueline Alio and Louis Mendola (Trinacria Press, 2013). One of my most favorite books, this is a unique paperback that presents all the "peoples" who have been in Sicily -- these include the Sicanians (indigenous inhabitants of the island), Elymians (who migrated from Asia Minor) and Sikels (who settled in eastern Sicily and were originally from what is now mainland Italy; Sicily, or <i>Sikelia</i>, began with these three distinct civilizations, and <i>Sicilian</i> is derived from two of them), the Punic peoples (Phoenicians and Carthaginians), Greeks, Romans, Goths and Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, the Aragonese and Castilians (beginning in 1282), the Spanish (after the unification of the various Spanish states), Albanians, and Jews. There are also chapters on 'Land, Flora, Fauna, Cuisine'; The Faiths; 'The Great Schism''; 'Law: Melfi and Maliki'; and 'Monreale Abbey,' among others. The authors open the Preface with, "Monochrome is boring. Our world is much more than a single color," which is a truism in general but is particularly true about Sicily. I had the great pleasure of meeting the authors in Palermo at the historic <a href="http://www.idealcaffe.it/en">Cafe Stagnitta</a>, the city's oldest <i>torrefazione</i> (coffee roaster), at Discesa dei Giudici, 54, steps away from La Martorana, Chiesa di San Cataldo, and Santa Caterina on piazza Bellini. The coffee and conversation were great, and an interview with Jackie and Louis will be the focus of my next post.<br />
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<u>Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History,</u> by John Julius Norwich (Random House, 2015). Norwich, who passed away in 2018, was among travel writers I most admire. He first went to Sicily in 1961, when he was on leave from working in the British Foreign Office. He observed that "Apart from the beauty of the setting, I remember being instantly struck by a change in atmosphere. The Strait of Messina is only a couple of miles across and the island is politically part of Italy, yet somehow one feels that one has entered a different world." He wanted to know more about the island and as there were few books in English in the London Library he wrote his own, <u>The Normans in Sicily</u> (which I have not read). This more recent book is a lively volume and, at a total of 362 pages (including the Index), is not daunting. Of all Norwich has written in it, one observation continues to rather haunt me: he notes in the Introduction that Sicily has proved "to be the most unhappy" island in the Mediterranean, that despite the beauty and fertility of the island and its mild climate there is a lingering, dark quality. But in his Epilogue he notes that Sicily now has its own regional government, its own regional assembly of ninety members, its own president, and a considerable degree of local autonomy. "In consequence, as I mentioned in the introduction to this book, I hope and believe that she is happier now than at any time in the last eight hundred years. Long, long may that happiness continue." [As an aside, Norwich refers to "the great three-volume <u>The History of Sicily </u>by Moses Finley, Denis Mack Smith, and Christopher Duggan" in these pages and though I haven't tracked this down yet, I feel certain that for travelers who want more than a single book of history, it may be <i>essenziale</i>). <br />
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<u>Travels With a Medieval Queen: The Journey of a Sicilian Princess</u>, by Mary Taylor Simeti (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, hardcover, 2002 / Phoenix, paperback, 2003). Simeti is, by her own admission, not a trained historian, but as she writes in the Prologue, "I am an inurable and incautious amateur, and so, while respecting the rules of historical research as far as I am capable, I have exploited the liberty that amateur status gives me." In tracing the story of Constance of Hauteville, she resuscitated her "very limited and long-forgotten training in medieval history" by reading everything she could about the era and then took a journey by car retracing the route that Constance took from Germany back to Sicily in 1194. Constance was the twelfth-century Sicilian princess who married the German king Henry of Hohenstaufen (son of the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa), was crowned Holy Roman empress, and later returned to rule as queen in her own kingdom. Simeti vowed in her earlier book, <u>On Persephone's Island</u>, that she would one day write Constance's story, but I admit that when I read that statement I quickly forgot about it. It took Simeti seventeen years to keep her word, and if at first I didn't understand the fascination, it didn't take long before I did. Palermo had, by the eleventh century, become the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city in Europe, surpassed only by Constantinople, and it was this wealth that provided the dowry for Constance when she married in 1186. It was "the most magnificent dowry that Europe had ever seen. One hundred and fifty mules were required to carry the burden of gold and silver, of furs and rare silks woven in the royal silk workshops of Palermo," certainly a dowry worthy of the daughter of the greatest of Sicily's Norman kings, Roger II, who died shortly before she was born (Constance would later be the mother of Frederick II, also known as <i>Stupor Mundi</i>, Wonder of the World). The book is illustrated throughout, with an eight-page color insert, and Simeti leaves Constance's story off just before the tragic events of the last three years of her life. <br />
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<b>Travel Narratives and Memoirs</b><br />
<u>A House in Sicily,</u> by Daphne Phelps, Foreword by Denis Mack Smith (Carroll & Graf, 1999). The house at the center of this tale is in Taormina, and sadly, I didn't start reading this memoir until after I'd left Taormina, when I discovered that the house (<a href="http://www.casacuseni.it/en/">Casa Cuseni</a>) is now both a Museum of Fine Arts and a bed-and-breakfast. Don't make the same mistake I did: look into staying here and/or visit the museum -- advance reservations are mandatory! Phelps inherited Casa Cuseni, in a spectacular location with views of Mount Etna and the Bay of Naxos, after World War II from her uncle, Robert Kitson, and she initially intended to go to Taormina (from England) to sell it. It's not a spoiler alert to say she didn't, or there wouldn't be a book, and the first sentence of Denis Mack Smith's Foreword is almost all one needs to know: "Anyone reading this book will quickly realise that the author is a remarkable person with an unusual story to tell." At the time of publication, Phelps had lived at Casa Cuseni for 50 years, but at the time of her death, in 2005, she'd been there for nearly 60. The house and gardens (which have a unique system of cisterns that collect water for the garden terraces) were declared of "cultural and historic importance" by the Belle Arte in Messina, and it's one of the very few Sicilian properties that's still in the care of its expatriate family. While Phelps's tales are centered around Taormina, this is a great read for Sicily in general as it recounts ways of life that have nearly vanished.<br />
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<u>Casa Nostra: A Home in Sicily</u>, by Caroline Seller Manzo (Harper, hardcover 2007 / paperback 2008). Caroline was born in the UK, and the 'home' in the title refers to Santa Maria, her husband's family home in Mazara, on the west coast near Trapani. At the time Caroline and Marcello officially take possession of the house, it's in a fairly advanced state of decay, and Marcello's mother, Maria, had sold all her assets -- including several hundred acres of vineyards -- and had only managed to keep the villa by selling everything in it. The villa today is beautiful (there are before and after photos in the 16-page insert) and the stories of Marcello's family and how Caro<i>line</i> the <i>inglesina</i> was welcomed into it are charming. Manzo's descriptions of Mazara are more substantive than those in most guidebooks, and she shares many island traditions and Sicilian phrases, like "Sicilia '<i>babba</i>'," which is well known in western Sicily and translates to "in the east they're all fools." The word '<i>babba</i>' means stupid and implies naive and unthreatening while '<i>sperta</i>' means smart and also implies dangerous. "Although for centuries the island was divided in three parts for administrative purposes, the real divide is a cultural one between east and west. The east, where the Greeks first arrived, and the Byzantines resisted the Arabs the longest is the Sicily of Taormina and Syracuse, the relatively Mafia-free, progressive Sicily, the "good" Sicily that attracts the tourists. The west, on the other hand, is disreputable Sicily, where the Arabs arrived from Africa and where the Norman conquerors met the fiercest Muslim resistance." <br />
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<u>Impressions of Sicily</u>, by Carlo Levi (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1958, translated into English by Angus Davidson). The first two parts of this book were previously published in 1951 and 1952, while the third part, written in 1955, appeared only in this volume. Levi had already made a name for himself with <u>Christ Stopped at Eboli</u>, and this book is written with the same eloquent compassion. The first piece describes the visit by the mayor of New York (Vincent Impellitteri) to his native village, Isnello, near Palermo; the second is about the miners' strike at Lercara Friddi; and the third deals with the Mafia, land reform, and the social reformer Danilo Dolci (see more about Dolci below). It's all a very rare picture of what Sicily was like at the time. Levi writes in his Introduction that "Sicily, like the whole of the South -- but in its own particular way -- is on the move; and the acts, the words, the feelings, the struggles, the expectations, the deaths of which I have spoken here, and all the other, countless things that occur every day in the towns of the coast and the villages of the interior, are moments in its development. Profound problems present themselves and seek solution, every day, through the life and the blood of human beings...[this book] is but a first, rapid picture of a world that is changing from one day to another and becoming bravely conscious of its own existence." <br />
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<u>In Sicily</u>, by Norman Lewis (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press 2002). Lewis, who passed away at the age of 95 in 2003, wrote thirteen novels but is better known to me as a non-fiction writer (<u>Naples</u> <u>'44</u> is my favorite). Writer Cyril Connolly said Lewis was unsurpassed as a professional literary traveler and was able to "write about the back of a bus and make it interesting." Lewis wrote about other places in the world but he remained fascinated with Sicily his entire life. In 1964, his book <u>The Honoured Society</u> was published, and Julian Evans, author of Lewis's biography (<u>Semi Invisible Man</u>, 2008), referred to it "arguably the best book ever written about the Mafia" (the book was also serialized in its entirety in <i>The New Yorker</i>). For <u>In Sicily</u>, he returned to the island to see how it had changed and to visit old friends. My favorite chapter is the one on African immigrants in Palermo. Much is written about the uniqueness of Sicily with regards to its multicultural history and its tolerance for newcomers of all kinds. Lewis underscores this by writing that "whatever may be one's opinion of law and order in Sicily, it is a country where remarkable generosity -- even when unexpected or undeserved -- is frequently encountered." But a journalist, Giovanni, really put it to the test when, at the suggestion of his editor, he disguised himself as a black man (with the help of a theatrical makeup artist) and was "put ashore at night somewhere along the coast" and confronted with getting by in a big city. Wearing second-hand clothes from a flea market, Giovanni polished the windscreens of cars trapped in the traffic jams of Palermo and then tried to sell the drivers a cheap lighter or a scratch-card purchased from wholesalers specializing in such junk. As it turned out, a single day was enough to provide Giovanni with the experiences he needed for his story. Lewis concludes the chapter by noting, "Human kindness in its manifestations in Sicily is richer -- probably as everywhere -- as one descends the human scale but even there the poor man is almost invisible to the rich. Nevertheless the generosity and good grace with which the island's working people take in so many foreigners in distress, whatever their colour, cannot be surpassed anywhere else on earth."<br />
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<u>Mattanza: Love & Death in the Sea of Sicily</u>, by Theresa Maggio (Perseus, 2000). Until very recently, every May or June, since at least the time of the Phoenicians, schools of bluefin tuna passed through the Straits of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean to spawn. For many years these schools were "numberless. The bluefin were to ancient Mediterranean peoples what the buffalo was to the American Plains Indians: a yearly miracle, a reliable source of protein from a giant animal they revered, one that passed in such numbers that the cooperation of an entire tribe was needed to kill them and preserve their meat." The tuna were led into a series of complex net "rooms" -- called <i>tonnaras</i> -- by the fishermen and their Raiz (an Arabic word meaning "leader" or "head" and pronounced RAH-ees). The tuna get worn out after several days and then they are killed. If you've seen Roberto Rossellini's film 'Stromboli' you may remember there is an extended scene of a <i>mattanza</i>, a Spanish word meaning "slaughter" (from the verb <i>matare</i>, to kill). Maggio, whose grandparents were Sicilian, explains that when Sicily was under Spanish rule, in the 1400s, Spanish rulers sold royal titles and <i>tonnaras</i> to raise capital. Maggio has been witnessing the <i>mattanza</i> off Favignana (an island off the coast of western Sicily, between Trapani and Marsala, said to be the place where Calypso rescued the shipwrecked Odysseus), for many years; by 1998, Favignana was her second home: she knew more people there than she did in her hometown in Vermont. Maggio has written often of Sicily, including this piece about the <i>mattanza</i> in <i>The New York Times,</i> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/23/travel/waiting-and-praying-for-tuna.html?searchResultPosition=3">Waiting, and Praying, for Tuna</a>. Some feel the tradition is cruel, others that it's bloody but viable. Either way, it's dying out as there are very few <i>tonnaras</i> left, and the bluefin are no longer numberless. According to the 2017 Lonely Planet Sicily guide, the number of tuna caught by this method was relatively small and sustainable. "The fact that the <i>mattanza</i> took place for about 900 years without overfishing is testament to this." Writer Mark Kurlansky, in <u>Salt: A World History</u>, writes that the bluefin is vanishing not because of the <i>tonnara</i> but due to far more efficient fisheries in the Atlantic. Tuna began to be caught year-round, with controversial drift nets, which the European Union has banned (probably too late) and there are now strict quotas on the tuna catch. Favignana now has a museum devoted to the history of the <i>mattanza</i>, which may be as close as anyone can get to it these days. Initially, I wasn't sure I wanted to read an entire book on this subject,<i> </i>but in her review of the book, author Geraldine Brooks wrote, "If you think you do not want to read a book about the death of tuna, think again" which convinced me, and once I started I was hooked. The <i>mattanza</i> is absolutely fascinating and is quite moving, and Maggio earned her way into the local community and readers will be grateful she did. <br />
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<u>Midnight in Sicily</u>, by Peter Robb (hardcover, Faber and Faber, 1998 / paperback, Vintage, 1999). I'd originally thought I would not mention this wonderfully written book until a later post, as it is mostly about the Mafia; but as it's about so much more -- cuisine, art, literature, traditions, etc. -- I don't want it to be overlooked. '<i>Satura</i>,' a poem by Eugenio Montale (who won the 1975 Nobel Prize for Literature), appears at the beginning of the book, on the same page with lyrics from a song covered by The Everly Brothers, 'Night Time in Italy.' I was intrigued by the line, "When it's midnight in Sicily..." so I listened to the song online and then read the lyrics in full, but interestingly, there is no line that reads, "When it's midnight in Sicily..." [It could be that the line is included in another version of the song; it reminds me a little of when I discovered that Audrey Hepburn never said, "Paris is always a good idea" in 'Sabrina' - that line was in the remake with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond.] No matter. Robb follows this page with the tale of Cola Pesce, a Sicilian legend about a half-man, half-fish. Whether Cola Pesce came from Messina, Palermo, or even Naples, he belonged to the southern part of Italy that the Italians call the Mezzogiorno, "that point in the Mediterranean where Europe is no longer entirely Europe but also Africa, Asia, America. The Mezzogiorno is the furthest part of Italy from Europe and the nearest to the rest of the world." More about this book will follow, but in short, it's really hard to put down.<br />
