6. Cibo

By Day One of my italiano language course, I had discovered where to buy the best gelatos in Milazzo.  

When buying from this popular Gelateria, I had to stand in a line until I got to the counter with the words well-practised in my head.  

Un Classico, due misurini in un cono, two scoops in a cone.  Per favore.  

I put the €3 into a dish (and any change would go in the dish). 

No touching since COVID!  No menus in restaurants either.  Use a plastic glove to pick the apples at the supermarkets, I was told!  Mi dispiace.  

Dang that’s Good!

Once I had my receipt, the person making the gelato asked what flavours I wanted.  I said senza latte, without milk, and vorrei un cioccolato and fragola, pronounced fra-gol-a (as in goal).  Per favore. 

The taste of strawberry was nothing like the artificial strawberry ice-cream back home.  No!  

La fragola was like tasting the first strawberries of the season; rich, sweet and tangy.  The cioccolate was a dark-cocoa colour and very strong like Dutch chocolate.  As I licked up the gelato, it was like tasting chocolate dipped strawberries at Christmas time.  

I decided to work through all the varieties available and definitely my third favourite flavour was the lemon; just like a limoncello slushy.  Oh boy!

I bloody-well deserved those gelatos as the lessons in the language class were damn difficult and the concentration required was tough.  I needed zucchero, sugar to feed my over-worked brain!

The very good news I discovered on Day Two was that unlike at the end of the first lesson, my body was no longer shaking.  

I would like to think that I had relaxed into the lessons, but I’m pretty sure that the caffeine-based No-Doze tablet I took on the first morning made my body shake. Not unlike too many Red Bulls.  It was the first time I had used them and I thought it would give me a little more focus.  No-Doze no more!

Three days into the course and I still couldn’t understand much of what the teacher was saying. Surprisingly I was still learning and keeping up with the class, and it all became a lot more enjoyable.

Steps to the Castello

On one sunny afternoon I walked along the promenade until I found the stairs to the Castello di Milazzo, which is located on the summit overlooking the town.  

It is on a site that was first fortified in the Neolithic era before the Greeks modified it into an acropolis, an ancient citadel.  Later it became a fort, or a castrum, built by the Romans and Byzantines.  

The Milazzo Castello

I just wanted to walk around it and enjoy the stunning view out to the sea from the summit.  I walked on the original road from the beach front and up to the Castello, admiring the varied architecture.  

Some of the ancient buildings here are falling to ruin because to save every building would cost the Government too much.  The limestone is weakening, wearing down over the many years from sea spray, rain, dirt and pollution.  Sadly there aren’t enough tourists here to pay for restoration work.

I am staying in a relatively modern residential apartment with a gorgeous view out to the sea.  I have had dinner with Melissa and her two children a few times.  The two kids are extremely patient with me as, io provo e trovo, I try and find… le parole, the words.  

Melissa is lovely and both of us find some middle ground between our languages to understand each other.  

Oh… a pastry with apples!

I could spend many months here in Sicily, especially in Milazzo because it’s small and familiar. It is safe here, Melissa told me.  I feel safe here.

I’ve been getting to know some of the other students too.  Most in their 50’s, many travelling alone, like me.  

Tastes like a Donut!

To help with our listening, the school has excursions in the afternoons and/or evenings where the teacher only speaks in Italiano.  

What I have learned was that Sicily has suffered many devastating earthquakes over the years.  Messina had a particularly bad earthquake followed by a city-levelling tsunami back in 1906.  The city was rebuilt with lower-levelled buildings.

Duomo di Messina

The duomo, main church, was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 1700’s and was then rebuilt; only to be destroyed by bombs in World War II, then rebuilt, then a fire that burned down it’s wooden roof.  It’s been rebuilt a few times and I have to wonder if this will be the last build.  

By my sixth day here the locals were starting to acknowledge me. Buongiorno!  Salve! Ciao!

Yep, Cheese!

Sì, there is a developing sense of belonging here.  I am definitely feeling more comfortable because my appetite has returned and I can’t get enough of the food here.  Everything tastes so good!

I’ve eaten pizze, risotti, panini, tiramisu, and some nougat thingies… you name it.  I’m eating it all!

Adoro il cibo italiano.

È delizioso!!!