Testo in italiano

In this episode: cacalacasa nickname, the Germans and the English, the motorpriest and the motorblessing, keep an eye at the Sicilian women !, puff puff pant pant, coscialunga nickname, Suterina daylight saivings time

The Anglo-German-Sicilian language of Sutera!

Nar: Hello, for Sutera?

He: Always straight

Sutera, central Sicily, true Sicily, Arab and Byzantine, agricultural and of people that emigrated else where.

I believe that one day in the early 1900s, an inhabitant of Sutera said to another: “I am going to Germany”; and that other one added “and then I’m going to England”.

And so that is how  it really was for almost a century.

The people from Sutera split between Germany and England in search of work.

Here in many  speak the Anglo-German-Sicilian, an indecipherable language I would say!

A strange nickname

Sutera rises imposingly above a huge valley, dominated by an equally huge boulder: Monte San Paolino, which rests the big  foot in Piazza Sant’Agata and then flies into the sky, at 825 meters high.

Uhmmm a Suterese … who knows if its inhabitants are called that way

Nar: Good evening you are  a beautiful Sicilian figure

He: You think so?

Nar: Listen, we’re doing a tour here in Sutera. What class are you?

He:  I’m  from 1930

Nar: Congratulations. How come you are so in shape you never did anything in life perhaps. Did you start working at 30, maybe you used to rather go to the disco?

He: I went to work at 8, what 30!

Nar: What is your nickname

He: Cacalacasa

Nar: Cacalacasa?

He: They used to call my grandfather  cacalacasa because when he was little he arrived and sat down and he would poop at home, anywhere.

Nar: What a beautiful cane

He: It is a memory of my brother who died. My nephew said to me: keep this it was your brother’s. And I always carry it with me.

Nar: Thanks, goodbye

He: I traveled all over Sicily with sheeps and cows

Okay, it’s time to start our walk

What a beautiful little square

Nar: How is it staying here in Sutera?

He: Here we live by air, we are in peace. Those who die young die at the age of 90.

Nar: What was your job?

He: Me … Miss  please  can you turn around. I used to work my butt off!

There are other people ove there.

Nar: You seem to be in great shape.

He: I just turned 86

He: He still  drives. He worked in Germany

He: I went to England in  the 64 to work in the factory.

Walking the medieval village

Let’s go inside the village.

There are just over a thousand inhabitants.

Jack Jackfly, our drone, flies over the roofs of Sutera and embraces the valley of wheat and pastures.

Uhmmm what a beautiful little square.

There is a town hall a bar and a beautiful view.

In this bar there are all the Sicilian pastimes  they go to a bar in a small inland village: and play cards and football table .

We walk among the stone houses and in the ancient streets of Sutera.

Hey! But how does that car pass from that narrow  little street ???

Nar: But are you a pilot? How many times did you crawled this car

She: You look at it  never!

Can you imagine yourself an American driving in Sutera?

Uhmmm a house with clothes hanging: our Smashing game starts

Nar: Listen for me in this house, by the  clothes hanging, I would say that 3 men and two women live there

He: Very close. Four men and two women

Nar: Listen, what are you eating today?

He: I don’t know, I’m waiting for my wife

Nar: What did you do in life?

He: The carpenter. I worked in Germany and England.

Nar: Then tell me in German we’ll see you in Sutera

Nar: In English

Nar: In Sicilian

Nar: Excuse me Ma’m  I interviewed your husband, he told me that he was naughty when he was young

She: What you mean that he was naughty, but what are you saying and I know nothing about it?

Nar: What did you cook today?

He: Nothing

Nar (gridando al marito sopra in balcone): Nothing, there’s nothing to eat today

Nar: What is your name?

He: Gesua

Nar: And what name is it?

He: An ancient name

The Sicilian stone escort us through the narrow alleys of the village.

Hello kittens of Sutera, there is peace here right?

Nar: Good morning. What are you doing sitting outside! Who lives in this house?

He: She lives here, we are the grandchildren.