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<u>On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal,</u> by Mary Taylor Simeti (hardcover, Knopf, 1986 / paperback, Vintage, 1995). Simeti, who arrived in Sicily in 1962, was among the first Americans to write about Sicily, and this wonderful book details a calendar year of her life on the island, organized by season. She came to Sicily to volunteer at the community development center set up by social reformer Danilo Dolci, intended to stay for a limited period of time, but ended up meeting Tonino, her future husband, and she's still there nearly 60 years later, also with two children. At the time Simeti chronicled her life in Sicily, she and her family would spend the academic year in Palermo and the summer months at their farmhouse, Bosco, about 30 minutes away. She observes that "Just as having children here has made me more than a mere expatriate and given me a stake in the future of Sicilian society, so the work I put into Bosco has won me, I feel, the right to put down roots. What began as a burden became a blessing as I scraped and varnished and dug and planted, a visible, tangible explanation of my life here -- both for the Sicilians, for whom all the usual labels, such as name, accent, clothes, or college degree, are in my case illegible, and for the Americans, myself at times included, who wonder what on earth someone like me is doing in Sicily." <br />
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<u>Seeking Sicily: A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean,</u> by John Keahey (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2011). Keahey is also the author of two other books I love about two other Mediterranean destinations, <u>A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea</u> and <u>Venice Against the Sea: A City Besieged</u>. He is, however, smitten with Sicily, and as he notes in the Preface, his goal in writing this (first) book was to better understand Sicilians and their unique culture, "which is demonstrably separate from Italy itself, through conversations with these Mediterranean islanders and by studying their writers, their myths, and a history that spans more than three thousand years. This history is a key to everything else. One foreign power after another has trampled over this land -- northern Italians were the final conquerors -- adding to and co-opting unique aspects of the island's character. This is a people who never had control of their own destiny." Practically no topic escapes his curiosity, and, among others, there are chapters on Lampedusa's <u>The Leopard</u>; Palermo; writers Leonardo Sciascia and Luigi Pirandello; language; the Mafia; food; historic painted carts; and lesser-visited towns such as Racalmuto and Enna. Keahey's enthusiasm is infectious, and I filled this volume with a great number of colored flags so that I could continue delving into various topics.<br />
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<u>Sicilian Carousel</u>, by Lawrence Durrell (Marlowe & Company, 1976). The title refers to an organized trip to Sicily that Durrell (1912-1990) joins -- he'd been meaning to come to Sicily for years, and finally did, both because of a belated promise he'd made to his good friend Martine, who spent some years living on Sicily but by this time had passed away, and because of his great interest in Mediterranean civilization, which Durrell believed reached its apogee with the Greeks. Most of the book, in fact, dwells on the Greek history of the island, and early on he writes that "if the Greeks were gone and their monuments were dust there were still vestiges of their way of life to be found in the food, the wine and the wild flowers of the land they had inhabited and treasured." (Later, he notes that in the early spring and again in the autumn after the first rains come, "Sicily like the whole of Greece is carpeted in wildflowers...") Durrell can be a bit gloomy at times but is witty and funny when describing his fellow travelers on the Carousel, and he is quite serious about "the questions I had come to Sicily to try and answer. What was Sicily, what was a Sicilian?" <br />
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<u>Sicilian Lives</u>, by Danilo Dolci (Pantheon, 1981). This volume is in Pantheon's wonderful 'Village Series,' which I believe only ever included three books, a shame as this one, at least, is excellent. It doesn't take one long to run across Dolci's name when reading about Sicily. Dolci (1924-1997) has been referred to as the Gandhi of Sicily, and a writer for <i>Best of Sicily</i> magazine wrote that "<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Into the 1970s, he was the single most important force for improvement in horrendous social conditions rooted in centuries of exploitation by ruthless landlords, dishonest government officials, corrupt police and, worst of all, the omnipresent black hand of the Mafia." Dolci was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he did win the Lenin Peace Prize, the funds from which were used to establish a string of social centers for the poor. I think this particular book more properly belongs in a separate category all its own, but I'm including it here as it's a kind of memoir at one particular time in the history of Sicily. The book is nothing more than a series of interviews Dolci conducted with a wide variety of Sicilians, but his questions are not printed in the book, only the answers, which tend to run on and reveal much else. The Sicilian voices, which include those of a street cleaner, a baker, a princess, Dolci's Marxist-barber-poet friend, etc., are arranged into four categories, ''Home-Grown Plagues,' 'Waste,' 'Endurance,' and 'Resistance' and together they represent all the kinds of lives that are Sicilian, even today. Dolci reminds readers that "If human beings had the slightest inkling of the secret, that we're only on this earth a fleeting moment, we'd cherish every day month and year a lot more. We'd see time flow past and our life with it, which is all the more reason to cherish it and help each other out, physically, and be at one in peace of mind." For more about Dolci's life and work, <u>A Passion for Sicilians: The World Around Danilo Dolci</u> (Morrow, 1968), by Jerre Mangione (also a Sicilian) is very good. </span></span><br />
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<u>Sicilian Odyssey</u>, by Francine Prose (National Geographic Directions, 2003). Prose is an award-winning novelist (my favorite of hers is <u>Household Saints</u>, which is set in New York's Little Italy in the 1950s and was made into a film) but I'm partial to her non-fiction writing. She's also written about various places in Italy for a number of periodicals, and her pieces about Sicily in <i>The New York Times</i> are very good ('<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/travel/sicily-family-holidays.html?searchResultPosition=4">Enthralled by Sicily, Again</a>,' '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/19/travel/circling-sicily-with-the-ancients.html?searchResultPosition=3">Circling Sicily With the Ancients</a>'. Early on in the odyssey here (which she undertakes with her husband, Howie) she states that on a previous visit, she wished she'd been born in Sicily, and it's where she'd like to be reborn. Their itinerary includes many locations around the island, including Siracusa, Palermo, Noto, Catania, the island of Mozia, and Ortigia ("...when I think about being reborn as a Sicilian, it's most often in Ortigia that I imagine my new life."). Prose shares some wonderful advice for visitors: "Life here burns at a high heat and lends an unusual warmth to the people who live it. Though Sicilians have a reputation for dourness, for severity, for short violent tempers and an agonized religiosity, the fact is that almost every casual social interchange we have is characterized by a remarkable sweetness." Later, she writes about the hill town of Castelbuono, in the Madonie Mountains, and how the locals are so proud to talk about their town's treasures. She has similar experiences all over the island: "Especially in the smaller towns, the less frequently visited spots, you need only ask a simple question about a building, a painting, an archaeological site, a historical incident, and the person you asked will smile, light up, launch into a long, animated explanation. People seem delighted to tell you the history of a place, a history to which they feel intimately connected." <br />
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<u>Sicilian Splendors: Discovering the Secret Places That Speak to the Heart,</u> also by John Keahey (also published by Thomas Dunne, 2018). Another book by John Keahey is just more goodness; I highly recommend them both as Keahey doesn't cover the same ground, and anyway, as he writes in the Preface, "Sicilians today make up a rich minestrone" of the people and cultures who conquered the island, and there is still so much to discover -- Keahey says "this never-ending exploration and particularly my relationship with the people are what keep me coming back." <br />
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<u>The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily</u>, by Theresa Maggio (Perseus, 2002). I was so happy when Maggio followed up <u>Mattanza</u> with this thoughtful, evocative book, but even if I had never read a word she'd written I would have loved this after only reading the Preface. In it, Maggio reveals that she'd seen a film called <i>L'Uomo delle Stelle</i> (The Star Maker) about a con man from Rome who drove around Sicilian mountain towns and charged villagers for screen tests he conducted with no film in his camera. The film seems heartbreaking to me, but happily the con man is found out and goes to jail. Maggio paid little attention to the storyline because she was so captivated by the "simple stone villages" depicted in the movie, and she made a list of the villages' names so she could visit them one day. A few years later she went to Sicily...but forgot the list, so she left her itinerary up to serendipity. Still later, Sicilian friends visited and brought a videotape of the film with them, and as the village names scrolled by she realized she'd been to all of them. Among the towns she visited are Polizzi Generosa, Alimena, Petralia, Locati, Motta Camastra (where the streets are so narrow one has to back up to the edge of the town to allow a car to pass), and Santa Margherita, her ancestral village. When Maggio was young and asked her Nana why she'd never gone back to Sicily, Nana spat back, "There's nothing there." An earthquake destroyed Santa Margherita in 1968, and the subject was taboo. Nobody told Maggio what her grandparents escaped when they left Sicily near the turn of the 20th century. "The Sicily Nana and Papa left was a place where ordinary people could work hard and never get ahead. Bribes, threats, protection money, and high taxes sapped their savings and their souls. So they came to America and did not discuss Sicily with the children. The day Nana told me there was nothing there I decided that I would see Sicily for myself." And in 1973, she first arrived in what was left of Santa Margherita. Zia Betta gave her a stone amulet to pin to her shirt to ward off the Evil Eye, Betta's daughter Carmela turned down the bed covers for her, and Maggio thought to herself, "<i>I am in Sicily, and there IS something here</i>." Indeed. <br />
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<u>Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons: Travels in Sicily on a Vespa</u>, by Matthew Fort (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2008). Fort is a food writer and critic in England (he's been at <i>The Guardian</i> since 1989) and he first went to Sicily in 1973, when he was 26, with his brother, then 22. On that trip he became fascinated with the island and found that it "seemed different in some profound, subtle way that I couldn't put my finger on. It was complex, convoluted, weird. I couldn't make sense of it." Sicily was, for him, unfinished business, and he finally went back 33 years later. He decided to approach understanding Sicily through its cuisine, and to accomplish the task by traveling around in a "stylish, iconic" Vespa. Fort made two trips, one in the spring and the other in the fall, exploring both the interior of the island and the coast. His first stop was in Marsala, where he noticed that in a town so richly endowed with <i>orologerie</i> (watch and clock shops), time was treated as limitless. "No one hurried. Everyone seemed to have time for a coffee, a pastry, a chat, to exchange pleasantries, discuss politics, haggle over food. Time was spent with a lavishness that contrasted sharply with the way we treat it in Britain. We are, we claim, time poor. Asset rich, but time poor. We never have time to cook, to eat, for our children, for each other, for ourselves. Sicilians might not be asset rich, but they have all these other things." Fort's food observations (and others) are interesting and his journey is fun to follow, and readers will also learn of some worthwhile addresses for an upcoming trip. Recipes are included at the end of each chapter (but only a few appeal to me). <br />
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<u>That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story</u>, by Marlena de Blasi (Ballantine, 2008). "This could only be a story about Sicily. And Sicily could only be an island, less by the caprice of nature than by her own insolence. As though she might have quit Italy had she not already been born separate from it." Thus begins the Prologue to this tale, which began as a magazine assignment but ended as something entirely different and special. By accident, Marlena and her husband are staying at Villa Donnafugata in a hamlet in the middle of the island. "Here," de Blasi notes, "the substance of life lived three millennia ago or in the mid-nineteenth century or, as in this case, some seventy years distant, can seem essentially the same as that which formed the incidents of the day before yesterday." De Blasi becomes close friends with Tosca, patroness of the villa who shares her long love story with the last prince (Leo) of Sicily descended from the French house of Anjou. The story is remarkable and beautiful. <br />
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<b>Guidebooks</b><br />
I still prefer to travel with one (or two) guidebooks (that I've read in advance), and I often bring an older guide that is undeniably out-of-date, which might seem foolish but I was inspired to do so many years ago when I read somewhere that Jan Morris, one of my most favorite travel writers, likes to travel with old Baedeker guides. I'm guessing she likes to read about places as they once were so she could compare what was different, better, or worse. I have several Baedeker guides though not one on Sicily, but I brought <u>The Rough Guide to Sicily</u> from 2002 and it was excellent -- I added a bunch of sticky notes with updated hours and prices but what made the guide still relevant was the 'Contexts" section (long a defining feature of the series) and the 'Sicily in Fiction' section, with excerpts from <u>The Leopard</u>, <u>Conversation in Sicily</u> (by Elio Vittorini), and <u>The Day of the Owl</u> (by Leonardo Sciascia). I also consulted (but didn't bring along) the <u>Cadogan Guide to Sicily</u> (by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls, from 1994 -- the 'Topics' section is still relevant, and the authors' discerning opinions still hold up years later); and the <u>Blue Guide Sicily</u> (by Alta Macadam, longtime author of many Blue Guides to various parts of Italy, from 1999 -- the glossary, plan of Greek temples, Greek orders of architecture and types of vases are unchanged, and descriptions of monuments and sites are still valuable). The one current guidebook I consulted was the <u>Rick Steves</u> <u>Sicily</u> guide by Sarah Murdoch. I've not been a fan of this series in general, but I have it on good authority that Steves recognizes his series needs to be more substantive if he's going to attract more literary and discerning travelers, and I found many good and helpful features in this edition.<br />
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<b>Illustrated Books</b><br />
<u>The Islands of Italy</u>, by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, photos by Sheila Nardulli (Ticknor & Fields, 1991). The islands included here are Sicily, Sardinia, and the Aeolian Islands, and this book is very much worth reading for the Sicily chapter alone. Harrison is also the author of <u>Italian Days</u> (Ticknor & Fields, 1989), one of my favorites, though Sicily is not included in that book. Her opening paragraph to the Sicily chapter is still apropos: "Mountains, Mafia, marzipan. Solitary Greek temples, manic Spanish baroque, Moorish vermilion cupolas and golden Byzantine churches. Cloistered pleasure gardens, stern Norman forts. Market bazaars in which the North African and the Mediterranean, the savory and the seedy, mingle and mix: hot surprises in dark places. Seas of honey-colored wheat. Blood. Closed, secretive faces; chivalrous men; imperturbable courtesy. The world of the worldly rich and the world of the vanquished and lonely and poor. The elegant and the brutish. The nourishing sea. The savage sun."<br />
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<u>Sicily</u>, Introduction by Donatella Trotta, photos by Rosario Bonavoglia (Universe, 2000). This book, as Trotta writes in the Introduction, is "a voyage to the very heart of Sicily." The text is limited to eleven pages but it's quite good, and the photographs are not the usual sort. Trotta concludes that Sicily is "a land whose fate lies in an ancient, ineluctable ambivalence: those who stay here, always dream of leaving; those who leave, dream only of returning."<br />
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<u>Sicily: Art, History, and Culture</u> by Enzo Russo and Giovanni Francesio, photographs by Melo Minnella (Arsenale Editrice, 2006). This is that rare book, of the "coffee table" variety with loads of illustrations and excellent accompanying text, my favorite kind. I wish there were more of these in the world. The cover image is of the magnificent, unforgettable 'Bust of Eleonora of Aragon' by Franceso Laurana (in the wonderful Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo) and the quality of the reproductions throughout the book is beautiful. There are also two fantastic photos of the Quattro Canti in Palermo -- I think the only way they could have been taken is by Minnella lying on the street in the middle of the intersection. This volume is very much worth the effort to find.<br />
