Sicily often conjures up images of beaches and suntans, but once had a great reputation for ice.

Gathering snow and compacting it into ice has been done for centuries, and Sicily’s high mountains provided ice not only for its hot coastal cities, but was shipped as far as Tunisia and Malta. 

On the flat top of Monte Lauro, an extinct volcano nearly a 1000 meters high in the Monti Iblei, there are 25 neviere - snow huts – that stand in testament to the once-thriving ice industry, when gathering snow to make ice was big business.  From the 15th to the 19th century these neviere supplied ice to Buccheri and other neighboring towns, as well as half the ice for the entire city of Syracuse.

The neviere were built in a few different shapes, with the majority of the structure being beneath the earth.  The most common shape is the “cupola”, built as a deep stone cylinder underground, topped with a visible cupola. Snow was gathered within a limited area called a “zàccanu” (most often owned by a noble family and occasionally, the church), which was enclosed by a low stone wall. When it snowed, a bell would be rung in the town, and anyone willing to work for a few cents would gather in the cold night to roll the snow towards the neviera, then pack it into 100 kilo layers that were separated by straw, which served as both insulation and to mark a section that would be later cut as ice in the summer months. 

Used for protecting food from spoilage as well as making cooling sorbets with lemon and salt in the hot summer, the ice was also used as a medicinal remedy for a high fever, when doctors would prescribe “la cura di lu friddu”, the cold cure, which involved packing the patient in ice – survivors definitely had no fever.

While no longer in use, the fine craftsmanship of the neviere is lovely to behold.  I love to see them in winter when the skies are clearest and the snow-capped Mt. Etna volcano appears as a backdrop – a stunning sight!  You may have to clamber over a few barbed wire fences and dodge some feisty cows, but the neviere of Monte Lauro are worth a visit.  When feasible, I take visitors to this area, particularly on a walking tour in eastern Sicily.

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Preserve Capers in Salt

Mysterious Muragghi

Order Coffee Like an Italian

The opening of the Cacioteca Regionale di Sicilia – the Sicilian Regional Cheese Consortium – is being celebrated during Cheese Art 2012, which includes two days of Tasting Workshops with traditional cheeses from around the world.

The Consortium works towards elevating the production of historic traditional cheeses to the status of “works of art.”  The idea is that great cheeses should be considered among Italy’s important cultural assets, holding a place beside the many works of art for which the country is famous.

During Cheese Art 2012, cheese tastings will be available with various cheese boards paired with locally sourced cured meats (priced at 14-20 euro) or you can join in the Tasting Workshops on January 28 & 29, when traditional cheeses from around the world will be paired with Sicilian wines from Cerasuolo di Vittoria and Planeta, or beers from the Baladin microbrewery of Piedmont.  Cheesemaking demonstrations will take place during the course of the event – we know this is great fun, as we include it on our Eastern Sicily walking tour.

Here are the cheese tasting menus  in Italian, or check out the listing at the end for the 2012 Cheese Art Tasting Workshops and where they are.

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Cheese Art 2012 – Cheese Tasting Workshops

Saturday January 28:

13.30 – 15.00 “Drowned in Beer”

• Robiola di Roccaverano, aged goat cheese in cherry leaves (Piedmont)
• Frumage Baladin (Piedmont)
• Piacentinu Ennese DOP, sheeps milk with saffron (Sicily)
• Perdido Cheese (Usa
• Vezzena di malga (Trentino Alto Adige)
• Castelmagno d’alpeggio (Piedmont)
• Roquefort (France)

Paired with artisanal beers from Baladin
Cost  €24,00

19.30 -21.00 “European Breeds”

• Camembert (France)
• Queso de la Tetilla (Spain
• Provola dei Nebrodi (Sicily)
• Aged Pecorino di Farindola (Abruzzo)
• Salers (France)
• Goat Cheddar Quickes (England)
• Erborinato sheep cheese, alpi cozie (Piedmont)

