I look out on the Channel of Sicily from my hotel room…. Nice! Weather was sunny, breezy and comfortable! Electricity was still out at the hotel, but we were told it will be back on in a few hours. If not, our guide would move us to another hotel. Along with my breakfast of fruit, yogurt and coffee, I had a cassatelle. It has ricotta in it and sometimes referred to as “sweet ravioli”.
We walked in Mazara del Vallo, a UNESCO- World Heritage protected city, to see a few ruins from Norman times. The city which now has 50,000 people had been ruined during WWII, the unification time of Italy. Of course, more churches to see, and most interesting was walking through the labyrinth, known as the kasbah. You get a sense of the Tunisian and Magreb Arab influences, but without the crowdedness I felt when in the kasbah of Tangier, Morocco. There are 12 official mosques in Italy, one here, and this one only has 3 calls to prayer. This was a compromise of not the usual 5 calls to prayer. One needs to pay attention to where they walk if they wish to arrive back at their start and not up a blind alley; it truly is a maze!
Museum of interest was the one with “Dancing Satyr”. This bronze piece was found by fishermen in the Channel of Sicily while they were fishing. The “satyr” was found in 1998 and restored during the next 6 years. Captain Ciccio and his crew, the attorney and ship owner eventually collect money for the find and the satyr remains here in Mazzaro.
Sergio introduces us to a local man, Antonio, who brought us to Theater Garibaldi. There Antonio sings for us and introduces us to Hanna, a pianist from Moscow. She played 2 pieces for us as she readies for upcoming performances at this restored 1848 theater, made of old, wood boats.
Our home-hosted lunch was at the home of the captain, his partner Angela, and her pharmacist daughter, Leah, who can speak English. We had so much delicious food! I am finding wine at lunch is not always a good thing for me, unless a nap comes soon. But coffee is also offered at the end of the meal, which is around 2:30/3 pm so maybe that is to keep one awake! Leah told me, they often drink at least 4 cups of coffee and also after dinner which may be 9:30pm. I loved Angela’s pesto pasta!
