April 22, 2010 Meridiana Restaurant Savor The Food and Immerse Yourself in the Culture An Evening in this evening is presented by La Rosaworks, llc, Gianni Nicolosi and Meridiana Restaurant with sponsors Ciclismo Classico, Case Del Golfo, Colombo Marsala, Krea Publishing, New York City Sicilian Food, Wine and Travel Group, Prutch Family Imports, Tutto Sicily.com, Sikania Magazine, SoulofSiciliy.com An Evening “...aridly undulating to the horizon i nA prSilici 22, 2010 ly An evening of Sicilian Food, in hillock after hillock, Wine & Culture comfortless and irrational, featuring with no lines that the mind could grasp, P A five-course dinner with wines conceived apparently in a delerious P A tasting of new products from Tutto P A performance by recording artist Michela Musolino moment of creation; P A reading by renowned author Gioia Timpanelli P And a multimedia exhibit by Karen La Rosa a sea suddenly petrified

when a change of wind Meridiana Restaurant 2756 Broadway (106th Street) had flung the waves into a frenzy.” New York, NY 10025

From The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa April 22, 2010 1 The Intense Flavors and Fragrances of Sicily by Giovanna Bellia La Marca

ith increasingly greater reducing condiments to the foods’ own numbers of people visiting juices, and adding a savory mixture of fresh WSicily to enjoy the history of aromatic herbs chopped and mixed with the island, the ancient Greek temples, the good olive oil, salt, and sesame seeds. landscape with all its hill towns, the natural The appeal that Sicilian cooking has for beauty of the mountains, the sandy beaches, us today is that it is a simple, flavorful, and the beautiful cities, visitors rave about unpretentious cuisine dependent on the delicious food of this region of . At a uncompromisingly fresh ingredients in time of great interest in healthful, nutritious, season and at the peak of flavor. The and appealingly interesting foods, the techniques of everyday cooking are simple cooking of Sicily provides a wealth of tasty and are aimed at preserving the flavor, and wholesome recipes. Sicily is the largest texture, and the wholesomeness of the fresh island in the Mediterranean Sea, and its ingredients. The Sicilian cook’s ingenuity is cuisine is among the oldest in Europe, a fact his or her greatest asset. Many recipes and that is amply documented in the history of variations can be made from the humblest the island. vegetables, elevating them to holiday fare. Four hundred years before the birth of There are wonderful recipes that are Christ, Plato was engaged by the Tyrant made to celebrate the various holidays of of Syracuse, Sicily, as the teacher for his the year. Easter Sunday/Monday offers a son Dionisius the Younger. Plato tutored double celebration. The centerpiece of the young man for three months before the Easter Sunday menu is the traditional returning to Greece. Plato deplored the ‘mpanata ri agnieddu, a delectable lamb time and attention that was devoted to the pie that will reward the adventurous cook preparation and consumption of food in who is willing to try it. This lamb pie is Sicily, and he was distressed by the Sicilian’s made with a bread crust that encloses well- love for food. He was convinced that in seasoned lamb stewing meat, bones and all. the midst of such decadence and self- The meat juices soak into the bottom crust indulgence, the youth would surely come as the pie slowly cools, making it a very to no good. Plato must not have disliked flavorful and tasty morsel. The Easter feast desserts, because he forgave the continues on Monday, when people pack a for their sweet tooth, conceding that sweets delicious lunch and head for the country or were the great contribution of the Sicilian more commonly, to their vacation home in gastronomy to the ancient world. the countryside or at the nearest beach to Sicilians knew about “nouvelle cuisine” celebrate Pasquetta. 2,300 years ago when Archestrato, the Sicily, which in ancient Roman times was James Beard of his time, cautioned against called the “granary of the Italic peninsula,” making sauces too rich. He recommended still produces some of the best durum

2 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 3 include marzipan fruits; ricotta-filled cannoli; spectacular cakes decorated with The Soul of Sicily candied fruits; cookies filled with dried fruits, nuts, and honey; and perhaps the best known dessert, granita, a smooth refreshing By Renee Restivo fruit ice that can be made at home quite easily and with fantastic results. My grandmothers, Concettina and Milina, always said that Sicilians would eat well if they had eggs, flour, legumes, and fresh vegetables. Historically, these simple ingredients were the mainstays of Sicilian cooking. Ingredients need not be expensive, and cooking techniques needn’t be complicated in order to eat well. To raise this simple cooking to cuisine, I would add good olive oil to the list, the best cold- pressed extra-virgin olive oil you can afford to buy. I grew up watching my mother, father, and grandmothers making feasts out of the most humble and inexpensive ingredients. Sicilian dishes have great versatility, and are easy to make. Our sauces utilize flavorful and aromatic cooking juices and we don’t use stocks for our soups because we depend estivo on the fresh ingredients, a sprinkle of salt, r and a drizzle of excellent extra virgin olive oil Renee to make all the difference. veryone likes to travel. There are cooking in their blood and in their own wheat in Italy. Bread and pasta continue Excerpted from Sicilian Feasts with permission so many things to see and do and homes. Eat fabulous food and drink great to be important to the daily diet, and are of the author. Giovanna Bellia La Marca, Ethere are many ways to go. While wine. Then you will know something about of excellent quality. Rice, although not as a native of Ragusa and former teacher at some people prefer group tours, others this great island. Food is so important important a food as it is in the northern Bronx Science High School, is the author of plan for themselves; some travel for sport, in Sicily. In fact, long, long ago, Plato provinces, nevertheless appears in some Sicilian Feasts and Language and Travel others for relaxation. Sicily lends itself to all commented that the Sicilians build things as very special dishes. The most memorable Guide to Sicily. She teaches Sicilian cooking at kinds of travel. Visitors will find beautiful if they will live forever, and eat like they will for those who have traveled to Sicily the Institute of Culinary Education and gives beaches, verdant hills for biking and even a die tomorrow! How true. is Arancini, a very popular finger food. monthly tours of Arthur Avenue. Giovanna was fantastic new resort, abundant history and Come to Noto with me. I will introduce Arancini are rice balls stuffed with cheese or given a “Ragusani nel Mondo” award by her architecture. Personally, I believe that if you you to some of the people who care deeply meat, covered with bread crumbs, and deep native city of Ragusa, Sicily, for professional want to get to know a place, you have to about food and wine and their land. These fried to a golden orange, hence the name achievements in the United States, only the meet the people. You have to eat what they are some of my friends: that means “little oranges.” second woman to be so honored. eat and understand how it arrived on your Elena is one of Sicily’s many incredible The Sicilian dessert table is a delight for plate. Visit the vineyard, the honey farm, home cooks -- baking a hundred home- the eye as well as for the palate. Beautiful the cove as it receives the day’s catch. Watch made pizzas in a wood burning oven in a and delicious desserts are known and the cheese maker. Meet the farmers and few hours is just an ordinary day for her! appreciated all over the world. They fishermen. Cook with the people who have Corrado is a historian, storyteller, singer,

