Wisteria Lane

Thanks to Barbara Goldfield & the Italian Notebook for a post on the gorgeous wisteria in Italy. Possibly this is why we're running so late today. Barbara owns Savour the Sannio, a travel consultancy for central and southern Italy. It's most definitely worth your while to visit her. French Film Fun just might be...on Saturday.

ciao-rush-meow/GG

(photograph by Cherry Blossom Girl from her chic Roman vacation)

Italian Holiday Notebook

Have you visited Italian Notebook yet? It's written by an amusing bunch of expats in Italy. These photographs are by GB (in Rome). The modern LED fairy lights are rather a clash of modernity & the ancient but Rome is trying to find a way. Here is a message from Caesar Santa Claus (!) via the website.

ciao-bella-meow/GGCM

Pasqualina & Pinta - Italian Goat Goodness

Do you know adorable Pasqualina & Pinta? Do you know what 'capra' & 'capretta' mean? No & no? Well, you should & you can find out on Goat Berries. This is Michelle Fabio's fairly new venture. Goat-y goodness, cute kids, & general merriment. It's a lot of fun to visit both Goat Berries & Michelle's deservedly widely-read & beloved Bleeding Espresso. (She's a fellow Pennsylvanian--even if we no longer live there, we're still Pennsylvanians. Yep.)

There's more to the menagerie than goats, though. Check in on pups Luna & Stella; Giordano, a handsome ginger tabby (GG swoons--an Italian gatto); & two double-yolk producing hens & a rooster. (In the time it's taken to type this entry, there are probably more resident animals.) Michelle & her husband P. are two busy people with their ever-expanding realm in Badolato, Calabria. GG's editor is trying to think up some sort of financial scheme to take herself & GG to southern Italy in autumn 2011. We would love to see this empire up close & personal.

Don't forget to check out Michelle's Bleeding Espresso recipe archives. Always an inspiration when you just can't think of what you want. It's a go-to for GG's editor.

ciao-meow/GG Central

[photographs by Michelle Fabio/Goat Berries/Bleeding Espresso/all rights reserved]

A new week in Sicily...

...but we're in Washington. Oh well. We'll be back later today or Tuesday with news aplenty. And more information on Made4Aid. (Meanwhile, you can get a jump on us & go to the right sidebar--bid on something, perhaps?)

We're always happy to post something from Giampaolo Macorig, generous Italian photographer. He's in Rome but lived in Palermo, Sicily for many years. These are simply gorgeous & if we could, GG & her editor would head off to the airport this afternoon. Cats are most welcome in Italy & Sicily. [please see here for the Sicily & Palmero flickr set--it really is much nicer to see the full-size pix.]

See you soon. Don't forget to check on the news from Darfur.

ciao-meow/the mgmt

Malèna & Sicily - Week's End

Most viewers of Malèna don't seem to understand the melancholy & the real menace faced by Sicilian women. Worlds collide in Sicily...then & now. Though there is no denying the beauty of Monica Bellucci & the Sicilian land & seascapes, be careful what you romanticize. Our theory is that you can't really love a place if you willfully ignore the tragedies. Have a great weekend & once again....if you can find it in your heart to check out Darfur, Congo, Burma links on this site...well, that would be a gracious gift from you to the real Malènas of this world.

ciao-meow, GG Central

Theocritus - A Villanelle

O singer of Persephone!
In the dim meadows desolate
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Still through the ivy flits the bee
Where Amaryllis lies in state;
O Singer of Persephone!

Simaetha calls on Hecate
And hears the wild dogs at the gate;
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Still by the light and laughing sea
Poor Polypheme bemoans his fate;
O Singer of Persephone!

And still in boyish rivalry
Young Daphnis challenges his mate;
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Slim Lacon keeps a goat for thee,
For thee the jocund shepherds wait;
O Singer of Persephone!
Dost thou remember Sicily?

by Oscar Wilde

[Malèna credits; At sea alone & Alone in the Sea by Giampaolo Macorig; LIFE archive, uncredited Sicilian scene]

Sicily by Land & Sea - Week's End

We bid you a wonderful weekend, whether it be calm or stormy. While the generous Giampaolo Macorig obviously uses colors, filters, & tints to achieve his dramatic, painterly photographs, let us assure you that Sicilia looks like this, out of another time or a dream--often. It can be quite harsh, too, & Giampaolo captures the intersection (& clash) of the past & present, the land & the sea, beautifully.

For the best (non-sentimental hoo-hah) books about Sicily, read one of the Inspector Montalbano series by the magnificent Andrea Camilleri. His translator, Stephen Sartarelli, is the best we've read from Italian into English. Truly, he is an artist, as well. You will not be disappointed. And the Inspector Montalbano? Salvo loves food & the descriptions of his enjoyment of even the most simple of snacks is a marvel of prose.

Camilleri's immensely popular (& often controversial-to-some-Italians) mystery-novels are increasingly popular in English-speaking countries. Like all series, you can begin anywhere, but particular favorites are The Terra Cotta Dog, The Snack Thief, The Shape of Water, and Rounding the Mark. If you read any two of these, you will understand a lot about Italy, Sicily, organized crime, culture, politics, food, wine, & what is really happening. It's not all Tuscany & la dolce vita, you know. It's so much more & much more complex...so do yourself a favor & read at least one. If nothing else, your mouth will water & inspire some excellent meals. (Or give a go at making the Inspector's favorite salty snack, calia e simenza. Are you intrigued?)

mille grazie e ciao-meow

Latte-Sipping, Arugula-Eating Élitists

People are angry & bitter & focus on a vegetable? This is really a shame. Arugula has always been a vegetable eaten by everyone in other parts of the world. It's a crucifer in the brassica family (you know, anti-cancer) & became popular in the States some years ago. Italians (non-élitist Italians, too) eat it. Some clever, non-élitist farmers followed a capitalist agenda & -- gasp-- planted & harvested arugula to their advantage. Apparently, this is un-American in some quarters. Oh, we're sure there are PhDs being written on such shady goings-on. Here are three good recipes from the fabulous (non-élitist) Lidia Bastinach. [The arugula & white bean salad is particularly affordable.] Catch Lidia's shows on élitist PBS where she makes much less money than on cable. Suspicious, eh?

On Zazzle's site, here are buttons for latte-sipping & arugula-eating Obama supporters. Count us in.

Ciao,
Giulia's editor
Healthy and happy arugula plant, just starting to flower. Photo by Eric Bear Albrecht, November 9, 2004. Placed in the public domain by the photographer.