The Festival of Saint Agata

La festa di Sant'Agata has been taking place all week. Her saint's day was yesterday, 5th February. She is the patron saint of Catania, and boy, do they love her. There have been 3 days of festival, culminating yesterday in a massive celebration which attracts, it is said, up to a million people, into Catania.

Saint Agata was a martyr in the third century, who, as a teenage girl, refused the advances of a Roman prefect. She was imprisoned and tortured, which included them cutting off her breasts. The story goes that St Peter healed her again. But she died in prison.  A miracle occurred, some centuries later, when the lava from Etna was in danger of engulfing the city, . The veil was held up and St Agata stopped the lava.

Olivette (left) and minnuzza

Minnuzze

I was told the story of St Agata by several people and it is clear that they all believed it, even those who claimed they were not religious. Yesterday's celebrations were fascinating to me, as we do not have anything which comes close in the UK, not being religious en masse. It was intriguing to see everyone turn out to see their patron saint. The event was huge, bigger than Christmas, and it felt very exciting.

It was a long day and could have been even longer. I met my student friend Giovanna, and sea shepherd volunteers, Luigi and Azzurra.  They were keen for me to try the traditional sweets which are eaten on St Agata's day, a cake (minnuzze di Sant'Agata) to represent her breasts (no, really) and some little green marzipan-type sweets shaped like olives, and covered in chocolate. There was also a delicious thin pastry thing. The minnuzza is very sweet with icing, a sweet cream and sponge inside, also with some green colouring, which is the colour of St Agata. It was very nice but quite sickly. No one else was eating so I made a valiant effort to eat all of them.

Sant'Agata's bust in procession    Credit: isolainfesta.net

There is a bust of Sant'Agata that only comes out for her feast day (it was once stolen from the cathedral so is now kept safe). She is covered in jewels and is taken through the streets of the city by devotees. As far as I understood from my friends, the carriage is pulled with ropes and it takes ages for the procession to go up through the town and back to the cathedral square. Giovanna decided it would be better to see her in the morning as when the procession starts around 5pm, the crowds mean you cannot move. I was amazed at how many people were already in the main street, Via Etnea, it was crazily busy. All along the streets were people selling sweets, balloons and rows of long candles which you could buy to give to the saint as an offering.

candles for sale

Many people were wearing the traditional costume, which is a simple white outfit with a soft black cap. From what I understood, only those who have made a special dedication to Saint Agata can wear this outfit. They reminded me of the outfits that butchers wear.

Sant'Agata. You can see her as well as I did

We managed to squeeze into the Duomo, which was very busy and I had my only glimpse of the bust of Sant'Agata, which was to be honest, miles away, at the front of the cathedral. I could just see her. It was too busy to push any nearer. But at least I saw her before she set off.
Outside the cathedral we saw the candelore, some large ornate structures which represent different trades, such as bakers, fishermen etc. They are carried by men as part of the procession.

Candelore outside the duomo. Men in traditional white dress

Footprints in the lava

Giovanna took me to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch. (More on that in a later post).  We came back through empty streets (quite bizarre in this busy city!) and met up again with the others in the square at the far end of the route. We went to the prison where Sant'Agata was kept, which was a small dark room carved in the lava rock. There are supposedly two footprints (or printfoots as Giovanna kept saying) which were made in the lava rock by Sant'Agata herself. I was all ready to scoff at this claim but when I looked at the impressions in the lava, they really did look like small feet. When we came out it was about 5pm and there were lots of fireworks in the nearby square - this meant that Sant'Agata had started her procession through the streets. We saw some of the fireworks over the roof but getting any closer would have meant getting caught up in all the crowds, so we headed back up to the square further away.

A large candle

The streets were covered in sawdust, as many of the (mostly young male) devotees carry varying sizes of candle, across their shoulders as part of the procession and the sawdust soaks up the wax that drips onto the road. I have never seen such large candles. Some of them were like logs. It was an amazing sight, later on in the evening, when one entire street was full of an orange glow from the flames. It would never be allowed in England, can you imagine anyone being allowed to wield anything remotely dangerous? Everyone had said to us (me and the other teachers) that the festival is full of mafiosi because of the money aspect - all these things cost money and I suppose they are where the money is. I don't pretend to understand it all.

We had a pizza near the square (I chose traditional Norma, a Catanese recipe named after an opera, with aubergine and ricotta salata cheese). All day long we had been trying hard to talk to each other - me in slow and painful Italian and the others in English. I think it worked quite well and I am sure we learned lots. The only thing is, it is very tiring to keep listening to another language and to try to speak, so by the time of the pizza everyone had reached the point where we were too tired to say anything to each other, at least, in a different language. It's a strange experience, everyone talking in Italian.

A candelore in the procession

After the pizza we returned to the square and were delighted to see the candelore had arrived! So we stood and watched them as they went right by our noses - Giovanna said she'd never been so near. It was quite a sight and they looked heavy, but pretty with flowers and pennants. The men make a sort of swinging movement as they walk which makes the candelore look like they are dancing.