4 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 5 mythology lover, father and musician PESCE SPADA AI PISTACCHI were perfect for traveling and cooking 1 large red onion among other things. He never leaves home DI BRONTE because they did not require refrigeration 1/2 cup of cured black olives without his collection of saints in his wallet Swordfish with Pistacchio from Bronte for long journeys. extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil -- there is a Saint for just about every town The secret to this recipe is that the sea salt and pepper in Sicily. 8 1/4 inch thick pieces of swordfish tomatoes must be the absolute most Mariangela is a painter who speaks about 2 cloves of garlic dolci you can find. In Sicily, these would Trim stalks and tough outer leaves from Sicily like a poet. She’s lived in the Sicilian 1/4 cup of fresh pancarre (sandwich bread) be pachino tomatoes, which are sold at fennel (save them for making vegetable countryside ever since she fell in love with parsley gourmet stores in Northern Italy for around stock). Remove top leaves and set aside it over 20 years ago. Her late husband Hans 1/2 cup pistacchi di Bronte 4 Euros per kilo. for garnish. Cut bulbs in half lengthwise was a pioneer in organic agriculture. Parmigiano 1 cup extra virgin olive oil and remove the tough core. Slice each half Pippo makes his own grappa with 1 orange (Sicilian blood orange if possible) 4 garlic cloves (chopped or minced fine) crosswise as thinly as possible, resulting in mandarino (you must try some). He makes dried oregano (from a freshly dried bunch) peperoncino rosso (Sicilian red pepper flakes) diagonal round pieces. Place in a bowl of his own wine and knows everything there is 4 fresh tomatoes 5 basil leaves ice cold water. to know about Sicilian family traditions. white wine 1 and 1/2 lbs. tomatoes Peel and section oranges. Remove pith Maria Novella is an architect who extra virgin olive oil 1 lb. spaghetti carefully from each section with a small studied in Venice but who is committed salt and pepper pecorino cheese (sheep’s milk cheese) paring knife. to remaining in Sicily. This is a difficult In a large bowl crush the tomatoes and Drain fennel and blot dry with a towel. decision for a young Italian, since there are Preparazione remove the seeds. Add the olive oil, the Slice onions paper thin, then cut slices into fewer job opportunities in the south than in chopped garlic, the hot pepper a piacere 1 1/2 inch long segments. Combine fennel the north. We cook often at her home. Ripieno (stuffing) (to your liking), and the basilico. Leave slices with orange sections and red onion Handsome Vincenzo is a vulcanologist, Chop the garlic, parsley, oregano and the mixture to rest for at least three hours. slices. geologist, nature lover, storyteller, cave pancarre together. Add the diced tomatoes, Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente, drain Place on a plate and garnish with explorer, and expert on art history and the parmigiano and the zest of the orange. it well, mix with the condimento and top chopped fennel tops and about four black architecture -- he drives a 4 x 4 in remote Squeeze the juice from the orange into the with plenty of grated pecorino. Rigatoni may olives for each individual salad. Drizzle the areas and is a map-maker. mixture, then add the extra virgin olive oil be substituted for spaghetti. best olive oil you can find on each salad. Enzo created an organic garden of Eden and white wine. Mix all of it dolcemente Squeeze additional juice from one more in Noto, built ecological guest houses, is an – carefully, so that all the ingredients are INSALATA DI FINOCCHIO, ARANCIA, blood orange on top of the salad. Add salt expert on Sicilian regional olive oil, and is mixed well. CIPOLLA E OLIVE and pepper to taste. not afraid to show a woman how to make Divide the swordfish into 8 thin slices. Salad of Wild Fennel, Blood Oranges, Red olive oil soap! Oil a baking pan and place 4 slices in the Onions and Olives Recipes TM 2010 Renée Restivo I leave you with some recipes so you can pan, salt and pepper them and then add the Please visit www.soulofsicily.com for more try to find a good piece of Sicily in your stuffing. Put the other 4 pieces of swordfish This is like eating Sicily. The Sicilian blood recipes. kitchen. Beware, though, the ingredients on top and spoon a bit more of the oranges are the key ingredient. you will find here lack the sun and soil you ripieno also on top. Sprinkle the chopped 3 blood oranges will find there. And, if you don’t believe me, pistachios generously on top and bake at 2 heads of fennel (wild fennel, if available) come see for yourself. I would be delighted 180 C for 6-7 minutes. to show you. www.soulofsicily.com PASTA ALLA CARRETTIERA Renee Restivo is a culinary and cultural Pasta from the Sicilian Cart educator committed to the traditions of Sicilian cooking. She is a behind-the-scenes consultant The name for this recipe originates from for authors, celebrity chefs, and TV programs. the time when Sicilians travelled across the She creates intimate home-cooking programs island in their famous, colourful horse- in Sicily and has served many through special drawn carriages – Sicilian carts. They always events there. kept these 5 or six ingredients in their carts along with some pasta. The ingredients

6 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 7 La Musica di Sicilia

By Michela Musolino

he taste and smell of the wines hears in any culture. Endemic to the Sicilian was one’s family. Courtship was a way for and food we are enjoying this lullaby is the sound of ‘ah-oh’ or ‘lah-oh,’ the family to remain strong in the face of Tevening evoke strong images and sometimes even ‘oh-oh’ or ‘lah-voh.’ Is this upheaval; thus, the ritual was maintained even memories of the beautiful island that a reference to the dawn – (Aurora in Latin to preserve the very fabric of civilization. A is Sicily. Chosen specifically for that reason, and Eos in Greek)? Is this a remnant of the good match meant that the family would each course and each accompanying wine time when Sicily was part of the Magna survive for another generation.

