Sicily: Noto Valley - Ragusa Ibla and Modica

13th August

We are approaching the part of Sicily I prefer... Noto Valley, the cradle of Baroque. This part of Sicily was destroyed by an earthquake in the late 17th century and rebuilt in accordance with the architectural principles of the late Baroque.
We are going to spend some days in Ragusa, to enjoy the sun and the beaches and we consider it the starting point of our daily trips to the towns nearby.
First of all, we visit Ragusa Ibla...
We go to the information point and we are given a clear explanation of the main things to visit and a map. 
Follow the direction for the centre and you will meet a lot of beautiful buildings that witness in influence of the Baroque.
Roads are very small and perched, it's very hot and very few people walk around....
The city rises on the old Sicilian settlement that was colonized by the Syracuse Greeks. You reach the main square of the town and you don't see the church San Giorgio on your back until you turn yourself and it's there, it stands there in its maiesty and grandeur, dominating on the square. It stands at the end of a stairway with a convex facade and a dome, that was added in a second time.
In the square in front, you should savor one of the best ice cream of Sicily. Where? At Gelati Divini you can taste the strangest flavours of the home made ice cream: pistache from Bronte, jasmine, carob and... wine!
The most beautiful aspects of the town are all the baroque buildings that you can find here and there, moreover this part of the town comprehends 42 churches.
You reach the eastern end of Ibla and you are welcomed in the Garden Ibleo, next to which there is the ancient portal of Saint George.
You can find a lot of shops where to buy typical products of the area too!

One of the most peculiar product of this part of Sicily is the carob, that can be used instead of cocoa. The culture of carob dates back to the age of the Greeks but it was intensified during the 18th century when it was exported, eaten by the poorest and used as a remedy.  The tree of carob has become one of the benchmark of this part of Sicily: the Hyblean landscape, in fact, is characterized by them, by rocks and dry well stones that together with the old masserias represent the asset of this region.

CAROB TAGLIATELLE
Ingredients
400g flour
100g carob flour
5 eggs
salt

For the sauce:
Tomatoes
Anchovies
Parsley
Pine nuts

First of all you have to prepare pasta: pour both the flours on the table, add the eggs and the salt and start mixing everything together. Make a ball with it and let it rest for half an hour. Then start working it, if you can do it with the rolling pin, otherwise with the machine.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce: put some olive oil in a pan withtwo pieces of garlic, add 5 or 6 anchovies, some parsley, the pine nuts and the tomatoes previously diced.

Let it cook for half an hour, put salt and pepper.

Finally cook pasta in boiling water for 10 minutes and serve it with the sauce...deliciuos!!!

  After lunch, we leave for Modica...where the chocolate has its best.

"Another reminder to take by the throat is the chocolate of Modica ... : a bitter chocolate of two flavours, vanilla and cinnamon - to be eaten in pieces or to melt in a cup: the incomparable taste, so that who tries it, seems to have reached the archetype, the absolute and that the most celebrated chocolate wherever produced, is just adultery, corruption..." La Contea di Modica, L. Sascia

Also in this case, to find out the most beautiful examples of Baroque, we need to play a treasure hunt....
First stop is: L'antica Dolceria Bonajuto, Corso Umberto I, 159 where you can taste all the forms of chocolate, whose preparation goes back to the the 16th century when the Conquerors discovered the New World and ... cocoa seeds. After their return, they handed down the secrets of its preparation that, here, are still preserved. 

The Dome of San Giorgio is considered one of the masterpiece and the symbol of the Sicilian Baroque with its tower, 62m high that reminds us of the Katholische Hofkirche in Dresda.
You can approach it from the lower part of the town and it seems to be a little hidden because of the long staircase that brings you to the top. 
Its shape, preceeded by the stairs reminds Trinità dei Monti in Rome. Don't stop in front of it but go in because the interior won't disappoint you. From here you have also a wonderful view of the town , whose configuration looks like a Nativity scene.

Places where to stay: 
RAGUSA
Locanda Don Serafino 4*, Via XI  Febbraio 15 - Ragusa Ibla;
L'apparthotel, Via Perrera A, 9 - Ragusa Ibla (that offers you solutions in other towns on the island).
If you want to be closer to the beach and live in an old masseria:
Residence Mastro Vanni, Via del Bagolaro, 1 - Ragusa 
B&B CAMEMI, S.P. 25 Ragusa- Marina di ragusa

Back to Sicily: The valley of the Temples and the Turkish staircase

12th August

"Looked up, thus thinking, staring at Girgenti that was sitting high on the hill with old houses made golden by the sun, like in a scenery" The Old God, Luigi Pirandello

We got up early to join a couple of friends who is coming here to visit the Temples Valley, one of the best preserved site of the Hellenistic period that in 1998 was acknowledged World Humanity Heritage.
It's warm, very warm and we need a hat because we are going to walk for a while and the sun...burns!!!

We reach the entrance and we go to Temple of Giunone, the one where marriages were celebrated and whose parts of pillars still stand here in front of us and of the beutiful sea that you can admire from here. 
We walk along a partially shadowed path and we reach his majesty: the Temple of Concordia, the best preserved of the whole complex. The name, probably, derives from an inscription that was found nearby. 