Paired with Planeta wines

Sunday January 29:
11.30 – 13.30 “Brunch Cheeselandia”
 Brunch prepared by Accursio Craparo (chef of 1-star Michelin restaurant La Gazza Ladra  in Modica) and Corrado Assenza, the pastry chef of Caffè Sicilia in Noto, and will end with this cheese board:
 

• Mozzarella di bufala (Sicily)
• Organic Robiola from “happy goats”(Veneto)
• Ragusano DOP, aged and semi-aged (Sicily
• Beaufort (Francia)
• Red Cheddar (England)
• Stilton (England)
  Paired with wines from Planeta, and the Consortium of  Cerasuolo di Vittoria  as well as artisan beers from microbrewery Baladin
  Cost  €35,00

19.30 – 21.00 “European Pastures”

• St. Nectaire (France)
• Manchego (Spain)
• Raschera DOP d’Alpeggio (Piedmont)
• Tuma persa (Sicily)
• Monte Veronese d’allevo DOP di malga (Veneto)
• Blue deTermignon (France)
• Blu capriziola, goat cheese (Lombardy)
  Paired with Sicilian wines from the Consortium Cerasuolo di Vittoria
  Cost €24,00

Details:
To reserve in advance, fill in the online form  or phone:
Tel. +39.0932.660.427

Located at km 5 on the SP 25, the main road from Ragusa to Marina di Ragusa.
E-mail: info@corfilac.it

Two new fixed price lunch menus are now available at Ragusa’s Il Duomo, the first restaurant in Sicily to be awarded two Michelin stars.  Discerning diners can taste the creations of chef Ciccio Sultano by choosing from a 45 euro menu and a 59 euro menu, both of which offer 3-courses featuring an antipasto, main course and dessert, along with several “mini-courses” that allow the diner to get an excellent sampling of  the restaurant’s cuisine. 

The 59-euro menu is truly all-inclusive, as wines are paired with the meal – all you have to do is sit down and eat…and drink.  There are no other charges, a welcome treat in these economic times.

As with all of Sultano’s cooking, the fixed-price menus adhere to using locally-sourced ingredients, a trait I have always liked about Il Duomo.  Certainly there are advantages to being located in Sicily, where there is an enormous variety of fruits and vegetables, artisan cheeses and superb olive oil, as well as exquisitely fresh fish and traditionally farmed meats, whereas a Michelin restaurant in the Dolomites does not have such a food bounty close at hand. 

Once you’ve gotten hooked on Il Duomo’s fixed price lunches, you might take the plunge and splurge at dinner, with the 150 euro fixed price “Sequilla” menu with wine (that I thoroughly  enjoyed with a group of travelers last spring) or celebrate the holidays with a new 12-course festa menu at 170 euro with wines included.   Once again, there are no other charges.   Except for the taxi, when you can’t manage to stagger back to your hotel on foot.

Il Duomo is located in the center of Ragusa Ibla, right near – you guessed it – the Duomo!  It is closed at lunch on Monday, and all day Sunday. You can make reservations through their website.

View our Trip that Dines at Il Duomo

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Italian Connection walking tours and Ciclismo Classico bicycling vacations have joined forces to offer you two idyllic ways to travel through Sicily, while enjoying a discount of $100 per person.

Walking in Sicily:
The Splendors of Sicily walking tour Oct 24-30, 2011 explores the beautiful countryside and coastal pathways in eastern Sicily, and includes guided visits to archeological sites and a private Sicilian puppet show. Join Italian Connection’s founder Anita Iaconangelo as she gives you an insider tour in the area she calls home, and see for yourself why this tour won National Geographic Traveler’s award of “50 Tours of a Lifetime”.  

Space is limited to just 2 more travelers, so book today to receive your $100 per person discount.

Call 1-800-462-7911
E-mail: info@italian-connection.com

Visit the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour

Cycling in Sicily:
If you prefer to tour Sicily by bike, we highly recommend our friends at Ciclismo Classico, the experts at bicycling vacations.  Cycle through eastern Sicily as well as the lovely Aeolian islands on their La Bella Sicilia Est  bicycling tour Sept 27-Oct 5 or Oct 22-30, 2011.  Enjoy turquoise seas and the Mt. Etna volcano on this fabulous tour. Space is limited so book today!