are typical of the island and originate in Grecia? Was this the sound that mothers In the tradition of courtship song, one ba no other place. Tonight, some of you will came to use to soothe their babies to sleep sees a snapshot of a different time when r

recall fondly time spent there, some will be until dawn? men and women couldn’t freely speak to Joe Za spurred to visit again or for the first time. Song would accompany the children as each other in public. Through song, they Such is the power of food and the power of they grew. There were songs for toddlers, could tell each other their hearts desires song about the horrors of pirate invasions, the senses. This evening, dedicated to Sicily, sung to them as they learned to walk. One and let each other know if they accepted it is lamented that only Mother Mary is not just about a physical experience. This such song told them that wherever they or rejected another’s advances. “E quannu could save the victims. A fable that bears a beloved island is more than just particular placed their tiny foot, a sprig of basil would s’affaccia la vurria vasari.” “When she shows resemblance to the Cinderella story revolves crops, breathtaking ruins, and pristine grow: “Unni posi lu to peduzzu nasci un pedi di herself at the window, I want to kiss her.” around a healing from Saint Anthony. naturescapes. As anyone who loves Sicily basilico.” Of course, the nursery rhymes that An offshoot of this was the canto di sdegno, “C’annuncia cumpariu Sant Antuninu/ci disse will tell you, Sicily reaches beyond the children chanted in sing-song would also or the song of scorn. Although not used for chi mi du ca ti fazzu guariri?” Compadre Saint physical to touch one’s heart and very soul. find their way into the songbook ofMusica courtship, they were a way for a scorned Anthony announced, “Tell me what you Sicily is best described, best experienced Popolare. Santa Luna is a filastrocca, nursery lover to express anger and sometimes hatred would give me if I cured you.” through her people and their history. rhyme, that is found in different versions for the one who wronged them. Love and religion weren’t the only topics One could spend endless hours pouring all over Sicily. Singers took that childrens’ “Mi cuntintavu a moreri e nun amar a tia.” “It sung. Any event in history, any conflict over their ethnology, ethnography and rhyme to the blessed moon and sang would have been better for me to die than to found its way to be expressed in song, anthropology to understand them or one variations of which many mention courtship love you!” especially the conflict between the overlords could experience their music. It has been and eventual marriage. A reference to San Sicilian music also demonstrates another and the poor. When the Palermitani arose noted that music is a faithful and eloquent Giovanni is sometimes included as he is aspect of history and humanity: once, up to overthrow the oppressing Borboni, revealer of the human heart. It has the the saint to whom young ladies would turn people openly sung about their God, their a song came about which used a donkey power to explain not only the ‘whys’ of when seeking a husband. saints, and their miracles. They sang about as a metaphor for the poor contadino, the history, but also share the most guarded Sicily is rich in its repertoire of courtship them when they worked and they sang peasant. When the donkey has suffered secrets of one’s soul. It also connects us in songs and this emphasis on courtship about them when they feasted. Mary, the abuse, he throws himself down and our humanity – quite an achievement for exposes a crucial aspect of Sicily’s history. Mother of God, was central to many of these refuses to work for his abuser. “Lu sceccu eight little notes! Courtship was an important ritual of life. chants. Although there were particular songs s’importuna, si curca in terra a dici, lu saziu La Musica Popolare di Sicilia is the story Since the dawn of history Sicily was the for each religious feast day, many songs had nun criri a lu diunu.” “The donkey threw of the people of Sicily – the story of Sicily prize sought by invading armies. In the last references to religion even though the song himself down on the ground and said itself. It is an interesting juxtaposition of a century it would be political unrest that was secular in nature. Religion was a central the man who has enough to eat doesn’t nation’s history and the personal histories created instability. Everything that seemed part in the life of Sicilians. A chant sung understand the man who is starving.” of a civilization. One could begin with the permanent could change almost instantly. to bear the backbreaking labor of harvest Musically, people hear so many influences lullabies – among the first songs anyone The only constant throughout history might be a recounting of the Passion. In a in Sicilian song. Some hear Spanish

8 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 9 Risposa la sirena The Lyrics are Poetry riposa stu carusu nta lu liettu.

La Primavera Vinni How beautiful is this little boy Spring Came (a love song) who picks rose and flowers each morning in La primavera vinni, callu si misi a fari. the garden. Vaiu circannu l’ummira Pick a bunch of flowers to give to your e nun la puozzu agghiari. priest E di luntanu vitti una galanti rrama. because he made you a Christian. Idda faciva l’ummira, May the waters rest. ed iu m’avvicinavu. May the winds rest. Doppu c’avvicinavu May the sirens rest. di addumannavi unf avuri, May this little boy rest in his bed. “Dunnamilla na pampina m’asciucu lu suduri.” idda m’arrispuniu’ cu ddi durci paroli, “Pampina un ti nni dugnu, no, ti dugnu lu ma cori!”

Spring came, it began to get hot. I went searching for shade, and I could not find it. influence, some hear Arabic influence, the truth of such desires and emotions are And from far away, I saw an elegant branch. some hear Greek. Each invader left their understood by all. At the end of physical She created shade, stamp not only on the culture, but on life, only memories remain. These memories and I approached her. the musical patrimony as well. With so captured in song reach across centuries When I drew near, I asked her for a favor, many dimensions to this music, what to bind us together transcending our “Give me a leaf to dry my sweat.” could possibly describe Sicilian music modernity, our cultural differences and She replied with some sweet words, comprehensively? What words could our varied beliefs. Sicilian music reflected “leaves I will not give you, no, possibly gather all these songs together to the cycle of life, not in real time, but in I will give you my heart.” fit them into one category? Perhaps that one humanity’s time. word is, “desire.” Each song is an expression (documented in the collection of Sicilian folk of humanity’s desire – whether it be desire Michela Mussolino is a singer who specializes songs, La Baronessa di Carini, by Anna L. to receive love, the desire to give love, the in the Roots Music of Sicily. She is known and Charetakis) desire to be free, the desire to express one’s loved on both sides of the Atlantic. Her CD faith, one’s frustrations, one’s anger, one’s Songs of Trinacria can be heard on radio Beddu Stu Carusu pain. “La vita era sempre un desiderio.” “Life stations in Europe and the U.S. Her music is Beautiful little boy (a lullaby) was always a desire (Michele Calì).” featured in the filmUn Bellissimo Ricordo. E` beddu stu carusa la mattina It is the force of desire and the force of the She recently performed at “L’Evento in Memoria ca rose e ciuri cogli. accompanying emotions that make Sicilian di Pino Veneziano” on the windy steps of the Ca rose e ciuri colgi nta jardinu. music stand apart from other traditions. It ruins at Selinunte (YouTube), a favorite evening. Cogli nna mazzu pi lu to parrinu, is this desire and these emotions that touch cca iddu ca ti fici one’s soul and connect one to others be they cca iddu ca ti fici Cristianu our present neighbors or be they a people Riposa l’aqua who lived centuries ago. The rawness and Riposa lu vientu

