To Distant Areas-II: Sicily. Part Second.

Sicily is an island of empires. That fact becomes noticeable when you ride through this territory. I wanted to come closer to them for see and deep myself into these civilizations.

I was abandoning hotel only for necessity. There I returned to writing novella by taking episodes in which involve Italian characters. No better than letter this part on place. Interesting, Italians would want to do a witch-hunt on me for a given name to one personage or for describing of their mentality if anybody of them read my written?

Sicilians restrain in feelings as you see this in films. They are not expressive what usually can be from Central Italians. There is no being in a high mood when you say “buongiorno” on which they can respond in out of politeness though that’s under “maybe”. But they are nice people and more talking with somebody of them discloses it. I made a pleasant contact with stay’s owner who couldn’t get my saying in English while his had mistakes. I embedded Italian words for bring him an explanation. However, as this person revealed to me, he had a Muscovy wife. I believed that I put a using of her language to the past. I had few difficulties in expression of thought by taking seconds for minding. I didn’t speak on native of this woman for long but that way was faster for deliver my saying to the owner. But she wasn’t always on place.

Hotel had all needful amenities which were in presence of a fridge (though it’s big socket was unique in a room and I shared it with the laptop in occasional swaps) and a great after Jack Daniel’s invention of mankind an air conditioner, which saved my dirty soul from a heat. However, that machine stuck on sixteen degrees. A remote controller hadn’t common with it. I could activate the air conditioner by a switch on a wall.

From the balcony was a magnificent view on Etna in which the volcano was at full appearance. Nonetheless, it didn’t make me to care more. Volcano’s disappearing in the night was just an observation.

I quitted with Italian restaurants. I didn’t want to express a shock on “coperto” issue in watching on receipt. Pay for linens while that waiter in La Palomba did spreading of truffle. I didn’t say “goodbye” to any of two served me workers on a way out in pizzeria 1000 Gourmets in Venice after I experienced “coperto” at first time. These men were confused and weren’t glad. I always sensed myself in canteen when made payment at casa in the end.

However, it would be mistaken to go restaurants in Sicily because their cuisine is not there. It’s on the streets. Of course, they have own pasta but Sicilians are sloppy in it and overload with pouring and spreading to there as it does in Southern regions of Italy.

Their put in a center arancini (“arancine” as locals say) is associative in it’s shape with orange. And it takes this name from there (arancia in common Italian or aranciu in Sicilian). It made to think about Arabian origin when I saw it at first time because many resemblances with cuisines of these lands. I assumed correct. Arancini appeared in Sicily in Xth century when the island was under ruling of Fatimid Caliphate.

I tasted it’s classic variation in rice, peas and meat. It serves in hot condition, which is destroying factor because that makes a literal fusion of components into a characterless mess. I didn’t sense anything in eating and I had no wish to have it at whole (I try to evade with wasting food because I always think on people for whom getting products is difficult but I did it with arancini because it was edible for me). I expected a fast food and that taste I had. Such thing you usually can get from a cooking on the streets.

I had a view on taste a dish with multilayered dough and variation in food inside which calls scaccia. Learning more led to seeing it is too simple as contemporary art. It has a not expressive combination in two products. There is a wild one, which in ricotta cheese and onion. What’s wrong with that world? Another one includes an eggplant, a product which must be forbidden by Geneva Convention. What is the most anti-human if not this?

Perhaps, I should quit with experimentation by asking locals on venue recommendation and only keep to own as it always was before. A manager of hotel directed me to Pasticceria Casablanca when I was in searching of Sicilian cake cassata. A cafe was in several dozens of meters from the hotel. I visited it at the evening. A saleswoman said on absence of cassata. I asked other desiring pastry. A Catanian variation of cannolo which was in putting pistachio. This sweet on an image of 2020 looked acceptable in one dish with a classic piece while it changed in shape by becoming ornate. A crust became more wrong tender and cream more dense. It was a good thing but it was no cannolo. The biggest minus in this Italian café was in absence of tea and I was forced to take a bottle of still water. I think, it should be logical to offer this hot drink if you keep café. It asks as a nail in hanging picture on a wall. I wasn’t much attentive in watching on details of that five-year old picture because I didn’t notice that the crust was already wasn’t as must be.

I ignored manager’s recommendation with farsu magru, which Sicilians pronounce falsomagro in it’s many sounding. He guided me to a meat store Macelleria Ragaglia but I didn’t want to this time and offer of that dish was cut and lied in liquid what I didn’t want – it didn’t look a prestige class itself.

I was promised that I will be picked up on Fiat but I saw Nissan. Under that name produced cars for militarist Japan in World War II. I expressed my frustration but I hadn’t time for substitute.

The roads were smooth. But it was many times when I saw that a speed limit sign was in a wrong place or it had an incorrect number. Sometimes I didn’t see reasonable of installation of “stop” there.

