Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Wine and Food of the Giro 2022 Stage 5: Catania to Messina

 
Where are we? Our second day in Sicily, heading from Catania to Messina.

Catania: Visit Sicily tells me that: Catania is the second largest metropolitan city of Sicily. Over the centuries, it has faced earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it has undergone a variety of dominations and urban changing. 
In addition, they consider this the most important site: Palazzo Biscari. "It is the most important palace in the city. It represents, in fact, the most beautiful example of Catanese baroque architecture.
The building, after the earthquake of 1693, was rebuilt around 1700 by Ignazio Paternò Castello III, the fifth Prince of Biscari, and a great scholar, archaeologist and art lover, who as well as making it his home, he set up there the first major museum open to all, containing his large archaeological collection. In 1787 the prince received Goethe, who then reported in detail in his writings, the magnificence of the collections and the palace. History, charm and beauty are the words required to describe the building. 
The palace is accessed through a large portal in via Museo Biscari, which leads into the central courtyard, adorned with a large double staircase. Inside, there is the “feasts hall” in rococo style, with a complex decoration of mirrors, stuccoes and frescoes. The central dome was used to house the orchestra, and is covered by a fresco depicting the glory of the Paternò Castello di Biscari family. The dome is accessed through an ornate staircase decorated with stucco, that the prince Ignazio called “a trail of cloud”, within the large gallery overlooking the sea. Through the other rooms, the ones to be remembered are “the feuds room”, with large paintings on the walls representing the many feuds (large landed estates) of Biscari; the “princess apartments”, built by Ignazio V for his wife, with boiseries carved wood panelling and marble floors from Roman times; the “Birds gallery” and the “Don Quixote room” The interior décor is in rococo style: decorations, stylish furniture, crystal chandeliers, are the details present in the various rooms, which give a touch of sophisticated  atmosphere. 
Today, besides being the Biscari’s  family house, the palace hosts cultural and prestigious events. Also,  booking in advance, you can visit it and be enlivened by the stories of the palace and of the family memories, from the very descendant of princes."
The food: Catania cuisine is one of the richest and tastiest in Sicily. The great richness and ease in the redevelopment of raw materials and the love for “flavorful” cuisine, combined with the culinary contaminations fruit of the numerous foreign dominations over the centuries, make Catania a gastronomic reference point of the island. Famous is the sea salad with octopus, shrimp and ox eyes (molluscs typical of this sea) boiled; equally popular are marinated masculins (Ionian sea anchovies marinated in oil and lemon), salted anchovies, raw ox eyes seasoned with lemon or roasted on charcoal, peppered with mussels (suffering, with abundant pepper, lemon and chopped parsley) “u mauru” ( raw seaweed topped with lemon), “u zuzzu” (pork jelly), “u sangeli” (bloody).
Among the first dishes deserves the place of honor pasta alla Norma, which takes its name from a Celtic masterpiece by Vincenzo Bellini: tomato sauce, fried egg, basil and abundant grated salted ricotta. Other notable dishes are pasta with cuttlefish black, topped with a sauce prepared with tomato extract, cuttlefish and black of these tasty shellfish; pasta with masculini (fresh anicies in a sautéed onion, peas and fennel rizzu); pasta’ ncaciata, seasoned with cauliflower cooked in an onion pan and seasoned with salted anchovies, olives and caciocavallo. 
Meat and fish are served everywhere, with a fondness in the capital for horse-meat, often accompanied by side dishes that, in reality, are real unique dishes: Parmigiana (fried eggplant casserole), Caponata with eggplant and tomatoes, fennel salad, orange salad (sliced and seasoned with oil, salt and pepper), vegetable dishes and other typical vegetables. The rotisserie is one of the most renowned in Italy. The main pieces are the Arancini, crispy squabpy rice-filled, Siciliana (thin puff pastry filled with tuma and anchovies), salted crispelles (sweet dough pancakes, stuffed with fresh ricotta or anchovies), the shaded ones ( made with bread dough stuffed with plenty of tuma and anchovies, or vegetables, or cauliflower, baked). 
Typical desserts are ricotta Cannoli, Sicilian Cassata, but above all marten fruit or real pasta (soft almond-based pasta with multiple forms of colored fruit); rice-crystals or traditional “olivette di Sant’Agata”. The famous ice creams and Granita (tossed on demand with hand-crafted cream). Among the latter the most popular flavors are almond, lemon, coffee, chocolate, mulberry, peach.