By this time it was getting late and Sant'Agata still hadn't arrived. The procession moves very slowly it seems and Azzurra thought it would be about another 5 or 6 hours until Sant'Agata arrived in the square at about 5am, so we saw the men with their candles coming up the street and then decided to call it a day. It was getting decidedly cold.
I admit I was a bit sad not to get a good look at the Saint as she went past but there is plenty of footage online and masses of pictures, stories etc, if you google Sant'Agata you will see loads and there should be some footage from yesterday on YouTube soon.

Candelore

I had a wonderful day and it really felt like Catania had come alive, under the bright moon, with a real sense of excitement and fascination. I don't generally like Catania but yesterday I did, it felt like it had a beating heart and I felt part of it. It was amazing to see how everyone acted all because of this story about one girl and they seem to believe in her powers. My Australian friend, Agatino, is named after her, of course.
When I got home, Ella and Jo were still up and we had a lovely chat about what we'd seen - they'd been to town in the afternoon too and managed to see some of the fireworks and Sant'Agata as she was on her procession.

Lights were all the way down Via Etnea

At 5.25am I woke up to the loud and rapid sound of fireworks which went on constantly for ten minutes - Agata had finally reached the piazza al borgo where we had been waiting. I found myself smiling because it was nice to know she had arrived there. And from there she heads back to the Cathedral today. So if you ever visit Catania, February is the time to come!

My new Italian friends

Action packed 24 hours

Since the last blog post yesterday I've had a pretty action packed 24 hours. Christmas has definitely come to Catania hoorah! I was in town earlier today and the shops were open, even though it is Sunday, and people were shopping - plus there were proper Christmassy lights everywhere in the streets, etc. Fab. The Christmas tunes are now on whenever possible. The Christmas present dilemma remains the same here, as it is in the UK, ie I see something I think someone might like, I don't buy it straight away, and then I forget where it is.

ravioloni

chocolate mmm

Anyway - since yesterday: last night some of us went to a nice restaurant in the centre for Deanna's last night. Once we had all figured out what was on the menu (some of us are still learning Italian), I went for a ravioli which was based on the traditional Sicilian "pasta alla norma" which means it has aubergines, tomato and ricotta salata cheese. The aubergines tasted amazing. The other dishes were kind of the things you get on Masterchef with pieces of meat or fish with strange accompaniments - Darcy had pork with chocolate sauce and pears and everyone pulled a very impressed face when they tasted it. A student had recommended the place and also the four chocolate dessert - we shared it - there were four little puddings each with an increasing amount of cocoa in, so the first was white chocolate and cinnamon (mmm), the second had cardamom (mmm), the third was like a brownie (mmmm) and the last one was a rich what-d-y-ma-call it that they make on the tv where the middle is all gooey. I literally can't remember. But they were goooood!

Then we went to a little bar where there is a darts board and although none of us can play, we all had really good fun having a go. I think that although British/American/English teachers' nights out are well oiled by local wine or overly strong cocktails, and shots that Nesh brings out of nowhere, it was the darts that were fun and we agreed that Sicilians seem to take things a bit seriously - naturally the noise we were making attracted a few onlookers (one of whom kindly said he thought I was 25, hahah, he did have glasses). But they all looked quite serious. Anyway - we had fun. Ella, who genuinely didn't seem to know anything about darts, was a natural - isn't it always the way! But I actually fluked a treble 20 too, when no one was really looking.

180!

Apparently not many clubs were open and Darcy's husband wanted to go to a club where some friends were, which was a hip-hop/rap place. None of us are into that but it was quite an experience. I am seeing new bits of Catania and it feels good. There were a load of kids, mostly boys, in the club, well they all looked young to me! - but not your usual chicly dressed lot - these lot were in normal clothes and I actually felt my leggings/skirt/hooded top fitted in ok. There were two rappers rapping away in - presumably Sicilian? - or Italian - but actually although I couldn't really get any of it, it sounded good - Italian is a great language for that - and the kid clearly had something to say - the audience knew it all and loved it, there was passion and authenticity. Unexpectedly, I enjoyed it. Jo somehow got herself a job behind the bar, or what I mean was, she was there giving out drinks, I have no idea why. The boys of Catania really are a nice looking lot. It's not even the pretty boy, well groomed model look that you might associate with Italian men. It is a certain look, they definitely have - is it a Sicilian or a Catanese look? - and although maybe you would not say, "wow he's stunning" about many, they have a good look going on. I don't see the same in the UK. Not that it matters :)

flea market

This morning I decided to go into town to find the flea market that Deanna had mentioned. Luckily I chanced upon it as I didn't understand the map, and it was quite big. I was hoping I would find some Faberge, you can never give up hope, but it was generally full of tat, like the car boots and markets in England. But with a few more pictures of Jesus and religious things thrown in. Everything was a bit pricey too. So I didn't find anything.