Call: 1-800-866-7314
info@ciclismoclassico.com
Mention code ICsicily to receive a discount of $100 per person.

(Discounts cannot be combined with other offers and are not retroactive.  Offer is valid for a limited number of participants on a first come first served basis.)

Read more about Sicily:

Best Hotel Breakfast in Sicily

History of a Sicilian Biscuit

Images from Splendors of Sicily walking tour

It’s hot. Not just any hot, but Sicilian hot. Which is why we are out at 8.00 am, before the heat forces us to stay locked indoors until sunset. It’s time to pick capers.

Caper plants thrive in stone walls and rocky crevices, and disdain rich earth – in fact the few that I have managed to grow in a pot are decidely puny, while a cliff of limestone sends the capers into a fit of ecstatic growth.

And then there are the flowers. Exquisitely delicate, they last no more than 24 hours, leaving behind a stem with a tiny seed pod that will grow into a caper fruit, called cucunci in Sicily.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself. The capers are the buds of the flowers before they open. In Sicily, they are traditionally preserved in salt, which is easy to do at home.

Start by picking as many as you want, choosing the tight healthy buds – leave the large ones that are ready to open into flower so at least someone else may admire it in the next 24 hours.

We like to combine a lovely walk with caper picking in the canyon of Misericordia near Ragusa, where sprawling caper plants drape the limestone cliffs, and we are far from any kind of pollution. A 15-minute downhill walk brings us to a narrow trail that hugs the cliffside, and capers grow in profusion As birds sing we rustle through the caper leaves, the scent of wild mint in the air. The tiny buds break off easily in our hands, and we quickly filling a small bag.

Before trekking back to the car, we stop to cool our feet in a clear stream, and Emanuele flicks tadpoles with his toes. The sun is hot on our backs as we continue our walk which has clearly become a trudge, and we realize that we should have started at dawn. At least we had the good sense to park in the shade. A short drive with the A/C blasting and we are back in the kitchen with our caper stash.

Once they have been cured in salt, capers can be used in many recipes, such as this pasta dish. Here is how to preserve capers in salt so they end up looking like this:

Recipe type: Breakfast
Author: Anita Iaconangelo
Prep time: 5 mins 
Cook time: 1 week
Total time: 1 week
Serves: As desired

Ingredients:
Capers
Sea salt

Instructions:

1. Go through the capers carefully, picking off any extra-long stems and stray ants (particularly important if you are vegetarian).
2. Rinse them in a colander, and pat dry on a dish towel.
3. Place the capers in a jar, layering them with fine sea salt.
4. (If you have a lot of capers, it’s better to use 2 small jars than one large one.)
5. Cover the jar with its lid and shake it to make sure the salt is well distributed.
6. Remove the lid and cover the jar with a single layer of a paper napkin or tight netting, and close with an elastic band.
7. Leave it in a place where it will get some airflow, but not in direct sunlight – a breezy countertop is good.
8. Every day, drain off any liquid that forms, and add another spoonful of salt.
9. After about a week, or when the capers stop giving off liquid, transfer to a clean jar/storage container and cover with a lid.
10. The capers can be kept on a shelf for up to one year.

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Easy Pasta Recipe with Capers

Festival of San Sebastiano in Sicily

There are many patron saint festivals in Italy, but few can top the festival of San Sebastiano – St. Sebastian – in Sicily. 

San Sebastiano is most often depicted as a young martyr tied to a post, wearing only a loincloth, and bearing a strangely serene expression for someone who is stuck through with arrows.  Shooting him with arrows was actually the first attempt at killing him for his Christian beliefs, and after being nursed back to health, he went off to harangue the Roman emperor Diocletian for persecuting Christians, and was promptly clubbed to death.  So, a serene but belligerent martyr he was.

San Sebastiano is the patron saint of the Sicilian town of Palazzolo Acreide, about a 40 minute drive from where I  live in eastern Sicily.  I had heard much about this festival and finally the timing was right, so off I went with Emanuele & friends in tow.