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<b>Cuisine</b><br />
<u>Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes From a Sicilian Girlhood</u>, by Mary Taylor Simeti and Maria Grammatico (hardcover, Morrow, 1995 / paperback, Bantam, 2003). Simeti was a customer of Grammatico's pastry shop in the hilltop town of Erice before she befriended Grammatico, who has quite a remarkable story to tell. When her father, a sharecropper, died of a heart attack in 1952, her mother couldn't afford to raise six children alone, so she sent Maria and her younger sister to the Istituto San Carlo orphanage, which was run by nuns who earned money by making and selling culinary sweets. The orphans learned every step in making the famous <i>pasta reale</i> (painted marizpan made to look like fruit) as well as pastries and preserves, and in an article Simeti wrote for <i>Gourmet</i> in 1991 ('The Almond Pastries of Erice'; not available online, unfortunately), Grammatico shared that she learned the recipes quickly: "I only had to see the sisters mixing up the dough once, and I had the doses written here, in my head." Living conditions at the San Carlo were rather harsh, and Grammatico's recollections sound like they're from another century, but they were not that long ago. In her early '20s, she left the life she thought she wanted, as a nun in a Catania cloister, and began a new life as a shop owner in Erice: the Pasticceria Maria Grammatico (via Vittorio Emanuele 14) is a destination bakery and cafe, and is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. in May, June, and September; from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. in July and August; and from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. October to April. "This is an art that is going to die," Grammatico told Simeti. "...the young don't want to learn to do this. They are thinking about money. You can't do this thinking about money, or you won't put into it all the love that it requires." <br />
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<u>Cucina Paradiso: The Heavenly Food of Sicily</u>, by Clifford A. Wright (Simon & Schuster, 1992). The subtitle of this book is 'More Than 175 Luscious Recipes Reflecting the Rich Arab Heritage of Sicilian Cuisine,' and with it Wright began a fruitful, special interest in pan-Mediterranean cuisine (his <u>A Mediterranean Feast,</u> published in 1999 by Morrow, was honored with a James Beard 'Cookbook of the Year' award in 2000). On Wright's first visit to Sicily, he found the Arab aura palpable, and a Sicilian gastronome and author, Tommaso d'Alba, told him of a Sicilian proverb: 'Scratch the skin of a Sicilian and you will find an Arab." Among the three opening quotations in this book is one by al-Edrisi (1099-1165), the Moroccan-born geographer and cartographer who lived in Palermo at the court of King Roger II: "I remembered Sicily while death triggered my soul to memories of being expelled from the paradise it was." According to al-Edrisi, twelfth-century Sicily was a "wondrous paradise," and Wright explains that one of the greatest contributions of the Arabs in Sicily was the Arab Agricultural Revolution. One feature of this revolution was the development of kitchen gardens, which Wright maintains changed Sicilian diet and cuisine. He writes that the <i>latifundia</i>, large and unproductive Roman and Byzantine estates, "were broken up by the Arabs into small farms, encouraged through taxes that promoted cultivated land. I noticed remnants of the <i>latifundia</i> one day as I drove out of Caltanissetta past the famous vineyards of Regaleali (from the Arabic <i>rahal 'ali</i>, hamlet of Ali), the home of Count Tasca d'Almerita. there one can still find small plots of land divided by stone walls." Wright points out the common characteristics of Arab-Sicilian cuisine, some of which are confectionery (the art of making confections came from the Arabs; "the combination of pistachios, almonds, figs, and other fruit with sugar and honey is an Arab legacy. Ice cream and sherbet originated with the Arab Sicilians."; blends of nuts or breadcrumbs with raisins or currants and saffron ("The Arabs used these to create exotic stuffings and seasonings."); citrus fruit married to meat and fish ("Citrus fruits, especially oranges and lemons, are cooked with fish, meat, and vegetables."); and the absence of antipasti ("What the Sicilians call <i>grape 'u pitittu</i> are snacks or tidbits rather than appetizers. They are food consumed <i>fuori tavola</i> (literally, away from the table), like <i>Arancine</i> [rice balls] and <i>Panelle</i> [chickpea flour fritters], which are basically what we would call street food."). As the recipes here attest, "Sicilian food is different from Italian food, even when the ingredients are similar or the same." <br />
<br />
<u>La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio</u> (1996), and <u>Sicilian Home Cooking</u> (2001), both by Giovanna Tornabene, Wanda Tornabene, and Michele Evans, both published by Knopf. The Tornabene family has lived on land in the Madonie mountains with a 13th century Benedictine abbey since 1856, but when hard times hit in the 1970s, Wanda opened a restaurant, which was a resounding success and saved the estate. Twenty years later, when <u>La Cucina Siciliana</u> was published, the restaurant was still held in high regard, but hard financial times were preventing Sicilians from eating out as often as they used to. As Giovanna writes in the <i>Introduzioni</i> to <u>Sicilian Home Cooking</u>, historians say that Sicilians <i>sopravviviamo</i> <i>brillantemente</i> (are brilliant at surviving), "that when faced with adversity, we thrive. We say, "<i>Non abbiamo altra scelta che arrangiarci.</i> [We have no choice but to be resourceful.]" The mother and daughter Tornabene team went to the States on a book tour, and not only did Americans buy their book, they began coming to Sicily to stay at Tenuta Gangivecchio, which until recently offered cooking classes and accommodation; now it's unfortunately closed to the public, but these two books, and <u>100 Ways to Be Pasta: Perfect Pasta Recipes From Gangivecchio </u>(Knopf, 2005), are a record of what life on the agricultural estate was like and are filled with Gangivecchio's tried and true recipes. <br />
<br />
<u>The Heart of Sicily: Recipes and Reminiscences of Regaleali</u> (Foreword by Mary Taylor Simeti, 1993) and <u>The Flavors of Sicily</u> (1996), both by Anna Tasca Lanza (both published by Clarkson Potter), <u>Coming Home to Sicily: Seasonal Harvests and Cooking from Case Vecchie</u>, by Fabrizia Lanza (Sterling Epicure, 2012). Anna Tasca Lanza passed away in 2010 but her <a href="http://www.annatascalanza.com/">cooking school</a>, on the family wine estate of Tenuta Regaleali, continues with her daughter, Fabrizia, who is also the author of a great little book, <u>Olive: A Global History</u> (Reaktion Books, 2011). Founded in 1830, today <a href="http://www.tascadalmerita.it/">Regaleali </a>has five estates, and <a href="https://www.tascadalmerita.it/en/tasca-dalmerita-an-italian-icon-of-the-past-present-and-future/">Tasca d'Almerita</a> has just been named 2019 European Winery of the Year by <i>Wine Enthusiast</i>. (Note that tastings are offered at all the estates, and Regaleali offers accommodation in addition to the cooking classes.) Each of these cookbooks has solid recipes, but each is also a portrayal of agricultural life in Sicily through the seasons. "We Sicilians share a certain philosophy of cooking," Anna wrote in <u>The Heart of Sicily</u>. "We don't make a dish from a recipe; rather we create it from what we have on hand, what is growing on the land at the moment." Reading any one of these will likely inspire anyone to plan a Sicily itinerary accordingly, but the Epilogue in <u>The Heart of Sicily</u>, written by the Reverend Ronald T. Marino of Brooklyn, New York, might be the final encouragement to reserve a stay at Regaleali. <br />
<br />
<u>Palmento: Sicilian Wine Odyssey</u>, by Robert V. Camuto (University of Nebraska Press, 2010). The word <i>palmento</i> refers to the place where grapes are pressed, in the Sicilian countryside and a few other places in Italy. According to Jeremy Parzen, who has created the fantastic Italian Winery Designations Explained glossary on his <a href="http://www.dobianchi.com/">Do Bianchi</a> website, the word first appeared in the 13th century and is possibly from <i>paumentum</i>, spoken Latin for floor (akin to the Italian <i>pavimento</i>). Parzen says that <i>palmento</i> can also refer to the place where wheat is milled, and t<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px;">he Italian expression </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px; margin: 0px; orphans: 3; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">mangiare a quattro palmenti</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px;"> (literally, </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px; margin: 0px; orphans: 3; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">to eat like four millstones</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px;">) means </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">to eat voraciously</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px;"> or </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-size: 16.94px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">to eat like a horse. There are still <i>palmenti</i> in Sicily though most are not in use, but Camuto chose an appropriate title for his book, one of the volumes in Nebraska's 'At Table' series. All of the winemakers featured, from all corners of Sicily, have a deep sense of place. Two chapters were of special interest to me, one on Planeta Estate and the other on Pantelleria, as I was going to both; but each chapter is interesting. Camuto writes in the Introduction that "Modernity seems to have enriched swaths of mainland Italy materially, but robbed something of its soul. Sicily, however, seems to have so far resisted the forces that transform places into replicas of everywhere else." On the copyright and dedication page, Camuto has added, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.94px;">"To the hope that Sicily remains an island."</span><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Cooking</u>, by Mary Taylor Simeti (Knopf hardcover, 1989). This book has no equal, and is that unique combination of history, culinary history, recipes, illustrations, and an appendix that includes Simeti's personal favorites for eating out (though some of the recommendations may no longer be around, some still are, and in any case what she's written is still interesting). Simeti traces all the threads in Sicily's culinary history and includes food-related stories from her own family. The 'Princes, Priests, and Not So Humble Friars' chapter is particularly interesting as it explains the tradition of <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>monzù</i></span>, which arose during the rule of Charles III in the 1700s when the Spanish united Sicily with the Kingdom of Naples. Sicilian aristocrats then looked to Paris for their chefs -- "Originally Frenchmen and later Sicilians or Neapolitans who had served an apprenticeship in the culinary capital of the world, these chefs merited the title of <i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">monzù</i>, a corruption of <i>monsieur</i>." Simeti states that it's too early to give a fair evaluation of the role of the monzu in the history of Sicilian cooking; most of what's been written about Sicilian food has been quite recent, and was written by elderly aristocrats after <u>The Leopard</u> was published in 1957. These accounts naturally highlighted the beauty of aristocratic Sicily and contrasted with the "economic and moral squalor" that obscured the island for most of the remaining 20th century. In the chapter 'The Staff of Life,' which might be my favorite one, Simeti relates the enormous importance of bread, which was and is treated with the greatest respect. "Probably few Sicilians still believe that if they let a breadcrumb fall on the floor they will be punished in the hereafter by having to gather it up with their eyelashes. And few families today would do as my husband's family did when he was small: kiss a piece of bread that had fallen on the floor before throwing it away...nonetheless to waste bread is still considered very, very wrong." She is mindful that she belongs to the very small percentage of humanity that has had the good fortune to never have known true hunger. "Had I continued to live in America, I might still consider bread as one more element in the category of foods that are delicious yet potentially dangerous and not really necessary, like chocolate or jam or gravy. Sicily has taught me otherwise." Every chapter in this book is filled with fascinating historical details, proving that culinary traditions are inseparable from a destination's history. Simeti concludes by stating that the previous class distinctions in Sicily's diet (which were enormous) have mostly disappeared, and post-World War II prosperity has meant some traditions are only memories. "People whose mothers and fathers counted themselves lucky to have <i>lasagne cacate</i> now eat pasta with smoked salmon and caviar on New Year's Eve, and when my cleaning woman's elderly aunt, down from their mountain village to have her bronchial tubes examined, wanted to present the doctor with a couple of chickens <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or a dozen eggs,</span> her niece advised a bottle of Chivas Regal instead."<br />
<br />
<u>Sicily: Culinary Crossroads</u>, by Giuseppe Coria, translaed by Gaetano Cipolla (Oronzo Editions, 2008). This is one edition in a series called Italy's Food Culture -- to my knowledge only one other edition, on Puglia, has been published in English, but I hope there are plans to bring out more. Aside from the fact that this is an attractive paperback, with color photographs throughout, the major point to highlight is that this isn't a book of typical Sicilian recipes. "Indeed," as the author Coria writes, "their number has been reduced on purpose to include only those recipes that are exemplary, those above all that must be rescued from neglect, forgetfulness, or oblivion." Coria refers to this project as a "rescue operation," and generally the recipes here don't offer food substitutions as this would diminish their authenticity. The twenty-two page Introduction is fascinating and worth reading as a stand-alone essay. <br />
<br />
<b>Fiction / Companion Reading</b><br />
<b>Andrea Camilleri</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Camilleri, a Sicilian born in Porto Empedocle who passed away in July, created the character of detective Salvo Montalbano rather late in his life. The books (there are over two dozen titles) and the tv series ('Il Commissario Montalbano') are wildly popular in Italy and around the world. Camilleri wrote in a combination of Italian and Sicilian, and the first book, <u>The Shape of Water</u>, was published in 1994; the first English translations appeared in 2002 (Penguin is Camilleri's publisher in the U.S.). According to his obituary in <i>The New York Times</i>, in an interview with <i>The Independent</i>, Camilleri said his father had been a fascist until one day in 1938, when Andrea told him a friend had been barred from school because he was Jewish. "My father hit the roof, saying, 'That bastard,' referring to Mussolini," a memorable exchange as Camilleri said, "I've always tried to make Montalbano critical about the behavior and orders of his bosses, the imbecility of power." A reviewer for <i>Anna</i> magazine in Italy described the series by saying, "Toss it all together with the sweet and sour sauce of contemporary Sicily, and you get mysteries that form a kind of saga."</span><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Giovanni
Verga</b><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Verga, the leading author of Verismo (realism), was born in Catania in 1840, and though he lived in Florence and Milan for some years, he returned to Catania later in life and remained there until his death, in 1922. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He wrote a number of novels but is best known for his Sicilian works, </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Novelle Rusticane</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (Little Novels of Sicily) and </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I Malavoglia</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (The House by the Medlar Tree). T</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">here are a few English language editions of both of these titles, but I'm partial to the Steerforth Italia edition of Little Novels of Sicily (translated and with an Introduction by D. H. Lawrence, 2000; originally published by Grove Press in 1953). Steerforth Italia is an imprint devoted to the whole spectrum of Italian culture and life, and its backlist would be of great interest to any Italy enthusiast. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">The subject
of the stories in </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><i><u>Novelle
Rusticane</u></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">is all
parts of Sicilian life in the 1860s, a time when "Sicily
is said to have been the poorest place in Europe: absolutely
penniless," as Lawrence writes. "A Sicilian
peasant might live through his whole life without ever
possessing as much as a dollar, in hard cash. But after 1879
the great drift of Sicilian emigration set in, toward America.
