In the Mafia lair: peace, comfort and grace

The symbol of the island is a female head on three semi-bent driving legs, snakes instead of hair, wings instead of ears. For the first time, she fell into Sicily, she is precisely in this image. Immediately you will not discern, why came here. Whether to lie on the sand, swim in some of the three seas – Tyrrhenian, Ionical or Mediterranean. Or go to look at the ancient Greek temples Agrigento, wander around the narrow alley of Palermo or at all exchange the beach on the sun-lined hills Kaltanissetta. Or simply spend five hours a day in restaurants, going through the abundance of marine animals. Of course, I want just immediately. But not enough forces, the time passed on vacation. MiG – and ran away by a three-lab. Sicily – Island is big, so today there was enough space for the story only about three provinces – Palermo, Agrigento and Kaltanissetta.

Choice of Count Caliostro

Old quarters of Palermo are not touched by modern repairs. As a hundred years ago, on the ropes perched through the narrow streets, underwear will dry. Walked walls were used by twisted wires with cracked insulation. Smell of boiled fish, rotten boards, hot wax, Ladan. Vintage mansions with columns and marble sculptures are adjacent to ancient dust of the Cathedrals from the Tesan Volcanic Tufa and the imperfect residential houses in dark alleys. Palermo is the scenery of performances from the times of crusades, the inquisition, shameless ragings of the Renaissance Affairs and – Illustrations for the Children’s Poem of Gianni Rodari "What craft smells?". But everything is deceptive in Sicily. That was just having risen on the broken asphalt washing a motorcyclist in black leather, from a rich window in the evening allest Maorevo, a monotoned rolling of an aristocratic salon was carried out, as Suddenly, the Carabiniers blocked the movement, and an endless procession was stretched, as if released from ancient times: crosses, coarse on hand with relatives , nuns and monks, rods, black suits, blue skirts. On a small area with concave facades of palaces, decorated with statues, pointer: Casa Kaliostro. The house of our book acquaintance nearby, hence he began an adventurous journey, which took all his life. Board on a three-story house in nine small windows: "In 1743, here was born and lived in early youth Giuseppe Balsamo, more known as Count Caliostro. In April 1778, Mother Giuseppe visited GTA and described the house and these alleys. Count Caliostro lived 52 years old, 2 months and 18 days. He was sentenced by the court of the Inquisition to death as a heretic and a great sinner and executed after four years of imprisonment". Guita was sick "Tooch in Italy", I was looking for a lost paradise and therefore described the alleys in Poetic: Introduces Flowers on the window, the boy drives the iron wheel on a blocking. What now? We are not looking for paradise in Sicily, but still try the pen: Three lowest unshaven guys sit on the drawers and play cards; The bought ebony passed, the eyes of muddy; A man in shorts and without a t-shirt sits on a stool at the entrance to the petty shop and does not do anything; In the tobacco shop is empty, even the seller is not, although the door is a lap; Window air conditioners are boringly noisy in the former house of the graph. From the eatery-focacteria in front of the ancient cathedral, the smell of boiled climax, pea, bow and freshly baked bread. There are simple dishes for cheap snacks: lush mini pizza Sphinchone; Maritata – pieces of spleen and pancreas on a cake with cottage cheese and cheese; Pressed in thick circle boiled pasta with meat and pea – Al Formon Pasta; Rice Patties Aranin with Oil or Ham. Portion of any dish – 2000 lir *. Everyone is already clear why Giuseppe drew from the mother, left the boring crossroads Rocca di San Leo, is unknown why renamed in 1869 in Via Della Perciata. But why a criminal sinner simply did not become mafios? Yes, because mafia is primarily submission, life in fancy concepts. And Caliostro Count all his life sought absolute freedom in relations with glory, women and money. He was not afraid of anything and believed that she would still be born again, suddenly even again in the former Rocca di San Leo. But do not think, the slacker in shorts is not a Caliostro; If the count again was born, then probably for old memory frauds in Russia, now he has the very place. Over two thousand years before the adventurist, another famous Sicilian, the philosopher Empedocl, who came out of Pythagora pants, was also confessed in one of his writings: "There was already once the tails I was, and the Virgin once, was a bush, was both a bird, and a seaside fish. And I will not be more than once". Well, if the fish or the more octopus, then we have already eaten the epidemocla, nowhere in the Mediterranean do not eat so much octopus.

On the homeland of EmPedocle and other long-dead Greeks

Ancient philosopher was born in the Greek city of Akraganta, it was on the road from the capital of the Fastened Wine Marsala to the center of the ancient Greek civilization of Agrigento. In Sicily, several archaeological reserves, many ruins of ancient Greek cities and at least a dozen excellent preserved Doric temples. There are many lovers among tourists to wander in the ruins, hide from the scorching sun under huge stones. "Acrehants eat as if they die tomorrow, and at home will build as if they will live forever", – The student of Pythagora, representative of Ionian philosophy, was angry at the fellow citizens. But the right was not the EmPedocl, but the hunting unreserved Greeks. Not only the sea, but the ruins and temples attract tourists to Sicily. It seems here it is even easier than in Greece, combine beach holidays with an inspection of antique sights, it is worth only to sit in the car and leave the beach.

Once we rush along the highway, it would be nice to sing something local. For you, we recorded a few lines of a famous song from hearing "Italian", which Toto Kutuno sings and which still love to turn the Sicilian drills on the road. Motive you immediately remember.

BUONGIORNO ITALIA CON I SPAGETTI AL DENTE

CON UN PARTIGIANO COME PRESIDENTE

Con E AutoRadio Sembe ManoDestra

Um Canarino Sopra Con Tinesta

BUONGIORNO ITALIA CON I TUOI ARTISTI

CON TROPPA AMERICA SUI MANIFESTI.

(Hello, Italy, with everything you have-

With unsolved pasta,

With president – former partisan,

With autoradio under the right hand,

With canas on windows,

Hello, Italy, with your great artists

And with this drain america at every step.)

Some tourists go to Sicily to see pictures from the films of the period of Italian neorealism. They think: Of course, many years have passed, but there must be left somewhere away from the sea. Friends, painted carts, women in black, wise, smoked old men, frowning, thin men with long guns. I have a hurry to disappoint: there is nothing even in the outback. And what am far from the sea? Well, for example, I met a man who stared at my guide and began to get out where the churches adorning the cover were. The word for the word, it turned out that he never went out of his village, did not see the sea, no Greek temples and did not even really watched the matches of the European Football Championship. However, he could and sit, maybe it is such a Sicilian humor – to stop Lapym-Giuseppe, and then laugh at the bar for a gullible tourist. There are villages in the mountains who look like real Sicilian: the house is mounted on the house, the curves stepped streets are born in the rock. There is a city-Museum Erice, in which there is not a single modern building, the city trait has not changed more than two thousand years, and residents use the gate, under which Legionnaires Alexander Macedon. Caltanissetta’s castles always have existing ghosts. In the women’s monastery, the Palma di Montetearo town is stored a letter, which the prisst person received personally from the devil, as well as the stone, which the same devil fanned the bride in too hard. Both relics can be seen, and a copy of the letter to remember – no one has not disassembled the doodle and kababalistic signs. But enough rushes on the hill, it’s time for the sea. Highway loops, and the chauffeur does not try to slow down on turns. What hopes? Of course, at Padre Joakino. The icon and text of the prayer of the local holy icon and text of the prayer are glued to the windshield, which was laid with a defender of the chauffeurs. "Oh, Padre Joakino! Accompanied me on a trip. Make so that the car has happened to me. So that when I increased the speed, there was no danger for others, and I myself would be able to return alive and healthy to my native. Amen".