She: This eighty years old woman …

Nar: Listen  down there , I see a beautiful view

She: Please come in

Nar: What beautiful zucchini, are you making pasta with zucchini? What a lovely view!

She: I returned to my little village which is so beautiful

Nar: But you always speak in rhyme, are you a poet?

Nar: Let’s take a nice picture

She: My husband was a school teacher but here in Sutera everyone had emigrated and there were no more children. And with my husband we went to northern Italy.

She: I want to live a hundred years without pain and without worries

Nar: What are the inhabitants of Sutera called?

The motorcyclepriest

We continue the march.

Smells of food comes from steaming kitchens.

How many uninhabited houses!

If you want to move to Sutera you can buy an apartment of 50 square meters with not even 20 thousand euros.

Here we are in piazza del Carmine.

There is a beautiful church and a small villa with Padre Pio behind the valley.

It is located in Dillingen Square because Dillingen is a town in Germany twinned with Sutera.

And in return in  Dillingen, they  made a Park called Sutera with the usual Padre Pio.

In Dillingen they also celebrate the Saint of Sutera, San Paolino, for the happiness of the German-Suteresi.

But in order not to offend the Anglo-Suteresi, here comes the beautiful Broxbourne, in England, which in addition to this splendid 15th-century church dedicated to San Agostino, is twinned with Sutera.

Germans-Suteresi, Suteresi- Suteresi and English-Suteresi,  have given life to a triangular soccer not transmitted by all the televisions of the world but for the joy of few intimates.

At the end of all this, we  got drunk too with all this international, and we called this reportage: Wilkommen in the Bella Sutera, who won the match with Auf wiedersehen from the Bella Sutera and also with Jawohl! This is Sutera!

The bells  ring in celebration.

This is the effigy of the town of Sutera.

They told me that here the priest is an inveterate motorcyclist.

We want to meet him!

There he is.

He is reciting mass.

As soon as it ends it will be ours.

Here, that’s his motorcycle

Uhmmm … a speeded up  type!

A strange guide for soldiers

Meanwhile we go to visit the ethno-anthropological museum, just next to the church.

Professor Tona shows us the room dedicated to the Second World War II.

There is also, listen to this, a Guide for the soldier who is in Sicily, a sort of war tourist text, never seen, where it is also advised to be careful not to be too bold with Sicilian women!

This room is full of kits and newborn items including the famous naca, a sort of flying cradle.

Nar: Did they put you in there?

He: Yes

Nar: Did you ever fall?

He: I don’t remember!

There is also a nice stone game, found in the rooms of the castle that today no longer exists

And also many objects of Sicilian daily life.

We sign and go hunting for the motopriest.

They tell us he ran away.

Oh, no!

The inland biker-priest ran away!

Towards Monte San Paolino

We go up to the San Paolino mountain, we will catch him on the way back even though they told us that he is not a very easy type.

Puff puff pant pant … the climb begins.

The panorama as we go up opens up the whole valley.

That is San Marco, a place not to be missed.

Ok, then we’ll go

But after eating of course!

We need energy.

During the climb there is a cave where the son of King Philip of Anjou in 1300 was taken prisoner during the Sicilian Vespers.

Mamma mia, just the tought of it!

SMASHING TIP

If the textbook of the soldier who fights in Sicily,  is like the one we saw in the Sutera museum, where the soldier was warned not to bother with  the beautiful Sicilian girls, if they had written it seven centuries before, perhaps the Sicilian Vespers, in  the only moment of rebellion of the Sicilians against one of its many invaders, they would never have existed. In fact, it all started because an Angevin soldier bothered a beautiful woman from Palermo. It was March 30, 1282, the Vespers hour, the hour of sunset. The courageous soldier and the beautiful Sicilian were in Palermo. The back of the beautiful girl from Palermo was the spark that ended the kingdom of the Angevins.

We continue the climb.

First bell,

we must ring it.

Continue the climb: strapuff strapuff and strapant strapant

I wonder if these big climbs are done in Dillingen or Broxborne

Dilligenziani and Broxborniani the next time you come, take a jog up here!