Sicilian young men came back from exile rich, according to standards
in Sicily. The peasants began to buy their own land, instead of
working on the half-profits system. They had a reserve fund for
bad years. And the island in the Mediterranean began to prosper
as it prospers still, depending on American resources." </span></span></div>
<br />
<b>Maria Messina</b><br />
I was unfamiliar with Messina (1887-1944) until I started reading about Sicily, and after so many references to her I knew I had to read her work. I started reading <u>Behind Closed Doors: Her Father's House and Other Stories of Sicily</u> (Stony Brook, 2007, translated into English by Elise Magistro) first and thought that I might read just a few of the stories, but once I began I couldn't stop, and then the same thing happened with <u>A House in the Shadows</u> (The Marlboro Press, translated by John Shepley). Messina wrote about what she saw and experienced around her, which was not uplifting; Magistro writes in the Introduction to <u>Behind Closed Doors</u> that Messina "wrote at a time when nearly one-third of the island's population left in search of better lives, but the stories they left behind took almost a century to surface in history and fiction. Since most immigrants could not write, they told their stories in Italian or in a more obscure dialect few Americans or other Italians could understand. Often their stories died untold, even to their children who were busy becoming Americans. Or, if told, they were dwarfed by the giant myths of men. Through her stories, Messina becomes a firsthand witness, especially to the stories of those who returned broken-hearted, incapacitated, and ready to die." Leonardo Sciasca, who called her "a Sicilian Katherine Mansfield" is largely responsible for the revival of her work; John Keahey devotes a chapter about Messina in <u>Sicilian Splendors</u>, and at the end of it he shares a note he received from Magistro, who wrote that "Anyone wishing to discover Sicily, to understand Sicily as it once was, needs look no further than the works of Maria Messina." Though Messina wrote numerous other books, I believe these are the only two that have been translated into English. <br />
<br />
<b>Leonardo Sciascia</b><br />
Sciascia was born in Racalmuto in 1921 and died in 1989 (has name is pronounced SHA-sha, which is derived from an Arabic word meaning head veil, and until Italian unification it was written Xaxa). By the 1950s he was known not only in Sicily but abroad, and his political commentary was often controversial. He has been described as "The conscience of Italy. Defiant by definition" by Sicilians, and he has been a Nobel Prize nominee several times. Ted Gioia, of the <a href="http://www.postmodernmystery.com/">Postmodern Mystery website</a>, writes that the enigmas in Sciascia's novels "brought attention to the dark side of Sicilian public life, that mysterious island where crime and justice often come disguised in each other's garb." Sciascia referred to his novels as "metaphysical mysteries," and Gioia adds that "his stories are Sciascia's most lasting legacy, no less truthful for being cast in the form of fiction."<br />
Sciascia's books in English include <u>To Each His Own</u> (2000), <u>Equal Danger</u> (2003), <u>The Day of the</u> <u>Owl</u> (2003), and <u>The Wine-Dark Sea</u> (2000), a collection of short stories and my favorite (all of these are in handsome paperback editions by New York Review Books).<br />
<br />
<u>A Bell for Adano</u>, by John Hersey (originally published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf in 1944; Vintage paperback 1988).<br />
<br />
<u>Prince of the Clouds</u>, by Gianni Riotta, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997).<br />
<br />
<u>Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily</u>, by Gioia Timpanelli (hardcover, W. W. Norton, 1998 / paperback, Vintage, 1999)<br />
<br />
<u>The Winter's Tale</u>, by Shakespeare (many editions). </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Walking</b><br />
<u>Walking in Sicily: 46 Walking Routes Including Mt. Etna and the Egadi and Aeolian Islands</u>, by Gillian Price (Cicerone Press, 2015). For anyone interested in even just a single walk in Sicily, this little paperback is an excellent resource. Price has also written four other Italian guides for Cicerone Press, which specializes in walking, trekking, climbing and exploring guides, and she's a member of the <i>Club Alpino Italiano</i> (CAI). "Walking for pleasure is not widely practised in Sicily," Price writes, "and guarded curiosity will often greet ramblers, as getting around on foot has long been equated with hardship." She adds that signposts and other trail markers are rather rare, and there aren't many commercially produced maps, but there are comprehensive sketched maps provided for each walk in the book. There are walks that are easy and others that are quite challenging, and Price includes tips on what to take, when to go, emergencies, flora and fauna, regional parks, and mentions the <i>Sentiero Italia</i>, a 6,000+ kilometer route founded in 1983 that traverses the whole of Italy from Sardinia, via Sicily, the Apennines, and the Alps, all the way to Trieste. It's the longest trekking trail in the world and follows a path through the <i>Italia Minore</i>, the lesser known areas of Italy. </div>
</div>
Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-72168361549918107062019-09-01T15:19:00.003-07:002019-09-05T07:56:51.452-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IbidtHkq3r9rqnNG4-NAFJxsawEgdF7OS5QHEX3HK2LoQMgxFvnhkUQxf6QcJSgCth9jSJo6Y_rH89Jsdhg3eQbF6AkRyMWCQ6kgCQ_pW5nX88pvCFGKnV-ag7_eGm2TytqUYdPhiOo/s1600/IMG_0392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IbidtHkq3r9rqnNG4-NAFJxsawEgdF7OS5QHEX3HK2LoQMgxFvnhkUQxf6QcJSgCth9jSJo6Y_rH89Jsdhg3eQbF6AkRyMWCQ6kgCQ_pW5nX88pvCFGKnV-ag7_eGm2TytqUYdPhiOo/s320/IMG_0392.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
My husband and I recently spent a too-short weekend in the Finger Lakes (or FLX as seen on the utility box cover in Ithaca seen in the photo to the left). But short as it was (Thursday to Sunday), every minute of our time there was great and relaxing.<br />
<br />
The Finger Lakes are named for the eleven, narrow lakes between Rochester and Syracuse that, when looked at on a map, resemble long, skinny fingers. The five largest lakes are Canandaigua, Cayuga, Keuka, Seneca, and Skaneateles and they're all quite deep. The entire region covers about 4,000 miles and many of its towns and villages, and all of the lakes, have names that are derived from Native American languages. According to <i>Life in the Finger Lakes</i> magazine, for more than 10,000 years before any Europeans arrived, the Finger Lakes were home to the Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-o-SAW-nee), a group of Native American tribes that the French called the Iroquois Confederation and the British called the Five Nations. The nations later became six when the Tuscaroras joined the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Mohawks, and Oneidas in the early 1700s. Aside from its Native American heritage, the Finger Lakes region is famous for the town of Seneca Falls (the possible inspiration for the fictional village of Bedford Falls in Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life' and where the first Women's Rights Convention was held in 1848); Cornell University and Ithaca College (almost 30,000 students swell the population of Ithaca during the academic year); and the Summer Jam held in Watkins Glen on 28 July, 1973, which once held a Guinness World Record designation of 'Largest Audience at a Pop Festival' -- 600,000 people came to see three bands (the Grateful Dead, The Band, and the Allman Brothers) versus 500,000 at Woodstock in 1969.<br />
<br />
The biggest reason our trip was so great is due to where we stayed, the <a href="http://www.thomasfarmbb.com/">Thomas Farm B&B</a>, about 10 minutes from downtown Ithaca. While we've stayed at a great number of B&B accommodations in many places around the world, many of them have missed the mark or have been disappointing experiences for a variety of reasons (uncomfortable room, insubstantial breakfast, boring or unfriendly fellow guests, not enough privacy, not a good value for the price, etc.). After our second night, we tried to think of a B&B that we liked better, and we were unable to come up with one, so Thomas Farm is currently at the top of our list. The owners, Nancy and Rich Belisle, are exceptionally welcoming and have led quite interesting lives before November of 2018, when they became owners of this lovely inn, formerly a private home dating from 1850 and built in the Central New York Greek Revival Style. Nancy and Rich are doing everything right here, offering superb, plentiful breakfasts and paying attention to small details in the guestrooms (lavender eye masks and flashlights on the bedside tables, which I really appreciated as I always have to get up in the middle of the night). The decor throughout the inn is true to the history of the house but stylish, too, and very much has a sense of place. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and chatting with the other guests, all of whom we would be happy to see again. Plus, it's really quiet, and while there are some distinctive accommodations in Ithaca (<a href="https://argosinn.com/">Argos Inn</a> and the <a href="https://millerinn.com/">William Henry Miller Inn</a>, for those who want to be within walking distance of restaurants, waterfalls, and unique shops), we preferred the pretty countryside outside of town and we would choose it again. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Updated paragraph:</i></b> <b>after my original post, my husband pointed out that the slogan 'Ithaca is Gorges' was coined long before 1986 -- he knows this because when he saw the legendary Grateful Dead show at Cornell's Barton Hall on 5/8/77, the slogan was widely in use at that time. I saw 1986 in the <i>Visit Ithaca Official Visitor's Guide</i> but I believe the year is a typo and perhaps should have read 1968, though a brief online search did not reveal the exact year that Cornell University alum Howard Cogan created the slogan. Regardless, Cogan, who owned a small advertising business in Ithaca, never trademarked the slogan for himself. In his 2008 obituary that appeared in Cornell's alumni magazine, Cogan's wife, Helen, said that the slogan "was his gift to the city. He didn't want to make any money on it." </b> In any case, the slogan is completely apt as there are a number of gorges and waterfalls, small and large, set within the city and outside of it. According to <a href="http://www.visitithaca.com/">Visit Ithaca,</a> it's estimated that over 150 waterfalls have been carved within ten square miles. A long weekend isn't sufficient to see them all, but we visited Businessman's Lunch Falls, Enfield Falls (in the <a href="https://parks.ny.gov/parks/135/details.aspx">Robert Treman State Park</a>), Horseshoe Falls (on the Cornell campus) and <a href="https://www.visitithaca.com/attractions/taughannock-falls-state-park">Taughannock Falls</a> (as in, don't panic, it's Tuh-GAN-ick; it's the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains). <br />
<br />
Then there are the hiking trails, among them Cascadilla Gorge Trail that connects Cornell to downtown Ithaca and the gorge trails in Robert Treman and Taughannock Falls State Parks (trails are open from May through October; browse all the options at www.ithacatrails.org).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweMvuRUhuSKVVXhVzxc-aSiDtapkdIE_8Q9TUZzf3K3GauZuOWx_otptWSKr1G9og25VR3z-fcLdQmjMMuWYlgTqEPNhzv9ZINmMC5HqOVnFkilZQw06A4O-m95RvJcAxVOW-BCu_Vd8/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweMvuRUhuSKVVXhVzxc-aSiDtapkdIE_8Q9TUZzf3K3GauZuOWx_otptWSKr1G9og25VR3z-fcLdQmjMMuWYlgTqEPNhzv9ZINmMC5HqOVnFkilZQw06A4O-m95RvJcAxVOW-BCu_Vd8/s320/IMG_0390.JPG" width="240" /></a>Both the <a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/">Ithaca College</a> and <a href="http://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> campuses boast great views over Lake Cayuga and the surrounding area, but Cornell also has a gem of a <a href="http://www.cornellbotanicgardens.org/">botanic garden</a> (pictured at right). There are some gentle trails, a lake, and an arboretum within 150 acres -- be sure to make it to the Newman Overlook and strike the gong! This Overlook is also a great spot for a picnic. <br />
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We didn't get to Ithaca's renowned farmer's market (on Zagat's list of '8 Must-Visit Farmers Markets in the U.S.'), but we ate and drank very well at several places in town: <a href="http://www.just-a-taste.com/">Just a Taste</a> wine and tapas bar (we liked it so much we went twice); <a href="http://www.redsplaceithaca.com/">Red's Place</a> (gastrobar named after Cornell's dominant school color, red); <a href="http://www.mercatobarandkitchen.com/">Mercato</a> (for superb Aperol Spritzs); 15 Below (for Thai-inspired ice cream; no website but located on the Commons); and, of course, the <a href="https://moosewoodcooks.com/">Moosewood Cafe</a> (note that while Mollie Katzen -- author of the hugely bestselling Moosewood Cookbook -- was a founding member of the Moosewood Collective in the early '70s, she left in 1978; she doesn't live in Ithaca and she is not a strict vegetarian). Visitors who want food to be at the center of their itineraries may be interested in <a href="https://www.ithacaisfoodies.com/">Ithaca Foodies</a>, which offers guided culinary walking tours. The <a href="http://www.downtownithaca.com/">Downtown Ithaca</a> website is quite useful and includes a section on getting around town (note: parking is free on weekends inside all the garages and on the street; during the week, free parking on the street starts at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 a.m. the next morning, and in garages, parking is free from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.). Visit Ithaca's <i>Official Visitor's Guide </i>is among the very best of its kind, and is far more substantive than a guidebook. It's jam-packed with practical info and favorites (10 Must-See Waterfalls, Top 3 Biking Trails, etc.) and there's an excellent pull-out road map of four areas in the center -- far easier to use than a map on a small smartphone and far better for an overall visual understanding of the area. <br />
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It's impossible to ignore all the wineries (14) around Cayuga Lake, which claims to have '<a href="http://www.cayugawinetrail.com/">America's First Wine Trail.</a>' Breweries abound, too, but we didn't visit any of them (next time!). However, we did visit the <a href="http://www.boundarybreaks.com/">Boundary Breaks</a> winery on Seneca Lake (which has its own <a href="https://senecalakewine.com/">trail</a> with 31 wineries) at the recommendation of friends Andy and Karen, who are fortunate to have a house on an elevated plot of land with an uninterrupted view overlooking the lake. Visitors to any winery in the Finger Lakes quickly learn that Riesling is <i><b>the</b></i> signature grape (and wine) of the region. A few wineries also produce some reds, but it's Riesling that thrives here, despite cold winters (as a comparison, the Finger Lakes region is a little south of Bordeaux and a lot further south than Germany, Luxembourg, and the Alsace region of France, all notable for Riesling). Riesling was first planted in New York in the 1950s, and it's available dry, sweet, or as an ice wine. Boundary Breaks takes its name from the gorges on the northern and southern edges of the vineyard. The gorges -- or "breaks" in the landscape -- are the boundaries of the property (I love that the winery's slogan is "Be a boundary breaker!). Stuart Pigott, author of <u>The Riesling Story: The Best White Wine on Earth</u>, says that "Boundary Breaks now belongs in the first league of Finger Lakes and North American Riesling producers." In our tasting (5 wines each), my husband and I particularly enjoyed the Extra Dry Riesling, Ovid Line North Riesling, Reserve Riesling, Bubbly Dry, and Dry Rose. The reason Riesling is held in high regard among wine professionals (and a growing number of consumers, like me) is that it is an incredibly versatile white grape, which can be made into a range of styles from bone dry to sweet dessert wines. There are still too many people who think of Riesling only as a sweet wine, and too many others who don't realize how perfect a semi-sweet Riesling pairs with spicy food -- it's unfortunate that some spicy nibbles aren't included in the tasting so that people can experience this delicious match. Tasting some Rieslings at Boundary Breaks or elsewhere in the region often means you'll be in a lovely spot with great views -- even if you don't love the wines, the locations of many wineries are worthy of a detour.<br />
