The End of a Journey

As I finish my last official post for my blogging assignment, I would be remiss if I did not thank two important individuals who have constantly reminded me of the importance of family heritage. Mr. Sam Patti, a lifelong friend, has inspired me to read literature relating to the Italian experience. His conversations about the importance of family and heritage have been inspiring. Sam is the owner of La Prima Espresso in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pa. (http://www.laprima.com/) and I would encourage everyone to stop in and say hello. I would also like to thank my brother-in-law, Mr. Jim DeMark, from Orlando, Fla. for showing me the true meaning of family.

A Reflection

My brief visit to Mistretta, Sicily was an absolutely unique experience that I will forever cherish. My own self-criticism is the fact that I was too stubborn to attempt, at a minimum, an elementary understanding of the language. I now realize that the visit would have been even more memorable had I taken the time to enable myself to communicate with the citizenry. However, although initially wary, the hospitality shown towards two wayward visitors was truly heartwarming. So, to anyone planning a visit to share their heritage, I suggest that before your visit, you learn as much as you can about your family background from family members in preperation for the journey. An elementary understanding of basic language will also make your visit more meaningful. However, given the opportunity to visit your homeland, by all means, please take the opportunity to do so. You will never regret it.

Mistretta Web Sites

The following is a list of helpful Web Sites about Mistretta, Sicily.

http://www.sansebastianomistretta.it/foto.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g858372-Mistretta_Sicily-Vacations.html

http://events.frommers.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event.detail&event_id=58870

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=58870

A Rememberance

Many immigrants from Sicily migrated to the coal mining communities in America. Working under harsh and dangerous conditions, coal was a way of life for many immigrants. Upon arriving in the U.S.A., my grandfather worked in various mines in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He vowed that none of his sons would make their living by working in these conditions. Soon after leaving the mines, he began selling fruits and vegetables, door to door, to the families residing in these mining communities.

For anyone interested in this time period, there is a wonderful exhibit at the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. dedicated to the immigrant coal miners.

http://www.pghhistory.org/

A Lunar Eclipse Viewed from Mistretta

This short video is a view of a lunar eclipse filmed from the mountainous area of Mistretta, Sicily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KtykMBR4ss

Mistretta Facts

The original name of Mistretta during the Midieval period was Amestratus. During Midieval times, the town was conquered by the Romans and later ruled by the Normans until 1637. The population of Mistretta is currently 5,939 inhabitants and the town resides on a mountain top, about 931 meters above sea level.

The main economic activities are agriculture, cattle, sheep and horse breeding and handiworks. The most cultivated products are olives, grains, citrus fruits, and grapes. Typical handiworks are made from wrought iron and ebony.

The most important monuments are: the Cathedral church whose ancient origin was restored in 1630, the remains of the Midieval Castle, and the Church of St. Caterina of Rinascimento. Among the most important persons from Mistretta include: Antonio Pagliaro, the President of the Upper Council of Public Education and the editor of the Italian Encyclopedia, and the folklorist Giuseppe Cocchiara, professor of Literature of Popular Traditions at the University of Palermo.

More Images of Mistretta

Images of Mistretta

Quite a Meal!

As we descended the steps of the hotel, it appeared that everyone in town had joined the original procession. There was total silence until one young Italian boy stepped up to us and began talking in Italian. When he realized that we could not converse in Italian and that no one in town spoke English, we were certainly at a stalemate. I don't know if it was fear or desperation that made me reach for my passport and show it to him. After closely perusing the passport, a wide smile spread across his face as he lifted the document above his head and yelled "Mistretta" to the crowd. A huge roar arose from the townspeople as they converged upon us to offer hugs and handshakes all around.
We were whisked off to someone's house and made to sit in the kitchen where immediately large quantities of wine appeared on the table. As we began to indulge in the wine, a number of women began to cook, what seemed enough food, to feed the entire town. There were meats and cheeses, pasta, lasagna, salads, and even more wine. We were introduced to dozens of people, who they were, I had no idea. All that I remember is that we were treated as long lost relatives who had come home to visit. I don't know if I ever ate or drank as much as I did that day in Mistretta.

First Impressions

To say that we were nervous as we checked into the hotel is an understatement. Once we were settled into our room, we glanced out the window to see if anyone was still gathered in front of the hotel. To our astonishment, the crowd had grown even larger with others joining them each time we peered from the window. Now we were really confused and not quite certain as to how to proceed. It was late afternoon and we were starving, but did we dare leave our room? Who did they think we were? Were they hostile or just curious? Finally, the basic urge of hunger got the best of us and we decided to face the music. Mustering up some courage, we decided to leave the hotel in search of food.

A "stroll" through Mistretta

Setting foot in Mistretta reminded me of the small mining communites near my hometown. The streets were narrow with houses aligned closely on both sides. There were people in front of many of the houses and as we wandered through town looking for any hotel, we noticed that more and more people were following closely behind us. Talk about strangers in a strange land, we could not speak Italian and no one else could speak English. As we walked on in eerie silence, we noticed that we now had a procession of more that 100 people following us. The only thing that I kept thinking about was the conversation about the Mafia with the young Italian student on the train . I was certain that these people were as wary of us as we were of them. Finally, we stumbled upon a small hotel.

