December Saints Days, Coffee and Chocolate

So I'm going through my usual morning routine - the cats (which they had in the 13th century) jump on my head, I get up and make coffee (which Sicily did not have in the 13th century) and I contemplate my espresso beans - a gift from my sweet friend Meredith - covered in chocolate (which they did not have in Sicily in the 13th century.  My, those 13th century Sicilians were deprived!  Well, they had cats.  And lemons.  And cane sugar.  And leather.  It's a start ...


And because one of my friends mentioned the Feast of the Immaculate Conception the other day (December 8) I thought I'd peruse the Book of Saints to see how many December saints there are.  Holy Smokes!  Check out the list below - there's a virtual plethora of them!   Happy Feast Days!  (it always comes back to food doesn't it?)


St. Francis Xavier
St. John Damascene
St. Nicholas (
Santa Claus)
St. Ambrose
Mary's Immaculate Conception
St. Damasus
Our Lady of Guadalupe
St. Jane Frances de Chantal
St. John of the Cross
St. Peter Canisius
St. Lucy (Santa Lucia - my personal favorite)
St. John of Kanti
St. Stephen
St. John the Apostle
Holy Innocents
St. Thomas Becket
St. Sylvester


Now, as a defunct Methodist, most of these saints are not familiar to me.  But Santa Lucia, not only a popular saint in Sicily/Italy, I met at a Lutheran Church in Chicago.  I attended a Santa Lucia Day ceremony, with young girls coming down the aisle wearing tiaras with lighted candles on their heads.  Very impressive.  Santa Lucia is also Siracusa's patron saint and they have a beautiful procession, with Santa Lucia cakes.


And who doesn't know the story of Thomas Becket?  "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest" in the famous words of Henry II.  Arrivaderci, Thomas.


And that's my December saints blog!

Siracusa, ancient Greeks, Plutarch, Santa Lucia, travel

I was just going through some pictures and reminiscing about the trips I've taken to Siracusa, and isn't it interesting how you think you know a place and then you either re-visit or read something and you think, wow, I never saw that!  Like the Edificio Termale in eastern Achradina, a Roman bathhouse where an emperor was supposedy assassinated in 668 AD by a servant who clobbered him with a soapdish.  Gee, and I love to soak ... just keep an eye on where all the soapdishes are.


We all know that Siracusa was founded by the ancient Greeks and the famous spring, Fonte Aretusa, which supposed turned red with blood when a sacrifice was made at the sanctuary of Olympia in Greece.  Also that if a cup was thrown into the river in Olympia, it would rise in Ortygia.  I personally never saw any cups floating around, but I did walk all over Ortygia and it was beautiful.  They say Plutarch wept when the beautiful city of Siracusa fell to the Romans.


And of course Cicero, the famous orator, was impressed with Siracusa as well (who wasn't?) and talks about the extravagant decorations of ivory and gold on the outside of the Greek temple where the Duomo is now.  And Cicero went on to prosecute Verres, the nasty Roman governor who plundered many of Sicily's treasures with impunity.


Last but not least, I'm always fascinated with Santa Lucia.  I first met this saint in a Lutheran church in Chicago, where Santa Lucia Day is celebrated as a festival of light on the shortest day of the year.  Girls came down the aisle with tiaras of real candles in their hair (yikes, I'd be scared to do that) and there were special cakes and food.  Imagine my surprise when years later I go to Sicily and again meet Santa Lucia, who is the patron saint of Siracusa, and famous throughout the island.


Anyway who has knowledge or stories about Santa Lucia, please cough them up, I'd love to hear them.


And the last thing I want to say about Siracusa, is the fabulous food I have always had there - octopi, sea bass, gelato - you name it, we ate it and it was all wonderful.

sardines, anchovies, mullet and other fish stories in Sicily

Since Alison and I returned from Sicily, I can't stop thinking about the fabulous "polpe" or octopus we had in Siracusa.  And that brought back memories of a wonderful meal our friend Pietro cooked for us which included stuffed sardines alla Palermo which we shopped for in Palermo's incredible, medieval fish market, the Vucciria. 


Other friends made us mullet, swordfish and tunny and I never ate so well as I did that 8 months in Palermo.  Fresh, wonderful fish, straight from the Mediterranean.


And in Trapani, the medieval salt pans with their lazily turning windmills - beautiful scenery around Castellemare and Cefalu's beauty.  I don't know why anyone goes to mainland Italy! 


And let's remember Paolo's restaurant in Siracusa, thank you Bruno and Lucia for taking us there, it was incredible.  So was Basirico's - fabulous octopus and sea bass.

Erice, Easter in Sicily and other good eats

So I'm buzzing along making travel plans for next year's trip to Sicily.  My friend Bruno in Siracusa asked me if I knew I would be coming at Easter time.  I said a resounding YES!  I hope to not only observe what goes on at Easter in Sicily, but to find out what special foods are prepared for this very special holiday.  I plan to use all these special foods in Book #3, now called Death of the Leopard.  If you are Sicilian or Italian and prepare special foods for Easter, please share them with us on this blog!  I hope to find out whether special Easter foods were served in the 13th century, or if medieval food and recipes are still served today.  


Last but not least, I'm looking at staying in Erice for three days or so.  First, because I want to explore the Greek temples in Agrigento, the medieval salt museum and salt pans in Trapani, but also because I remember Erice as being beautiful.  The Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Greeks - all contributed to the beauty of that town - and there were some spectacular battles around there as well in ancient times.


Google Erice on the internet and see some beautiful beautiful pictures.