Eternal yellow fields is almost common landscape of Sicily. That put me into tiresome. Hills didn’t mesmerize and didn’t pretend unusual. Moments of loneliness on roads when no other car was (and it was frequent) didn’t cause any feeling. I compared with what I had in Scotland there. Another what I could see is that Sicily is a perfect place for hiding. You can easy disappear in these ranges and somewhere among of unnoticeable houses. That makes to see why head of Cosa Nostra Bernardo Provenzano was in hiding for forty-three years.

I saw that madness if I wanted to head to Soluntum when I was in Palermo. Walking through tiny roadblocks through another dirty Italian town. This charming Italian woman in Teatro Massimo put a rightful period to that idea. A little confusion with GPS navigator but my driver delivered me on place without long searching. I asked a local who with a little English indicated road but he wasn’t correct with turn while I was close to Soluntum.

I already saw it’s low popularity. This leaving pair in a man and a woman were only people who also were there. I went to observe ruins of Phoenician town alone. It was attractive to look on columns and mosaic. There I noticed variable nations which were aforementioned Phoenicians, Romans and Cartesians. I climbed through these old steps to top from there I thought that place was chosen for a tactical purpose and it was so. A site includes two rooms which had a wonderful collections of items in personally impressed me jugs, pieces of buildings, statues and many other items of live of these times. Even though I am not so enticed in ancient periods but it was interesting to see.

South Italy is a place of appearance of country’s criminal organizations. And Sicily became a territory of Cosa Nostra clans. If American Mafia evaded a killing of any law enforcer whereas it was a common in Italy for decades. Among notable murders was an explosion on a road to Palermo in May 23, 1992. A target was Judge Giovanni Falcone who was a merciless fighter with mafia. There were four more victims: Falcone’s wife Francesca Morvillo who was a magistrate and the rest three were police escort agents. A detonation was activated by Cosa Nostra member Giovanni Brusca. That man was directly and indirectly involved in dozens of slays and among them was a little boy whose body he ordered to dissolve in acid later. He claimed personally on number from 100 to 200. I was indignant by reading few years ago on his release from a prison because he witnessed against other members. That allowed him to have a quiet and secret life after that. Such man shouldn't leave a prison ever. I wanted to make hook in forty kilometers for sense that driving from Palermo Airport of Judge Falcone. There is installed a monument with names of victims. I could stop there but I wanted only to cross it. However, I wanted to see other ancient place and these secondary roads and many factors for making me coming on the next destination late were taken on mind. I accepted that I willn’t sit in sadness for making that pose perfect for Rodin’s talent if I willn’t move in that direction.

If there is that I want to see in mafia's points – that’s a house in which Bernardo Provenzano hid. It’s (or was) nearby of his hometown Corleone keeps in mystery. I believe, it takes uneasy roads but on them I wouldn’t care.

The following stop was Valley of the Temples. The car was parked a slightly away from paying zone. A worker of territory guided to me to where acquire a ticket for see old buildings.

I was in unwishful period of mass visiting but either it was a lucky day or I came to there in late time. I recalled Parthenon before coming to there while a location had another intersection of different times and empires. Except Greek, there were Roman and Byzantine, which, as it known, was the rest of a previous. Attila the Hun would move on conquering of that one (though he committed attempts before of taking down the Western part of empire) if not died at a feast celebration by nose bleeding what choked him in a stupor if it was so. Anyway, I didn’t linger in observation of edifices for long. I walked from starting point to the end where I crossed and sensed a lovable smell of fragrance of garden and amazed by being in surrounding of olive grove and I turned back. I could visit sights outside of Valley of the Temples but the reason was same.

It wasn’t my initiative but I wasn’t against on moving to nature wonder White Rocks, which are known as Scala dei Turchi, because they were nearby.

I noticed before but you take attention when you in a car. Even you are a passenger but you can feel driver’s struggle of discovering a parking place. Absence of organization of that in Italy revived that is in a third-world country. Automobiles were everywhere and these walking beach people were part of this disgust. I can’t stand these places and men (foremost, I don’t like family companies). White Rocks were on the right side and that accomplished visit.

Only in third-country states you can see watermelons for sale on roadsides as it was in a movement back. But more often was litter on roads, which were in accurate rows (perhaps, it is only what in order in Italy). I was imagining abominable circumstance of how people threw in these middles of nowhere.

I had a pleased view on Valley of the Temples from the right side and movement in between of conifers on riding back to Giardini Naxos.

Before journey to Sicily, I found out that fires on fields on that of island is a usual event. I passed a strong fire territory in which I sensed a strong smoke, which could be very hurtful if be closer to it.

I noticed few rusty lanterns in a daylight. That look presented they weren’t active for long. I was moving through main roads in darkness. Italians rejected lanterns mindlessly. These rare ones, which were only one time, weren’t lighting a route. There you can but come to North Korea who doesn’t illuminate too because their economy can’t permit electricity.

Stunning Italian Lady is only who can cause me to return to Italy after the third stage will be done. I wrote dozen messages to her for the last months but it makes to feel that written didn’t reach address. Her image became imaginative for me despite I saw her.