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After leaving with two bottles to take home, the sky darkened dramatically and we were driving through a thunderstorm so we stopped at the <a href="http://www.firehousedistillery.net/">Lost Kingdom</a> brewery in Ovid to wait out the storm. The brewery is in a former fire station and has a great decor, the bartender is knowledgeable and friendly, and the beer selection is quite unusual. Ovid -- named after the Roman poet by a town clerk who was interested in the classics -- is on state route 414, which runs from Corning to Huron between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake for 83 miles. The route passes through some small villages like Ovid but mostly runs through a bucolic, rural landscape. There seems to be a certain amount of local pride in the state road as witnessed by this sticker I saw below:<br />
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We passed through Trumansburg a few times while in the area and there is an interesting <a href="https://pocketsights.com/tours/tour/Trumansburg-The-village-of-Trumansburg-1395">self-guided walking tour</a> with 21 stops that's very worthwhile -- it includes some noteworthy buildings on the National Registger of Historic Places and the R. A. Moog Company Building -- did you know that the Moog synthesizer was created here in 1964?!<br />
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There is much more to explore in the <a href="http://www.fingerlakes.org/">Finger Lakes</a> -- there are 9 other lakes in the area! -- and 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance. If you plan a fall visit, thee is no better companion reading to bring along than James Fenimore Cooper's <u>The Last of the Mohicans</u>, <u>The Pathfinder</u>, or <u>The Deerslayer</u> as they center around the general area of upstate New York that was formerly the home of the Iroquois. <br />
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<br />Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-70775267722565569172019-03-31T09:38:00.004-07:002019-03-31T10:22:56.320-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Posada Mawimbi, Isla Holbox</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Before I r</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">eturn to the rest of my Liguria report, here is a short post about Isla Holbox, off the north coast of the Yucatan peninsula where I just spent five nights. Admittedly, until a few years ago I'd never heard of Holbox; it wasn't until friends Al and Risi went and raved about it that it was on my radar, and then a short while later it was featured as one of the '52 Places to Go' in 2016 in <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/travel/places-to-visit.html">The New York Times</a></i> and an article appeared in <i><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/isla-holbox-mexico">Travel + Leisure</a></i>. Holbox is not undiscovered, but there are still plenty of people who've never heard of it. </span><br />
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Like many wonderful places in the world, getting to Holbox takes a little extra effort. After a flight to Cancun (my husband and I flew on Jet Blue, which left New York's JFK Airport exactly on time and overall was as efficient as an airline experience can be), you have a choice of taking a small plane to the island (a few companies are <a href="http://www.aerosaab.com/">Aerosaab</a>, <a href="http://www.axtransporter.com/mx">AX Transporter</a>, and <a href="http://www.flights-holbox.com/">Flights Holbox</a>; flying time is about 35 minutes) or driving two hours to the coastal town of Chiquila, from where a Transporte Maritimo 9 Hermanos or Holbox Express ferry takes you to Holbox (the only difference between these seems to be the schedule, with one departing on the hour and the other departing on the half hour; the ferry ride is about 20 minutes, and the current schedule may be found at <a href="https://the.holboxeno.com/holbox-island-ferry-times">The Holboxeno</a>, which is also a good site for finding out about goings on). Chiquila is the largest town along the route from Cancun to the coast and it's a fairly bustling, colorful place not without some charm (it is also spelled sometimes with the accent on the a -- Chiquilá -- and sometimes not). The only other town of any size is Kantunilkín, which I mention because if you want to stop along the way , this is your best bet. The staff at many Holbox hotels will arrange round-trip transportation for guests (including the van and the ferry) as well as the golf cart pick-up at the Holbox ferry (the only cars and trucks on the island are for services; everyone gets around by bike or golf cart, or walking). Posada Mawimbi, where my husband and I stayed, arranged all this transportation for us and it was very smooth. An online search will turn up a number of companies providing affordable transportation to Chiquila, and I believe that even if you haven't reserved in advance, it's possible to arrange for the ride on the spot at the airport. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So far I haven't been able to find much background information about Holbox other than that the name translates as "Black Hole" in Yucatec Mayan; the island was originally settled by a handful of Maya families and in the 18th century it was a refuge for Spanish and Italian pirates who were in the area (some of the pirates stayed on and adopted a different lifestyle, and their descendants developed the town on the island); and that most of Holbox, 26 miles long, is part of the Flora and Fauna Nature Reserve, established in 1994, called Yum Balam ("Lord Jaguar"). The reserve encompasses 154,052 acres of shore and off-shore territory, and from May to September Yum Balam is the sanctuary for the world's largest concentration of whale sharks. Additionally, the reserve is home to 420 bird species (35% are migratory species) and endangered species including jaguars, tapirs, crocodiles, monkeys, and Hawksbill turtles plus over 70 different species of reptiles and amphibians. Only 16% of the island is populated, and about 5,000 people live on Holbox. As an aside, I also learned that though there is still some inconsistency, the word Maya tends to be used as a noun and an adjective describing the people and their culture and the word Mayan refers to the language.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the most common phrases used to describe Holbox is that "it's not for everyone," which is true and worth repeating. If you are someone who cannot separate yourself from your phone you may be disappointed (WiFi is spotty, often slow, and sometimes doesn't work at all). If you want to wear fine resort clothing and shoes, there aren't many if any places where they're appropriate (there are no paved roads, just sand, so flip flops and very casual sandals are the only shoes necessary). Generally, as the island is somewhat fragile, toilet paper is not put in toilets but rather in garbage cans provided. And if you're looking for a raging night club scene, you won't find it on Holbox. I found Holbox refreshingly unique, but it may be helpful to know that I am not a desert island person, meaning that I am not looking for a totally remote place. I like islands that have just enough places to eat good, local food and that have distinctive places to stay and that are fairly lively, with enough going on that I can choose to do or not to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I really enjoyed staying at <a href="http://www.mawimbi.com/">Posada Mawimbi</a> (which translates as something like "waves of the sea"), opened 16 years ago on the Northern beach coast, directly next door to <a href="https://holboxcasalastortugas.com/">Casa Las Tortugas</a>, which is also a lovely inn with a small pool in its center that receives much more publicity. Mawimbi has a cozy, family vibe, and the welcome brochure in each room introduces each staff member with a photo and his or her name (the three resident dogs, Sammy, Zoe, and Goliath, are included). I liked that on my first day, I saw a guest holding his young son in his arms embrace with one of the staff. It seemed genuine, and I had the feeling that this gesture was not unusual. During my stay there was another guest who'd brought her dog, Alfie, and it seemed that she lived there because she was so familiar with everyone; later I learned that she comes every year. Guest rooms are not large but are big enough (though there is not a lot of open counter space) and are bohemian-charming, with nice cotton bed spreads, colorful curtains, ceiling fans, air conditioning, and ceramic tiles. Like most of the lodgings on the island, Mawimbi is in the <i>palapa</i> style, and the staircase to the second floor is made of pretty cedar wood. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBaKkLTLQUSrIcdLU4BtU5ZR4bE9v_y9aFa8eyEBv7DRhg1ejSGEzWLBgPL_XRQDl-09gmxNp5PgySX9N3wxnz64_wrF8iOac6Q4l7wr1NSPcWOlm3SD6kJRrpFAhhAGnl9A5sGW6TE8/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBaKkLTLQUSrIcdLU4BtU5ZR4bE9v_y9aFa8eyEBv7DRhg1ejSGEzWLBgPL_XRQDl-09gmxNp5PgySX9N3wxnz64_wrF8iOac6Q4l7wr1NSPcWOlm3SD6kJRrpFAhhAGnl9A5sGW6TE8/s200/IMG_0375.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyi7n5NZIUcVvqkA338dyDsADV-ha1YxmkEDLTC1z6z2YxOSjBvjd6KdXZYGdekqKtskaDlLK9C5dOXR08crRDIlWfn5gWQloi1T_jbcZWBClnFWkLxfAHSdHRoaMPX7lWsVbpNzlHqI/s1600/IMG_0377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyi7n5NZIUcVvqkA338dyDsADV-ha1YxmkEDLTC1z6z2YxOSjBvjd6KdXZYGdekqKtskaDlLK9C5dOXR08crRDIlWfn5gWQloi1T_jbcZWBClnFWkLxfAHSdHRoaMPX7lWsVbpNzlHqI/s200/IMG_0377.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Breakfast is included in the room rate, and it was delicious and substantial -- one portion changed every day (it could be scrambled eggs, oatmeal, Nutella crepes, or bread and cheese -- but there was always sliced mango, papaya, kiwi, banana, and pineapple as well as delicious yogurt, coffee, tea, fresh orange juice, and a salad of spinach, tomatoes, and pecans. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lying on one of Mawimbi's lounge chairs in the sand and looking up at the palm trees and blue sky and listening to the exotic birds (notably the grackle) is among my favorite memories of the island. Las Tortugas and Mawimbi mark the beginning of the hotel zone on the Northern coast, meaning that the town of Holbox, with its numerous restaurants, bars, cheap lodgings, shops, and places to rent golf carts (<i>carritos de golf)</i> is contained within a very small part of the island. As you head east down the beach there are more hotels, the last one being <a href="http://www.lasnubesdeholbox.com/">Las Nubes</a>, one of the more recent inns to open. From its wooden outdoor terrace, there is a staircase that leads right down into the water, and from here you can wade across to a sandbar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the opposite direction, towards town and the airstrip, the beach is not as wide (in some spots there is no beach at all), and the vibe is more lively. To each his own: if you want quiet, head to the hotel zone; if you want what action there is on the island, head west. At least one of the budget lodgings in town permits guests to use the facilities at one of the hotels in the hotel zone, a nice compromise. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOC08UnEBYVQSQLOqxQdzvqwdJzRJ6YeLlP5YmxNg3KwdODxPVHNjSNBqms_3-ANSKcukCdhPHnXIy5C9I2saUoxslzx_Eojcpw-39NQxL3a1s8BLLCOmOBQOOsMwlZoYZmlaGkCz2ec/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOC08UnEBYVQSQLOqxQdzvqwdJzRJ6YeLlP5YmxNg3KwdODxPVHNjSNBqms_3-ANSKcukCdhPHnXIy5C9I2saUoxslzx_Eojcpw-39NQxL3a1s8BLLCOmOBQOOsMwlZoYZmlaGkCz2ec/s200/IMG_0373.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some hotels I visited are <a href="http://www.casasandra.com/">Ser Casasandra</a>, which is not directly on the beach but has its own designated beach area and also has a lovely pool and is quite distinctive (also, its outdoor boutique, Arte Sano, an outpost of the original in Tulum, is small but offers very nice selections such as quality cotton and linen items, jewelry, leather sandals, straw bags, etc.); <a href="https://www.myboutiquehotel.com/en/boutique-hotels-holbox-island/tierra-mia.html">Tierra Mia</a>, also not on the beach; <a href="http://www.villashmparaisodelmar.com/en/">Villas HM Paraiso del Mar</a>; and <a href="http://www.puntacaliza.com/home">Punta Caliza</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Holbox has been described as a hippy-dippy kind of place, but this doesn't mean it's the equivalent of Goa or Kathmandu in the 1960s. Visitors of all ages come to Holbox, including a number of families, lots of Europeans, and lots of Spanish-speaking visitors (though I don't know if they were from other parts of Mexico or from Spain or the U.S.). I was also surprised at both the number of restaurants there are on Holbox and how many really good meals we had. Among the places we liked are <b>Barba Negra</b> for outstanding and memorable tacos (notably the fish Mayan style, cauliflower, and fish Baja style); <b>Big Fish</b>, a new place serving fish caught that day (delicious tuna tostadas, ceviche, and <i>aguachile</i>, a preparation with lime juice, jalapeno, and onions) and shots of artisanal mescal; <b>Rosa Mexicano</b> (no relation to the New York restaurants) for shrimp <i>aguachile</i>; <b>La Isla del Colibri </b>for fantastic smoothies served in large stemmed glasses (great decor, with nearly every inch of wall space covered with artwork, some original and others copies of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo paintings); <b>Viva Zapata</b> for a huge and perfect seafood platter with a whole grilled fish, crabs, clams, shrimp, ceviche, and octopus; <b>Et </b></span><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Voilà</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (despite the French name, it's a fully Mexican menu); and <b>El Chapulim </b>(the word translates as either a grasshopper or cricket) for fine dining -- there is no menu but the chef comes to the table to tell you about the night's dishes. We had a local fish filet in a creamy sauce with very thin asparagus, baby potatoes, and a fruit salad and a rice dish with seafood in a chipotle sauce -- all delicious. We also enjoyed watching the sunset from the <b>rooftop bar at Casa Las Tortugas</b>, where the sushi is excellent, and at <b>Coquitos Beach Bar</b> for <i>micheladas</i>, a beer and tomato juice drink with spicy salt around the rim of the glass. Note: no matter where you eat, no one is in a hurry, so sit back and chill. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We didn't anticipate that Mardi Gras would be celebrated on the island, though there is not a parade; rather, stages are set up on certain streets for the bands and then the costumed dancers perform in front of the stages. The festivities do go on until about 4:00 a.m. and yes, if you are staying close to town you will hear the music. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seeing flamingos, fishing, visiting Isla Pajaros (Bird Island Sanctuary), kiteboarding, kayaking, and swimming with whale sharks (the largest fish in the world and very gentle) are among activities to do while visiting Holbox but my husband and I didn't do any of these (it wasn't the season for whale sharks in any case). We felt confident that we were going to convince some friends and family members to join us next year, and that we would postpone these activities until that time. However, we did wade out on a series of sandbars to the point where we couldn't go any further (there are signs indicating the beginning of the nature reserve). Sometimes the water was sloshing around our ankles, other times we were knee-deep. It was magnificent, and we can't wait to do it again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As there is no book I know of about Holbox to recommend, here are links to sites and articles that were each interesting or useful in one way or another:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.wanderlustchloe.com/isla-holbox-mexico-travel-guide-things-to-do/">Isla Holbox, Mexico Travel Guide</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.thetravelleaf.com/">The Ultimate Guide to Isla Holbox</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fathomaway.com/isla%20holbox/">Skip Tulum by Victoria Lewis and Low-Key Architectural Glory by Paul Jebara, Fathom</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/travel/08next-1.html">Where the Streets Are Paved With Sand by Michelle Higgins, The New York Times</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/escaping-to-mexicos-best-kept-secret-island/458840830">Escaping to Mexico's Best-Kept-Secret Island by Kate Maxwell, The Wall Street Journal</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/isla-holbox-mexico-guide">Isla Holbox: Electric Island, by Antonia Quirke and Chris Moss, Conde Nast Traveller</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/intelligent-travel/2015/10/29mexicos-island-eden-isla-holbox/">The Ideal Beach for Eco-Tourists in Mexico by Ceil Miller Bouchet, National Geographic Traveler</a></div>