Mistretta, Sicily

As we climbed the mountainous road, we were able to see Mistretta in the distance. Sitting at the peak of the mountain, we noticed that all the houses were constructed with stone from the surrounding hillsides. The bus soon stopped at our destination and we left the bus with our fellow passengers.

UP to Mistretta

Leaving the train station, we quickly discovered that our only means of transportation to Mistretta was an old school bus. We climbed on board, along with Italians bringing home chickens, vegetables, and pets, and began our journey along a winding, single-lane road to the mountain top where the town of Mistretta was located. Naturally, we were the center of attention on the bus ride and paranoia quickly set in. Every sideward glance or whispered tone, convinced us that everyone was talking about us.

Taking the Train to Mistretta

I have to preface this post by stating that I assumed that my grandfather was born in Mistretta, Sicily since his name was Alfonso Mistretta. Years later, I came to realize that this was not the case. I guess that happens whenever you are young and know everything that there is to know. However, our trip to Mistretta was quite an experience. Leaving Taormina by train, we continued by rail to Messina and proceeded along the Northern coast of Sicily to a small train station that was the closest to Mistretta.

On the train, we met a young Italian who was studying medicine in the United States and became involved in a lengthy discussion about our lives. During this conversation, I asked the young man if it were true that the Mafia was still active in Sicily. He immediately placed his hand over my mouth and warned me that I was to never utter that word publicly while visiting Sicily. Lesson learned. Other than this blunder, we had a delightful conversation until we arrived at our train station.

Some Helpful Sites for Messina and Taomina

For anyone travelling to the Eastern coast of Sicily, I have offered some helpful web sites.

Taormina

• 
  
  http://www.travelplan.it/taormina_guide.htm


• 
  
  http://www.tripadvisor.com/SmartDeals-g187892-Taormina_Sicily-Hotel-Deals.html


• 
  
  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485799-taormina_vacations-i

Messina

• 
  
  http://cruises.about.com/od/mediterraneancruises/ig/Mt--Etna-and-Messina--Sicily/


• 
  
  http://www.planetware.com/italy/messina-i-si-me.htm


• 
  
  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485794-messina_vacations-i

On to Taorimina

While touring the streets of Messina, we were told that we had to visit the town of Taormina. Hopping a train in Messina, we travelled the Eastern coast of Sicily to the resort town of Taormina. Believe me, we weren't disappointed. Our first activity was to rent a paddle boat with a tour guide who showed us the sights of Taormina and its' surrouding area from the vantage point of the Meditteranean Sea. Since we could clearly see the water floor, we remarked that we must be in fairly shallow water. The guide replied that the depth of water beneath our boat was approximately 70 to 90 feet. One had the feeling that you could simply reach down and touch the fish that were swimming between the plants at the bottom of the sea. The picture above is an example of the beautiful scenery that surrounds Taormina.

That evening we discovered that an International Film Festival was being hosted by the town of Taormina free of charge. We were told that the festival was held at the ancient Greek amphitheter which overlooked Taormina. At sunset, we climbed the steps to the amphitheater and watched with amazement as the sun disappeared over the horizon of the dark, blue Mediterranean Sea. Like our first meal in Messina, this scene and the atmosphere of the location was a truly memorable experience.

Images of Messina

The pictures posted here are from Messina, Sicily

A visit to Sicily

During the summer after my first year of teaching, my roommate and I toured throughout Europe for 2 1/2 months. It was so long ago that we actually used Fodor's "Europe on $5.00 a day" as our travel guide. One of our side trips was to spend a few days in Sicily in an effort to visit (where I thought that my grandparents were born) Mistretta, Sicily. After taking a train from Rome, we left the mainland of Italy by ferry and disembarked in Messina, Sicily. The harbor of Sicily is pictured above. My most memorable recollection of Messina was looking for a restaurant. What seems like a simple task was made difficult because we couldn't read or speak Italian and we didn't encounter anyone who spoke English.

After deciding on a restaurant, we quickly realized that we had no idea what was on the menu. Our perplexed looks must have been quite obvious to the waitress because, soon after being seated, the owner arrived at our table and invited us into the kitchen. The chef showed us the dishes that he was preparing for his patrons and our meal was selected by simply pointing to the items that we wanted him to prepare for us. Perhaps it was the unusual circumstances of selecting our meal, but it was a memorable moment. By the way, the food was wonderful.

Let's eat Italian!

Here are some interesting sites for your culinary delights.

