The traveler who wants to head to the South Western coast of Sicily would drive the motorway which cuts through the island, Catania-Palermo, A 19. However, if one wants to enjoy the drive along part of the southern coast on the western side, then one would not follow the motorway all the way. The choice made was the second one. At 11 am I set out from Catania and took A 19 towards Enna. The drive along the initial part of A 19 runs along an area which is rather rugged, dry, and hilly. It has its own beauty and sense of wildness.
Arriving at Enna, town I visited years ago with my German friend, Brigitte, who called it the belly button of Sicily, I proceeded to take a highway heading to the southern shore. As I headed south on SS 640, the scenery changed. The landscape became plush and green. As Canicatti’ approached, the hills all around were plastered with vineyards! No music, no talking, just taking in the beuaty of nature along the ride! However, road construction is an ongoing matter in the area and the detour from the planned path arrived, ten kilometers before Agrigento.
Agrigento has a horrific backdrop nowadays, of a conglomerate of high concrete buildings, but the better landscape it is well known for is the Valley of the Temples. Down the valley from today’s modern city lie a group of Greek temples. Visiting the temples is not on the plan this time, but I have visited them many times in the past. The peace of the area, the beauty of the landscape make this a stop any traveler must make.
Immediately after Agrigento, I drove through Porto Empedocle. The town was asleep, as it was siesta time. I drove past the Moncada facility, which I have heard a lot about, as Moncada is carrying out one of the large projects on solar energy on the island. Next, I resumed the drive along the southern coast towards Marsala. Time after time, little towns perched up on a hill would appear along the way. Siculiana was one that caught my attention as its color seemed golden from the distance. Another town enjoying a gorgeous vegetation of palm trees, a variety of trees, vineyards and orchards was Eraclea Minoa, right on the coast, At this point, what added to the beauty of the landscape was the fact that the vineyards were just covering the land all the way up to the coastline, and the sea right next to them was an emerald green!!!
After a little detour inland for what was supposed to be the final leg along the coast, detour caused by my following a sign to Marsala, but not realiziing it would not lead me to the highway, but rather to unkept country roads, I arrived at my destination. It is a campground on the waterfront, right across from the tiny island of Mozia. Looking at the map of Sicily it is just north of Marsala. The family running this facility is very welcoming and just what I needed after a long ride, approximately 250 miles. We ate together, spoke for hours and this morning I will set out exploring the area. As one can see from the pictures below, salt production is carried out in this area, so besides visiting vineyards there will be excursions to the salt deposits.
Thanks to my friend, Rosa d’Agostino, whose knowledge of wines is the result of her acquiring three levels of Sommelier training and certification , I was able to attend a winetasting within the 2011 ViniMilo events. The setting was the mountain town of Milo and the winetasting took place in a large conference room. Two local wine experts were leading the winetasting, Mr. Camillo Privitera and Mr. Orazio di Maria.
It was very interesting to learn about the Sicilian wines, specifically the Mt. Etna wines, Etna Rosso. Etna Rosso DOC is a wine which contains 80% Nerello Mascalese, which is a grape grown in this area. In the past, Sicilian wines were used for blending as their alcohol content was approximately 13%. As the wine experts explained, there has been no culture of wine aging in this region. However, they stated that a territory is characterized by making quality wine over time. Therefore, a new practice is taking place and it is to try and age the wines of this region. At this event, there were a couple of wines which had aged 11-16 years and these are quite rare and hard to find. To support their view of the importance of aging wines, they mentioned the Brunello wine, which reaches its best stage when it is 10-15 years old. Consequently, the wine experts emphasized the importance of starting to have wines which have been aged.
Seventy winemakers constitute the Etna consortium. They represent the regions of North, South and East Etna. The year 2000 was a good year for Etna wines. Following are the wines we tasted:
1. Outis 2000 by Biondi , which had an orangelike color, flowery composition and a delicate bouquet.
2. Orpheus 2000 by Scirio – ageed in aok barrels for 10-12 months.
3. ValCerosa by Bonaccorsi both from the years 1999 and 2000; I preferred the 1999.
4. Rovvittello by Benanti, 1996. It had a flavor of aromatic herbs and was my favorite!
5. Sciara, a full bodied wine.
Finally, we tasted a Cabernet/Sauvignon by the Tenuta San Michele which was the first local winemaker to produce Cabernet/Sauvignon. I actually visited this vineyard last summer and its view of the eastern coast of Sicily is breathtaking.