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(Ceil, who is a very good writer and my friend, also wrote the piece on Holbox for the '52 Places to Go 2016' noted above; </div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ultimately, even more than what I read, it was the photograph of the Holbox "sign" below that made me want to go. It immediately caught my attention, and it was so whimsical, and seemed to capture a certain spirit I look for in a beach destination. (There are two of these signs actually, both on the Northern beach coast as you walk east, and as you can see hammocks are often strung between two letters.) So the photo made me buy a plane ticket, and maybe it will inspire you, too, as well. As other writers have wisely noted, go soon. </span></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-10459594500393947722018-03-11T14:19:00.001-07:002018-03-11T14:19:22.370-07:00Mendatica, Italy<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.66px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sunrise over the rooftops of Mendatica, population approximately 160, in the Ligurian Alps, Italy</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In September of 2016, I went to a rural corner of Liguria and had one of the most meaningful trips of my life, which I wrote about for </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.dreamofitaly.com/">Dream of Italy</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. As I was limited by space, I couldn't include everything I wanted in the piece; and as the full content of </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dream of Italy</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> newsletters is only available to Italy enthusiasts who select either a digital or print membership, this post is devoted to the details that were left out (and to those worth repeating!). Many people ask me if there is any corner of Italy that isn't widely visited or written about; there <i>are</i> a few places that are blessedly free of the trappings of modern tourism, and this inland area of Liguria, only 40 minutes from the coast, is one of them. </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The reason for my trip was the <i>Festa della Transumanza</i>, a weekend-long festival in the village of Mendatica dedicated to the ancient tradition of transhumance, "crossing the land" in Italian. Distinguished French historian Fernand Braudel (1902-1985) referred to transhumance in his as "one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Mediterranean world." Generally speaking, transhumance is the seasonal migration of shepherds and their flocks. In the late spring, shepherds, their sheep, a few sheepdogs, and sometimes goats or cows, leave fields at lower elevation and climb to higher elevation, where in the warmer months there is more for the sheep to eat. In the late fall, they make the trek back. (This is in contrast to the nomadic tradition, where entire communities, their animals, and even dwellings move long distances periodically.) Braudel relates that in the Navarra region of Spain, shepherds would come down from the highlands when there was a market being held. In the winter months, the flocks and men hurried down the mountain to escape the cold and "flooded into lower Navarre like an invading army. All doors were padlocked against these unwelcome visitors, and every year saw a renewal of the eternal war between shepherd and peasant." </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Transhumance </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">has existed in varying degrees on every continent, yet in most places today the livestock are transported by vehicle or the tradition has died out completely; but i</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t is still practiced in Mediterranean countries today, notably in Arles in southern France and in the Abruzzo, Molise, and Puglia regions of southern Italy (<i>transumanza</i> trails in these regions, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">known as <i>tratturi</i>, along with the archeological site of Sepinum, have been submitted to UNESCO for consideration on its World Heritage List, and
Mendatica is also being considered for this protected status). Even in Carlo Levi's <u>Fleeting Rome: In Search of la Dolce Vita</u>, written in the 1960s, Levi observed that "Just ten years ago, during the seasonal transhumance, shepherds drove flocks of sheep through the centre of Rome, as they moved down from the high mountain pastures to the lowland plains where they would winter their flocks. I remember watching them move by night through the Piazza del Pantheon, I remember hearing them from a distance as they passed in the shadows, like a muted murmur. And even then in the meadows of the Villa Doria Pamphili shepherds would spend the winter in their huts of straw and leafy branches. Nowadays, the much more numerous flocks of cars have occupied all the streets, making it impossible for animals to pass."</span> <span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was after reading about the tradition, and seeing photographs of sheep completely taking over towns and mountain roads (including one of the tunnels in the Alps between Italy and Austria!), that I became somewhat obsessed with witnessing it in person (and okay, I've long had a fondness for sheep). I wanted to experience the <i>transumanza</i> in the north of Italy if only because there had been a few pieces already written about it in the south, and the Mendatica <i>festa</i> turned out to be <i>perfetto</i> as the village's very existence is inseparable from the <i>transumanza</i>.</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mendatica, founded by fugitives fleeing the destruction of coastal Albenga in 644 AD by the Lombards, was later a refuge for coastal inhabitants during Saracen raids and by 1385 it was under the dominion of Genoa.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Its <em><span style="color: #222222;">Festa della Transumanza</span></em> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">celebrates<i> </i>the joys and hardships of this pastoral heritage as well as its <i>cucina bianca</i> (white cuisine), which refers to the ingredients typical of this alpine area: potatoes, turnips, garlic, leeks, cabbage, several pasta shapes, and various cheeses. It's held at the end of September and begins on Friday morning, when tourists and 500 school kids make the rounds at booths where villagers demonstrate typical activities related to the <i>transumanza</i>. These include making cheese, especially the local Brusso, a creamy, fermented ricotta.</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The highlight of the day is the late afternoon arrival of the shepherds and the sheep, about 1,000 of them, but a few hours before I had the opportunity to meet some of the shepherds thanks to the kind assistance of the young and dynamic staff at Brigi Cooperativa, especially Maria, Chiara, and Paola (Brigi -- named for the Brigasca sheep that produce three cheeses endorsed by Slow Food -- organizes the <i>festa</i> with a few other regional groups). The photos below were taken at one of the six seasonal communities (known collectively as the <i>Malghe</i>) above Mendatica on Monte Saccarello, the highest peak in Liguria. These bungalow colonies (Il Lago, Monesi, Piolarocca, Le Salse, Valcona Soprana, and Valcona Sottana) were home to the shepherds and their families during the warmer months of the year. Today very few shepherds are married with children, and most of the Malghe are now uninhabited (though they were all thriving as recently as the 1960s). Some of the photos were also taken as we walked along the trail descending to Mendatica.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Yes, in the second photo the shepherd is speaking on his mobile phone, so the shepherds have adapted to the modern world.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">What I never knew about sheep is that lots and lots of flies follow them everywhere and that they never stop looking for something to eat. All they do is roam and eat. And with a few goats, they can pick a small plant clean in about ten minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">The life of a shepherd today hasn't changed drastically from what it was many years ago, and it's not a life for everyone. Many shepherds have followed in the footsteps of fathers and grandfathers. One young shepherd who was pointed out to me later in the weekend didn't look older than 15 -- he'd decided to drop out of school to take up this unorthodox life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">By late afternoon on Friday, everyone in Mendatica finds a spot to sit or stand along the </span><i style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">caruggi</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"> (the Ligurian word for narrow streets) to watch the shepherds and their sheep walk down through the village, past the Baroque SS Nazario e Celso Church, and into a field. The <i>caruggi </i>are packed chock-a-block with sheep, similar to the streets of Pamplona, Spain during the running of the bulls; but while the sheep here could knock down a small child if he or she was blocking their route (or was in the way of something to eat) their passage through the village to the field is fairly quick and causes no harm to anyone. It is utterly amazing actually, and I cannot wait for the next time I can attend -- I would come every year if I could</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are community dinners on Friday and Saturday nights that are great fun, with a variety of <em>cucina bianca</em> dishes served, and on Saturday afternoon the <em>Palio delle Capre</em> (goat race) is held. This is hilarious as goats from the Malghe compete in an obstacle course and as they have no interest in completing the course, handlers do whatever they can -- such as literally pulling them along by the horns -- to force the goats to make it to the finish line.</span> <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The <em>Fiera di San Matteo</em> -- a street fair held in the same spot as a former market where shepherds met to sell products and animals -- is set up in the morning before the <em>palio</em> begins, and there are some local wines (such as the Pigato white wine, made from grapes originally from a Genoan colony in Greece, and the Ormeasco red wine) and foods to taste as well as nice craft items. Among the culinary specialties is garlic from nearby Vessalico, recognized by Slow Food -- this particular garlic has been celebrated for the past two centuries at a festival held every year in July, and it grows in miniscule plots that cling to mountain slopes; the garlic heads aren't cut or trimmed of its roots but are woven into long braids called <em>reste</em>. Mendatica is happily free of souvenir shops and retail stores in general (though the Alimentari Ascheri, on piazza Roma, carries some local wines and Ligurian specialties to enjoy while visiting or to bring home), and the <em>Fiera</em> provides one of the few opportunities to purchase handmade crafts and culinary items that are not exported outside of the region.</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A number of the 21 dishes that represent the <em>cucina bianca</em> are served at the community meals during the <em>transumanza</em> festival, and the Ristorante La Campagnola (just outside the village center at a bend in the road, on via San Bernardo at number 28) serves a number of <em>cucina bianca</em> dishes year round as does the restaurant at the <a href="https://www.touringclub.it/destinazione/111715/il-castagno">Il Castagno agriturismo</a> (via San Bernardo, 39; telephone 018.332.8718, no dedicated website); but even more are available at the official <em>cucina bianca</em> festival that Mendatica hosts every August, and among these are: </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Aglie</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: similar to Provenҫal aioli, a garlic
mayonnaise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Bastardui</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: handmade pasta with Swiss chard or
leek sauce.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Brodu d’erbe amare</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: soup with bitter herbs.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Brussusa</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: potato pie with white cheese.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Friscioi de mei</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: fried apple fritter; may also be made
with vegetables.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Minietti</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: pasta made with flour and water or
milk, shaped into very small dots.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Pan fritu</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: fried dough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Panissa</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: chickpea flatbread similar to <i>socca</i>, a specialty of Nice, and <i>farinata</i>, a specialty of Genoa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Patate in ta’ foglia</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: potatoes with leeks or cabbage baked
in the oven; <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Patate e brussau:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> potatoes with white cheese. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Rajore de Cuxe</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: pasta shape with a hole in the middle
from the neighboring village of <i>Cosio di
Arroscia</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (<i>Cuxe <span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in Ligurian
