 |
Craftmanship
and Tradition |
Numerous are the
traditions in a land where Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Spanishs,
Normans and Swabs have lived.
The most important heritage of
these peoples are the architectonical styles and the
dialects, a mixture of exotic terms which are completely
different from the national language.
If a stranger who doesn’t
know Italian wants to make himself understand, he can try to
say some words in his mother tongue: perhaps somebody will
understand him.
The conquerors of the past have introduced, styles and
customs which merged with the typical local ones and have
hence given birth to unique traditions.
The
match between sacred and profane in the celebration of the
patronal feasts which run during the year in all the towns of
the province are to be remembered. Even the artistical
representation shows traces of the external inheritance, for
example the "Opera dei Pupi" (puppet theatre). It is the story of
the deeds of the paladins of Carlo Magno. Rich exhibits of
"puppets" can be admired c/o Natale Napoli in
Gravina of Catania, in via Madonna di Fatima 14 (tel/fax
095/416787), c/o Turi Grasso in Acireale, in via Nazionale 95
Capomulini area (tel 095/7648035 - 800113 - 7632158) and c/o
the Cooperativa E. Magrì of Acireale, Corso Umberto 113
(tel. 095/606272). A café in Catania near Porta Uzeda
features a folkloristic exhibit of puppets. A
"café" or "bar", especially in via Etnea
in Catania, is rarely a "bar". The citizens of the
province know that they can find elegant places of
refreshment and therefore it would be too unsignificant the
typical sentence "let’s go to have a coffee":
ice-cream-parlour, pastry shop, rotisserie, toasted coffee,
granite (to be found only in Sicily), all home produced. Many
of these places are so old and renowned to be a tradition for
the countries or the cities where they are found. Those who
are in a hurry or are thirsty may stop at the typical kiosks
and quench their thirst with the typical home-made drinks,
such as "selz
al limone e sale"
(water with lemon and salt), the typical "latte di
mandorla" (almond flavoured milk), the "schampagnino", the "misto
amaro", the "misto frutta", and
dozens of other syrup-based drinks. At night, in Catania, you
can go to one of the numerous pubs in the historical centre,
where musical bands often perform and where you can sit in
the open air during the good weather.
During the night the town, trasformes
into a quite but at the same time lively place, completely
different from the one you may see during the day, frantic
and swarming with people who go around the numerous shops
looking for that bargain. Shopping in Catania and in the
whole province is a real ritual, because many citizens are
involved in commercial activities. You can find everything: objects of art, local ceramics, jewels
created with the amber of the Simeto River and also fresh and seasoned products
in all the main squares of the towns and villages, such as mushrooms, almonds, pistachios,
"zagara" honey (orange-blossom honey), tomatoes,
oranges etc. A part of this ritual is to bargain: you
must always ask for a discount. Especially in the fish market
of Catania (very fresh fish offered by local fishermen), near
the Duomo (Cathedral basilica of Catania), and at the
"fera o luni" of Piazza Carlo Alberto, always in
the provincial capital, which on Sunday morning becomes a
very interesting market of antiques. Here, you can also find
old and modern wrought iron objects together with objects
made of lava which are a button-hole in the local
craftsmanship. It is here impossible to list all the
handicraft because some are typical of a certain area, such
as the lace of Mirabella Imbaccari or the ceramics of
Caltagirone and Giarre.Finally, the best way to live the
numerous local traditions is to travel from one area to
another, on the occasion of the various feasts and
celebrations which are performed all the year round.
|
Cooking
and Vines |
The rich
gastronomic tradition of Catania is totally respected in
every hotel, restaurant, trattoria, café and pastry shop in
the whole province. It would be masochistic to disregard the
typical and tasty specialties of Catania as
they are appreciated all over the world beginning with the
hors-d’oeuvres and ending with the desserts. The
delicacies of this province are numerous, as if Sicilian
people were gelous of a tradition which is unchanged from
time immemorial.Following is a
list of the typical dishes that you may like to try and that
you can find troughout the province:
Hors-d’oeuvres
They are made with typical products: salami, tuma
(goat’s cheese), dried tomatoes, olives, aubergines and
roasted peppers, salted anchovies and many other specialties.