After the winetasting, I spoke to Mr. Camillo Privitera, President of the Sicilian branch of the Italian Sommeliers Association and learned that, this fall, the Sicilian association will have a booth at Eataly in New York, for one month. I plan to inquire exactly when they will be in NY city and will post the dates on a future blog.
After the winetasting, we went to a restaurant in Riposto, on the sea, and enjoyed a seafood dinner. Life is certainly tough over here!!!!!
Have you ever run your fingers through your hair and found black sand on your scalp? Have you run your fingers over your neck and found the same? Well, if you were here right now, you would know what I am talking about. This morning, the area I live in at the foot of Mt. Etna has experienced a volcanic ash rainfall. It all developed in just a few minutes. At first, the volcanic ash clouds appeared in the sky; next, we started feeling the ash coming down and then it started arriving in such an amount that you could hear its sound. It sounded like wet snow hitting the ground and the sound of the cars driving on it is indeed very similar to the sound of a car driving on a wet road. The sky got darker for a while and now the precipitation has stopped. Below is a picture taken of the tiles on my balcony. Time to go take another shower!
In preparation for the Motoraduno d’Epoca, Motorcycle rally of antique motorcycles to be held over the weekend, I visited the town of Milo the night before the rally. My guide was a friend’s son, Stefano, who together with my nephews escorted me through the town of Milo. He led me to the local police chief, Commander Patane’, who kindly explained the events to follow in the days to come.
This quaint town perched up on Mount Etna, at approximately 750 meters, is part of the Parco dell’Etna, a regional park established in 1981 to protect the natural habitat. Milo is famous for its wine festival and tastings being held during the two weeks at end of August and beginning of September. In the next few weeks I will attend one of the wine tasting events.
Walking through this town at night one can enjoy the beautiful balconies lit and decorated with an array of window boxes as this town takes pride in the decorations of its buildings. As Stefano explained, the town’s mayor leads a contest to recognize the most beautiful flowers ornating the balconies.
The town was alive with people walking, talking and enjoying the cool summer breeze and the soccer field was lit up for a friendly evening match.
Food is certainly not just for nourishment in the Sicilian culture, but truly a work of art; chefs place their heart in the task and there is a desire to always improve upon one’s masterpieces. A testimonial to such a philosophy came when I recently enjoyed an evening at Donna Carmela’s in Carrubba, Sicily. The setting was an upscale rural tourism refurbished in the old Sicilian style; the owners run a very large nursery which extends over an area of Sicily and northern Africa and the grounds of the facility in Carrubba are adorned by exotic plants. As one enters the grounds, large palm trees illuminated by flood lights below are to be found along a green plush lawn. The table for our group was set upstairs on a terrace overlooking the coastline below. Describing in words the exquisite meal could never do justice to the chefs’ creations and the whole ambience which made the experience unique. I shall briefly introduce some of the courses and leave the reader to just view some pictures taken that night. Highlights of the meal included fried sage leaves as one of the hors d’ouvres, eggplant parmesan revisited and served in a small glass, homemade pasta in a swordfish sauce with crushed pistacchio. The sorbet at the end was made with tangerine juice which had been squeezed previously when the tangerines were in season and the addition of “nepitella”, a Sicilian herb which grows wild in the countryside and brings the fragrance of both oregano and mint.
The wines served were a Frappetto for starter with the light hors d’ouvres and a Nerello Mascalese to accompany the main courses. With regards to the olive oil, it was the highlight of this writer’s evening. As I enjoy tasting a variety of olive oils, I enjoyed the three types of olive oil that were brought to the table and added at the time of serving the dishes. All three olive oils served were produced from the Tonda Iblea olive of the southern coast of Sicily. One picture shows one of the olive oil bottles which was a reserve olive oil produced from a small selection of olives taken from the olive harvest. Once a palate becomes accustomed to a fine olive oil, it is very difficult to live without it.
Both the company and the food were excellent I knew this meal was one to remember!
Riding a motorbike driven by Luigi, Luigi and Sara lead us from Solecaldo to Cavagrande. We parked our car and started the 45 minute hike down this gorge with so many wild herbs and fragrances. As one arrives at the bottom, there is an oasis of plush vegetation, flowers and small lakes. The swim in the lakes is energizing and everyone had a great time. Hiking back up was not as bad as one had feared and along the way up some visitors we had met at Solecaldo enlightened our ascent explaining detials about the vegetation. In the picture one can see a wild pistacchio plant encountered along the way back. Certainly an excursion one would recommend to nature lovers.