10 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 11 Mi Chiama Bella* Discover Sicily When you look at me, my face flushes Through Music And my heart is a storm that cannot stop raining There are many, many artists who have When you talk to me my mind becomes dim recorded traditional Sicilian music over And my blood becomes water time, too many to be included here. For You are a marvel of the sky a good beginning, here is a list of artists Nature created you like that whose music can be found easily online. The music is the individual interpretation And you call me: belle by these artists of sometimes centuries old And I want to be beautiful just for you music. And you call me: heart And I want to give you it Alfio Antico Roy Paci & Aretuska And you call me: belle Rosa Balistreri Matilde Politi And I want to be beautiful just for you Rita Botto Carmelo Salemi And you call me: love Carlo Muratori Etta Scollo And you can take it Sikilia Kaballà Vincenzo After several long vacations in Sicily, I You are for me like spring water Lautari Spampinato Roccella Valdèmone, moved to Mondello for a year in 1986. That is always clear, cool and transparent Malanova Taberna Mylaensis a story Piero paid for my Italian lessons with And as well the water flows down and meets Michela Mussolino fish. In the winter I taught English in the sea and wrote for a small local So you have to arrive at me By Theresa Maggio monthly paper. Piero and I lived 100 You are the most beautiful man yards from the sea. He fished Mondello God created you with his own hands That was how it started. Soon I Bay in his fifteen-foot wooden boat, the was hooked. The island was deadly Francesca. I traveled around Sicily and Tavola Vecchia Tavola Nuova* beautiful, very old, most powerful and took pictures. As a boat without sailors strange. I stayed away for eleven years I spent my money on film, so Piero My heart goes adrift after my first visit, but Sicily stayed bought me lunch every day at the Sometimes it rides the wave inside me. I finished college, camped Renato Bar, the hot-lunch bar closest to Sometimes it sinks and then comes up again across Canada with friends, hitchhiked the sea. One day I had a stroke of luck. the States coast to coast a couple of A procession of elderly men and As a boat without rudder times, and learned to tend bar, a good women filed by the seafront bar, their As a dog without owner traveling trade. I turned thirty in old faces with deep creases lifelong My heart goes, wandering around the world journalism school and vowed to put my works of art framed by caps and If you want, handsome boy degree to good use. kerchiefs. They were Sicilian, but they But the year after that I decided to weren’t from this seaside town. Theirs I’ll give it to you take my father to see his parents’ village. were the broad, open, country faces of But you have to not inquire after its pains Dad wanted to stop first at Mondello, farmers and their wives. Because real love doesn’t require anything a seaside town near Palermo, where “Where are they from?” I asked Piero, It wants good and offers good he had served in the U.S. Navy after as if he should know. Accepting its fate. World War Two. We liked it so much Piero shrugged. “Carrapipi”, he said, we stayed five days. Piero, the lifeguard Sicilian for Podunk. *New songs, written in traditional style from the at the tourist beach, was a fisherman the The strangers filed into a restaurant, recent CD release by Malanova, Non Iabbu rest of the year. He and I fell in love in leaving me spellbound by their faces. E Non Maravigghia short order. I went home to get my camera, then

12 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 13 waited for them in the square where After supper I stopped in the piazza but a muffled red glow pulsed over the their tour bus was parked. where everyone already knew of my crater, its inner fire reflected by low Three hours later they emerged from arrival. Three teenage boys invited me clouds. the restaurant. They had arranged to be the guest deejay at their radio Next morning the town was beautiful, for a local photographer to take their station. I sent greetings from America its stones freshly washed and silver picture, and suddenly they asked to over the airwaves, and then I played gray. A quiet parade passed below my have me in it. Twenty of the old ones Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.” One window: a man on a mule, then a goat, pressed together in front of the mermaid boy brought a silver tray of amaretto a dog, and a goose, heading in a line for fountain with me in their midst. They cordials from the cafe next door. the town watering trough. Later I met told me they were from Roccella “All over this side of the volcano, kids a young woman, a university student Valdèmone, a tiny mountain town of a in their beds are holding their radios to home for the weekend, who walked me thousand people. their ears, listening to you,” the young to the site of Roccella’s seven-hundred- “Once a year, the town pays for a station manager told me. year-old castle, its stones now scattered trip for the old people,” said a middle- I stepped outside into the drizzle. on the ground. aged woman who was shepherding the The houses in the valley were already After lunch her father drove me to see group. “Otherwise they’d never get out dark. Etna was invisible, a black Roccella’s famous almond tree. Said to of town.” She opened her map, and mountain against a black, starless sky, be one of the first to flower in Sicily, it pointed to a dot on the other side of blossoms in January. And just before Sicily, halfway between the Ionian Sea sunset a farmer and his wife brought me and ’s peak. She invited me to a dizzying brink to look down at the to visit. Before they left, I took some Alcàntara River, a silver ribbon running pictures of them. through the abyss, where lemon and In November, seven months later, I orange trees grew, with grapevines slung went unannounced to Roccella – two between them, in terraced orchards. hours on a coach to , then three On Tuesday morning Carmelo hours up switchbacks in a jitney to dropped me at the train station on his the top of a mountain where the town way to work. I had stayed three days had stood since at least the thirteenth and still had all the money I came with. century. I was the only passenger, and his hands, closed up the shop, and His mother wanted only my picture in Roccella was the last stop. It was dark walked me to the mayor’s house, where exchange for my room and board. I had when the driver cut the motor. I asked he picked up the keys to the town hall. been adopted by a town so small that him where I could find a pensione and a Perhaps I am to sleep here, I thought, most Sicilians had never heard of it, an place to eat. but instead he opened the mayor’s top isolated pocket of humanity where the “There are no hotels or restaurants in desk drawer and handed me the photo ancient custom of treating a stranger as this town,” he said. they’d saved for months. There I was, an honored guest still thrives. I had no one’s name or address in nestled in with the old ones in front of Excerpted from The Stone Boudoir with Roccella, but I had my pictures. They the mermaid, the April sun on our faces. permission of the author. were slides. I slid them one by one into Wet cobblestones glistened under the my handheld viewer and showed them street lamps as we walked to a house Theresa Maggio is the granddaughter of in the dark to the bus driver. where I would stay. There Signora Sicilian immigrants. She has worked as a “That man works right here,” he said, Lombardo sat on a wooden chair set freelance travel writer for the Daily Telegraph, and he pointed to an auto repair shop. over a charcoal brazier, peeling potatoes Financial Times and the New York Times, The mechanic knew me instantly. for stew. The coals warmed her through among others. Her first book,Mattanza , He had been one of the guides on the the wicker seat. Her son, Carmelo, was critically acclaimed. The Stone Boudoir old people’s trip, and he acted as if he a music teacher at the high school, followed, and she is presently working on a third had been expecting me. He washed showed me to my room. book about Sicily.