The two most intriguing things about this festival are the “sciuta”, Sicilian for the “exit” or when the San Sebastiano statue on a gilded cart exits the church, carried on the shoulders of an army of men dressed in white and red.  I was told that there was much fanfare and it was “molto, molto bello.”   I’m used to the Sicilian’s fondness for exaggeration, and figured it would be similar to many festivals I had already seen.  Boy, was I wrong.  

The second intriguing thing, that borders on the bizarre, is that little babies, who are often stripped naked – apparently this is to echo the nudity of San Sebastiano – are offered up to the saint’s statue as a kind of blessing to protect them.  The babies might wear a necklace bearing banknotes that are pinned to the outside of the cart, but donations of coins are also accepted. 

Join in the celebrations as these pictures depict how the festival of San Sebastiano unfolds.

When first arriving in town, we are met with a line of bancarelle, stands selling an assortment of stuff, from straw hats to ward off the hot sun to cheap plastic toys made in China to entice the hoards of children into pestering their parents.  Sales are slow.

But we are looking for tradition and folklore, and soon we find it outside the church steps.  There is a cart selling cuddure, ring-shaped breads that celebrate the wheat harvest in August.  Bakeries donate these breads to the festival, and the money from purchases goes to finance the celebrations. 

Soon a band starts playing and a parade starts, and the festive atmosphere heats up. 

Finally a few loud firecrackers announce that the sciuta is happening soon, and everyone squeezes into the piazza in front of the church.  The sun is fierce and tensions are high – I argue with a tall guy who pushes in front of me, and he agrees to squat so that I can see over his head.  And then the sciuta begins.

The first moments of the sciuta are electrifying.  Some of the men who will help to carry the statue call out with arms raised exhorting San Sebastiano to come out of the church.  Just as the cart reaches the doorway a series loud explosions are accompanied by violent sprays of ‘nzareddi, colored paper ribbons.

The continued explosions are deafening and the church is obscured in a swirl of colors and smoke, while people shout and raise their fists in the air.  I’m in the midst of a psychedelic bombardment, and as the crowd surges forward, I lose Emanuele in a whirl of colors. My heart is pounding,  my hands are shaking and it’s hard to keep the camera still. 

 Finally the colors part, the smoke clears and we can see the cart of San Sebastiano!

I follow the cart as it is carried through the town, and babies are held up to receive the blessings of San Sebastiano, who becomes their protector.  Sometimes the babies are stripped naked, mimicking the nudity of the saint.  As they are lifted up to the heavens, the crowd rejoices, Viva San Sebastiano!  I’m swept up in the soaring energy.

Not all the babies are as thrilled as the spectators.   I almost feel like crying, too.

As the statue of San Sebastiano heads down a side street, the piazza is suddenly overrrun with children frolicking in the ribbons of paper, while a priest and other devotees walk solemnly through the riot of colors.  A few diligent workers are busily dumping buckets of water on little fires that have sprung up in the paper ribbons. 

All in all it was one of the most emotional patron saint celebrations I’ve witnessed in Italy, an exuberant but exhausting experience.

I find Emanuele & friends, and babbling excitedly like children, we head off to lunch.

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The festival of San Sebastiano takes place on August 10 in Palazzolo Acreide in eastern Sicily. but other festivities go on for a week.  Check the website for a calendar of events.

When we say “splendors”, we’re not kidding – here are some splendiferous moments from our Splendors of Sicily walking tour:

The protected coastal park of Vendicari is a magical place for walking and birdwatching - here are flamingoes and cormorants from our walking tour in Sicily.

The Mt Etna volcano serves as a backdrop to the ancient Greek theatre in Taormina. Photo by fellow walker Marc Destito

Picking fresh oranges in Sicily

The olive harvest takes place in Sicily in October and November, when you can taste freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil.

The Baroque cathedral in Noto built of golden stone is a delightful stop on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour

The coastal park of Vendicari on our walking route in Sicily includes a tour of the old tuna fishing port and Roman ruins.

