L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano I f Agrigento greets the first days of March e a c h y e a r w i t h t h e A l m o n d B l o s s o m Festival – an event of w o r l d w i d e r e s o n a n c e – Avola, a town in the Val di Noto in the province of Syra- cuse, holds its Sagra della Mandorla during the week of F e r r a g o s t o , m i d - A u g u s t . Unlike the international folk tradition in the Valley of the Temples, with dances, songs, and delegations from many countries, Avola's celebration is devoted to the fruit. Visi- tors, tourists, and locals have the chance not only to enjoy t h e v i e w s t o w a r d t h e Hyblaean plateau, but also to stroll from booth to booth sampling specialties made with this flavorful nut: rice w i t h a l m o n d s , p u d d i n g s , almond milk, and a host of pastries, the delights of the local confectionery tradition. Before tastes shifted and g l o b a l i z a t i o n n u d g e d u s toward flavors outside the Sicilian canon, confetti (sug- ared almonds) were indis- pensable at every wedding, confirmation, and first com- munion (white), at baptisms ( p i n k o r b a b y b l u e ) , a n d engagements (green). Today you often find confetti made from pralines in various fla- vors, often chocolate but not only. And not so long ago, C a r n i v a l p a r a d e s l o o k e d nothing like today's, with their giant satirical floats depicting current events and public figures. In the past, nobles processed in carriages and tossed sugared almonds – l a t e r r e p l a c e d b y p a p e r confetti – to the onlookers following the small cortege, most of them children wait- ing for those almond sweets. Thanks to the Mediter- ranean climate, the fertility of the soil, and irrigation techniques first introduced by the Arabs, almond cultiva- tion became possible here and came to be regarded as among the best in the world. Its central role in the island's p a s t r y t r a d i t i o n m a d e i t famous, and, thanks to the Phoenicians, who imported the tree and established its cultivation, a distinctive culi- nary and cultural heritage took shape. The almond also carries biblical symbolism: when Moses gave a staff to each of the twelve tribal lead- ers, Aaron's staff blossomed and "produced flowers and ripe almonds" (Num. 17:23). There was a time when, walking the streets of Avola, you might see elders pouring crushed almond hulls into molds to make scibina, a soft soap that perhaps can still be found in old-style markets. The shells, mean- while, were burned, and the resulting ash was used to prepare a lye solution with which linens were washed. Who knows whether anyone still makes it today? Cultivation still follows a g e - o l d r u l e s . T r e e s a r e planted by hand and set well a p a r t t o g i v e t h e i r r o o t s ample room to spread deep into the volcanic ground. Harvesting is still done by gently shaking the branches and detaching the fruit – of the Pizzuta variety – only when it is fully ripe, without r e s o r t i n g t o m e c h a n i c a l tools. B e y o n d b e i n g e a t e n a s dried fruit, almonds appear on our tables in the form of sweets. One of their classic uses is for marzipan, cas- s a t a , a n d c a n d i e d almonds. Their uses are not confined to the kitchen, h o w e v e r : t h e c o s m e t i c s industry has made almonds a base ingredient for oils and c r e a m s v a l u e d f o r t h e i r soothing properties. Avola (ancient Abola) was o n c e a f o r t i f i e d c i t y , equipped with a castle and numerous churches, set high on a hill of the Hyblaean Mountains. It was complete- ly destroyed by the earth- quake that, on January 11, 1693, brought ruin to many towns in the Val di Noto. Beginning in March of the same year, it was rebuilt on the plain below, closer to the s e a . M a r q u i s N i c o l ò P i g - n a t e l l i A r a g o n a C o r t é s , a nephew of Pope Innocent XII, entrusted the plan for the new city to a Jesuit friar from Palermo, the distin- g u i s h e d a r c h i t e c t A n g e l o Italia. As prescribed in the urban-planning treatises of the time, the city plan was hexagonal, and two grand thoroughfares, Strada Cas- saro and Strada del Corso, crossed in a Christian cruci- form layout, dividing the town into four quarters. The s q u a r e w h e r e t h e y m e t served as the public market until the nineteenth century. The town grew, and after Italian unification the City Hall, the hospital, separate schools for girls and boys, the theater, and the market were built. Private construc- tion embraced the Liberty style (Art Nouveau). In the second half of the twentieth c e n t u r y , a f t e r m a r k e d expansion, Avola discovered i t s v o c a t i o n f o r t o u r i s m . Gastronomic festivals sprang up: the Tuna Festival and the Ghiotta Festival devel- oped to present stories of tuna fishing, while ghiotta – a way of cooking parts of the t u n a – a n d b o t t a r g a t a k e center stage over the side events. A l s o i n A u g u s t , t h e Swordfish Festival is a fixture, with tastings that show the bounty of the "lord of the seas," the Mediter- ranean. From sea to land, wild boar sausage steps into t h e s p o t l i g h t , i t s f l a v o r heightened by Nero d'Avola, t h e p r i z e d a n d d e l i c i o u s wine whose origins are tied t o t h e t o w n ' s v i n e y a r d s . Today it is produced in other p l a c e s a s w e l l , b u t N e r o d'Avola is what made Avola known around the world. In 1961, in the Bargellusa district, opposite the civic hospital, a dolmen was dis- covered: a massive slab rest- i n g o n t w o u p r i g h t s t h a t seems to follow the natural profile of the rock and, for that reason, earned the label "pseudo-dolmen." Human intervention later enlarged it and made its lines more geo- metric, working also on the s i d e s u p p o r t s . I n s i d e t h e monument, the floor was reworked as well: the under- lying arenitic-sandy material was removed to expose the lower bedding surface. R e t u r n i n g t o t h e 1 6 9 3 earthquake, with a moment magnitude of 7.3, it is con- sidered the most violent ever recorded in Italy and among the most disastrous in histo- ry. More than forty-five set- tlements were destroyed; its intensity was likened to XI on the Mercalli scale; and the death toll reached about 60,000. It was followed by a tsunami that affected the Ionian coast. The seismic swarm, accompanied by a very high number of tremors – around 1,500 – continued for roughly two years. Avola, the world capital of almonds TERESA DI FRESCO LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS Harvesting almonds in Sicily (Photo: Siculodoc/Dreamstime)

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