You can see half of Sicily from up here, or, if you prefer, I’ll tell you in Suterese: we can see halb Sizilianisch from up here!

Anita, our beautiful sherpa,   she constantly quenches our thirst thankfully

Here we are finally at the top

Second bell: must be rang.

Sutera is at our feet and the whole valley below has the color of gold, while in Spring it is green like Ireland.

Up here there is also a sanctuary

There are the statues of San Paolino and Sant’Onofrio, the two saints of Sutera.

Sofia Modica, Living Stone Association of Sutera: This is a church built in 1790, there is the original majolica. Even the elderly go up here, barefoot, out of devotion. Here are the ashes of Sant’Onofrio and San Paolino, the two saints of Sutera.

Hungry!

Ok, now we’re hungry!

We go to eat with or without English and Germans.

We go to eat! Wir gehen essen! Si và a mangiare!

Hey, down there Jack spotted Father Francesco, the motopriest.

Let’s catch him.

He: On July 14th we organized a motorcycle rally. They come from all over Sicily and it’s an opportunity to get together. We will do the blessing of the bikes and then a tour of the village. And a nice lunch bag of course “

The motorcycle blessing: I had never heard of  this before!

Judging by the belly today,we should eat well

He: Yes it is true, you will eat well.

He: These are bread balls!

Slurp slurp

He: Spaghetti pasta and succazzi assai

Uhmmmm smart guy: sucazzi means a lot of sauce, but the suffix cazzi in Italian indicates the male organ. And then sucazzi has a double meaning of a lot of  sauce and also something dirty!

In short, if you come to Sicily if you want a lot of sauce don’t say sucazzi!

She: This is Maggie, the hostess.

How many people are in here.

An army of housewives in the kitchen.

We eat some of bruschetta; the pitirri a typical local soup; a delicious pasta with macco, or broad beans, with spaghetti; the famous bread balls and a salad.

She: This is the famous  orange salad and fennel from Sicily.

He: I don’t know how the gave me this nickname Coscialunga which means long legs

She: Here we are in the upper, Arab part of the town. Here the sun comes first and in the town, below, comes later. Here they wake up first, eat and go to sleep earlier.

That is crazy: Sutera’s daylight saving time!

You never stop learning!

We conclude with a typical cookie and then,unexpectedly, they give us honey.

But the real honey!

Honig for the German-Suterini, honey for the Anglo-Suterini and miele for the Sicilian-Suterini.

Smashing Local

Concetta Piazza, President of the Tourist Boards of Sutera

Welcome to Sutera. Coming to Sutera is nice for the  welcoming people and for experiencing a Sicily of flowers, traditions, and  alleyt full of smells of food. And then in Sutera you can see the different signs of Sicilian dominations: Arab, Norman, Swabian. In other words, all I have to say is come to Sutera.

The Rabato

We enter the Arab quarter, a series of alleys and back streets.

The Arabs came to Sicily in the 1800s freeing the region from two centuries of sad European Middle Ages.

Many towns in Sicily still present a very strong Islamic architecture.

The rabato is right under the mountain and there are several caves that give off icy air, since they are real underground passages.

Today there is almost 35 degrees here in Sutera but from this cave air comes out even at 10 degrees.

A blow from the underworld, from the breath of the living dead … well, you understand!

Several houses in the rabato have these caves inside.

Nar: Ma’m what are you doing up there?

She: I’m coming down and I’ll show you something

She She is the weaver of the village.

She shows us her work and shows us how she works.

If you come to Sutera, ask for Mrs. Angela, the rabat weaver.

She will open you the door, offer you  coffee and you can also buy one of her embroideries.

We are almost at sunset, the blue moment of the day.

The light of the sky transforms the wheat fields into a sea with a thousand reflections of gold.

Together with Jack Jackfly, our 4-legged drone, we go to the small hill in front of Sutera: San Marco.

It is a place full of history and charm where huge boulders of rocks accompany us along a path carved by millenia.

There is a cave with Byzantine frescoes.

Below the legend says that there is a treasure.

Auf wiedersen my sweet and beautiful Sutera!