Sicilian Thirst-Quencher: La Granita

Food/Wine Lore, Other Italy Favorites1 Comment

Arab influences are strong in Sicily, from the architecture to the sweets, from the underground Arab acqueducts of Palermo to the granulated-ice dessert, la granita. The Arabs brought their sherbert to Sicily, an iced drink flavored with fruit juices or rosewater. In the Middle Ages, the nevaroli – “ice-gatherers” – had the important task of conserving the snow of Mt. Etna and other mountain ranges in stone depositories built over grottoes, natural ones and man-made ones. The nobility bought the mounds of ice during the sizzling summer months, mixing in the juice of the island’s lemons with grated ice to make a perfect thirst-quencher – and thus the granita was born…
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Il Nonno di Ustica

Other Italy Favorites, Unforgettable ItaliansLeave a comment

“A blood relative or not, he’s my relative. Pasquale’s everybody’s relative: he’s “il nonno di Ustica.” Nonno Pasquale’s blue eyes – the same color as Ustica’s sea – twinkle at friend Gaetano’s affectionate words. A smile spreads ear-to-ear across his gentle face, pink cheeks still smooth with only a suggestion of wrinkles. Pasquale Palmisano will be a hundred next May.
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Umbria’s Last Castle-village?

History, Umbrian Hilltowns7 Comments

Maybe not the last of the many castle-villages in Umbria, but certainly one of the most picturesque, pink limestone gem, Collepino, slumbers on a mountainside above Spello in almost monastic quiet. Befitting: Collepino has an ancient link to a monastery, for medieval Collepino was once a defensive stronghold, protecting a nearby eleventh-century Benedictine abbey, San Silvestero.. Embrasures in the outer walls – slit-like openings for the shooting of crossbows – and the crumbling remnants of a medieval guard tower give testament to a bellicose era.
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