#47 Sicilian sunshine and colour palate

writing in-between moments

Hello Friend,

Welcome to any new subscribers this week. I hope you will enjoy my observations from Sicily and beyond.

It seems I have been focusing on life in Sicily lately, but I have a tremendous amount of experience and topics to share with you.

Reflecting on my many years living in Italy, I realise I have much to say and share. And I still haven't scratched the surface. Take that imposter syndrome!

As I write this in my Word document, I have already shared more than 70,000 words between this free newsletter and the excerpts from my travel memoir for my paid subscribers.

Considering that a standard novel is approximately 60,000 words and above, I have already shared a good level of my work with you. I still have plenty of words in me yet. And we are still only halfway through the year!

That word tally blows my mind. As a writer who constantly has to submit things by a word count, the idea that I have already written many novels at a time throughout the years of seemingly coincidental writing is boggling.

Since I am always writing in-between moments of everyday life, like when my child is at school, in the early morning, late at night or while I am ignoring a massive pile of ironing I need to get done.

I seldom think about the amount of stolen writing time I have taken can gradually add up to so much work and so big of a word count. But it does all add up.

As I pat myself on my back at the consistency of putting one word in front of another, I hope to keep up the momentum for you and that you will enjoy reading everything too.

Thanks for being hear, reading along with my rambling thoughts from Sicily.

Just to let you know I might take some time next week to chill, but don't worry; I will return soon.

So speak to you in a bit.

While accompanying my husband on one of his work trips to Catania, I noticed many little water pools dotted the harsh lava landscape.

Since I spent most of my time standing out in the sun to help by holding up one of those measuring poles you see surveyors using while on the roads, I didn't get much time to explore.

I did get a fabulous tan, and this photo of one of the small handmade dams, which I'm sure must be like an oasis in the harsh lava landscape outside of Catania.

These little dams are called 'gebbie' in the Sicilian dialect, which comes from the arab (da jabh), a strange fragment of language left behind from the medieval domination of the island.

The gradual conquest of Sicily by North African or Saracen armies came about over a long, drawn-out period in the middle of the ninth century until the middle of the tenth century, as the influence of the Byzantine Empire began to crumble.

Palermo became the capital of the Arab Emirate of Sicily, which led to a time of great economic prosperity and a burgeoning cultural and intellectual period on the island.

The Arabs ruled Sicily for two centuries, and their influence upon Sicily was monumental. Under their administration, the island's population doubled as dozens of towns were founded and cities repopulated.

The Arabs changed Sicilian agriculture and cuisine. Their scientific and engineering achievements were remarkable.

A visit to Palermo still gives us many remnants of the North African culture from converted mosques, palaces and gardens.

But the most evocative element of their influence can be heard in the many Arab words left behind in the Sicilian dialect, often words that have to do with agriculture and irrigation, reflecting the innovations they brought to Sicily.

The landscape surrounding Catania always strikes me as particularly harsh and unforgiving.

While the fertility of agriculture is evident, there is this strange mix of fichi d'india cactus, olive trees, pistachio and market gardens with the odd palm tree.

The countryside in Catania province has a distinctly ashen grey colour palette; even the water in the pool has taken in the dark army green tone of the other foliage.

It would be pretty intense to live here, I think, to have a tiny house in the middle of the lava must be filled with extremes from the heatwaves in the summer to the endless rain in the middle of winter.

Yet this countryside offers up such fertility to Sicily; the plain of Catania provides most of the agricultural wealth of the island, together with the Conca d'oro around Palermo, it has been one of the most sought after terrain for wealth.

From ancient times Sicily's fertility has been craved by each of the thirteen significant conquerors of the island.

I'm always fascinated by the colours of Sicily; they are intense. The island is 25,711 square kilometres and is packed with so many variations in landscape and architecture.

Each of the seven provinces has its colours and qualities, all in contrast to one another. For example, where I live, the province of Messina is quite lush, filled with hazelnuts, olive trees, and endless springwater fountains (it's where Fontalba water comes from).

If you move towards Catania and Etna, everything becomes covered in black lava stone. There is very little water at the centre of the island in Enna and Caltinessetta provinces; the landscape is harsh and dry, with golden wheat fields in the summer.

Southeast towards Syracuse in the heart of the Val di Noto, the landscape is still fertile, and the towns each have their own distinct muted colours, from golden stones to whitewash and pale pink.

It's such a beautifully rich colour palate that shifts and changes with the seasons and the variations in the Sicilian sunlight. 

I hate to be long-winded, so I will stop here for now.

I'll keep trying to write something worthwhile here every week, perhaps more often if I get in some karmic writing zone.

Thanks for subscribing, and be sure to send this to a friend or someone you think might enjoy it.

Speak again soon.

With love and light from RDB

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