THE CAROB TREE

According to Hoofer, the Lotus mentioned by Homer, which peoples of the African coast and the first inhabitants of Sicily used to eat, was nothing but carob. For the great Greek poet carobs were the most precious food for Louts Eaters which used to eat only rough acorns. Clemente Grimaldi in 1895, in its treaty on carob tree wrote: “ I wonder if those countless square cavities, dug by the man’s hand on the sides of hard rocks, in the long valley of Ispica, between Spaccaforno and Modica, are the signs of a primitive settlement chosen for the advantage offered by so abundant and prosperous a tree present in that area.”

But apart from literary and legendary influences the carob tree has been thriving in the Hyblaean area, like in African countries; it is a kind of vegetation that grows very well in calcareous and volcanic lands. The carob tree, which the botanists call “ceratonia siliqua” was called “ceration” by the Greeks and “siliqua” by the Latin people, which means pod. In Sicily it was usually called “carrua”, up to the present term “Carrubo”, indicating with the same name both the fruit and the tree. This tree is the natural element which completes the Hyblaean country ; its fruit is used to produce saccharose , fodder and syrups. From the seeds we obtain a very good flour, used in different ways, to produce preservatives and in the tan industry. Industrious bees carry the pollen from flower to flower: a continuous work that produces the precious carob honey.
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South east Sicily: the landscape

The landscape of this part of Sicily is strongly marked by its stone of hard and soft limestone; In valleys and plateaux it is used to build walls, patios, cisterns, farmyards, balconies, churches and palaces.

The stone in dry-stone walls forms an age-old long line in the fields "vignali" or "chiuse"; it is decorated with friezes and blazons in mansion-houses and used to build local farms "masserie". Stone and trees, above all the evergreen carob trees, the olive- trees and the vines contribute to mark the characteristic landscape.

The Hyblaean landscape proposes a continuous affinity of light and colour. Rocks covered with dwarf palm trees and rows of agaves watch over broad sandy shores; History is rooted in the residual traces of coastal villages in spite of the recent wounds holiday crowds have inflicted. The coast ranges from Porto Ulisse to Kamarina, from Pozzallo to Marina di Ragusa and Scoglitti.

But the peculiarity of the landscape and culture is not only made up of seaside and country. Town centres show the architectural and structural features of this area too; an area which was planned again after the "terrible earthquake" of 1693 and left a wonderful heritage of baroque art.

"The typical ragusan farm", the masseria and cooking traditions

In the territory of Ragusa there are lots of family run farms which preserve the typical traditions of the south eastern part of Sicily, especially cooking traditions.

Among the most important dishes we have causunieddi: home made pasta seasoned with pork sauce or tomato, ravioli: home made pasta stuffed with ricotta, sugar and cinnamon, and manichi ri fauci, home made pasta cooked with pulses and seasoned with oil and salt, maccu: a typical broad bean soup.

In the old Sicilian farm men spent their day working in the fields while women in addition to their domestic job, helped their husbands with the farm, made bread, took care of the poultry, and took care of the children.

The stone oven is present in any ragusan farm where focacce are cooked: it is home made pasta stuffed with tomato and cheese, with ricotta onion and parsley, with aubergines, with broccoli, with ricotta and sausage. Then there are the " 'mpanate " typical of Easter tradition. They are buns stuffed with lamb meat or turkey meat seasoned with pepper and parsley.

In the typical “masseria” we have the bagghiu : a courtyard enclosed by drystone walls and farmers' houses. Inside the house, the family used to spend their life in a room called "casa ri mannira" , where ricotta and provola and caciocavallo, the typical ragusan cheese was manufactured . In the tannura, a stone-cooker the women prepared their meals.

Two times a day after milking “ricotta” was prepared: it is a typical Sicilian soft cheese.

At Christmas, the family prepared the sausages and pork chops. Typical sweets of Christmas are mpagnuccata, pasta cooked with honey and served on a lemon leaf, and the ghiugghiulena sesame seeds cooked with honey.

The Castle of Mussomeli

Mussomeli is a typical sicilian village in the province of Caltanissetta, with a castle dating back to the fourteenth century, if you are interested in medieval architecture you'll find here a typical exemple.
The castle has been well restructured, a guide will show you all the different rooms and tell you the story.