Sicily The Magnificent Isle
We returned twice to Sicily, and circumnavigated both times such was our fascination and delight with this gorgeous island/country/region. It is indeed one of the 20 regions that comprise the Italian Federation, but it is unto itself. Despite the myths and nefarious reputation surrounding the island of Sicily, it is breathtakingly beautiful. Its guardedly gregarious people thrive as they have for millennia in the most formidable terrain in the Mediterranean.
by a majestic cathedral built by the Normans almost a thousand years ago.
Good humored and resourceful, the Sicilian people have forged a détente with destiny fashioned from a history of survival under the rule of countless occupiers. The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Saracens, Spaniards, Asians, Normans and Austrians among others all commanded this gorgeous and unforgiving land for centuries before Christ. If ever the words exquisite and harsh can be used in the same sentence it is when speaking of Sicily.
Never taking as their own the politics of the interlopers, they did assimilate the staggeringly diverse culinary influences that came to their lovely shores with the invaders. If any style of cooking can be said to be a distillation of the world’s important cultural influences, it is Sicilian.
Renting the villa on a dramatic promontory above the ancient but still vibrant Sicilian fishing village of Sciacca, we were to be given in less than two weeks an introduction to the people, customs, superstitions and foods of this sumptuous island that we would regard as priceless.
The villa was extraordinary. Built in the twenties by an Italian count for his paramour, itwas set in the midst of a vast olive grove which still produces olive oil for the villa as well as a small high-priced batch for annual export. The indoor fireplaces and the outdoor brick brazier, perfect for bistecca alla fiorentina as we would soon find out, are energized solely by the endless stream of olive wood, stacked in ever replenished cords at the side of the grove. Tomatoes, basil and rosemary grow at the far end of the stand of trees out of sight as being more homely than the picturesque olive trees, they are permitted to flourish in solitude. The fig, lemon and mandarino trees grow near the olivegrove and are deemed suitable to be viewed from the road.
The loggia overlooked the patio and infinity pool and offered a sweeping and majesticvista, two hundred feet above the sea. The pristine water was at once cobalt, azure, emerald, serene and clear sending endless waves to gently die on a graceful shoreline reaching to the horizon. Perhaps nowhere else is the random precision of the natural world so dramatically displayed as here. Lapis lazuli sky hosting the whitest of white cumulus all beneath a commanding sun reflects off a sea that seems to beckon hypnotically to all who gaze on it. And in doing so the legends of the sirens calling tosailors to direct their ships ever closer to the treacherously rocky shallows seem not mythical at all but real.
We were awakened on our first morning in this mysterious and magical land by distant chanting; rhythmic, solemn yet joyful. Standing on the balcony of our bedroom, we were greeted by the sight of a score of fishing boats, of ancient design and painted in colorful ancient patterns. We listened to the cadence in synch with the coordinated effort of the crews gathering in the mile long nets. The chant we found was not Italian or of any Sicilian dialect but Arabic, taught to the indigenous fishermen here when it was their turn to occupy the island that ancient Romans called “Italy’s Breadbasket” for its natural bounty.
The chant beseeches God, or Allah, to allow the fish to die nobly. It was also a hymn of thanks to the fish for furnishing them with sustenance. It is in acts such as these that the inherent nobility of the Sicilians is best demonstrated. Theirs is a difficult history and survival they know is granted to those who understand that nothing is simply bestowed, and that all creatures must contribute to the inexorable cycle of life. And though we may be the hunter and not the hunted, giving thanks is all part of our contribution.
The sorcerer island had captivated all of us.
