A Journey Full Circle
Vizzini, a sentimental journey, and Mum's Sugo di Pomodoro. A few years ago, I travelled to Sicily with my mum, to a small village called Vizzini, where she was born.
It was the first time she had been back there since she left Sicily as a young girl, migrating to Australia by boat well over 50 years ago now. She had been wanting to go for a while, but it took some convincing.
The day we finally purchased our tickets together, it felt very real. The excitement was palpable: though I’d visited Sicily twice before, this was to be much more than a holiday, it was an opportunity to connect - to reconnect in my mother’s case - with our heritage. With the island and town of her birth.
Vizzini is an ancient village located in the province of Catania. It is considered one of the oldest cities in Sicily and today houses approximately 6,000 inhabitants. It was founded in the Bronze Age and later conquered by the Greeks, Romans and Byzantine.
My first journey to Sicily had been long before this, more than 20 years ago. As soon as I landed at Cantania Airport and walked through the sliding exit doors, I’d felt an unexpected sense of home and belonging.
Distant family and friends, most of whom I had never met before, embraced me - literally and figuratively - with open arms.
I can remember my friend, Genmarco, driving me in his little Fiat, through the winding roads, to get to Vizzini. As I looked out my window and saw the prickly-pear trees, olive groves, oranges, lemons and wild greens on the side of the road, the Italian-ness of my Australian upbringing, through my Mum and Dad, my Nonno and Nonnas, and my Zia and Zios, all started to make sense. I felt that I had found a place where I belonged.
I finally understood what was behind the wholesome Sicilian food rituals that I experienced as a child in Australia.
My Nonno’s prickly-pear trees in his back garden in Melbourne, which he so effortlessly peeled for me with his bare hands; my Zia Maria’s smashed green olives with garlic and olive oil; the ever so delicious ricotta cannoli from the famous T. Cavallaro & Sons in Footscray; and my mum’s fresh Sugo di Pomodoro (tomato sauce) with home-made fettuccine pasta and a sprinkling or pecorino pepato (with pepper) cheese.
Deep down though, that first visit only really scratched the surface. I felt I needed my mum to walk the streets with me, and share those stories of where she came from and what it was like growing up as a young Sicilian girl in this small town.
And at last that opportunity came: my third trip back to Sicily, and my mother’s first in 50 years. Together, we would trace our steps back home.
I stepped back as mum and I arrived in the village, so she could walk down the cobbled streets by herself, slowly absorbing her surroundings. “Not much has changed,” she said. A spine-tingling moment.
We visited the supermarket where my mum used to shop, and nothing had really changed inside, either. The shelves looked exactly the same, even the tiles on the ground had not changed. Mum was amazed!
What had changed were the internal structures of the houses that the Vizzinesi lived in. They were more modern now, and updated with the creature-comforts that we all longed for inside.
I asked Mum if she would like to knock on the door of the house that she grew up in. Without hesitation she said no, an almost knee-jerk reaction of not wanting to impose. Eventually I coaxed her to knock on the door, and we were warmly greeted by the strangers who live there today. They welcomed us as if we were family, and we walked in to the kitchen – the hub of the home. I could see a pot of the classic Sicilian sugo di pomodoro slowly bubbling away on the stove for lunch, a big piece of crusty bread, and a large wedge of pecorino pepato cheese. The sweet smell of tomatoes, garlic and basil permeated the whole house.
Those lovely Vizzinesi showed mum around the house while she showed me where things used to be when she lived there, and how it had been arranged for her family.
They invited us to stay for a cup of espresso coffee, a biscotti, and some lovely conversation. The pace of life is so much slower than the life many of us have in Australia. There is time for lovely moments of generosity and kindness. And for mum, our visit was a gift of time, to allow her to process her life coming full circle in that moment.
I could see mum was happy being in her birthplace again. As we said a fond farewell to family and friends, mum and I left the humble Piazza of Vizzini by bus and continued with our journey of visiting other places in Sicily for the two weeks we were there.
Things to see and do in Vizzini
Chiesa San Gregorio Magno - The Roman Catholic church in the centre of the town
Scalinata in Maiolilca – A colourful staircase on Via Lombarda
Sagra della Ricotta e dei Formaggi – The famous ricotta festival
Festa di Maria SS Dell’Odigitria – A holy celebration dedicated to the patron saint of the village
For the best Ricotta Cannoli in Melbourne, Australia
T. Cavallaro & Sons: specialising in traditional Sicilian pastries, the ricotta cannoli are incredible and world class. 98 Hopkins Street, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
My Mum’s Sugo di Pomodoro recipe
When I was five years old, my mum’s sugo di pomodoro was the first Sicilian recipe she taught me. This sugo is my “go-to” recipe that I use as a base for many Sicilian dishes, such as the sugo for pasta, a delicious pizza margherita, baked fish, for cooking meatballs in and the list goes on. I love to use the Mutti ‘Polpa’ finely chopped tomatoes. They are so sweet and taste incredible.
I make quite a big batch and freeze it in portions for a quick and easy weeknight meal.