First course
- Maccheroni alla Norma (pasta
and fried aubergines)
- Maccu (pasta made from cooked beans)
- Pasta e zucchine fritte (pasta and fried courgettes)
- Spaghetti al nero di seppie (cuttlefish ink spaghetti)
- Pasta con la mollica e le acciughe ( pasta with
bread-crumbs and anchoves)
- Pasta e "masculini" (pasta with anchovies)
- Pasta e risotti ai funghi ( pasta and rice with mushrooms)
In some restaurants you can also ask for home-made pasta
(casarecci).
Main Courses and Side Dishes
- Masculini arrostiti, fritti,
crudi (roasted, fried or raw anchovies)
- Calamari ripieni (stuffed squids)
- "Sardi a beccaficu" (fried breaded anchovies)
- Tonno con la cipuddata" (tuna fish with onions)
- Polpette di carne nella foglia di limone (meat rissoles
cooked in lemon leaves)
- Polpette di "muccu" (newly hatched fish rissoles)
- Falsomagro "agglassatu" (meat casserole)
- Caponata (vegetable stew: aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes,
onions, olives and capers)
- Gateau ( timbale of potato purée with cheese and ham)
- "Rocculi affucati" (broccoli)
Local country dishes
- Arancini di riso al sugo ed
alla carne, agli spinaci o al burro (rice balls with meat sauce, spinach or butter)
- Crispelle di acciuga o ricotta (anchovy or ricotta
cheese fritters)
- Scacciata con tuma, broccoli o patate (special flat bread
with goat’s cheese,
broccoli or potatoes)
- Pizza alla siciliana con tuma e acciughe (Sicilian pizza
with goat’s cheese and anchovies).
Desserts and ice-creams
(made with Sicilian raw materials)
- Cassata alla siciliana
(Sicilian cake with ricotta cheese)
- Crispelle di riso alla benedettina (rice fritters à la
benedectine)
- Cannoli (Sicilian filled pastry)
- Torta alla mandorla (almond cake)
- Olivette di S. Agata (marzipan olives)
- Pasta Reale (marzipan cakes)
- Paste di mandorla (almond cakes)
- Frutta martorana (marzipan fruit)
- Cotognata (marmelade of "cotogne" apples)
- Torrone (nougat)
- Granite (crushed ice drinks flavoured with lemon, almonds,
coffee and mulberries which give a nice colour)
- Schiumoni e cassate gelate (ice-cream sorbets and ice-cream
cakes)
We advise you to look for cakes made of
typical products from the area (pistachio in Bronte,
hazel-nuts in Sant’Alfio).
We also recommend some liquors,
between Santa Venerina and Riposto, and the essential oils of
citrus fruit in the area of Acireale used to make the famous
drinks offered in the "chioschi" ( kiosk).
In vintage time, you must taste the "mostarda di
mosto" (gelatine must cakes) in the wine-producing
areas and in summer time the "mostarda di
fichidindia" (sycamore fig cakes) in the area of
Belpasso and Paternò.
All the province and in
particular the area of the Etna, is considered a d.o.c.
vintage land, from Biancavilla vineyards, south-west, to
Nicolosi, Pedara, Trecastagni, Viagrande, Zafferana, Milo,
Linguaglossa and Randazzo, on the northern slope. The tour
starts from the "Contrada Le Vigne" of S. Maria di
Licodia to "Piano La Vite", under the village of
Ragalna, and it continues towards Nicolosi, admiring the
volcanic sand strips, cultivated with little vine-trees. The
area around Nicolosi which stretches towards Pedara, is
characterized by plots of land, whose limits are marked by
old walls, in which families cultivate the vines and produce
wine for themselves selling it in their houses as "vino
padronale". From Trecastagni on, towards Monterosso,
Fleri and Zafferana, vineyards become longer and more
wonderfully terraced on the slopes of the various now
extinguished small adventitious volcanic cones. The
provincial street of Viagrande leads into the crossroad of
Monterosso. It has been described by Ercole Patti in his "Un
bellissimo Novembre" and it crosses plots cultivated
with vines, with wonderful baronial and princely houses of
the last century.This stretch represents the élite of the
d.o.c. vineyards of Etnea and was the first which received
the prestigious d.o.c. mark. From Viagrande, through
Zafferana Etnea, you arrive after 15 Km in Milo while
visiting historical vineyards and fascinating cellars, some
of them equipped with high technology and ready to sell wine.
The wine produced in Milo is the only one to have received
the recognition of "Etna bianco superiore".
The tour through vineyards continues towards Linguaglossa and
Randazzo, crossing the shorter street cultivated with
hazel-trees, which characterizes the stretch from Fornazzo to
Linguaglossa.
