A RIDE IN THE INTERIOR
We took a ride the other day with various possible routes in mind, but with an eye on the sky, as the weather was still very unsettled. We got fairly close to an old castle and tower we have seen from a distance for years outside of Ribera, and then noticed that there were really no roads that went there, so we were about as close as we would get. We ended up in an area that we had just skirted once before, but that I remember as seeming very interesting. It is south of Corleone, and it seems to be much more prosperous than other areas because the villages have many very large stone structures. But unlike the cement of most other buildings, these are cobble stones, with dark cement, so it looks almost familiar, like some New England towns dating back to the 1700s.
The town that we spent time in was called Chiusa Sclafani, a name based on the royalty who put up many of the buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was small, a few main roads and about 2,000 people. As many Italian towns, it is situated for protection on the peak of a hill, and it has way more churches than expected for its population.
While we walked around, we saw people watching us, but that is normal on a weekday morning when strangers appear in these little towns. A little old man sitting in the sun outside of his house started talking to us, and since most of it was in Sicilian dialect, I did not catch it all. He asked us where we were from, if we had kids, and where in the states we had lived. He went on a small diatribe against working mothers, in which I heard only the main gist of what he was saying. When I asked him if I could take his photo, he joked that we had to pay him. But when I told him that he reminded me of my 87 year old dad, he said he had 2 years on him, and that as payment for the picture, we should come to his 89th birthday party soon! We did not get the date.
Across the valley was the hill town of Giuliano, another awfully pretty town. We took a shortcut back through the back roads to the town of Sambuca, seeing many natural caves, and we got home just before it began to rain in earnest. Since then the weather has calmed down and turned very pleasant and we have even been able to swim 2 out of the last 3 days.
The town that we spent time in was called Chiusa Sclafani, a name based on the royalty who put up many of the buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was small, a few main roads and about 2,000 people. As many Italian towns, it is situated for protection on the peak of a hill, and it has way more churches than expected for its population.
While we walked around, we saw people watching us, but that is normal on a weekday morning when strangers appear in these little towns. A little old man sitting in the sun outside of his house started talking to us, and since most of it was in Sicilian dialect, I did not catch it all. He asked us where we were from, if we had kids, and where in the states we had lived. He went on a small diatribe against working mothers, in which I heard only the main gist of what he was saying. When I asked him if I could take his photo, he joked that we had to pay him. But when I told him that he reminded me of my 87 year old dad, he said he had 2 years on him, and that as payment for the picture, we should come to his 89th birthday party soon! We did not get the date.
Across the valley was the hill town of Giuliano, another awfully pretty town. We took a shortcut back through the back roads to the town of Sambuca, seeing many natural caves, and we got home just before it began to rain in earnest. Since then the weather has calmed down and turned very pleasant and we have even been able to swim 2 out of the last 3 days.
posted by Sicilian Mama at 6:01 PM
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