The beautiful wild canyons of Ragusa are the perfect venue for a walk near the home of Anita, Italian Connection's founder.

Fellow walker Shirley enjoys spring wildflowers at the Greek ruins of Castello Eurialo near Syracuse

A visit to the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour

A detail from the Roman mosaics at the Villa del Tellaro in Sicily

Taste genuine fresh ricotta made in a traditional cavagna near Ragusa.

Want to know more about Sicily? Read:

The History of a Biscuit

 

Favorite Hotel Breakfasts

 

Stolen Goddess of Morgantina

When traveling through Puglia, the “heel of the boot” of Italy, food is everywhere.  Beneath majestic olive trees, there are fields of red earth planted with vegetables, and the night air smells like celery.  Long expanses of wheat fields produce the local flour used in excellent crusty bread, and then there are the raucous fish markets, teeming with wriggling sea creatures.  And we haven’t begun to get to the exquisitely creamy burrata cheese, the oh-so-sweet tomatoes, or the heady Primitivo wine, thus named because it describes your ability to make a sentence after a few glasses. 

On one occasion, while traveling through Puglia with friends, we stopped in a bar in Martina Franca to have an aperitivo, and the waiter asked if we wanted stuzzichini - appetizer snacks – with our drinks.  When we said yes, out came bowls of soft bocconcini of mozzarella, plump green olives, oven-baked black olives flecked with hot pepper, bits of salami, tiny one-bite pizzette, pickled lampascioni, sun-dried tomatoes, and crunchy taralli, spiced with fennel seeds and black pepper. 

In other words, a meal for most people. When we commented to the waiter about how this could suffice as dinner, he laughed and said, “Only if you aren’t pugliese.”  And so, wanting to fit in with the locals, we headed off to dinner.  We found more taralli in the breadbasket at dinner, and they became our addiction during the trip. 

Learning to make taralli will just be one of the many things we’ll be doing on our Pleasures of Puglia culinary tour, but since that is months away, I decided to make a batch at home.  You’ll find my complete taralli recipe at the end of this post, but here are the basics:

Taralli are quite simple to make, with an unleavened dough of flour, salt, extra-virgin olive oil, and white wine.  You can leave the dough plain or spice it with fennel seeds or cracked black pepper.

Take walnut-sized pieces of dough and shape into thin ropes about 5 inches (10 cm) long, then bring the ends together to form a ring.  It’s okay if they look like a teardrop.

Next, the rings are briefly cooked in a pot of boiling water until they float to the surface, then removed with a slotted spoon and left to cool and dry on a clean cloth. 

Place the taralli on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until the taralli are golden brown.  Cool on a rack and serve with an aperitivo – drink the rest of that white wine you used to make the dough – or fill a breadbasket and serve at dinner.

Read more about what we’ll be doing on our Pleasures of Puglia tour.

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In a country known for its cultural treasures, the medieval town of Pietrasanta – known as the “City of Artists” —has deep roots in Italy’s legacy of art and sculpture.

Located near the Italian Riviera in northern Tuscany, this little town has been a hot spot for artists and sculptors since the 15th century, when Pope Leo X ordered Michelangelo to construct a road from the coast below Pietrasanta to Monte Altissima, an otherwise inaccessible peak known to contain rich deposits of pure white statuary marble.  Cutting and then transporting the stone from the wilderness back to the coast proved too difficult a task to perform very often, so only the Michelangelo’s Moses and the unfinished Slaves were carved from  this marble. 

But from here, Pietrasanta’s reputation as an international center for art and sculpture was set in stone, and today artists from around the world come to use the local marble studios and bronze foundries, and to benefit from the knowledge of master artisans.  And not only are these artisans highly skilled at carving stone, they also sport nifty paper hats handmade out of newspaper. 

Staying in Pietrasanta is an interesting experience, where you may run into Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero, who has made Pietrasanta his home for part of the year; one of his bronze scuptures graces the entranceway to the town.  Quirky restaurants, unusual shops, and art galleries abound, so there is always something to do.   