14 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 15 The Wine of Sicily

“No poem was ever written by a drinker of water.” horace

icily has a 4000 year old Marsala production), Malvasia, Moscato, relationship with wine and many, Verdello and Zibibbo (Passito wine) Smany vineyards. It is the second among the whites. largest wine region in Italy, accounting In spite of its long history, Sicily is still for 1/6 of all the wine making in Italy. just beginning to establish a reputation for Surprisingly to most people, it has fine wines. Maria Christina Castellucci can roughly the same wine-growing area as help you understand more: South Africa or Chile (120,000 hectares of vineyards). Until recently, most of the wine produced in Sicily was kept on the island, but wine production and sales A Glass of History have undergone a recent rebirth. There and Legend are now 23 DOCs and a sole DOCG (Cerasuolo di Vittoria). Planeta is the island’s large, modern and well-known By Maria Christina Castellucci Hera knew all about it and was mad with anymore. Zeus, beside himself with rage, producer, but there are many small jealousy. appeared to her in all his power, amid and wonderful wine producers as well. myth and religion Having decided to put a stop to the thunder and lightning, and the vision was More and more of their wines are being affair, she disguised herself as an elderly so extraordinary that the hapless princess exported to the United States, particularly he story had gone more or less neighbor, and advised Semele, who was was struck dead by it. Nero d’Avolas, made from Sicily’s most as follows: Zeus, the supreme six months pregnant, to ask her beloved to The baby in her womb would have important grape. Some of the other grapes Tsovereign of all the gods of show himself to her in his true form and met a similar sad fate if he had not you will see identified on Sicilian wine Olympus, and also an incorrigible nature, which he had so far concealed: been saved by Hermes, who, taking the labels include Frappato (Cerasuolo wine), womanizer, had fallen in love with the who could assure her that he wasn’t a embryo from inside the mother, sewed Negrello Mascalese (Faro wine), Nocera, beautiful Semele, daughter of Cadmus, king horrible monster? However, Zeus firmly it into Zeus’ thigh. From here there Perricone and Tannat among red varietals, of Thebes, and was having a secret affair refused the request, and Semele, as an emerged in due course the divine child and Cataratto, Inzolia, Grillo (all 3 used in with her. Not so secret, actually, as his wife answer, refused to grant him her favours of Dionysus. To save the latter from

16 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 17 before the first landing of the Phoenicians, nineteenth century, Sicilian wine was back in the sixteenth century B.C., by not outstandingly successful, though Mycenean sailors and settlers. production was supported by the However things went, starting from Bourbons, who were also responsible the eighth century B.C. viticulture was – among other things – for reviving very common among the Greek settlers production in the areas around Alcamo, in Sicily. Under the Romans, though Vittoria, and Castelvetrano; the only restricted to a few areas, viticulture was exception was Marsala, which was still quite important: the Malvasia of successfully exported. the , the Syracuse Pollio, The turning point came in the late the Mamertino were exported nineteenth century, thanks, we must all over the empire and appreciated say, to a piece of bad luck. In 1880- there. The decline started in the second 81, a terrible epidemic of phylloxera century A.D. Under the Byzantine decimated Sicilian vines, causing a domination, in fact, only high quality major economic disaster. But, as wines were produced, but in very already mentioned, this disaster gave small quantities, to be used with the rise to the new viticulture tradition on Eucharist. the island. Vine growers grafted on With the Arabs, wine production new stock, and also performed drastic in Sicily came to an end because, in selection, abandoning the shrub-type the ire of Hera, Hermes took him to the The Israelis can boast of a viniculture conformity with the Koran, the new production, which was appropriate to nymphs that lived on Mount Nysa in tradition lasting several millennia: It is Islamic dominators did not drink the production of wines rich in sugar Helicon, who brought him up in secret said to date right back to Noah, who, alcohol. By contrast there was an and suitable for blending. In its place in a grotto, feeding him with honey. we read in Genesis, was a farmer and increase in the production of quality the awning and espalier growing system And now he, an adolescent, lived the first to plant a vine. table grapes, for example “Zibibbo,” still were introduced, which together with here. And it was here that by chance, And, after him, all over Asia Minor today the proud boast of Pantelleria. good irrigation and early harvesting, crushing the grapes that hung from vines were grown: In the splendid Sicilian wine achieved new glory in now make it possible to produce the vines hiding the access to the cave, hanging gardens of Babylonia, one of the Middle Ages with the Aragonese grapes with a moderate concentration Dionysus invented wine, to which, from the seven wonders of the world, vines domination. The new seigneurs of alcohol, which are indeed rich in then on, his name was always linked. were lined up next to one another amid of Sicily exported wine made from body and colour but also in fragrance The real truth about the invention every sort of vegetable and, the tradition the island grapes all over Italy. In a and scent, perfectly able to satisfy the of wine certainly involves much more has it, the wine was worthy of the most sixteenth-century essay, “De naturali tastes and standards of the Italian and prosaic characters, but despite that, refined palates – also because it was vinorum historia,” the author international public at large. to wines and grapes there have always only the latter that tasted it! Wine was abundantly cites Sicilian wines, in been attributed great symbolic value. the beverage of the elite, and it was as particular Etna reds, and Noto, Palermo Excerpted from Vinando: On the Wine For example, everyone knows about the such that it was sold. and Cammarata wines. Again in the Trails in Sicily with permission from the link between vines, wine, and life and sixteenth century, and more exactly publisher. blood, which is present, for instance, in The story of wine in 1594, Sante Lancerio, pontifical the Gospel. in Sicily butler and the precursor of all modern Maria Christina Castellucci is a professional In another part of the Bible, the connoisseurs, included Alcamo white in journalist who specializes in tourism, history, Deuteronomy, among the norms to be t was the Phoenicians who took the the list of best wines of the times. But travel, and culture in the Mediterranean and respected in time of war, we read: “If refined drink in their ships all over the potential of Sicilian wine and grape Northern Europe. She is the author of Sicily: anyone has planted a vine and has not Ithe Mediterranean and of course also growing was still far from being fully Nature, Culture and Tradition. She also is a yet picked its first fruits, let him go and to Sicily. known and exploited. freelance writer for Krea Publishing, including return home! Otherwise, if he die in Here however, according to archeological The centuries went by, there were travel books and Sikania magazine. She lives battle, another will pick them.” evidence, viticulture was introduced even good and bad moments. In the in Sicily.

