Italy has been on my mind. In my weekly San Francisco Italian class (Museo Italo-Americano) our assignment was to do some thinking and reading about Italian stereotypes in preparation for class discussion. This made me remember a story that Carlo has written in our book, SALENTO BY 5. He talks about the way the rivalry between northern and southern Italy presents itself in Salento. He says that the citizens of Lecce, Salento's central, in-land, university town, often refer to the inhabitants south of them as being " capu." (from the cape) meaning that the townspeople are less sophisticated, less refined than the Leccese. In turn, the inhabitants of Gallipoli and Taviano, towns south of Lecce, refer to the folks living in Ugento south of them as "capu." The citizens of Ugento say that the "capu" begins with the people of Acquarica. But when we reach Santa Maria di Leuca, a small town fronting the sea at the end of the land, we find that the townspeople are sophisticated, refined, and comfortable in their seaside villas. Che strano, no?
This year, in September, we will again travel to our apartment in Otranto. The sketch below depicts the ancient wall that surrounds the historic center of town. Our apartment is located on the wall and is shown circled in red. From the apartment terrace, we can look out at the bay on the Adriatic Sea to check whether the water is glassy and calm or rippled, from either the Tramontana or the Scirocco winds. Glassy, calm water means long, easy, warm swimming. But when one of the winds is blowing, it could mean a surprisingly cold and short swim. The winds are part of Salento's summer weather. The saying, found on signs, posters, t-shirts and the like, is: "Salento, lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu" the local dialect for the Italian: "Salento, il Sole, il Mare, il Vento" or in English: "Salento: the sun, the sea, the wind."
My mouth waters. I am rewriting the recipe for octopus cooked in a clay pot. The measurements need to be spelled out in detail. But who really needs more than what follows? Two octopuses for four people. Buy them already cleaned; no one wants to mess with octopus ink. Make sure the eyes, snout, and sinewy vein-like strings in the brain have been removed. Cut them into pieces and place them in a clay pot with olive oil, chopped onion, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper. If you like potatoes, add a few. Cover the pot and put a rock on the lid to hold it down tight. When the pot begins to make popping sounds, the octopuses are ready to eat. And always the warning: DO NOT ADD WATER. The octopuses must stew in their own juices. Say it again and laugh, because, as humans, we know what that means. Yes, we screw things up and must live with the consequences. But, unlike the octopuses, we live to tell the tale. Chaucer would have said something along the lines of fry in your own grease. In Italian, cuocere nel proprio brodo. Are there other ways of conveying this idea in Italian? What are they?
Well, apart from continuing to philosophize about Good and Evil, you can shape, paint and fire amazing ceramic creations like these, just working from your house in Mancaversa, south of Gallipoli in Salento, Italy! That is what Ornella Filiè Novaro does . . . You can view her website at www.grandesud.eu
Here are two sketches from my travel journals of years past. Neither is in the book, but if you like either and are so inclined, please "like" this post on your Facebook page. Grazie mille (click to enlarge)
It has been years in the making and over a year in waiting. Like birthing a baby, all one can do is wait. Except nowadays, there is work to do while waiting: the preparation of the book's social platform. What does that mean? It's like preparing the nursery for a newborn except instead of a cradle, diapers, baby clothes, and stuffed animals, you need a website, a blog, blurbs, reviewers, a media kit, early readings, and books that guide you. The Frugal Book Planner by Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a favorite. With the birth of Salento By 5 imminent, we five authors are ready (sort of) to launch it from its social platform. Now what's a media kit again?
As you may know, I am a songwriter. My songs are about Salento, its people, the way we fall in love surrounded by a nature like the one you can only find travelling to the south-east. The sun is always with you, reflecting your soul; the sea changes its mood every time you change yours; the wind brings you every single sigh and tear shed by your beloved. The sun, the sea, the wind: the master keys to open Salento’s real soul, the very cypher key to my new album, “Lu Mare tu Salentu”.
I have been visiting Otranto almost every year for more than ten years, but it wasn’t until recently, while viewing Otranto from above with the “Google Earth” app, that I discovered the formal names of the main street that runs along the bay, connecting the town’s public garden near the historic center to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit on the other side of the bay. I always knew the street by its common name, the “Lungomare.” But the full name is “Lungomare Terra D’Otranto”. At least, that is the name beginning at the public garden. About half way along the bay, the name changes to, “Lungomare John F. Kennedy.” “JFK,” as we Americans refer to him, was one of our country’s great presidents and it is an honor for us American visitors to know that Otranto has named one of its principle streets for him.
One morning, I arose before dawn and took a walk along the Lungomare. I looked across the bay toward the sea and saw fishermen on the rocks of the pier silhouetted in the dawn light. The scene inspired the journal drawing below. In the Fall of 2006 (ten years ago), the fourth year in a row that we found ourselves back in Salento, we sat around the Sunday dinner table at Carlo and Lucia's summer home in Mancaversa. Someone said, "We should write a book—a book together." Maybe it was the wine, the afternoon sun, our satisfied bellies. Let's blame Lucia's homemade limoncello. "Sure, let's write a book together," we answered in chorus.
This is Gigi's store, across the piazza from Otranto's Cattedrale. Our apartment is nearby and we often get an Italian lesson from Gigi or one of the family on duty as we pass by on our way to the apartment.
|
Archives
August 2023
RECOMMENDED LINKS
*diannehales.com/ (Dianne Hales is the author of numerous delightful books about Italy, a blog, and lots of chat about the Italian language) * Roots 'n Tours (An innovative and delightful new Tour Company) * Martha's Italy (Filled with information about places to visit in Italy) *Travel with a Local (Inventive and customizable Italian Tours with local guides) |