• http://www.fineliving.com/fine/molto_mario/0,3147,FINE_29936,00.html


• http://www.1italianrecipes.com/


• http://italian.betterrecipes.com/


• http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/World-Cuisine/Europe/Italy/Main.aspx


• http://italianfood.about.com/


• http://www.italianhomerecipes.com/


• http://www.marianofoods.com/cart/index.php

A Family Delicacy

Now that the spaghetti and meatballs, rigatoni and sausage, linguini in white clam sauce, baked lasagna and breaded veal and chicken cutlets have been removed from the table, you might think that room is being made for dessert. Actually the table is being prepared for the dish that everyone has anticipated since we sat down to eat over an hour ago. Finally, my grandmother places two large pans of baked, stuffed artichokes on the table to the sound of resounding applause. I have tried time and again to duplicate this family delicacy, but I'll admit that it hasn't yet happened. Even so, stuffed artichokes are a wonderful conclusion for any festive meal. Here is the recipe that has been handed down to me.

• 2 cups of flavored bread crumbs


• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley


• 1 garlic clove - finely chopped


• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil


• 3 tbls. of melted butter


• 1/2 tsp. of salt


• dash of ground pepper


• 4 medium size artichokes

Trim the bottom of each artichoke to form a flat base. Trim the sharp ends of each leaf of the artichokes.

Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Sprinke the oil, melted buttter, and salt and pepper over the bread crum mixture. Toss until mixed well.

Spread open the artichoke leaves and place the stuffing inside of each leaf. Place the artichokes in a roasting pan which has one inch of boiling water on the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

A Family Recipe

This recipe for meatballs has been handed down to me and I would like to share it with the reader. Let's start with the ingredients.

• 2 eggs


• 1 cup bread crumbs


• 1/3 cup chopped parsley


• 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese


• 3/4 lb. ground beef


• 3/4 lb. loose sausage


• I would normally reduce the amount of ground beef and sausage and add an equal amount of ground veal, however, my youngest daughter will not allow me to use veal.


• salt and pepper


• 1 bottle of your favorite red wine

Into a large mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup of water, the 2 eggs(beaten) and the bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Add the meat, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Now this is important! Use your hands (not a wooden spoon) to mix all of the ingredients until you have a uniform consistency.

Before shaping the meatball, pour 1/4 bottle of your red wine into a small bowl. Dip your hands into the wine and begin to shape your meatballs. The reason that you want to constantly dip your hand into the wine is that the meat will not stick to your hands as you shape the meat and it also adds a wonderful flavor to the meatballs. Place the meatballs on a cooking pan and when all of the meatballs have been rolled, place the pan into a preheated oven (350 degrees) and bake them for 20 minutes.

After the meatballs have begun to brown, remove the pan from the oven and immediately place the meatballs into your hot spaghetti sauce for at least 1/2 hour. The meatballs will continue to cook in the hot sauce.

Mangia tutto!

A Personal Look at Heritage

My paternal grandparents settled in Indiana, Pa. where they raised a family of five children. Since my father was the oldest child, he was forced to quit school in the 7th grade and deliver fruit and vegetables with my grandfather to the local mining communities. Each week they would take their wagon and horse to the docks of the Strip District in Pittsburgh to purchase their merchandise for the week. When the weather was good they were able to ride the wagon to Pittsburgh, however, heavy rain or snow required them to push the wagon through the muddy ruts or drifts of snow. When my grandfather accepted a job with the highway department, my father began to work in the Indiana Macaroni Factory. His job was to carry large, heavy sacks of flour used in the macaroni process. From there, he graduated to the manager of a popular local bar and finally had the opportunity to buy his own beer distributorship in Homer City where I was born and raised. My Saturday's growing up were spent (after Cathechism, of course), helping my father deliver beer door to door to the same mining communities that he and his father had delivered fruit and vegetables.
I can still picture Sunday meals at my grandparent's house. Let me rephrase that, I can still smell and taste and hear those Sunday and holiday meals. Bottles of homemade wine covered the tables, rigatoni, spaghetti, manicotti, lasagna and bread galore. Meatballs and homemade sausage in adundance and Italian songs never ceased. Even with all of this food available to the entire family, everyone always had room for grandma's specialty which was always served last. No one dared to ask when it was going to be served for fear of upsetting her. When it was ready, grandma would bring to the table, platefuls of beautifully stuffed artichokes. A heavenly dish which I have tried to duplicate, but never succeeded to have them taste as good as the original. I will admit that grandma was able to pass along her meatball making skills to me and this dish has become a favorite of my own children. Throughout this glorious meal, each of the numerous grandchildren waited impatiently to have the opportunity to sit on granpa's lap at the head of the table.

Heritage

My grandparents emigrated from Sicily to the United States in the 1890's. After watching the film "The Golden Door," http://movies.com/golden-door/d870241/foreign, I developed a new found respect for their arduous journey to America. After spending weeks at sea in unfathomable conditions, they were then forced to endure humiliating experiences at Ellis Island. Many immigrants had to pass psychological tests, have marriage arrangements forced upon them, and have their names "Americanized." After these ordeals were completed, immigrants were finally permitted to enter the land of "milk and honey."

I have created this blog as an assignment for the course entitled "Introduction to Information Technologies" at the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout this assignment, I hope to add various and sundry reflections on topics of interest to me, both personally and professionally.