Midnight in Sicily: on Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra

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Caronia, a little known town in one of the great forests of the Nebrodi National Park, a small part of the town, got some news coverage in 2003 for a series of unexplained electrical fires. Electrical appliances exploded and caught fire for no apparent reason. I’m sure the fact that the train line passes so close to the town must have something to do with it, all of that static electricity must affect the town. Still in print 50 years after publication, outdated in parts, yet full of insights into the Italian psyche, which are as apt today as they were in 1964: “Dull and insignificant moments in life must be made decorous and agreeable with suitable decorations and rituals. Ugly things must be hidden, unpleasant and tragic facts swept under the carpet whenever possible.” Or, more sardonically and pertinently in the context of Italy’s current economic plight: “free competition, this selection which heartlessly favours only uncouth and rough persons whose only merits are those of passing tests, doing their job well and knowing their business, is naturally resented by most Italians”.

Midnight in Sicily: on Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa

Robb weaves Sicilian history, the Mafia, food, culture, politics and intrigue into a heady brew. None of these themes are explored in real depth, so if you want a recipe book or a detailed history of Cosa Nostra then look elsewhere. Fiumara d’Arte is an outdoor sculpture park located out in the hills of Castel di Tusa after Cefalu’. Big refrigerated lorries carried off the entire catch every morning before dawn. Shellfish, however, abounded. They were for the locals. There were glossy mussels, sleek brown datteri di mare, sea dates who lived inside narrow holes they burrowed in the soft yellow tufa below the waterline, cannelicchi, which were Chinaman’s fingernails, pipis, taratafoli, vongole, others whose names eluded me, though not the memory of their shape and flavour, the smooth mottled shells and the dark grooved ones. This is all probably starting to sound as if I didn’t enjoy this book. I did – it’s just more of an buffet than a fulfilling meal. A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.One of my favourite books, I've just re-read it for the third time (I've got an appalling memory, so it almost reads like new each time if I allow enough time to pass). Book Genre: 20th Century, Crime, Cultural, European Literature, History, Italian Literature, Italy, Literature, Mystery, Nonfiction, Politics, Reportage, Travel, True Crime Rocca di Capraleone is an ugly, mostly industrial city near the coast famous for being the birthplace of Maria Grazia Cucinotta, a well known Italian model and actress. Not Messina, as she often tells the press; I wonder why she would lie about this? I guess because Rocca isn’t as beautiful or romantic as Messina.

Midnight in Sicily - Peter Robb - Google Books Midnight in Sicily - Peter Robb - Google Books

For perspective. Levi’s description of the part of southern Italy to which he was exiled under Mussolini is a reminder of the appalling poverty from which many Italian families emerged during Italy’s “economic miracle”, little more than 50 years ago. Also a good antidote to the stereotype of “Catholic Italy”: “There’s no grace of God in this village,” says its drunken priest. “I say my mass to empty benches.” urn:lcp:midnightinsicily0000robb_l6k9:epub:f5af38b2-b7b4-42d3-93b8-176a8cb81290 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier midnightinsicily0000robb_l6k9 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t87j4734c Invoice 1652 Isbn 9780312426842I am pleasantly surprised by the author's knowledge of Italian culture and history, something quite rare with non-Italian authors. His first-hand accounts of his visits to some inland Sicilian villages, and of the historical quarters of Naples, are beautiful. He also captures some peculiar aspects of the Italian mindset with really insightful perspectives. I also like how the author did not refrain from highlighting the heavy responsibilities of the US authorities in WWII, when they supported the re-establishment of the Mafia structure in Sicily, in exchange for support in their occupation of the island - the famous Mafia boss Calogero Vizzini ("the boss of all bosses") was even made Honorary Colonel in the US Army. Fortunately, there is still an important part of civil society that refuses to give up. The hope is that it will finally prevail and transform Italy into a truly European and independent country. That being said, it cannot be doubted that the detailed narrative shines a very illuminating light on a host of figures who deserve opprobrium. Robb centres on Giulio Andreotti, several times Prime Minister of Italy and his associations with various corrupt, murderous ‘Men of Honour’ from Michele Sandona who caused the largest banking crash in Italian history, to Shorty Riina, a corpulent brutal butcher of a man, who all but waged war against the Italian state in the early 1990s as he attempted to bend the entire Mafia and Italian government to his will. The central place of Andreotti in the book works very well, once one becomes used to the way the narrative jumps around, providing an insight into how interlinked with crime key political players were. The structure of the book takes a theme, occasionally historical (as in the liberation of Sicily in 1943, in which the USA hands control to the Mafia in return for an easy ride for their troops in liberating the island), more often around the personal experience of the author (meetings with restaurant owners, life in Naples in a golden age, an interview with Marta Marzotto, or with the Mayor of Palermo), sometimes focussing on an important artistic or historical figure such as the Sicilian artist and communist Guttuso who figures quite a bit here but also has a chapter to himself starting with his funeral), or the novelist Leonardo Scascia (which starts with Peter Robb visiting the very unfriendly-to-visitors town of his birth and life as a schoolteacher).