In my post on Monday, I made note of the fact that I am of Italian descent (to be more exact, both of my parents were actually born in Italy, though most of their lives have been spent in the US) and we did not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Our Lenten holiday was St. Joseph’s day, always two days after St. Patrick’s Day on March 19th. (*Or so I thought.) Growing up, I assumed that it was a universal Italian holiday, but have recently learned that it is mostly Sicilian, and in the US is only really celebrated in certain cities with pockets of Sicilian Americans. Buffalo, NY is one of those cities. (Photo: A fisherman repairs his nets after returning to harbor with the day’s catch in Pozzuoli.)
The central part of the festival is the St. Joseph’s Day Table, lavishly decorated with food and bread (on right. ) Traditionally, it is a day to share with those less fortunate and to give to the needy. My mother’s cousin owns a restaurant in Buffalo, Frank’s Sunny Italy, and each year they host a St. Joseph’s Day Dinner. They open their door to anyone who wants to come, and the meal is traditional St. Joseph’s Day fare … and free. Instead of charging for the meal, they request donations for the Buffalo Children’s Hospital. I was able to attend in both 2006 and 2007, and it was a truly unique experience. (In 2006, I created VR panoramas of the event, one in the dining room and one in the kitchen. You can find those at http://www.learningtoflyoriginals.com/panorama.html Scroll down the page; the thumbnails are in chronological order.)
Unlike the corned beef and cabbage, the foods of St. Joseph’s day are all meat-free (in the Roman Catholic definition of meat free, of course, not the vegetarian version, as there was always plenty of fish.) We ate pasta con sarde (spaghetti with sardine and fennel sauce), fried vegetables (like carduna), Caponata (a relish of peppers and olives.) I usually hated all of it, except for the desserts. For dessert, there were Sfingi, deep fried balls of patry dough dipped into sugar, and Struffoli, harder balls of dough then drenched in honey and built into large mounds. Every now and then my mother still makes Sfingi as a special treat, but it’s been years since I’ve had them. (Photo: Red peppers, like these hanging at a stall in Ischia, are everywhere is Napoli, and are consider a symbol of good luck.)
On Monday, I shared some photos from our trip to Ireland in 2006. In that post, I mentioned that on that same trip, we spent nearly two weeks in Italy (Leah’s sister was living there at the time, so lodging was free, which was how we were able to afford this extravagance of a three week trip to Europe.) We were in Napoli, and all of our adventures began there. With Leah’s sister, just Leah, and occasionally on my own, I packed as much as I possibly could into our time there. Public transportation was easily accessible and affordable, so we were able to get around on our own with ease. We visited both Pompeii and Ercolano (Herculaneum), the islands of Ischia and Capri, and went on a drive down the Amalfi coast. We climbed Monte Vesuvio for the second time. We saw museums, castles, and beaches, and everything in between. This entry is not a travelogue, but I’d like to at least share several of the thousands of photographs I took on that trip. (Photo: From the roof of Castel Sant Elmo, the city of Napoli spreads out in a panorama to the ever-present Vesuvio looming in the background, and the Bay of Naples.)
Left: Seen here from the beach, Il Fungo di Lacco Ameno is a mushroom-shaped outcropping that has become the symbol of the island of Ischia.
Right: Vesuvio looming over the ruins at Herculaneum. It is difficult to travel in Napoli and not see the looming and still active Monte Vesuvio in the background. Its most know explosion buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the year 79 CE. Though Pompeii is better known and larger, the ruins at Herculaneum are far more intact, due to have been unearthed far more recently.
Left: Citrus, and especially lemons, are grown all over the southern Italian landscape. The region around Napoli is known especially for limoncello, a lemon flavored aperitif. I stuck with the heavenly lemon granitas, sold from push carts. The granitas are the origin of “Italian Ice,” but much better, of course.
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For thousands of years, people of many cultures have decorated eggs as a part of the celebration of their spring festivals. Egg hunts and egg rolls have become common children’s activities during the spring holidays, particularly Easter. Leah and I are visiting family for the holiday weekend. Today was the town egg hunt, so we met my sister-in-law and our nieces at the park. With Easter so early this year, and winter maintaining its usual grasp on the Northern climes, the scene was somewhat less than spring-like. The girls were dressed up in full winter-wear, from top to bottom, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. They ran after the many multi-colored eggs spread out over the snow, and very much enjoyed themselves in the three or so minutes before all of the eggs had been snatched up. After a busy day, they’re sound asleep, dreaming of the Easter Bunny, no doubt. I happened to catch of glimpse of the Easter Bunny hiding their baskets, so I think they will be very happy in the morning.
.) Other highlights of our trip included a day trip to Inishmór,