We go on walking the Sacred Way and we reach the mansion of Captain Hardcastle and last but not the least, the Temple of Hercules.
On the other side of the street, we enter the second part of the complex where rests of the temples of Zeus, of Castore and Polluce and of Volcano stand.
Nearby, the visit to the Garden of Kolimbetra is a must because of its luxuriant vegetation.

It's too hot and we cannot stand the warmth any longer...we need to take a bath and so we decide to go to the Turkish Staircase which is not far away ... The view is unique and the white of the rocks looks brighter because the sunlight insinuates itself between the deep blue of the water and the light blue of the sky, it' a paradise even if, during summer, a little bit crowded. (It's difficult to park the car too). Our B&B is very close to the hystorical centre and for dinner we reach Via Atenea that is full of ancient churches but not only...it's also full of restaurants and pubs and, during the week end a lot of people is taking a walk.
We stop for dinner at Perbacco - Vicolo Lo Presti, 2. It's so pictoresque and romantic that it is a shame to be here with one of my girlfriends. But the tables prepared on the stairs that lead to the restaurant, with soft light and candles make it magic!!!
For dinner, finally we can taste the

CASSATA SICILIANA

Ingredients: 

400g sponge cake

500g ricotta cheese

100g bitter chocolate drops

1/4 tablespoon vanilla

300g icing sugar

Vermouth

Candied Fruits

Marzipan

The day befor well drain ricotta in a strainer so that you remove all the water and mix it with sugar, Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest one night long.

The following morning, cut the sponge into rectangular slices and place half of them side by side on the bottom of a springform baking tin (with removable sides). Sprinkle with Vermouth.

Work the ricotta to get a creamy mixture, add the diced candied fruits and the chocolate drops with vanilla. Pour the cream onto the sponge slices, cover with another layer of cake and put it in the refrigerator.ì for some hours.

In the meantime, work the marzipa, that you have previously coloured with green food coloring, with a rolling pin so that you get a layer that you will use to cover the cake, once inverted. Chill in the refrigerator till time of serving.

Pompei

On Sunday morning we catch the Circumvesuviana train till Pompei, we get off, we cross the road and we are in a place that dates back thousands of years ago.
We start a guided tour of the town, that town whose existance has been threatened by the eruption of the Vesuvio in the 78 A.D.
It's really astonishing to see how everything has been preserved, how it still stands there without having been damaged by the passing of the time.
We reach the top of the town where the ancient forus stands and we imagine the ancient orators talking to the population...
From this square a lot of streets and little markets depart... We can walk along Via dell'abbondanza or decide to go and give a a look at the ancient market of the wool or of the meat and fish or the ancient temple.
We go to see the ancient baths where beautiful mosaics and frescos are preserved. It is interesting to observe also the method they used in order to convey cold and warm water to the different pools. We give a look at the plant of their houses and it's surprising to see how they were also well depicted on my books at school.
Then we reach the old theatres: the biggest and the smallest one...that can still be use for rapresentations and concerts.
From the top we can see also the squared portico, whose complete view stands here:

The guided tour is over but we go on walking and visiting houses and the most famous brothel of the town, the district of the bakers where original oven and grinders still stand there, the House of Nerone's second wife and Iside's temple. Our final goal is the Amphitheatre that is perfectly preserved and whose grandeur astonishes you.

Time at disposal is over and we have also lost the last train back to Naples, so we have to walk till the centre of Pompei to find out an alternative solution. While waiting for the train, we decide to go and drink something to restore and we taste our first 
SFOGLIATELLA, just one to be divided but it's so delicious that you would like to have another one.
Hereby there is also an important noteworthy Sanctuary, seat of the Papal delegation that dates back to the end of the 19th century. 
When you are on holiday, everything is allowed and so tonight we finish our dinner with 

TORTA CAPRESE

Ingredients:
250g butter;
5 eggs;
250g dark chocolate;
20g sugar
300g blanched almonds.

Break into pieces both almonds and chocolate and melt bain-marie the chocolate till it gets  smooth and without lumps. Let it cool down for a while.
In a food processor mix the butter and half the sugar and add the yolks. As soon as the  chocolate has cooled down, add it to the mixture.
Move it in a large bowl, add the almonds. Whip the egg whites until stiff (add a pinch of salt) and add with delicacy the sugar mixing from below.
Put the compound in a previously greased pan and put it in the oven 180° for 45 minutes paying attention to the centre of the cake that could seem hardened but it's not!

A cloudy day in Naples

On Saturday morning I get up and the weather is not so good... it's rainy, windy and cloudy. But never mind, there are a lot of things that can be done.

Before going out, I have breakfast in the B&B where our host prepares a lot of cakes for her guest: carrot cake, bitter orange jam tart, lemon cake, coffee plumcake and...the PASTIERA NAPOLETANA cannot miss!

First of all, walking along Via dei Tribunali, I approach the Cappella Sansevero, founded in 1590 and renovated in the 18th century, when the vault was completely painted and filled with statues to celebrate the virtues of his family's maidens. In the mid of the nave the sculpture of Veiled Christ is lying: it's something astonishing because you can really see the veil and the joints of the hands and feet so cleraly that you cannot believe it's a statue.

