Bleeding Espresso

I thought today might be the last Palermonday, but then I remembered that in addition to the Capuchin Catacombs (come back next Monday for those!) I also wanted to tell you about i Beati Paoli, a secret society that may or may not have existed in Palermo.

[I think it did, but then I do love secret societies and whatnot.]

I hadn’t heard anything about this group until Cherrye and I zeroed in on a restaurant in Piazza Marina that shares its name with this mysterious sect that was immortalized in Luigi Natoli’s book I Beati Paoli.

The pizza was absolutely fabulous, and it’s obviously a popular local spot as the place was packed by 8 pm–and they had only started letting in patrons about 10 minutes before. Inside, the atmosphere is also amazing; it is constructed like a cave, complete with black textured walls, lanterns lighting the way and little alcoves at every turn.

Sorry there are no food or inside photos but Cherrye and I were *starving* at that point and the cameras didn’t even make it onto the table.

Back to the group, the existence of the Beati Paoli is still in dispute, but it is commonly believed that Natoli’s book was at least part historical account with some fiction thrown in. The book takes place between 1698 and 1719 during which Sicily passed from being under Spanish rule to Piedmontese to Austrian.

Throughout this difficult time for Sicilians, the secret society is said to have fought against both the Church and the State in favor of the common man–think “rob from the rich to give to the poor” kind of thing.

There was also an element of delivering justice for the people when the throne was so far away and not doing much for them; in that sense it is also believed that i Beati Paoli may have had its origins in the“Braccio della Giustizia,” or Arm of Justice, actually sanctioned by the State; the group carried out vendettas on behalf of perceived crimes committed against both individuals and the community.

It is said that their principal meeting place was a cave in the Capo quarter near the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù, also called Santa Maruzza; the church is still there but the cave entrances have been blocked off. The photo on the left is labeled “The Tribunal of the Beati Paoli” and comes from the official website of the Duomo of Palermo, which you’ve seen before on Bleeding Espresso here.

Even the group’s name is a mystery but may come from the legend that by day, its members dressed as monks of San Francesco di Paola (Saint Francis of Paola in Calabria) and sat in church pretending to pray the rosary. By night, however, the men wore black hoods (like in the photo above, except black, I suppose) and carried out their business, hiding and meeting in the hidden passageways and abandoned catacombs that still lie under the streets of Palermo.

I Beati Paoli is considered by some a precursor to the current Mafia, the roots of which are in agrarian Sicily. Although the two groups haven’t been directly linked, similar mentalities and principles, including the famed “omertà” or code of silence, show some definite overlap.

Indeed, at least one Mafia pentito (turncoat), Antonio Calderone, is quoted as saying he was told to “follow the example of the Beati Paoli” when he was initiated into the Mafia.

You probably won’t come to any concrete conclusions about the group when you’re in Palermo, but whether or not this group ever existed, the restaurant is definitely worth a stop:

Al Covo dei Beati Paoli
Piazza Marina, 50
www.alcovodeibeatipaoli.com

And as for the rest, I’m looking forward to checking out Natoli’s book.

Read more about I Beati Paoli in Roberto Savona’s excellent article here.

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Just before my mom arrived, one of my fascinations became watching episodes of Bravo TV’s Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton on YouTube.

[Loved when Will Ferrell did his Lipton impersonation on Saturday Night Live!]

I’m not a movie or theater buff by any means, but I find something so inspirational and moving in watching real actors–and by that I mean those who are truly artists–speaking about their craft, life, love and more.

Some of my favorite interviewees have been Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Jodie Foster, Kevin Spacey, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia (of course!) . . . the list could go on and on.

Seriously, I recommend setting aside a few hours if you start exploring this YouTube option.

And P.S. if anyone is able to put more clips on, I’d love to see Morgan Freeman, Sydney Pollack, Carol Burnett, David Duchovny, Peter Falk, oh just all of them (see a list of all past guests here.)

The most well-known part of the program is probably the 10 questions that come from the French series Bouillon de Culture hosted by Bernard Pivot; Lipton asks these of each and every guest on Inside the Actors Studio and the answers are often witty, always intriguing.

Since I don’t anticipate appearing on that stage anytime soon, I thought it would be fun to do on the blog; here are the questions and my answers:

1. What is your favorite word? Lollygagging
2. What is your least favorite word? Hate
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Someone pursuing their passion
4. What turns you off? Condescension
5. What is your favorite curse word? Cazzo (Italian slang for penis but equivalent to our F-bomb in severity)
6. What sound or noise do you love? Laughter, laughter and more laughter
7. What sound or noise do you hate? Mosquitoes
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Pastry chef
9. What profession would you not like to do? Trash collector
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Your family is this-a-way

What are your answers?

Please feel free to play along in the comments or post to your own blog!

