L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026 L'Italo-Americano F rom the slopes of Mount Etna to the Valley of the Tem- p l e s , S i c i l y i s home to crops of o n e o f t h e i s l a n d ' s m o s t f a m o u s p r o d u c t s , o f t e n known as "green gold." One might think of olive oil, which is certainly green, but in this case the name refers not to olive trees but to another p l a n t c u l t i v a t e d i n S i c i l y , especially around Bronte, in the province of Catania, and Raffadali, in the province of Agrigento. It is the pistachio – fastuca or frastuca in Sicil- ian dialect, while frastucara is the name of the tree that bears it – a crop also grown in Spain, Turkey, Iran and the United States. Sicilian pista- chios, and those from Bronte in particular, are protected by PDO status and regulated by a strict consortium. They a r e h a r v e s t e d e n t i r e l y b y hand, without machinery, every two years, in odd-num- bered years, on steep volcanic ground, and are sold in their natural state, neither roasted nor salted at the source. Their aroma is distinctive, and the volcanic soil in which they g r o w u n d o u b t e d l y c o n - tributes to what makes them especially valued. Pistachio cultivation in Sicily began during Arab rule in the Middle Ages and soon found favorable condi- tions in inland areas such as Bronte. Today, the town in the province of Catania is widely regarded as the world c a p i t a l o f t h e p i s t a c h i o . Growing the trees on Etna's lava terraces has become a source of local pride, and every February 26, World Pistachio Day offers one more occasion to celebrate Bronte's most famous spe- cialty. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Bronte's Pis- tachio Festival, held over the last weekend of Septem- ber, on the 25th, 26th and 27th, and the first weekend of October, on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th. It begins with the tradi- tional ribbon-cutting ceremo- ny, followed by musical per- formances and the opening of art exhibitions. There are traveling shows, street per- formers, theater, parades of Sicilian carts and the "Pista- chio Experience," a sensory, educational and gastronomic itinerary dedicated to discov- ering Sicily's celebrated nut. During the second weekend, local schoolchildren also take p a r t , f o l l o w e d b y m u s i c , dance and entertainment. Naturally, there are tastings of local products, with pista- chio-based specialties taking pride of place at the stands. The celebrations reach their high point with the "Pista- chio Cake Tasting," a fitting finale to two weekends cen- t e r e d o n t h e t o w n ' s b e s t - known product. Once again, S i c i l y ' s G r e e n G o l d , a n d Bronte with it, is celebrated according to long-established tradition. The municipality stretches along the western slopes of Etna and lies within both Etna Park and the Nebrodi Park. The volcanic soil in which the pistachios grow, r i c h i n m i n e r a l s s u c h a s phosphorus and potassium, is thought to be responsible for their deep emerald-green color as well as the sweet, aromatic and lingering flavor for which they are known. The dialect name fastuca comes from the Arabic fus- tuq, or fustuqa, itself derived from the Persian pisteh. A lit- tle history: in the second half of the fifteenth century, a s u b s t a n t i a l n u m b e r o f Albanian exiles settled in Bronte after fleeing wars and persecution by the Muslim Turks. They were granted a certain degree of freedom, including religious freedom, and were never forced to give up their language or cus- toms. Little remains of that presence today, however, apart from a few surnames and some words of Albanian origin. In 1520, Charles V of Hab- sburg, who had confirmed the passage of the Kingdom of Sicily under Spanish rule, created the Universitas of Bronte by decree. Bronte suf- fered some damage during Etna's eruption of 1651, while in 1832 and again in 1843 the lava approached the town without reaching the inhabit- ed center. The eruption of 1843 is remembered for what is considered the most seri- ous accident in the recorded history of Etna's eruptions, when several dozen people were killed by fire, making it one of the volcano's worst disasters. Bronte is known not only for pistachios, its Albanian past and Etna, but also for Britain's greatest naval hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson. In 1799, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies made Nelson Duke of Bronte and granted h i m a l a r g e e s t a t e t h a t included the castle and the church of Santa Maria. Dur- ing the Risorgimento, peas- a n t r e v o l t s l e d t o s e v e r a l deaths, and those believed responsible for killing local landowners were executed in an attempt to prevent further civil conflict. These bloody events were later recounted by Giovanni Verga and Carlo Levi and also became the subject of a film. When Italy declared war on Britain in 1940, to Mus- solini's cry of "God curse the English," Nelson's heirs were forced to leave Bronte and return to Britain. After the w a r , h o w e v e r , t h e f a m i l y returned and recovered the p r o p e r t y t h a t h a d b e e n granted by Ferdinand I. They remained until 1981, when the last English heir sold the family's remaining properties to the municipality and left Sicily. Another town, this time in t h e a r e a o f A g r i g e n t o ' s Valley of the Temples, is a l s o a m a j o r p r o d u c e r o f green gold. Raffadali cele- brates its PDO pistachio with the Fastuca Fest, which reached its tenth edition this year and was held from Sep- tember 17 to 20. The pro- gram included a food trail, stalls selling local products, workshops and the second edition of the Fastuca Fest cooking competition. The aim throughout is to promote the area and its gastronomic specialties, with the pistachio naturally taking center stage. The four-day event is orga- nized by the Fastuca Associa- tion and the consortium pro- t e c t i n g t h e P i s t a c c h i o d i Raffadali PDO, with support from regional departments responsible for agriculture, rural development, Mediter- ranean fisheries, tourism, sport and entertainment, as well as the municipality of Raffadali and the Archaeo- logical and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples. P i s t a c h i o s a s i d e , R a f - fadali's traditional dish is macco di fave, or u maccu di favi: a soup made from d r i e d f a v a b e a n s c o o k e d slowly with vegetables such as chard or wild fennel and finished with extra-virgin olive oil. The dish has earned Raffadali the nickname u paisi du maccu, "the town of macco." Another local specialty also deserves mention: ricci di pistacchio, traditional sweets made with pistachios, sugar, egg white and honey. Then there are mbuliati, savory baked goods filled with local ingredients and, why not, pistachios too. And for one final etymo- logical curiosity, the name Raffadali comes from the Arabic Rahl al-afdal, mean- ing "excellent farmstead" or "superior village": rahl or rahal means a farmstead or farming village, while al- a f d a l , o r F a d a l e , m e a n s excellent or superior. Just like the pistachios of Bronte and Raffadali. TERESA DI FRESCO October, when Sicily celebrates its pistachios with festivals and local flavors LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE A pistachio grower works among the volcanic slopes around Bronte, where the crop is still harvested by hand; inset, visitors sample local specialties during one of the festivals that celebrate Sicily's "green gold" (Original images created for L'Italo-Americano with the assistance of AI)

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