Monday, Monday, Castle, Castle
The Mamas & Papas song goes through my head many a Monday.
Today’s version had a scratch in it (heh heh; only the vinyl aficionados or oldsters will get the reference). We decided to have express showers and get a move on, so we could seek out “Alessandro’s” castle.
First hiccup: at 9:30, the Clio was gone. Mariella must’ve run errands with it. We waited, but at 11:30, I told Joe I had to get outside. I went for a walk.
As I was walking, I suggested Joe check if the other car was available (aunt Rosalba’s, who’s in Torino). He said just wait til I got back, but I texted Elena, who said Mariella had returned at 10:30! Uncharacteristically, the Clio was in the garage, where we never thought to look. The family’s cars are usually piled on top of each other on the sidewalk.
He picked me up in front of Artigiana. When we finally got going, we drove to Adrano. I like that town, and we haven’t stopped there this go-around.
But first, just past the edge of town, the castle that Alessandro told us about.
Castello Solichiata!
I’ll mark the beginning and end of a historical backdrop with asterisks, in case you don’t nerd out on this kind of minutia as much as I do. Just scroll til you hit the second set of
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Planeta, wine takeover powerhouse as they are, has recently bought all distribution rights for the wines of the Feudi Spitaleri company, located in the marvelous Solicchiata Castle estate in Adrano (Ct), on the Etna.
The estate, almost inaccessible to visitors in respect of the extraordinary nature (location) of the places and the confidentiality of the Spitaleri family of Muglia, is part of 60 hectares of vineyards on a total agricultural area of over 300 hectares.
Over 100 kilometers of carved lava stone walls, heights ranging from 700 to 1000 meters; 550,000 sapling vines. Solicchiata is probably the largest terraced sapling vineyard in the world, planted with 70% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the remainder with minor Bordeaux varieties. Part of the extraordinary heritage of the castle is the Feudo Boschetto, entirely cultivated with Pinot noir with some plants that date back to the original project. The catalog consists of six labels – three based on Cabernet Franc and three pure Pinot Noirs. Only French varieties, as was the will of the founder since the mid-nineteenth century.
Castello Solicchiata is a unique project of its kind, conceived in the mid-nineteenth century by the Spitaleri of Muglia, a family of noble and very ancient lineage: the name in fact derives from Ospidalieri, knights of St. John of Jerusalem and then of Malta, crusader barons
who arrived on 'Etna to market wine at the end of the 13th century, on the way back from the trip to Jerusalem. Enlightened farmers, they boast the primacy of being the first to bring the cultivation of vines to Etna, and of having perpetrated the agricultural activity following the succession of different dominations and cultures (from the flourishing early medieval trade to the suspension of the Moorish domination, up to the of the sixteenth century).
In 1855, Baron Felice Spitaleri - the youngest senator of the Kingdom of Italy and advocate of the Italian wine-growing Risorgimento - conceives a vision as daring as it is fascinating: to build a French-style chateau on Etna, with hundreds of terraces dug into the lava rock and a state-of-the-art production model. The experimentation of the autochthonous varieties was entrusted to the most famous geo-botanist and ampelographer of the time: Father Francesco Tornabene, a member of the famous Catania school and founder of the Catania botanical garden; the architectural planning is led by Andrea Scala, who is inspired by the boxes of Italian theaters to design the over 300 hectares of terraced vineyards.
Solicchiata thus becomes the chosen place to cultivate famous non-native varieties and produce large, elegant and unique bottles, able to dialogue with the world of international wine, gaining the stages of the major wine competitions of the time. In fact, the Solicchiata wine won first prize at the London Exposition in 1888, the Great Diploma of Honor and Gold Medal in Palermo in 1889, Vienna 1890, Berlin 1892, Brussels 1893, Milan 1894 and was the first official supply of the Royal House of Italy, remaining the most awarded Italian wine at international and universal competitions of the 19th century.