Per ritornare ad avere nuovamente Tutti la stessa lingua e le stesse parole da Art-icolare nel nostro contemporaneo colorar. Felicemente Totò (op.incompiuta)” English Translation of Artist’s words:
Solecaldo means hot sun and it is the name of the B & B where I stayedthis week with Fran and her family. The drive up to this farm perched on the top of a hill is spectacular. The winding road climbs, sorrounded by several other high hills each separated by deep canyons, and in the backdrop one can see the bright blue sea. Everything about this location is warm, the hospitality, the colors of the decorations, which display an array of bright yellows, orange, fuchsia and green.
Sara, Luigi and Toto’ manage the property and their personalities have made this place what it is. Pure magic! This is one of those instances in which pitures cannot do justice to the real thing, but one can only try.
Francesco Marcorin was one of the guests staying at the B&B farmhouse and the picture I am posting on this blog was taken by him. The picture with the two umbrellas, orange and yellow , shows one of the canvasses painted by Toto’. Throughout the property there were paintings by Toto’; the furniture had been painted by all three of them, and as were leaving we saw the needlework created by Sara and her friend which she had just inlaid into the frame of what would become the mirror of the orange room. Solecaldo is their name and the sun heating this farmhouse is only a fraction of the warmth which comes from the hospitality of its hosts!
LOVE. BEAUTY. NATURE. MUSIC. HARMONY.
Words cannot express the synergy which resulted from all the elements which composed this magical event, the ceremony as well as the reception bringing its participants to another world. Chiesa San Nicola in Trecastagni is perched upon a hill overlooking the hillside towns sprawling down the volcano’s side and leading to a breathtaking view of the Ionian Sea. Standing up there one feels on top of the world and the peace and silence just add to the majestic feeling. The music during the ceremony included Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria, which always touches my heart, Bach’s Jesus Joy of Men’s Desiring, Faure’s Sicilienne Op. 78, Mozart, and Handel.
At the reception, which took place at an old Sicilian mansion, Il Grecale in Santa Caterina, on the Ionian Coast, and not far from Catania, the guests enjoyed the garden of the old villa as well as the majestic dining room. All details were carefully planned to stay faithful to the traditions of the location and one could just imagine being taken back in time. The Sicilian delicacies added flavors which go beyond verbal description. The dinner followed Slow Food practices, which is everything that fast food is not. Slow Food is food that is good for people to eat, to grow and good to the planet. So the Slow Food dinner at the wedding had a focus on traditional Sicilian dishes, offering an array of colors, spices, and flavors. The menu written in Sicilian dialect included dishes one cannot find everyday. My favorite dish was the risotto, U Risu di Donna Franca Florio, with lobster, orange zest, and Buttarga, tuna roe from tuna caught around the island of Favignana (an island of the western coast of Sicily). All in all, a perfectly orchestrated event which gave its participants an evening of magic!
After many days of anticipation, Etna started erupting this afternoon. At 9pm, I drove up the mountain and stopped when I found a spot from which I could see the eruption and lava flow so clearly. I sat on a bench in a square and enjoyed the show. At first, the magma squirting into the air was low and the flow narrow, but after one hour the size of both had tripled!! It was spectacular to just sit there and watch. I did not have my camera, so no pictures this time.
Oasi di Vendicari
As this date brought the 11th anniversary of Charlie’s passing, and I knew I would meet the family at the beach in the afternoon, I hit the road bright and early for one of my exploring the island rides. I ended up driving for about 4 hours, but saw the most enchanting landscapes and places. Just before I started my ride, lovely Julia called to wish me a good day. I drove down south and stopped in two places, Scicli and Sampieri. Scicli is a quaint baroque town with the most beautiful buildings in the ornate style. I parked my car and enjoyed a quiet morning stroll taking in the beauty and the slow pace. However, my heart found its niche when I arrived in Sampieri, a small town onthe coast just south of Scicli. I drove to the western side of Sampieri where there were no facilities on the beach. I parked right in front of a small pier where a few fishermen’s boats were parked on the beach. As I walked towards the pier, I saw something in the air. I turned and saw a young boy, all alone, flying his kite. There were no people around as it was still very early in the morning and I just sat on the pier taking this peaceful world in!!!! The soft breeze and the sound of silence made me realize I could have sat there forever!!!! The battery in my camera was dead, so I just took pictures in my mind………….
Sicily & MORE Explored by Rosanna 