Messina: Vincenzo Nibali's hometown!  Visit Sicily tells me that when the Greeks settled in this scenic land, they called it Zancle, which means sickle, for the shape of its natural harbour. Its current name comes from Messenia, the Greek town from which the colonists who inhabit it later came. They also suggest visiting the fountains, which sounds refreshing after a long day on the bike: At the left side of the Duomo’s bell tower, there is the most beautiful European fountain of the 1500s, as defined by art historian Berenson: it is the monumental Fountain of Orion, dedicated to the mythical founder of the city. It is one of the five historical Messina fountains built by a disciple of Michelangelo, the Florentine Montorsoli. Another work by Montorsoli, dating back to 1557, is the beautiful Fountain of Neptune, kept in the Museo Regionale. An exact copy of it is located at Piazza Unità d’Italia. An allegory of the waters of the Strait, the fountain reproduces the sea god with its trident, and Scylla and Charybdis, the two monsters guarding the Straits, chained at his sides. Charybdis was a voracious  nymph who lived in the waters of cape Peloro and was punished by Zeus for stealing Hercules’ oxen.  Scylla, was a very beautiful nymph and  Glaucus, Neptune’s son,  had fallen in love with  her but his love was unrequitted so she was transformed into a monster.
In Via Sant’Agostino we find the beautiful fountain realized by architect Falconieri in 1842: a sculpture of four sea monsters with heads of man, dolphins, griffins and lions. Don’t forget the two fountains in Via I Settembre, built in the 1700s and inspired by the sea: a circular pool with steles, tritons and sea monsters, with the Imperial Spanish crest and the city of Messina’s crest on top. Other two fountains of the same period are kept in the Museo Regionale.

The food: The Giro says: Messina has one of the oldest culinary traditions in Sicily, which mostly shows Greek influences. Fish and seafood are the staples of local cuisine. Traditional specialties also include sugar confections, such as almond paste and candied fruit, along with craft ice creams and slushies (the popular “granita”).
Traditional fry-shop specialties include the iconic arancini, the hallmark of street food – pointy saffron rice balls stuffed with meat sauce, peas, soft cheese and prosciutto or mortadella.
The city of Messina has many dishes in common with Calabria, on the opposite side of the strait, while meat and cheese are more common in the province. The importance of extra virgin olive oil, which is much widely used than in the rest of Sicily, also for frying food, speaks to the close relationship with Greek cuisine. In the Nebrodi area, where the farming tradition is stronger, there are three SlowFood specialty products (‘presidi’), in addition to the famous salame Sant’Angelo di Brolo: olio di Minuta (olive oil), Suino nero dei Nebrodi (pork) and Provola dei Nebrodi (cheese).
They also have the most extensive regional food list I remember ever seeing on their site. 


The stage: Another day in Sicily. An early start, as the race caravan had ferries to the mainland to catch. A sprint, but only if you can get over this big hill in the middle of the stage. Sure enough, not getting over the hill with the bunch Cavendish and Ewan, among others. Notably, Demare did make it.
Cavendish and team would chase for quite a while, but dod eventually sit up and give up on getting back for the sprint. 
Ahead: Bunch sprint and a not surprising win by Demare.       


The wine: I Custodi Alnus Etna Rosato
Another from Dig, because I like an Etna rosato and the producer description charmed me.
The producer says: Alnus is the wine we dedicate to hundreds of generations of Etnean winegrowers that have built what we are preserving. The original plan was to make a rosé. But it would be disparaging to just put this wine into a category. It is fresh and sharp-edged like a great white, and at the same time full and comforting as only a good red Etna can be. Only a few thousand bottles to share: too little for a rosé that is no rosé.






The food: Should I have done something from the Giro's very long specialty list? Probably. But I really love pistachio spreads. Plus, the pesto sounded fun. 
What do I do with the spread? Well, I have always thought it would be a great layer cake filling. Or perhaps on toast? But I generally eat it with a spoon. Learn more here. 
The Giro twitter feed at least supports my pistachio desires!



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)