Aci Castello and the Myth
It was a slow and easy morning with Ettore today. While we were together, Joe left to go to the butcher just around the corner from our flat. This place, along with many butchers in town, will custom-make sausage for you while you wait. Joe went in, explaining that he has Sicilian grandparents who made it with a little of -- yes, yes, we understand what you want; do you want to wait for it? And he came back here with a bunch of just-ground, just-encased, freshly made sausage of his Sicilian grandparents' recipe. Talk about coming full circle! While he was there, our favorite neighbor Giovanna walked in and greeted him. As Vincenzo said later, now we are truly Biancavillanese!
Having been fascinated by the myth of the lovesick shepherd boy, Aci, I wanted to visit Aci Castello and Aci Trezza today. The weather is warm and sunny, for December anyway, but after watching Ettore, we didn't leave early and arrived there mid-afternoon. That was just fine, since we had the whole town to ourselves during siesta time. We started in Aci Castello and walked up to Acitrezza. There are, by the way, nine towns in the Catania province which start with "Aci". They're all scattered along the Ionian coast.
This small archipelago, consisting of three large rocks and an islet, gives to the view a magical and rare beauty atmosphere. Modeled of the wind and the sea, the Faraglioni rise from the water in all their magnificence and with particular and unique shapes. The largest rock formation the Lachea island, consisting mainly of basaltic rocks. It is a protected reserve, established in 1998 in order to maintain and protect vegetation and fauna, as well as to protect the endemic lizard Podarcis sicula ciclopica, Taddei.
Another interesting legend linked to these places is that of Aci. This story clarifies why several cities close together have this common prefix.
The myth of Aci tells the story of a shepherd who loved, reciprocated, the beautiful nymph of the sea Galatea. The ruthless Polyphemus, jealous of this sentiment, killed poor Aci, leaving Galatea into despair, who wept him along the shores of the sea.
The gods, softened by the sad fate of the shepherd, turned Aci into a river, so that every day he and Galatea could meet at sea. From this legend take the name of the various towns in the area, including Acitrezza, Aci Castello and Acireale.
We took a short drive to the coast to have a look around. As the name implies, Aci Castello has a castle. Yep, another Norman castle. This one was reputedly first built by the Romans in the 900s, conquered in 1072 by the Normans, and destroyed many times, but you'd hardly know it since it's facelift in 1189. You cannot help but notice the imposing structure along the sea as you pull into the main part of town. It peeks through many of the arches that cover roads from the center down to the sea.
As we got to it, I was prepared to do the full circling of the exterior, as we had done with the other castles we've visited. I was curious as to when it was originally built, so I climbed the stairs to take a look at the placard. An older woman came up to me, speaking Italian. I couldn't hear her with my one operable ear at first. She held up a key. Do you want to go inside the castle? Of course by this time, Joe was along the coast somewhere, so it took a minute to lasso him back. I was pretty excited to go inside one of these Norman castles! The thing I forgot was that the outsides and the insides are pretty much the same once they've become "ruins," so it's more akin to climbing a huge pile of rocks. It was still thrilling for me. I was imagining the footsteps before me on these very same stones (as I do with any ancient place). The gardens are still lovely; time-worn and enchanting. The sea still beckons you to glimpse at it from the castle precipice. The gate woman walked past us again (we were the only people there for quite some time), explaining she was getting an area of the castle and courtyard ready for a wedding. What a fantastic venue! I hope the groom wears chain mail!!!
After the castle, we took a walk up to Acitrezza, which we technically entered, but the path along the sea stopped at a certain point (someone had mentioned that earlier when starting off on the town roads, but....) The main attraction are the faraglioni of Acitrezza, which we saw full and frontal. They are magnificent. These, and the faraglioni along Capri, are captivating projecting stone formations. The legend, the natural architecture of them, and the waters surrounding their narrow bases, have long caught my attention. I also noted along the walk, the garden plants that we buy in 4" pots from Gertens back home, are flourishing as enormous shrubs or small trees, or rampant groundcovers! And still blooming in December!
Before the drive back to Biancavilla, we stopped and had a snack and a drink up the road a bit from the castle and seafront. All this while, I was getting texts from Maria, whose car window fell into her door (it's icy and freezing cold in MN), and from Nikos, whose Covid re-test came back positive. But, it's only been a week. He was jonesing for a glimmer of hope and tested early. All I could say was "crap-ola". 2022 has got to be a better year.
Back home, we bought bread from Forno delle Delizie, and veggies from the ortofrutta vendor near our place. Joe grilled the sausages while I cooked the side dishes, and Mariella came upstairs during all this with her baccala' and potatoes -- a recipe I also make the day or two after Christmas! It will be tomorrow's lunch. I was pleased to see that she was still in (or quickly returned to) her pajamas. She and Elena came upstairs, PJ-clad, this morning to make plans about New Year's Eve. We will clear the playroom back to its salon/dance hall state, and evidently there will be the "cenone" (big-a$$ supper!), lentils at midnight, and dancing, dancing, dancing! I'd better start sleeping for it now. The celebration may be tempered with this new Covid rise, but I hope Elena’s godmother still comes. She lives in Naples. Elena explained, in front of Mariella, that her godmother is also a good cook. “Maybe better than my mom,” she added.
And Amazon did not deliver my order today. I need some new reading material for this brilliant child who has already pulled every rabbit out of my hat!
The bepoke sausage
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