The Spitaleri family carries on the wine dream that their ancestors conceived two centuries ago, ferrying it into the present. A present in which Sicily not only has a place of honor in the Italian and world wine scene but, with Castello Solicchiata wines, expresses the determination with which a family of exceptional men designed, built and finally developed its idea of wine electing Etna as an ideal place - comments Alessio Planeta, CEO of Planeta - The Castello Solicchiata project is motivated by a deep love for our wonderful island and, as for Serra Ferdinandea - where, together with the French Oddo family, we conceived the vision of a 'perfect' farm where agriculture becomes the expression of a superior harmony which finds its maximum realization in nature – Planeta becomes a careful selector of hidden or potential excellences; of people who, with their extraordinary character, nourish the glorious image of Sicily as the historical and cultural cradle of Italy and of the western world in general. All of this is called Ab Insula, a project that collects - and will collect - the most distinctive excellences of the island that we have selected, valued and promoted to be brought to the attention of all.
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Let’s go! It’s 11 minutes away by car!
You’ve gotta love GPS. And you’ve gotta hate GPS. Here’s what Alessandro set us out to find.
Here’s where GPS brought us.
It’s ok; both are lovely in their own way. After Google Maps took us to the ruins, we ended up going full circle, using Apple Maps, until we were on the back side of this crumbling structure. BUT it took us past the Solichiata castle, which is walled off by varying heights of imposing crenellated stone enclosures. And the structure in ruins is actually part of the castle/vineyard property.
The non-ruins castle is closed to the public, unfortunately. But here are some photos along our topsy-turvy adventure.
After hitting all the no-access points, not understanding yet that the castle is closed to the public, I said let’s go to Adrano’s Centro Storico and have a caffe.
First, we walked to the belvedere and to the underwhelming Fontana dei Mille (there were many road signs leading to it—and signs are rare here! So we expected more, with all the hype).
We sat at Bar Europa, a classy confectionery with incredibly good pasticcerie, but I just wanted a caffe and Joe ordered a Campari & soda. Of course, half a meal came with his lone drink. You’ll always get food with alcohol here!
And, just because I imagine what it’d be like if I lived in any place I ever visit, I snapped some Adrano street scenes.
After we finished eating/drinking, we walked toward the car.
“Look!! Joe, the castle door is open!!”
I wasn’t talking about Castello Solichiata, of course, but about the Norman Castle that is in the center of Adrano. I’ve wanted to go inside this one, as well as it’s miniature in Paternò. We walked in, asking how long we should allow ourselves to have a look-around. I had to get back within the hour to watch Ettore. The nice man suggested we return tomorrow, so we’re not rushed. I made Joe pinky-swear that we would come back.
Ettore was in a good mood again today, never tiring of the game “guess which hand has this dumb little toy in it,” which lasted about a half hour! We ran and fenced (he’s got the French commands down-pat for an epee match; you’re welcome), twirled and squashed each other, and when he had a sudden bout of missing mommy, we made pancakes! He wanted to try Simone’s toy bow & arrow, which was exhumed from the myriad of games and toys stacked to the rafters, when Aziza walked in. She said Elena is on a video conference downstairs.
No problem; we’ll play up here! It’s sometimes hard when Ettore has to split his attention. And Aziza is always easier—she’s younger, she speaks only Italian, she’s really good with Ettore. But he wants to go to his house with her, whenever he sees her. I know Elena is in a meeting, so redirection tactic #3,047 was going well into action when Aziza picked him up to go. “Ma… c’è ancora un riunione sotto, vero?” But there’s still a meeting going on downstairs, right? Aziza said she’ll take him to Mariella’s. I’m a little dismayed, since I think it’s ok if he doesn’t always get what he wants, especially for no reason. And I suspect Elena would agree with me. Plus, I only have a week left with him! But, on the bright side, I have a couple of extra free hours this evening.
I asked Joe if he were up for an appertivo at Bar Cristal. Then I’d come back and cook dinner. All the weight I lost while being sick is right back on my gut and thighs. Why not throw a few more arancine onto them?
I had a glass of prosecco and Joe had a Negroni. And again; lots of snacks. We usually total around €5-8 for drinks, and often it’s a meal as well.
The sun was turning the sky into cotton candy as we walked home.
I was ready to call it a night as far as food went, but Joe was up for a little something simple, so I made aglio e olio and a tortorella-tomato-oregano salad. As I was cooking, Mariella knocked at the door and handed Joe a big slab of her schiacciata. We cut off a slice to eat tonight, because I can’t pass up her schiacciata!!!
It’s sooooo goooood….
Tomorrow, another day, another castle!
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