L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T here is a remote island of resilient men in southwestern Sardinia. It is called San Pietro and legend has it that St. Peter visited in 46 AD. The lovely town of Carloforte lies at its heart as an island within an island. It is among the most unheralded Mediterranean gems lost in time, but its people have a remarkable story to tell. Its inhabitants called Carolini have been living in Sardinia for more than two centuries but they are not Sards: they are the descendants of Ligurian fisher- men who in 1542 settled in Tabarka, a coastal town in northwestern Tunisia close to the border of Algeria. That's why they prefer to be called Tabarchini. "In 1541, a group of families from Pegli near Genoa traveled across the Mediterranean at the service of a wealthy Genoese family, the Lomellini. They embarked on an extraordinary adventure resulting in the foun- dation in Tabarka, one of the most flourishing Ligurian colo- nies in the Mediterranean," explains Luigi Pellerano, a local historian. The Tabarchini were coral reef hunters in Tabarka. In the 18th century some Tabarchini families founded Car- loforte (Fort Charles) in then- uninhabited San Pietro. In 1738 they took up an offer from the Duke of Savoy and King of Sar- dinia Charles Emmanuel III to move there. The town was named in honor of him. "Tabarka had been taken over by the Bey of Tunisia in 1735 and Tabarchini families sensed that things were getting out of hand," explains Pellerano "As a matter of fact, in 1741 there was a coup and those who remained became slaves." About 90 percent of locals still speak the authentic Tabar- chin dialect.  "It is the closest to the ancient Ligurian language because it remained socially isolated both in Tabarka and in San Pietro," says Pellerano. A sportello linguistico at City Hall organizes literary contests and meetings to protect the unique dialect. The Tabarchini are hardy peo- ple. They survived the harsh world of slavery in Tunisia. In 1798 the Bey of Tunis had commissioned seven ships and 1,000 men to attack San Pietro because he was fighting a war against Sardinia, which had refu- sed to pay tribute to him for the MARIELLA RADAELLI and become a "maestro d'ascia." North Africa and Liguria influences also gave the region its unique cuisine. Cascà is a vegetarian version of couscous. It is classic Car- loforte cooking along with fari- nata. Cucina Carlofortina, a cook- book written by Marcella Pelle- rano and Secondo Borghero, col- lects spectacular recipes. Tuna is Carloforte's other claim to fame. Since Phoenician times, bluefin tuna has been taking the same route past San Pietro's northeast coast in its annual spawn. Another succes- sful edition of the international Girotonno tuna festival has just ended. right to navigate the Mediterra- nean. North African pirates cap- tured women, men, children and the elderly. They were all sold into slavery.  Among the priso- ners one young girl stood out. "Strikingly beautiful and of aristocratic birth, Anna Maria Porcile was 12 years old, a ripe age on the Barbary Coast, a mar- riageable age," writes best-sel- ling author Richard Zacks in his book Pirate Coast. She was the granddaughter of Count Giovan- ni Porcile, admiral of Sardinia's navy. "The admiral of the fleet Rais Muhammed Rumelli intended to have her as his concubine unless someone would immediately buy her from him for the record price of 16,000 piasters, or $5,000 (then the price of a mansion in Manhattan)," writes Zachs. "The average price of a slave was 2,000 piasters," explains Pellerano. To make the complex story short: Anna was finally rescued by the US Consul in Tunisia William Eaton, a younger diplo- mat who obligated the US government to pay the ransom. Anna's father, Antonio Porci- le wrote a thankful letter to US President Thomas Jefferson on July 22, 1804 for the decisive intervention in saving his daugh- ter. The symbol of the Tabarchi- ni's release from slavery in 1803 is represented by a carved wood statue of a black Madonna (a plausible "polena," figurehead of a ship). A wandering slave, Nicola Moretto, found it in a Tunisian garden near a date palm. Numerous miracles have been attributed to the sacred artifact which was enshrined in Car- loforte's 19th century sanctuary La Madonna dello Schiavo. A festival in honor of the Virgin of the Slaves is celebrated on November 15. Architecture of Carloforte seems to belong to another world: It blends the famous car- rugi of Genoa with a distinctly African look. Translucent light bounces off pastel-colored houses that over- look narrow alleyways, with the suggestion of the sea all around. On June 29, the Tabarchini will celebrate their patron saint St. Peter with a sea procession. The turquoise water is so clear you can see the stones of the seabed. Don't miss a visit to Capo Sandalo, a rugged beauty with a prominent lighthouse on the western point in San Pietro marking the southwestern corner of Sardinia. "There, you can watch the most amazing sunset in the world," says Pellerano. Tabarchini always excelled in sailing- several families ended up in California. Today's young people beco- me cruise ship officers due to the Carloforte Nautical School that brings great prestige to the com- munity. Teenagers can also learn the craft of wooden boat building Linen waving in the wind , Carloforte, Isola di San Pietro, Sardinia ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES Carloforte is the only town on the island of St Peter, founded by fishermen of Ligurian origin S a r d i n i a 's C a r l o f o r t e : m e e t i n g w i t h remarkable men

• Cover