18 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 19 La Lingua Siciliana

From a speech by Justice G.T. Pagone entitled “Past, Present, Future”

icilian is a rich language full of to prefer the Tuscan-based version of special sounds, history and music. Italian to their own rich language found SWe talk of Sicilian as a dialect, but it in books, poetry, music, jokes, and every has a strong claim to be “the oldest romance day speech. Dante himself considered language, older than Italian, French, Sicilian to be the first and dominant Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, or any other language for poetry in the 13th century.3 Latin spinoff.”1 Dr Privitera, a trained The process of Tuscanization of official romance language linguist-philologist, who written documents had occurred by as a university professor had taught French, 1543, but until the fifteenth century Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at New York Sicilian had been the language in University and St Louis University, recently which official documents were written4 wrote: The rich literature of Sicily is not something to put behind a glass case to “Why has this fact been ignored these be enjoyed only by dusty scholars. It many centuries? Simply because, once is a vibrant language that lives through Italian became established as Italy’s official historical records and is still used today language, any other form of speech in the in Sicily for people to communicate country was dropped to dialect status. with each other. The special sounds And language scholars, the Italians, and and pronunciations of Sicilian have a the Sicilians themselves, accepted this special role in the island’s history and designation. Yet, it is a recorded fact that imagination. On Easter Monday 1282 the first writings in the vernacular were the Sicilians rose in rebellion against in Sicilian at the Court of Frederick II their then French rulers in what is (1192-1250), where he formed what is known in history books, poems, songs, known as the of Poetry. opera and common knowledge as “the It is there that the sonnet was invented, Sicilian Vespers.”5 The popular accounts the poetic form so widely used a century of the event recount the general slaughter later by Dante, Petrarch and their of the French who at times were contemporaries.”2 recognizable by their inability to say a legacy of old Provencal introduced by “ceci” with a Sicilian accent (the French the Normans between 1060 and 1189. 1 J.F. Privitera, Sicialian: The Oldest Romance Language (Legas, There is a rich, deep and old literature pronounced the “c” as “sh”). Deeply The old Provencal word “acatar” and its 2004), 14;Gaetano Cipolla, Siciliana: Studies on the Sicilian Ethos in Sicilian dating long before Dante’s embedded in the language is the history modern French “acheter” is very different (Legas 2005), 99-120. 2 Privitera, op cit, 14. 6 Divine Comedy. Before Garibaldi’s of the island and its people. Like any from the Italian “comprare.” Unlike 3 Dante, De Vulgari Eloquentia, cited in Cipolla, op cit, 100; and see thousand took Sicily from its Spanish language, Sicilian contains the traces Latin, Sicilian is not a dead language. fn 1 at 118. Bourbon rulers to join the resurging of its past with words having clear and People speak it actively today and use it 4 Cipolla, op cit, 107 Italian nation, there was little reason for direct links to things long forgotten. The as a modern means for literature, poetry, 5 See S. Runciman, The Sicilian Vespers (Canto, 1995). those in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Sicilian “accattari” (meaning “to buy”) is song and everyday speech. 6 J.F. Privitera, op cit 61.

20 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 21 Discover Sicily Through Reading

The Land, The History fishermen who chase the bluefin, And The People reenacting a hunt that extends far back into prehistory and whose rituals, On Persephone’s Island including that ceremonial massacre, Mary Taylor Simeti have gone essentially unchanged for A detailed portrait of Sicily by an thousands of years. American writer who married a Sicilian and settled there in 1962. Wonderfully A House in Sicily descriptive of rural life and local festivals Daphne Phelps all focused around the seasons. The true story of a British woman who inherited a house near and Sicilian Odyssey how she developed a personal love and Francine Prose understanding of Sicily and the Sicilians many return visits, he wrote about the Language and Travel Guide to Sicily A travel memoir that uncovers the past while hosting a bevy of writers and island and its people as they changed over Giovanna Bellia La Marca and observes the present while opening artists from Europe and America. Funny, the years. A good introductory guide to the island, the reader’s eyes to the beauty of the warm and instructive. A primer on how its major sites and the . rugged landscape and the Sicilian people. to live happily in a foreign land. Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Language CDs and translations included. Death of the First Italian Republic The Stone Boudoir: In Search of the The Golden Honeycomb Alexander Stille Sicilian Feasts Hidden Villages of Sicily Vincent Cronin Fascinating account of the Sicilian Mafia, Giovanna Bellia La Marca Theresa Maggio The search for a, perhaps, legendary corruption in Italy, and the events that An easy and informative guide to the food A captivating personal journey through golden honeycomb offered by Daedalus led up to the assassination of top anti- of the seasons and celebrations. towns and settlements. Her portrait to Aphrodite in gratitude for his escape Mafia prosecutors Falcone and Borselino. of Sicilians is insightful and full of from King Minos of Crete. A poetic, Available in film. Pomp and Sustenance : Twenty Five warmth. Her descriptions of festivities romantic and scholarly history of Sicily, Centuries Of Sicilian Food and traditions, scenery and beauty are written as the author travels from place Midnight in Sicily: On Art, Food, History, Mary Taylor Simeti evocative and compelling. to place in search of the truth. An Travel and La Cosa Nostra A classic. A chronicle of the island’s rich extremely useful read to help pick apart Peter Robb heritage, this book is a mix of culinary Mattanza: The Ancient Sicilian Ritual of the layered history visible in churches Robb puts the elusive world of organized history and traditions, recipes included. Bluefin Tuna Fishing and cathedrals as well as at the sites of crime (both Neapolitan and Sicilian) Simeti’s writing is engaging and mouth Theresa Maggio the very well preserved ruins. in a historical context that stretches back watering. A mattanza, in Italian, is a slaughter. to the nineteenth century. Interwoven Theresa Maggio relates a springtime In Sicily are writers such as Leonardo Sciascia, Bitter Almonds – Recollections and slaughter of bluefin tuna, the fish Norman Lewis Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Pier Paolo Recipes from a Sicilian Girlhood highly prized by sports fishermen A loving profile of an extraordinary Pasolini, and the connection they saw Maria Grammatico and Mary Taylor Simeti and gourmands. Maggio describes country, based on Lewis’ sixty-year-long between the rich food of Sicily and A renowned pastry cook and shopkeeper masterfully the hard lives of Sicilian fascination with all things Sicilian. On his the mob. in Erice, Sicily, Grammatico recalls

