Carnivale begins

This is the week that Carnivale began in Sicily. Costumes, parades, fireworks and festivities in almost every town. Some formal with parades, costume contests and special events. Some informal with people meeting in the piazza each evening with music and the children in costumes..........these are the most interesting to me. The people of the town chatting and exclaiming over the children and the music weaving in and through the Sicilian night.

Tonight as we went into Motta for dinner we came upon what looked like an impromptu parade. Street musicians, clowns short and tall, jugglers and a fire eater entertaining as they walked down the street. As we followed and watched we realized this was a professional troupe (what normal person would want to be a fire-eater) with police escorting them and stopping traffic as they wandered through town.

We watched and took pictures for a few minutes then took our friend to dinner at Buon Gustaio--a great place for dinner-----garlic soup, "molta buono."

Carnivale, for those who are wondering, is the Italian version of Mardi Gras (without the drunken brawls), though a much older tradition here--of course. The costumes are intricate, ornate and sometimes outlandish (how about two waist-high chicken heads attached to a skirt/dress). There are parades, costume competitions, street vendors and music everywhere. It is a time for people to celebrate each other and the coming of spring. The Sicilaians are a religious people and thank God in every part of their life. Many of the mini-floats are dedicated to the various professions--bakers, butchers, etc.---which makes for very interesting floats.

We're planning to take Tracy and Bill to the final day of the carnivale in Misterbianco. It should be a great experience--a real Sicilian adventure.

Piazza Amerina

This weekend the weather finally broke from the monotonous rain we've had since December and Bob and I decided it was a good time for a new adventure. We've been told often that Piazza Amerina was the place we should go and that's where we went. Everywhere here is close--it's a small island--and we were there in a little over an hour.

The villa we "just had to see" sat about 5 kilometers outside of Piazza Amerina. It (Villa Romana Casale) was a magnificent country home for the governor of Sicily (same as a president) and was built in a.d. 330 to 360. It was destroyed by a landslide in the 12th century and was forgotten about until the 19th century when some of the mosaics were found. They began to excavate but didn't get far before they lost interest (or money) and it wasn't until 1951 that a real excavation began. Okay--enough for the history lesson. Here are our impressions.

When we got there the day was beautiful but cool and we felt like we had the place to ourselves as we rarely passed another sightseer. As we walked down the path toward the villa we saw construction scaffolding and old walls and thought people were mistaken about it's beauty. Then we went inside-------

The floor of each room, terrace and portico was covered with mosaics. Intricate pictures of hunting scenes, wreaths with symbolic animals, and just plain decorative mosaics. It must have taken hundreds of artisans years and years to finish just the floors.

In some areas you could see the minimal remains of frescos (paintings on the stone walls) to match the tiles. What beauty it must have been when the governor lived there.

I really liked the duck.

They are working hard (for many years) to jigsaw the pieces into place or replace parts that are missing. Some will be forever lost but what is there is--I know I overuse this word--amazing. I know the photos can't really show how intricate this all is, but maybe you can get some idea.

After we were finished looking at the mosaics and had walked all around the villa we were hungry. We looked and looked for somewhere to eat and just as we were leaving town we saw a restaurant that looked good. Not being in the town but outside at the opposite end from the villa, the place was not touristy but very authentic Sicilian. As we looked at the menu, though, we saw several dishes we were surprised to see. Venison (we've not seen one deer in Sicily)......wild boar (I'm really glad we've not seen one of those) We chose something safe and Sicilian--pasta and had a really nice meal before heading home. I guess we weren't as adventurous as we thought.

I digress

As per the title of our blog and the intention of it, I do realize that I am straying from the story today. However, as we make the difficult decision regarding staying in Sicily another year or returning home to find jobs and a life “back home” I am finding myself nostalgic in many arenas. Today I was reading a portion of a book on Prayer by Philip Yancey and came to a passage that took my mind and heart to friends I love dearly. I will quote the passage here and maybe it will do the same for you.

“I can count on one hand my most intimate friends, those with whom I would share anything. I can hardly think of a boundary on our conversations. We reach that plane of relationship after long hours together and considerable risk. If a doctor informs me tomorrow that I have a terminal disease, they will be my first calls.
Most of my intimate friends live in other cities, and as a result I may see them only once a year. When we meet, though, we skip the chitchat and go right to the heart of what concerns us most. I don’t worry about being judged or second-guessed or made the subject of gossip. With true friends I feel safe”

As I read I began thinking of three friends I put into that category. I will not name them here but if you read this you know who you are.

The first is from my childhood…so early in life that I don’t recall ever not knowing her. We played together as children and, though we have lived our adult lives geographically far apart, we have continued that friendship throughout the years. She knows my childhood family in a way no other friend does and I know hers. She even knows Bob’s family in a close personal way. I am truly thankful for her friendship.

The second friend I met in my young married years at a time when we had moved far away from family and friends. I was in desperate need of a friend and she showed up on my doorstep------literally-----and immediately became friend and family for these 35 years I’ve known her. She has dressed my children, waited with me during labor until Bob could get there, cried with me when my mother died, helped with weddings and has pretty much been a constant through my adult life. She is a dear friend and one who in some ways I would pattern my life after.

The third friend I met after I became a teacher. The first time I met her was when we moved to a new town in a different part of our state, I was walking down the hall of my new school and she was working in her room. I stopped to introduce myself and found we had been raised just 30 miles from each other. Through the years we found that our teaching styles were not only similar but we could finish each other’s sentences when working with children. We trained together for Reading Recovery and compared notes constantly. We even taught in the same room for several years. She is gracious and caring and thinks of others in ways I could never imitate no matter how much I would like to. She is one of the best teachers and friends I have ever known and we can talk for hours about any subject.

When I think about friends these are the first people who come to mind so I hope you don’t mind my taking a moment to ponder and say thank you for the importance they have had in my life. I even find that as I think about either moving back to or visiting the States this summer I think about being in a place where I can spend time with these friends. God has blessed me with other wonderful friends that I am very thankful for and I can only be amazed at His goodness.