Soon afterwards we go back on Via dei Tribunali from where the tour to visit the underground part of the town starts and so we spend two hours wandering in a net of tunnels and tanks, that was opened at the beginning of the 20th century in order to draw from building material as tuff, to build acqueducts and galleries that represented a refuge during the World Wars.
Befor ending the tour, we are taken in private houses and old shops in order to see parts of an ancient Roman theatre that has been assembled in the "new" buildings.
It's lunch time and we resurrect to the day light... we have just visited a "basso", a kind of apartment whose entrance is right on the street; houses where poor people lived in the past and that were offered PIZZA FRITTA, directly from the Pizzaioli who sold them to the poorest and got paid after 8 days.
You can taste it in the street shops where they are on sale for few euros...

In the afternoon we take part to a guided tour of the Monastery of Santa Chiara: the cloister is full of decorations with majolicas where the main colours are yellow, green and light blue, the same colours of the sky, of the vineyard and of the lemon trees that grow all around.
At the end of the tour you can see an example of nativity scene that is very common in Naples: people start working at it in the month of May, so that on the following Christmas, it will be ready.
We go back to Via Toledo and we decide to reach the upper part of the town: the VOMERO thanks to the cable railway. This part of the town, founded in the 19th century, is full of great buildings, that look like more elegant even if it is said that it has lost the idyliiac character it had. We walk around Castel Sant'Elmo but we cannot enter because it's going to close, we will come back but in the meantime we take advantage of the wonderful view in front of us: Naples stands there, under our feet in all its grandeur.

Just a break in Naples

"One may write or paint as much as one likes, but this place, the shore, the Gulf, Vesuvius, the citadels, the villas, everything defies description" Italian Journey, J. W. Goethe

Easter Time and 3 months ago I planned to visit Naples... in Italy it's said "See Naples and then die!" and I agree: it's so beautiful, so particular, so fascinating...

I get off the train on Friday morning and it's sunny... I leave all the bags in the B&B and run out for a first sightseeing of the city. I'm very close to the hystorical centre and so I start crossing it through
Via dei Tribunali: a long street on which several gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches appear and that ends in front of Castel Capuano, the headquarter of justice;
Spaccanapoli: so called because it is said to divide the town in two different parts;
Via Toledo: full of shops and important administrative buildings, very close to the "Quartieri Spagnoli" - the very pictoreque part of the city
San Gregorio Armeno: one of the most ancient street where artesans are still working at producing hand made figurines for the Nativity scenes and not only...there is also something more contemporaneus!!!
It's lunch time and I'm attracted by a lot of people in the mid of the street... I go to find out more and decide that I must taste my first Pizza, the original Italian pizza. I give my name at the waitress but I must wait for 2 hours before hearing my name pronounced.
Sorbillo, is not a fast food, it's one of the best place where you can taste pizza in Naples but there are too many people waiting for a seat that after 2 minutes you have ordered your pizza, you are served it!!!
But, up to now, I have not yet seen the volcano.... so I decide to go on wandering, passing in front of Teatro San Carlo, entering the Galleria Umberto and coming out on Piazza del Plebiscito. From there I walk along the coasts and here it is: the Vesuvio.

Today it's not cloudy and so it's possible to admire it very well and very close to us.
Walking along the coasts you can find:
Maschio Angioino: the most important civil Angevin and aragonense factory of the town;
Castel dell'Ovo: whose name is conveyed by the shape of the island and by the legend of an enchanted egg left here by Virgilius, is a sort of fortress, an ancient town closed in by defensive walls.

I would like to catch the underground to go back to the B&B but I prefer walking and finding out more of the city that, up to now, has fascinated me so much.
Naples is so strange because it consists of two different parts: the oldest one that is the most typical and the most modern, that is much more elegant.
but, not to say, ...the one I prefer is, of course, the eldest one, it's the true soul of the city.

One of the typical dish of Easter time is the

CASATIELLO

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

1kg 00 flour + something more for rolling the dough;

120g margarine because you cannot find sugna so easily (I was told by my hostess "don't use sugna if you don't know where it comes from");

1 cube fresh yeast;

350ml warm water;

10g salt;

pepper;

2 teaspoon sugar.

For the filling:

40g grated parmesan cheese;

100g pecorino;

100g provolone;

100g ham or speck;

1 boiled egg.

Pour the flour in a bowl together with the yeast, the pepper, the margarine. Melt salt in the warm water and pour it in the bowl and mix everything together until you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture. Put in a bowl that you have previously greased with margarine.

Leave it rest in the oven, where you have put a cup of boiled water so that the temperature inside is a little bit warmer, for at least 2 hours.

When it will have become the double, sprinkle flour on the pastry and roll out the dough in a long shape.

Pour on it parmesan cheese, dices of pecorino and provola, ham, and dices of a boiled egg.

Close the dough and put it in the cooking pan, that you have previously greased with margarine and let it rest in the oven for 2 hours.

It will have been leavened when you will cook it for 40 minutes at 180°.

Enjoy it and Happy Easter!