dialect).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Raviore de Montegrosso</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: large ravioli shaped like a boat
filled with 21 herbs, ricotta, eggs, pecorino or <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Parmigiana. The exact recipe, from the neighboring
village of Montegrosso Pian Latte, is a secret! <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Streppa e caccia là</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: torn pasta tossed with a strong
flavored cheese, or ricotta, or pesto. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Sugeli</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: pasta tossed with leeks and white
cheese. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Turle</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">: small, fried ravioli filled with some
or all of the following: potatoes, cabbage, leeks, cheese, milk, and</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> fresh <span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">mint -- every family has its own
recipe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span lang="FR" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Turta de patate</span></b><span lang="FR" style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">: </span>potato pie.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I visited, I had the pleasure of meeting a local area celebrity, Giulia Gorlero (pictured at left) who was the goalkeeper on the Italian women's water polo team in the Rio Olympic Games. Though Giulia entered the final match against the U.S. with the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in Rio, and though the Italian team had been averaging just over 10 goals a game, the U.S. did win the gold with a 12-5 victory. The silver went to the Italian team, and Giulia is a warm and personable young woman who is a great ambassador for Liguria. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Staying at </span><a href="http://www.parks.it/rif/ca.da.cardella"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ca' da Cardella</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (via Giardino), a <em>rifugio escursionistico</em> in the heart of Mendatica, is an immersive experience -- the beautiful, stone building has been recently renovated to accommodate guests in four bedrooms (some with bunk beds), each with its own bathroom. The bedrooms are all downstairs while upstairs is a large, open space that is a combination kitchen and living room. It's rustic but comfortable, and there is an outdoor picnic area with a grill that's connected to the kitchen by a bridge over cobblestoned via Giadino -- this is the street that the sheep walk down during the <i>festa</i>, so the vantage point from here is unique. There are lovely views out over the valley and the rate per person is 15 euros per night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Aside from its two festivals, Mendatica's parish church of Santi Nazario e Celso is of interest -- it's Romanesque in origin but was reconstructed in the 18th century as Baroque; only the bell tower is original<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and there is a lovely Madonna carved by Anton Maria Maragliano (1664-1739), a sculptor of some renown for his wooden carvings, inside -- as well as the old mill and <em>La Casa del Pastore</em>, an ethnographic museum depicting a shepherd's house. Visitors may also walk ten minutes outside the village to La Chiesa di Santa Margherita, a 16th century church with a very fragile fresco cycle by noted Ligurian painter Pietro Guido da Ranzo. The <em>chiesa</em> is in a very serene spot, which may be one reason why it appealed to Thor Heyerdahl, who wrote <u><em>Kon-Tiki</em></u> here (Heyerdahl lived until 2002 in Colla Micheri, just above the Ligurian coastal town of Laigueglia, designated <em>uno dei borghi </em><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>più belli d'Italia</em>, one of the most beautiful villages of Italy). <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In addition to a grand <em>cascante</em> (waterfall -- Mendatica's name means "bring water"), all of this makes Mendatica a good base for exploring the rest of the Arroscia Valley, where there are other small villages worth visiting as well as lots of outdoor activities to pursue: biking is especially popular (on the pretty winding roads and mountain biking in the hills), and there are hiking trails, donkey treks, skiing, and snowshoeing. In Vendone, there is an open-air installation with more than 35 stone sculptures by German sculptor Rainer Kriester (1935-2002), who was made an honorary citizen in 1999. The blocks of stone -- <em>I megaliti del terzo millennio</em> (the megaliths of the third millennium) -- are from the nearby coastal town of Finale (halfway between Albenga and Savona) and are about 12 feet high From many spots throughout the Arroscia valley there are panoramic views of the surrounding forest trees seemingly stretching all the way to the sea. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As Mendatica is not far from the coast, it's also a great day trip destination. An absolutely wonderful (and not-well-known-among-Americans) place to stay is the </span><a href="http://www.villadellapergola.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Villa della Pergola</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> in Alassio, but as there is so much to say about it I will save its description for an upcoming post. I will close this one by saying that travelers who want to find an authentic corner of Italy need look no further than the Strada Statale 28</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">that leads from Imperia up into the Ligurian hills. </span></span></span></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p><a href="http://www.comune.mendatica.im/it/">www.comune.mendatica.im/it/</a></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mendatica Tourist Office</span></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">piazza Roma, 1 </span><a href="mailto:iat@mendatica.com"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">iat@mendatica.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p>Brigi Cooperativa di Comunita</o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p>www.brig</o:p></span></span></span></div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-73826633741244065172017-08-17T13:56:00.000-07:002018-03-11T14:44:20.130-07:00Resistance, Rebellion, Life: 50 Poems Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems serendipitous to me now that I began reading this new book, edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Amit Majmudar and published by Alfred A. Knopf, late last week, before the horrific happened in Charlottesville, where I lived for a few years after graduating from college. Reading it has actually helped calm me down (as has listening to various opera scores) and the diverse poems, some short and others a little longer (almost all of them are one or two pages long) are written by an equally diverse group of poets including Alex Dimitrov, Juan Felipe Herrera, Richie Hofmann, Sharon Olds, Robert Pinsky, Solmaz Sharif, and Cody Walker. The paperback is small (approximately 5" x 6"), slender, and $12.95 and I highly recommend it...as well as another book that took a long while to reach in the towering pile in my bedroom:<br />
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I read it only a month ago and it, too, seems to be extremely relevant though as you can see from the cover it refers to the terrorist attacks in Paris in November of 2015 (the book was published by Penguin in the fall of 2016). Antoine Leriris's wife, Hélène, also mother of their seventeen-month-old son, was killed at the Bataclan Theater and three days later he posted an open letter on Facebook addressed to the killers. The letter found a wide audience and helped many people who were desperate for a way to process what happened. The book details Leiris's life as it unfolded over the days and weeks after the attacks, and is heartbreaking but ultimately wonderful and empowering, and worth quoting from here:<br />
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I will not give you the satisfaction of hating you. That is what you want,</div>
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but to respond to your hate with anger would be to yield to the same</div>
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ignorance that made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to see my </div>
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fellow citizens through suspicious eyes, to sacrifice my freedom for security. </div>
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You have failed. I will not change...There are only two of us -- my son and</div>
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myself -- but we are stronger than all the armies of the world. </div>
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Calvin Trillin has long been among my most favorite writers, and<u> Jackson, 1964 </u>(Random House, 2016) is eerily a contemporary read. As a reviewer for the <i>Minneapolis Star Tribune</i> observed, the book is "modern and urgent...Essay after essay reminds us that the history of this struggle consists of events that easily could happen today." Trillin's pieces, which originally appeared in <i>The New</i> <i>Yorker</i>, cover events not only in Jackson, Mississippi but Delaware, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Utah, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York. Every single one is eye-opening.<br />
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Lastly, it seems apropos to read again, for the second time or the fiftieth time, the <a href="http://pulsegulfcoast.com/2017/05/transcript-of-new-orleans-mayor-landrieus-address-on-confederate-monuments">remarks of New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu</a> in May of this year. <br />
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Travel can be another way to bear witness, so perhaps a visit to <a href="https://www.visitcharlottesville.org/">Charlottesville</a> should be in your future? As Heather Heyer posted on Facebook, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." </div>
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-61202765959549233512017-08-01T11:35:00.000-07:002018-03-11T14:44:58.167-07:00My Barcelona and Catalunya E-book<br />
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<i>Parador de Cardona</i>, about 55 miles from Barcelona </div>
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[all photos kindly provided by <i>Paradores de Turismo de España</i>]</div>
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My <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550315/barcelona-from-a-to-z-by-barrie-kerper/">Barcelona ebook</a>, a VintageShort, has been published! It's officially entitled 'Barcelona From A to Z' but there are some letters of the alphabet included that are devoted to Catalunya. It's only 99 cents so take the plunge and buy it if you're thinking of going (or even if you just want to read about it). <br />
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I like to remind people visiting Barcelona how easy it is to make day trips (and overnight jaunts) from the city, even without a car, and in only a short distance away you can really feel like you're far from the city and you can see a fair amount of the region, which is quite diverse. One really nice place in the foothills of the Pyrenees is Cardona -- the photos in this post are all of the Castell de Cardona, which is today one of the lodgings in Spain's <em><a href="http://www.parador.es/">paradores</a></em> chain. I'm a big fan of the <em>paradores</em>, and the Cardona castle is one of the best. You can reach Cardona by bus but it's better to have a car if only so you can stop along the way -- the drive is pretty and there are some good opportunities for taking photos. As the road climbs in elevation, the site of the 9<sup>th</sup> century castle perched high on a hill is magnificent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Catalunya has a string of fortifications and monasteries within the region (the most popular one is Montserrat, which is even closer to Barcelona), but the castle in Cardona is a Spanish national monument and represents several eras of Catalan heritage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cardona’s name derives from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">quer</i>, rock or steep mountain, and the town became wealthy from its Roman-era salt mines, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Montaña de Sal Gema</i> (Rock Salt Mountain; <em>parador</em> guests receive a 10% discount off the admission price).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The town of Cardona is very pleasant, with some good restaurants and shops catering to locals, but the <em>parador </em>is really the highlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The castle was built to secure territory that was reconquered from the Moors (and it also protected the salt mines) and the town charter of around 986 dictated that the men of Cardona had to devote one day a week on the construction of the castle, and all law-abiding citizens were granted personal use of the salt every Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After making it through the War of the Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War, the castle was damaged during the Spanish Civil War, but was repaired and opened as a <em>parador</em> in 1976.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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Exploring the exterior of the castle buildings (which are Romanesque and Gothic) is fun as there are wooden walkways all around it, with great views of the town, the salt mine, and the forests along the Cardoner River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interior public rooms feature lots of stone walls (some painted a pretty shade of red), arches, tapestries, wrought iron torch holders, and dark wooden beams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guestrooms are quite nice, most larger than standard European rooms, and are filled with Catalan antiques; many have four-poster beds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main dining room (which serves Catalan dishes) is beautiful with stone arches running the length of the entire room and walls painted a great shade of yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a grand room in which to eat <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything</i>, and happily the food is equal to the setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also within the castle is the second century Torre de la Minyona (where Adalés, daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Ramón Folch and Enguncia, was imprisoned by her brothers for falling in love with a Moorish jailer); the San Vicente Collegiate Church (whose crypt once held relics of Saints Sebastian, Ursula, and Inés); and the Chapel of San Ramón Nonato, a monk related to the Cardona family (the Cardonas were of the Catalan and Aragonese nobility and the prestigious name was second only to that of the royal family).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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Rates are moderately expensive and there are a number of special offers throughout the year. In addition to Cardona, there are 7 other <i>paradores</i> in the region: Lleida, Vic-Sau, Aiguablava, La Seu d'Urgell, Arties, Tortosa, and Vielha, each representative of a particular corner of Catalunya. <br />
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Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1155953386249902603.post-10841641581541698782017-04-26T14:58:00.000-07:002018-03-11T14:45:30.387-07:00Northern California<br />