Hey, did I just create a meme?

Buon weekend and
check out Judith’s sandwich buns for La Buona Cucina Americana!

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I wasn’t going to post today, but since Judith in Umbria is dying to know what’s happening here in Calabria (see her pleading comment to yesterday’s post here) *and* I was blessed with many visions of love this morning, here I am!

Mom is still with us (woohoo!), and we’ve been spending lots of time talking and shopping and cooking and walking with the pooches.

Oh, and also going to the beach, as we did this morning after getting up bright and early to beat the crowd. That’s a joke, by the way, as many of the Italians around here won’t start really going to the beach until next month at the earliest.

But if you’re interested, come on down! The water’s fabulous!

So Mom and I spent a couple early morning hours relaxing by and in the Ionian Sea and then we headed for cappuccini, a visit with P’s mom, two quick stops to pick up rosemary and olive foccaccia from the bread shop and veal cutlets from my favorite butcher and then we came back to the village for lunch with P.

Such a fabulous day and it’s only 3 p.m. as I type this!

So much love in the air and since today is Love Thursday, I’m sure you know that I happened to find some heart-shaped rocks at the beach to share with you:

Love on the Rocks!

Come on Neil Diamond fans (Mom included);
you know you want to sing along!

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

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One of the best parts of having my mom here is a built-in buddy for market-hopping–and I’m talking about every market within a 40 kilometer radius.

Of course we’re having lots of fun in our travels, but all this marketing also means we’ve been enjoying even more fresh fruits and vegetables than usual…more hands to carry market booty! Woohoo!

As you probably know, I love tomatoes. So for today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday I’m sharing my absolute favorite way to enjoy fresh summer tomatoes (those in the US especially, be careful about salmonella right now!).

Here they are paired with “le cipolle rosse di Tropea,” the famous red onions from Tropea, a gorgeous town on the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is on the other side of Calabria (for those who don’t know, I’m on the Ionian Sea). These onions are some of the sweetest red onions in the world and are well-known not only in Italy but also throughout Europe–if you’re here, be sure to give them a try!

A tomato and red onion salad is a quick, easy, refreshing, delicious dish that is great at midday when the last thing I want to do is turn on the stove. It is dressed simply with olive oil, fresh basil, oregano and salt, and you’re welcome to throw in whatever other veggies you like; we especially enjoy cucumbers in this.

Along with the salad, P and I usually have something else uncooked with it, often local suppresata, cheese and bread but this is another favorite:

Bel Paese cheese spread on bread topped with prosciutto crudo

Doesn’t get any better than this after you’ve enjoyed a morning at the beach.

Tomato & Red Onion Salad

3 large tomatoes cut into bite-sized chunks
2 small red onions from Tropea, sliced
Olive oil, fresh basil, oregano and salt to taste

The longer you let the flavors mingle, the better this is, so I recommend making it early in the morning for lunchtime.

Buon appetito!

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Welcome back to Palermonday! This week we’re moving on the gardens of Palermo.

Palermo once had so many public gardens and parks, it was known as the “Garden City.” Cherrye and I only got to see two of them as discussed below, but you can read about the other gardens here and here.

Villa Garibaldi was very close to where we stayed near the end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the harbor. It was designed by architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile between 1861 and 1864 in Piazza Marina, which had been used for Aragonese weddings, victory celebrations, and, unfortunately, public executions.

Nearby is Palazzo Chiaramonte (the seat of Palermo University), Palazzo Galletti, Palazzo Villarosa, the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, and Palazzo Fatta. There is also a free theater (Teatro Libero) in the square.

The gardens surrounding Villa Garibaldi are definitely intriguing, partially because the area always seemed kind of dark even in sunlight. There were always plenty of people, though, even a photo shoot for some kind of family celebration and lots of dogwalkers (and dogs, of course).

Some of the most interesting features inside the park are the exotic plants, in particular the Ficus magnoliodes–creepy as all get out and one of the largest in Italy.

Also in Villa Garabaldi is a memorial for Joe Petrosino, the NY police officer who was killed in Piazza Marina while in Palermo fighting organized crime; we saw the memorial on our way to the hotel the first day, but I forgot to go back and take a photo. This one will have to do until I get back there.

The other gardens we visited briefly were at Villa Bonanno in the middle of the city, not too far from the Porta Nuova. Villa Bonanno is behind Palazzo dei Normanni and the gardens’ main attraction is an enormous statue of Philip V of the House of Bourbon.

Honestly, Cherrye and I *could have* seen more of Villa Bonanno, but we were tuckered out by that point and used the fabulous scenery, e.g.,

as a backdrop for our afternoon riposo before we took on the famed Capuchin Catacombs . . . which I’ll tell you all about next Palermonday!

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