Euripides, Muse, and Pinocchio

February 17-18

Friday morning we did what we like to do best, wander.

When you don’t have a plan for where to go or what to do, you can expect to be surprised.

Around the corner from our street is a Renaissance palace. It has a large gate with a little door in it. That’s so Americans can tell that it’s old.

The little door was open, and we could see people in the courtyard. So we went in.

We saw a young woman twisting strands of sisal and we started to chat. That’s how we learned that it’s a drama school and that these were some of its students.

While we talked, the woman kept twisting sisal. Another sat on a doorstep doing some kind of handwork.

They were making tragedy masks. The student on the doorstep had a mask that was nearly complete. It was chalk white, and apparently the sisal strands became braids on the mask. 

They were preparing for a production of “The Bacchae” by Euripides, which opens in a few weeks in Syracuse and then will tour several cities, including Milan.

On our last trip to Piazza Duomo Joanna had noticed a gelateria offering crepes. We had already eaten lunch so we weren’t in the mood for them then, but now we were feeling a mite peckish.

They didn’t have a big selection, and not craving Nutella or marmalade, we had them plain, with a little confectioners sugar. The shop threw on a few sprinkles for a dash of color.

They were good, sweet but not overly so, with a slight taste of orange. I don’t know where that came from. Crepes can be made with Grand Marnier, so that may have been the source.

For some reason I was trying to behave, so I didn’t even have a glass of wine, just coffee.

From there, we made another find, Trattoria Kalliope, on Via Consiglio Regionale, a block away from Piazza Archimede. More fantastic seafood on the menu.

We’re going to grow gills if we keep this up, but hell, let’s come back for dinner.

Near the market street, we came to the Bourbon Jail (Carcere Borbonico) built in the 1830s.

Then we sat for a while by the Temple of Apollo before heading back to the hotel.

We rested and did some work on the computer and then headed out for dinner at Kalliope,

I recognized Kalliope as the name of a Greek mythological figure, as well as the circus wagon organ. I had to look up the name, though, to find that she was one of the nine muses. Indeed, the muse of eloquence and epic poetry.

Maybe of seafood, too.

When we walked in, we passed an array of fresh fish, mostly invertebrates, displayed on ice and under glass. I was so glad we found this place.

I saw a group of crustaceans similar to others I had seen in the market. They look like large white crawfish with two black dots where you’d expect the eyes to be.

What are they?

The waiter said that they are locally called Pinocchio.

Like the puppet? Yes.

We started with a mixed seafood appetizer, marinated anchovy, breaded sardine, seafood caponata, grilled calamari, stuffed mussel.

It was all good, but the caponata, with its vinegar, and the silver anchovy on crisp toast were the hits of the plate.

The waiter offered to have a dish made of Pinocchio with a twisted (possibly regional) pasta whose name I forget. 

The fish have little meat but a lot of savory flavor. We picked them up and sucked out the juice. The pasta was saturated with the flavor.

Wine was a house brand syrah, tangy enough to stand up to the food.

The Arkemedeion is closed, so Saturday we went to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. 

It’s a small place with two rooms displaying models of machines and devices based on drawings in da Vinci’s notebooks. 

Several are from his speculations on flight. There are models of his glider, his helical wing (predecessor of the helicopter), parachute, and inclinometer.

Some models, like the cam-lifted hammer, pulleys, and ball bearings, are designed for visitors to try. Others, though, including models of a turtle-shaped battle tank and a paddle-wheel boat, are hands-off.

A room devoted to Archimedes has little about his work, but instead shows the simple machines (shadoof, inclined plane, pulley, etc.) that he applied and improved.

We stopped for a light lunch and shared an impanata, a thin wrap of leavened bread baked around a stuffing of spinach and cheese. I guess this is the Italian version of the Spanish empanada. 

The place, Viola, also mixed one of the best Campari and sodas I ever had. No scrimping on the liqueur.

We went home by way of Via Laberinto. It has a number of turns, but we didn’t need a clew of thread to get us out.

I wanted to catch up on writing because I had been spending most of my computer time making reservations for the rest of this trip and for another in April.

I did some research and found no place between here and Naples with much to see that we hadn’t already seen. The train passes through or near several small towns, but their main attractions are beaches, which are not my kind of thing, especially when the daily high is in the 50s.

So I extended our stay here through Friday, because we are both enjoying Ortygia. Then we’ll go back to Reggio for a few days before we train north for four days in Naples.

For dinner we went back at O’Scina, partly because the food is so good and partly so I could spell it right this time. Either they have changed the name of the restaurant and the street, or I misremembered it in a previous message. 

The was a “t” where the “n” is now. The street is the Via Domenico Scina. 

The lady who runs the restaurant recognized us and jumped up to greet us when we came in. She seems very friendly by nature. She sat briefly to chat with regulars at their tables.

Joanna opted for an appetizer of fried fish, a mix of anchovy, calamari, and octopus. Like all fried food, it was very good.

My only concern now is where to get anchovies this fresh when I get back to New Jersey.

The main course was spaghetti with anchovy sprinkled with bread crumbs. The bread crumbs take the place of grated cheese.

They may have been pan-fried in a combination of olive oil and butter. Done right, as these were, they are tasty and crisp.

There may be a trick to getting it right. I have tried to fry them myself but they have always been oily.

We had a bottle of Sicilian Nero d’Avola with a French name, Sallier de la Tour. Perhaps it’s an echo from the old Bourbon days.

It has a slight sharpness, perhaps because of the alcohol. At 14 percent, it’s a tiny bit stronger than most wines I know. But only a half percent, so I’m not sure that will make a tastable difference.

In any event, it held up to the strong flavor of the anchovies.

I don’t remember exactly where we were when we came across the house with the arm. But it gave us the photo of the day, Joanna Talks to the Hand.

Stay well, all. Wishing you good drinks and even better anchovies,

Harry