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Mendocino Coast, August 2016<br />
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Some friends have asked me why it's taking so long for my post on Marseille, which was to follow on the heels of piece on Aix-en-Provence, and all I can say is that life gets in the way. Also, I am not a post-every-day kind of person nor did I aim to be when my blog was created; I would rather write useful or interesting posts even if they take me a very long time to complete than short snippets that don't have much substance. Still <i>other</i> friends have asked me about my trip to northern California in August, which I wasn't going to write about at all since the visit was primarily to see my sister, Jenniffer, who lives in Eureka; but here is a brief recap and some recommendations (and stay tuned for the Marseille post!): <br />
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My husband and I lived in the Bay Area in the mid-to-late 1980s and a few years in the early 1990s, and this was our first time back to California in 23 years. We didn't choose to visit in August, a time of year when San Francisco and the entire coastline can be enveloped in fog, but circumstances were such that it was the only time we could go. The day we arrived it was sunny and warm, but our friends who live on Potrero Hill said it had been so cold the days prior that they had to turn the heat on. For the next few days it was sunny and warm where we were staying in Castro Valley (typical) and intermittently sunny and foggy in San Francisco (also typical). Layers are key in a San Francisco wardrobe at any time of year but in the summer you actually need a fleece jacket and possibly a hat and gloves. With our friends Heather and Pat we enjoyed a terrific hike to the Rotary Peace Grove Lookout in <a href="http://www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden.htm">Tilden Regional Park</a>; walked around the UC Berkeley campus; visited our old neighborhood in North Berkeley a block from the outstanding <a href="http://www.montereymarket.com/">Monterey Market</a>; ate really great dinners at <a href="http://www.comalberkeley.com/">Comal</a> on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley and at <a href="http://www.bocanova.com/">Bocanova</a> on Jack London Square in Oakland; and caught a San Francisco Giants game at the (new to us) AT&T ballpark. With our friend Barbara we had a really good lunch at The Italian Homemade Company at 1919 Union Street (very near a store at 1840 Union called <a href="http://www.topdrawershop.com/">Topdrawer: Tools for Nomads</a>, a Japanese shop offering lots of useful and stylish items for travelers and 'modern life on the go'; the only other U.S. shop is in Boston); with our friend Jesse we sampled several specialties from the stalls at the <a href="http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/">Ferry Plaza Farmers Market</a>; and with Carolyn, Michael, Mitch, and SoYoung we had a lively dinner at the supper club <a href="http://www.bixrestaurant.com/">Bix</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CelfWpI4dA2k6XC0vEL1LiJGC2nL6A0a0R-OP7N_z-dGU0xjS8NQhyH0phaTXNAPQdkju-9f6AgVnqUsN-uNT_kitz0DU_UKRVKqoJi7LDEZbX9j1Fnd7RjCBuvN0GEyUjcdELglLBM/s1600/2016-08-17+12.33.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CelfWpI4dA2k6XC0vEL1LiJGC2nL6A0a0R-OP7N_z-dGU0xjS8NQhyH0phaTXNAPQdkju-9f6AgVnqUsN-uNT_kitz0DU_UKRVKqoJi7LDEZbX9j1Fnd7RjCBuvN0GEyUjcdELglLBM/s320/2016-08-17+12.33.59.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
Our friend Paula also mapped out a walking route on Valencia Street (mostly) in the Mission district for us, and it included stops at a number of places that were new to us, including <a href="http://www.dandelionchocolate.com/">Dandelion Small Batch Chocolate</a> (excellent) <a href="http://biritecreamery.com/">Bi-Rite Creamery</a> (absolutely delicious and the basil flavor was an eye-opener; no shipping but you can buy the cookbook, <u>Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones</u> published by 10 Speed Press); <a href="http://www.tartinebakery.com/">Tartine Bakery and Cafe</a> (18th and Guerrero; three great cookbooks all published by Chronicle: <u>Tartine</u>, <u>Tartine Bread</u>, and <u>Tartine Book No. 3</u>) and you can't miss it because there is always a line; <a href="http://www.missioncheese.net/">Mission Cheese</a>; <a href="http://www.craftsman-wolves.com/">Craftsman and Wolves</a> (a "crazy good bakery" as Paula says and she's right); <a href="https://paxtongate.com/">Paxton Gate</a> (an odd but interesting taxidermy store); <a href="http://www.farina-foods.com/">Farina</a> for good pizza (just across the street from the hipster barbershop); and the <a href="http://826valencia.org/store">Pirate Supply Store</a>, which is really a front for the 826 Valencia Writing Project, a non-profit dedicated to supporting under-resourced students aged 6 to 18 co-founded by author Dave Eggers. Not new was Dolores Park, of course, though we did not see the guy who Paula says wanders in with a machete, coconuts, and a bottle of rum selling drinks...darn! Also not new was La Taqueria ("The Best Tacos & Burritos in the Whole World") at 2889 Mission. My friend Pat recently let me know that after 30 years in business, and its popularity at an all-time high, La Taqueria is now closed on Mondays to give its hard working crew a break. It is most definitely <i>vaut le détour</i> to plan your visit accordingly! <o:p></o:p><br />
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We also paid homage to the Grateful Dead's former home, at 710 Ashbury, which is looking quite spiffy these days:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsMltyv55UTFx7nyQswjNNXqmiRE9ZYYGLeJlt4x0b7C-DGPzATAbZH17veuxpr6difmZWWoXdn76NFMk9IVtkSlPhvknXI3IqGWFQfX2kh0dXEPMBjFT6zr831plG24jHrK1T38s7SI/s1600/2016-08-18+16.04.25.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsMltyv55UTFx7nyQswjNNXqmiRE9ZYYGLeJlt4x0b7C-DGPzATAbZH17veuxpr6difmZWWoXdn76NFMk9IVtkSlPhvknXI3IqGWFQfX2kh0dXEPMBjFT6zr831plG24jHrK1T38s7SI/s320/2016-08-18+16.04.25.jpg" width="240" /></a>Our friends Jayne and Mitchell met us at Terrapin Crossroads, Phil Lesh's 'homegrown food and music' bar/restaurant in San Rafael, and we loved it.<br />
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But the highlight of San Francisco was <a href="http://www.smugglerscovesf.com/">Smuggler's Cove</a>, a tiki bar at 650 Gough in Hayes Valley. I'd recently read the book, <u>Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum and the Cult of Tiki</u> (Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate, 10 Speed Press), so I was really looking forward to going and it did not disappoint (a few of the drinks we ordered are pictured below; the photo I took of the flaming volcano was blurry, but the drink itself is exciting and fun and highly recommended!). The book, too, is highly recommended. How can you not love a book that is "dedicated to those merry souls who keep the spirit of Polynesian Pop alive in their hearts and homes, in their bars and basements, and in their cocktails and character?" It's a fascinating read, and the recipes are anything but run-of-the-mill. I am particularly fond of Three Dots and a Dash (Morse code for 'Victory'), which includes two ingredients I'd never heard of before: John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. Neither is available at every liquor store, but with a little perseverance you can find them, and you'll discover that they last a long time because you don't need very much in each recipe. The book was honored with a 2017 James Beard Award in the Beverage category. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpjwN8l9QCPIATJRnVOXVZ0NVxST688S_-2YQhOza8DJg_pYcwl5CvoijVPP4Tfdztbu7Irpt8sdugSvB1G8qFRupv2ViESO3q975woAR0SsBBcy5fBVrxYnp5aAq1BazEltCr2uuIbU/s1600/2016-08-18+17.18.28.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpjwN8l9QCPIATJRnVOXVZ0NVxST688S_-2YQhOza8DJg_pYcwl5CvoijVPP4Tfdztbu7Irpt8sdugSvB1G8qFRupv2ViESO3q975woAR0SsBBcy5fBVrxYnp5aAq1BazEltCr2uuIbU/s320/2016-08-18+17.18.28.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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In Mendocino we stayed two nights at the wonderful <a href="http://www.jadestower.com/">Jade's Tower</a>, a truly unique lodging perfect for three or four people (one bedroom up the spiral staircase and a queen sized pull-out sofa in the living room). The building is a wood and glass former water tower and it's set in the middle of a beautiful, peaceful garden. We didn't see the sun the entire time we were in Mendocino but the views from the Tower's windows were still lovely. I found it on the <a href="https://www.homeaway.com/">HomeAway</a> site, but it's also a VRBO property, #414268. We could walk everywhere we wanted to from the Tower, and enjoyed breakfasts at the Good Life Café & Bakery and a look around <a href="http://www.honeyandro.com/">Honey & Ro</a>, a nicely appointed (and expensive) shop for home goods and clothing. We had dinner one night at <a href="http://ravensrestaurant.com/">Ravens Restaurant</a>, the vegan restaurant at The Stanford Inn by the Sea eco-resort. We are not vegan but a meal there seemed like the thing to do. We liked it fine but a vegan might like it even better. We also loved walking through <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=438">Hendy Woods State Park</a> in Philo which protects two magnificent ancient redwood forests: 80-acre Big Hendy and 20-acre Little Hendy. One of the visitors' signs in the Park displays a John Steinbeck quote about redwood trees: "From them comes silence and awe." This is from a passage from <u>Travels With Charley: In Search of America</u> and is worth repeating in full:<br />
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<h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; font-family: merriweather, georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #274e13;">"The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”</span></h1>
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To the right: The pretty garden outside of Jade's Tower. Below: the Tower, which is the bedroom, reachable by a spiral staircase. There is a pull-out sofa downstairs in the living room, which also has a round dining table and four chairs. <br />
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In all the years we lived in California and all the traveling we did around the state, we never went as far north as Eureka. The route there takes drivers by Confusion Hill, a fantastically kitschy roadside attraction on Redwood Highway 101 that is impossible to pass without stopping (well, my husband might not have stopped, but then he didn't really get South of the Border so what does he know?). The main thing to do at Confusion Hill is walk through the maze that has you feeling like you're always on an angle and will fall over. It's crazy hilarious, and then you can buy stickers with a big question mark that say 'Seeing is Believing' and Big Foot tokens, for some reason I can't fathom. There are all kinds of wild carvings and oddities to ponder, as you can see from the photos below. <br />
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Eureka is in a great location for seeing coastal redwood trees, and it is in a nice geographic setting, and the downtown area is historic with old buildings from the 1800s, many of which are being restored. But it is also odd in that there is a considerable homeless population, and the town's most famous and beautiful architectural gem, the Carson Mansion (photo below), is a private men's club and closed to the general public. A missed opportunity, I say. <br />
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The <a href="http://www.eurekainn.com/">Eureka Inn,</a> on the National Register of Historic Places, was fully booked for a wedding, so we rented the nice Uptown Flat from <a href="http://www.redwoodcoastvacationrentals.com/">Redwood Coast Vacation Rentals</a> and it was within walking distance to everything in the historic downtown. (Redwood Coast also rents a pretty house directly across the street from the Carson Mansion, which would be nice to have as your view during a stay here.) We had a lunch at Ramone's Cafe on E Street, a breakfast at Los Bagels, a dinner at <a href="http://www.brickandfirebistro.com/">Brick & Fire Bistro</a>, and we bought several bottles at The Wine Spot (234 F Street). As it was foggy most of the time we were there, we drove inland to sunny Ferndale, a cute village founded in 1852 by dairymen and ranchers from a number of different countries. For a small place, it has a lively center with restaurants, antique shops, galleries, a playhouse, a museum, and colorful and well maintained Victorian buildings. Most of another day was spent in Fern Canyon at <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=415">Prairie Creek State Park</a> - really nice!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVlHgQW3QggX-HhgE_eLJ6fsWjLnkX3fEZFwz_HDfMJf4S09Dqhn4mir9151x6ZPzCyi-5ybSmm2Q-vXfHnR1rOzxFsSKqGxPPkebXN6fkPc6aUo3GQfVhfGLS0sBIHmhUH0X4Yteqk8/s1600/2016-08-14+11.49.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-tQBAY2CUvhbXPmPRnsBDEp5iFrqpwtm691SC9sHKDwIKS8vx8zHsS_gzOl9EYQ4jAAx5GATLAHUVFTF8K0JjcN_5IdvovtC6DdnRhrd_VgcybULmLa2Rwh1ark2_Spy1biB4ORlX4I/s1600/2016-08-14+11.49.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-tQBAY2CUvhbXPmPRnsBDEp5iFrqpwtm691SC9sHKDwIKS8vx8zHsS_gzOl9EYQ4jAAx5GATLAHUVFTF8K0JjcN_5IdvovtC6DdnRhrd_VgcybULmLa2Rwh1ark2_Spy1biB4ORlX4I/s320/2016-08-14+11.49.29.jpg" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVlHgQW3QggX-HhgE_eLJ6fsWjLnkX3fEZFwz_HDfMJf4S09Dqhn4mir9151x6ZPzCyi-5ybSmm2Q-vXfHnR1rOzxFsSKqGxPPkebXN6fkPc6aUo3GQfVhfGLS0sBIHmhUH0X4Yteqk8/s320/2016-08-14+11.49.36.jpg" width="240" /><br />
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We also went to Arcata for the Saturday farmer's market, where my sister knows several of the vendors. <a href="http://www.briobaking.com/">Cafe Brio</a>, on G Street just off the Arcata Plaza where the market is held, turns out quite delicious baked goods and good coffees. It's open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if I lived in Arcata I would come here every day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR2RJB7_n7qhfq6tRhPDOdWfJamzxPW9VpDswIxvFUYdlrF4NL64u7yvzZfk8TrIMn8MxyMKvRCtZKolZq63WwHTavDGv8opa4ADhoMLOFAB6eHVGW655PfpwAeRtCdopA5ncwAIbvsA/s1600/2016-08-13+11.07.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR2RJB7_n7qhfq6tRhPDOdWfJamzxPW9VpDswIxvFUYdlrF4NL64u7yvzZfk8TrIMn8MxyMKvRCtZKolZq63WwHTavDGv8opa4ADhoMLOFAB6eHVGW655PfpwAeRtCdopA5ncwAIbvsA/s320/2016-08-13+11.07.17.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
It was our good fortune that our visit coincided with the annual Lantern Floating Ceremony, held at Klopp Lake in the Arcata Marsh. The ceremony was founded 35 years ago by Arcata's Nuclear Free Zone Committee to commemorate the loss of life after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. In Japan, the ceremony is many centuries old (though there has been a specific commemoration in Hiroshima since the war) and it honors friends and family members who have passed away. Arcata's ceremony embraces this general meaning and it's also an occasion for the community to rededicate itself to the cause of peace. <br />
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Arts and crafts materials are provided at the farmer's market for anyone who wants to decorate a lantern, and the lanterns are brought to the lake for the ceremony that evening. A battery operated candle is placed inside each paper lantern, and the lanterns are gently placed in the water all at once<br />
at dusk. It is a magical, wonderful, and moving spectacle.<br />
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<br />Barrie Kerperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05026134801034765033noreply@blogger.com5