22 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 23 the hardships endured during her Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) girlhood, spent as an orphan in a Sicilian The Selected Writings of Salvatore Discover Sicily cloister, and lends poignancy to the Quasimodo uncomplicated, sweet pastries that make up her life’s work. Piero Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) Through Film Poems Gangivecchio’s Sicilian Kitchen Sicilian Home Cooking: Family Recipes Gioia Timpanelli (1952- ) from Gangivecchio Sometimes The Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene What Makes a Child Lucky A Ciascuno il Suo convictions of many important gangsters. The home cooking and history of their (To Each His Own) (1967) family, the 600-year-old estate in the Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) Directed by Elio Petri with Irene Papas Divorzio all’Italiana Madonie Mountains and the colorful Sicilian Carousel and this film was inspired by Leonardo (Divorce, Italian Style) (1961) evolution of Sicilian cooking. Sciascia’s novel. The film narrates the Pietor Germi’s comedy has Marcello Andrea Camilleri (1925- ) story of a teacher who, in what looks Mastroianni as a Sicilian aristocrat The Shape of Water and many others like a crime of passion, discovers the seeking a divorce when divorce in Italy Fiction The Inspector Montalbano Series is hand of the mafia. Many of the scenes was not legal. Filmed in Catania. hugely popular and has been adapted for were made in Cefalù. You can recognize Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa television and film. The stories take place the beautiful Norman cathedral. For the Don Giovanni In Sicilia (1967) (1896-1957) in Sicily although Camilleri is not Sicilian. hunting scene, the director chose the Directed by Albert Lattuada. Filmed in The Leopard countryside around Finale di Pollina Catania, this is the story of a boy who is The quintessential story of a Sicilian raised and pampered by his three sisters. prince and his family during the days Caro Diario (1994) He adopts the persona of Don Giovanni of transition and Garibaldi’s unification Directed by and starring Nanni Moretti, to hide his insecurities about romance of Italy. this semi-autobiographical film, for and love. which Nanni won Best Director at Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) Cannes, reads like a diary. It is divided Excellent Cadavers (2005) Il Malavoglia into 3 episodes, In Vespa, Isole (filmed Documentary by Marco Turco. The Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories on the Aeolian Islands) and Medici. name in Italian is used to describe Little Novels of Sicily (translated by high-profile victims of the mafia such DH Lawrence) Cinema Paradiso (1989) as politicians, judges, and police Giuseppe Tornatore’s Academy-Award- chiefs. Based on Alexander Stille’s Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) winning film takes a romantic look book, this movie guides the viewer To Each His Own at growing up in a remote village. through notable events including the The Wine-Dark Sea The filmmaker returns to his Sicilian assassinations of Falcone and Borselino. The Day of the Owl hometown, Bagheria, for the first time in Remarkable photojournalist and anti- 30 years and looks back on his life. mafia activist Lettizia Battaglia plays a Elio Vittorini (1908-1966) role in the film. Conversations in Sicily Diario di Una Siciliana Ribelle (1997) A Vittorini Omnibus: In Sicily, the Twilight Directed by Marco Amenta. This is the Ginostra (2002) of the Elephant true story of Rita Atria, the 17 year-old Filmed on the Aeolian Islands, in daughter of a Mafia don who gives her the town of the film title, director (1867-1936) diaries to the authorities to avenge her Manuel Pradal tells the story of an Eleven Short Stories/Undici Novelle father’s death. Her evidence and work FBI investigator who is sent to Italy (A Dual-Language Book) with Borselino and Falcone proved to investigate the death of a Mafia One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand extremely valuable in the exposure and informant.

24 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 25 Benigni. Stecchino (toothpick) is a failed dream of independence. Originally hapless bus driver who is believed to be a failure at the box office, the film has a snitch for the mob. Filmed in Bagheria, emerged as a classic of the neo-realistic Palermo. movement. Filmed in Aci Trezza.

