Siena, So Long Ago

February 9, 2012

He was sitting in the piazza in quaint little Monterosso Almo, Southeast Sicily, out in front of a bar.

I like your beret. Did you get that in France?

He pulled it off his head to study it, revealing a thick mop of hair the color of sheep’s wool.

No, no. It is from Siena.

Siena?

Si. Siena, Siena, he muttered. Tanti anni fa. So long ago.

Ah!  (I could think of nothing better to say.)

The man got very quiet and a faraway look came into his eye.

I slipped into the bar for a coffee. When I came out, his eyes were still on the horizon and his cigarette unlit.

Sicilian Man in Beret, copyright Jann Huizenga

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Monterosso Almo (the lower part of town)

 

February 9th, 2012 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Sicilians | 24 comments - (Comments are closed)

Sicily, Still Haunted by World War II

December 5, 2011

Giuseppe is peering at the Gazzetta del Sud in the doorway of the circolo for war veterans in Monterosso Almo. He invites me in.

Sicilian War Veteran in Monterosso Almo, Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

“Guess my age.”

The inevitable question asked by every Sicilian over the age of 70. “I don’t know, signore. Seventy?”

“Eighty-eight. I was a soldier in the Italian army in the Second World War. I was in prison in North Africa.”

I don’t ask him who imprisoned him. I think I know. George Patton during the North African campaign.

“For how long?”

“Six months.”

What do you say to someone who, almost 70 years after a war, is still haunted by it?

Sicilian War Veteran in Monterosso Almo, Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

Giuseppe suddenly starts talking English.

“I learn English in prison, and later in England. A commander he take me to England. Then I come back in Sicily in 1945.”

Our conversation is interrupted by a new arrival. I say goodbye, so sorry there is no time to ask the many questions on my mind.

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December 5th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: History, Sicilians | 24 comments - (Comments are closed)

A Story of a Village Morning

February 4, 2011

Village Scene in Southeast Sicily, copyright Jann HuizengaVillage Scene in Southeast Sicily, copyright Jann HuizengaVillage Scene in Southeast Sicily, copyright Jann HuizengaVillage Scene in Southeast Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

This is Monterosso Almo in Southeast Sicily (population 3300), where tourists dare not tread. Go, if you like tumbledown places with warm-hearted folks and heart-stopping views. This is OLD SICILY, folks. Step into the surprising chiesa madre in the upper part of town and have a drink at the bar across the street with the charming old onion farmers, then wander down into the lower (older) section of town and hunt for the stone fountain where women once scrubbed clothes. You’ll think you’ve stepped way back into a bygone time, except for the windmills taking over a nearby hillside like so many nasty weeds. In season, ask for directions to the mushroom (funghi) restaurant just outside town.

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Head over to Dianne Hales’ Becoming Italian site for a chance to win some cool Italy-related prizes.

February 4th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Beyond Ragusa Ibla, Living in Sicily | 23 comments - (Comments are closed)
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