Worth a visit is the Museo dei Bozzetti which has hundreds of sculpture models by over 300 Italian and foreign artists.  It also offers guided tours explaining the many “meanings” of the museum—that is, the history of local sculpture, what a model is, the contemporary artistic background and the work of the craftsmen, who are the real force behind today’s artists.  You might be surprised to learn that few contemporary artists produce their own designs in stone—visit a sculpture studio and you’ll find hardworking artisans working on stone sculptures that are destined for public gardens or private villas around the world. 

On our walking tours in Italy that touch upon Pietrasanta, I always include a visit to a sculpture studio or a bronze foundry to see the fascinating process firsthand.   I love staying at the luxurious Albergo Pietrasanta, a boutique hotel housed in a palazzo in the center of town,  with a stunning modern art collection that seamlessly blends with the historic building and fine antique furniture.  This is where we stay on our Cinque Terre & Beyond walking tour, which touches upon some of the more well-known hiking trails in Liguria as well as the quiet undiscovered trails that bring you to Tuscan marble quarries or tiny seaside villages.

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The Looted Goddess of Morgantina

The 5th century BC Greek statue known as the goddess of Morgantina, was unearthed in illegal excavations in Sicily, and after being smuggled into Switzerland and eventually given “legal” status, it was purchased in 1988 by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles for $18 million.  Recognized by archeologists as having come from the ancient site of Morgantina, after a thorough investigation and long negotiations the Getty museum eventually agreed to return the disputed statue to Italy in May of 2011.  Amongst much rejoicing and fanfare, the looted goddess is now housed in the archeology museum in Aidone, a small town set on a lofty hilltop near the ancient city of Morgantina.

Sicily’s hilly terrain coupled with an antiquated road system means getting to Aidone and Morgantina is a long trek from just about anywhere, but one fine June day we decided to see what all the fuss was about.   Much of our route from Modica to Aidone was on winding back roads with little traffic, and also without much in the way of road signs, but we managed to find the town with only a couple of U-turns. 

Before arriving at the museum, we noted an information point with a couple of tour buses, and stopped for further info. A friendly man gave us a map of the town, and with obvious pride, pointed out the route to the archeology museum, and also suggested we visit a church and the belvedere with a splendid view. 

We are instructed to leave our car and continue on foot, but Emanuele, ever the hardheaded Italian, insists on driving, and after getting lost, we soon end up on a steep narrow street barely wide enough for our compact car.  After wedging the car into a stairwell, we clamber out and hurry to rush past the tour group arriving on foot.  Inside the splendid statue is a bit of a surprise.

At 2.20 meters tall (7 ½  ft) this a big goddess, with massive thighs outlined beneath her flowing gown, and I am at first a bit disappointed as she seems to lack a certain elegance. It’s as if the size of the room does not quite do justice to this amazing figure – she needs more space. But the more I gaze upon her, walking around to get a good look from all sides, I begin to sense her power and feel that she just might burst through her gown, crushing the onlookers in one triumphant step.

The Goddess of Morgantina (often erroneously referred to as Venus) is most likely a figure of Persephone and is carved using the acrolithic technique in which a different material is use for the body and the extremities. In this case the body is carved from a limestone from Ragusa, while the head and extremities are carved from Greek marble. Traces of color suggest that the gown was once painted. Archeologists date it from 400-425 BC, and a likeness of the statue has been found on ancient coins from Morgantina. It is surmised that the statue stood on a pedestal in the center of the city. 

Locals hope that the return of the Goddess of Morgantina will help the economically depressed town of Aidone, and I hope that they are right.

The Aidone Archeological Museum is open everyday from 9.00 am to 7.00 Pm.  Tickets are 6 euro, children and students 3 euro. It is recommended that you arrive early so as to allow time to also visit the nearby archeological site of Morgantina, and the Roman Villa Casale at Piazza Armerina (under restoration, but parts of the magnificent mosaics are open to the public. )

Join us on October 31 as we explore these sites together, as an add-on to our Splendors of Sicily walking tour, Oct 24-30, 2011.  Only a few spaces available – see our contact info below

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