duomo and elephant

After that I thought it was high time I went into the cathedral, to say hello to my Aussie pal's namesake, St Agata. You can't see her (there's a highly jewelled version) until her feast day in February, which apparently is a real spectacle in the city. Can't wait, we get the day off. I happened to go into the cathedral, which by the way is disappointingly plain inside, when the mass was on. Oh hooray. But I needed a sit down so I took a side pew, and took an anthropological look at what was going on. The priest was droning on about Jesus, and Salvatore - ah, no he wasn't talking about my student friend but his name means Saviour :)  All the Sicilians were doing the whole crossing yourself bit, even the pretty boys, and I looked on with a feeling of relief that I am totally free from all that stuff. It was a nice five minutes to think about things though (NB NOT RELIGIOUS THINGS). Tomorrow is the feast of the immaculate conception. Which is fine if it means the day off.

I enjoyed an espresso shot (they are so good) and a lovely croissant in the cafe in the square with the elephant. It's a statue in the main piazza that is the symbol of Catania. It was a lovely day and quite hot in the sun - the sky was very blue! I had to take my hooded top off so I was in a t-shirt. Sorry I know it's cold in the UK. But the Sicilians think it's cold, they're all in their coats and stare at me for taking off my jacket.

Roman theatre

Next I decided to continue the touristy theme and headed up to the Roman theatre that is near the elephant square. Usually it's 6€ but today by a stroke of good luck (maybe a gift from the elephant), it was free. It is quite large and very well preserved - it seated 1500 people for entertainment. It wasn't uncovered until the middle of the 20th century - they didn't realise it was there for ages as people had built houses on it - they only realised when they saw that the buildings were in a semi circle shape and asked why. 

blue sky and elephant

Some guy started talking to me on the way back up the main shopping street. I thought he was just being polite, but he tried to give me his phone number. That's not fine. He was not young. It's never the ones you like is it? :)

Catania looks nice in the sun. Said goodbye to Deanna yesterday and she urged me to do things for myself in Catania - so I have started today, as I mean to go on.  You may have picked up on it already, I think there was a bit of Pride & Prejudice going on with me, thinking I had not much in common with people - everyone is really sweet, and I am enjoying getting to know people better. 

Digging my (new) heels in

I have been wondering, with all the little things that were going wrong, if either Etna or Sant'Agata (patron saint of Catania) was trying to dissuade us from staying here. I can't work out which and that is probably the problem, that I have been trusting in both of them and they are historically in conflict with each other. Or something. I know Sant'Agata "stopped" the lava flow. I expect she didn't really.

Despite thinking we were safe to use the "second" sink in the corner of the kitchen, until the landlord can come to fix the main one, I went to make myself a cup of tea and found myself paddling through water. Oh, I'll just mop that up, I thought, it must be from last time. I opened the door to under the sink. The bucket was full to the brim with water. How is that possible, I thought. It turned out Jo had used the washing machine, which was connected to the same pipes I suppose. I opened the door to the corridor, where the cleaning stuff is kept (it is a large flat) and joy, the water was sloshing all over the floor, in the little room. Definitely don't want to be a plumber now.

Yesterday I checked out the local Sunday market. Far from finding a light duvet (it's getting colder) or any house-y things, it was only veg and cheese. But everyone was there, jostling at the stalls, and the veg was fresh and cheap. I have more broccoli than I could ever eat for €1 and I bought a large pepper and a fennel for 80 cents together! I made some rather delicious pasta with broccoli and a ricotta nut sauce (out of a jar). The freshness of the broccoli was amazing. Very tasty, and with vitamins literally going straight into my bloodstream with every mouthful.

On the way back from the market I passed some religious types who were doing the old Sunday call for other religious types, trying to save you at the roadside with a microphone and a guitar. There was some painful singing. You could still get the general gist, I mean you know what these people say in English so it was quite easy to pick out all the stuff about Jesus dying so you can live, etc etc. I walked on by.  Reminded me of a picture of Jesus we saw in the ice cream parlour back in Giardini Naxos. He looked quite handsome. Jo remarked at the time that even Jesus had to look good for the Italians, and that if there was a "sexy Jesus" at the church, she might be persuaded to go herself.

Today things are looking up: the landlord and his dad fixed a growing list of small things that needed fixing, so everything in the flat should now be working! Jo went to the gym, finally, after trying to join for 7 weeks, and came back on some sort of endorphin-high. Thank god she loved it. I had a nice lunch with my workmate and her Italian boyfriend who was quite encouraging when I tried to say a few things in Italian. Best news of the day, my phone is back on (hooray!!!!) and I bought some small boots, and another purchase, that are like an Ian Dury song :)  The only downside is having confused the pre-intermediates about the past continuous. I knew I would.

It's still warm here. Still not coat weather. We were sat outside having lunch. Madness.