Kaos (Chaos) (1984) Malena (2001) Directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and set Kaos tells four separate stark and during WWII and filmed in Messina, powerful tales of Sicilian life based on this is the story of the life of beautiful stories by Luigi Pirandello. Filmed with Malena, her husband’s absence, a boy’s haunting music around Pirandello’s obsession and angry townspeople. hometown of . Nuovomondo L’Avventura (1960) (The Golden Door) (2006) The first half of Michelangelo Antonioni’s Directed by Emanuele Crialese and set masterpiece was filmed off the coast at the turn of the century, this is a film of Panarea and on the nearby island about poor, illiterate farmers who want of Lisca Bianca. The film is a scathing to emigrate to America, a better place. examination of Italy’s aristocratic classes Their story is the story of old customs, set within the framework of a mystery courage, fears and the importance of the I Cento Passi (2000) Il Giorno della Civetta story. homeland. This was directed by Marco Tullio (The Day of the Owl) (1968) Giordana with Luigi Lo Cascio and This film was directed by Damiano L’Uomo Delle Stelle Placido Rizzotto (2000) Luigi Burruano. The film reconstructs Damiani, with Claudia Cardinale and (The Star Maker) (1995) The historical events which inspired the story of Peppino Impastato, born Franco Nero. Leonardo Sciascia’s novel Affecting story from “Cinema Paradiso” director, Pasquale Scimeca, took place at Cinisi. Peppino’s father was related was Damiani’s inspiration: A builder is director Giuseppe Tornatore about a at Corleone, but the film was set in the to, and worked for Tano Badalamenti, killed and the mafia wants the crime to con man from Rome who, posing as a small village of Isnello in the Madonie. a powerful Mafia boss. Young Peppino, be dismissed as a crime of passion. This Hollywood talent scout, travels with a The centre is Piazza Mazzini, where deaf to calls and admonishments, time we are in the village of Partinico, a movie camera to impoverished villages the main thoroughfare, Corso Vittorio rebelled against the arrogance of few kilometres west of Palermo. Many of in 1950s Sicily, promising stardom –for Emanuele begins. Also worth seeing, in Badalamenti, and for this reason the scenes were made in Piazza Duomo a fee – to gullible townspeople. To the Terravecchia district, which is the in 1978 was killed. The set was and Corso dei Mille. follow the locations of L’uomo Delle oldest district, is the little medieval San reconstructed in the places in which Stelle you need to move from one end Michele church. the events really took place at Cinisi: Il Postino (1994) of Sicily to the other. You will find You will see Corso Umberto, Piazza Michael Radford’s lovely romance set in a yourself in Monterosso Almo, in the Respiro (2002) Vittorio Emanuele Orlando and Piazza small Italian town during the 1950s, where Iblei Mountains, Ragusa Ibla, Gangi, Directed by Emanuele Crialese, this is a Stazione. exiled Chilean poet Pablo Nerudo has Marzamemi, the Gurfa Caves near story of family and misunderstanding and taken refuge. A shy mailman befriends the Palermo, and Morgantina, today used as is filmed on the island of Lampedusa. Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) (1968) poet and uses his words – and, ultimately, a setting for a lot of films. The locations This is Luchino Visconti’s film version of the writer himself – to help him woo a included in this movie inspired Theresa Salvatore Giuliano (1961) Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s novel. Set in woman with whom he has fallen in love. Maggio’s book The Stone Boudoir. While exploring the Sicilian world where revolutionary Sicily in the mid-1800s, Filmed in Procida (Bay of Naples) and the politics and crime exist in a turbulent the film stars Burt Lancaster as a Sicilian Aeolian Island of Salina. La Terra Trema marriage, director Franco Rosi sets this prince who seeks to preserve his family’s (The Earth Trembles) (1948) film in 1950’s Western Sicily. The city of aristocratic way of life. Filmed in Johnny Stecchino (1991) Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of Verga’s Castelvetrano, the piazzas of Montelepre, Palermo, Mondello and Ciminna. Wonderful comedy directed by Roberto I Malavoglia, the story of a fisherman’s the mountains, and the small villages are

26 an evening in sicily in manhattan April 22, 2010 27 scenes of the life of the Sicilian Robin was the town of Forza d’Agrò (Messina Many thanks to those who have helped Hood, Salvatore Giuliano, one of Italy’s province), in the Peloritani Mountains, support this event: most beloved and handsome criminals. which becomes Corleone in the fiction. This Neo-Realist film deals with his Another important location, used in all Patrizia Calce passion for an independent Sicily and his three films, is the Castle of Slaves, near Cali Cosmetics, www.calicosmetics.com murder at the age of only 27. The story Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, which becomes Case del Golfo, www.casedelgolfo.it is so captivating that Mario Puzo wrote the villa of an old family friend of the Maria Christina Castellucci The Sicilian, a dramatized version of the Corleones, Don Tommasino. Lastly, some Colombo Marsala story in 1984 and this was made into a scenes of The Godfather part III were Krea Publishing and Sikania Magazine film in 1987. An opera entitled Salvatore filmed in Palermo, at Villa Malfitano, and www.sikania.it Giuliano by Lorenzo Ferrero premiered on the steps of the nineteenth-century La Cucina Italiana magazine in Rome in 1986 . Giovanna Bellia La Marca, www.giovannalamarca.com Sedotta e Abbandonata The Orange Thief (2006) Jimmy Luljeta (Seduced and Abandoned) (1964) Directed by Boogie Dean (aka Aristotle Toni Lydecker, www.toni-lydecker.com Directed by Pietro Germi starring Lando Silvio), with Vinnie Angel, and Artie Malanova, www.malanova.org Buzzanca and Stefania Sandrelli, this is Wilinski, The Orange Thief is an Theresa Maggio, www.theresamaggio.com a masterpiece of a comedy, narrating the independent film, having been created Michela Musolino, grotesque story of a beautiful girl who is from scratch in one month--in a foreign www.michelamusolino.com seduced and abandoned. This satire on language, with Italian and Sicilian NYC Sicilian Food and Wine Meetup Sicilian society, in which saving honor non-actors, by first time directors in the Group, www.meetup.com/sicily seems to be the most important thing, mountains of Sicily. It was filmed entirely Gianni and Pilar Nicolosi was set in Sciacca. in Lucca. Giuseppe Nicolosi Paolo Nicolosi Stromboli, Terra di Dio (1950) Vulcano (1950) Gennaro Pecchia Roberto Rossellini filmed this classic on Directed by William Dieterle, this is a David Prutch, www.TuttoSicily.com the Aeolian Islands in 1949. Stromboli, lesser known Neo-Realist film with a Renee Restivo, www.SoulofSicily.com Terra di Dio marked the beginning of great perfomance by Anna Magnani. The James Salser, www.design158.com Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman’s highly film is set on the island of Vulcano in the Gioia Timpanelli, M.A. publicized affair. Aeolian Islands. Vincent Titone Piero Tuzzo Tano da Morire (1997) Giovanna Vitranno From Director Roberta Torre comes a WHO WE ARE Westchester Italian Cultural Center, grotesque musical sending up the Mafia. This evening was created by Karen www.wiccny.org Alongside the actors, the protagonist La Rosa and La RosaWorks, LLC. Hugh Zurkuhlen of the film is the noisy and colourful La RosaWorks is devoted to the promotion Vucciria market in Palermo, one of the of Sicily in a variety of ways, to encourage “And anyone who most picturesque and authentic places in travel in Sicily and an interest in Sicilian has once known this land the city. food and wine, to preserving the culture and traditions, and creating a more can never be quite free The Godfather (1972, 1974, and 1990) positive image. from the nostalgia for it.” Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The depth and breadth of the island’s d.h. lawrence a Mafia classic with Marlon Brando. history, people, traditions and art, its This film redefined the gangster film abundant agricultural offerings and its All Photographs by Karen La Rosa, except where noted. genre. Coppola chose a lot of Sicilian magical beauty make Sicily unique, © La RosaWorks LLC, 2010 [email protected] locations for this trilogy. One of these important, and able to elicit deep passion. 917.225.8415

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