Ustica sape

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[ id=10152 w=320 h=240 float=left]  After tracing his family tree and discovering Ustica as his family’s heritage country, our friends, Angelo and Diana Palmisano, invited us to travel there with them. Ustica, I said, where in the world is that! Turns out it is in Sicily. As we are always ready for an adventure, we decided to accompany our friends. We arrived in Palermo, Sicily, and the next day boarded the ferry to our final destination of Ustica. Approaching this volcanic island, we were amazed to see a picturesque village perched on the hillside with sailing, diving, fishing boats anchored in the harbor. The sun was shining brightly on the village welcoming us in all its glory. We went to our hotel, Le Terrazze, that had a view of the harbor and the Tyrrhenian Sea that was absolutely breathtaking.

We were met by Pietro Bertucci, who with his lovely wife, Pina, was our host for the next four days. And what a lovely time we had. Pina prepared a four course luncheon for us each day and most days an evening meal as well. Our meal starts out with pasta, with a fresh sauce made each morning. The sauces were either made with fresh vegetables, fish, or seafood. Then the next course may be a fish or cheese prepared deliciously, a salad, followed by a fruit, cheese, or dessert and always bread and wine. The meal-times were spent telling stories, laughing, and of course drinking wine which the Palmisanos had made. We learned much about the Italian way of life and them about us.

Each day the fishermen bring fresh fish  to market which was just caught that day and the restaurants place the catch of the day on ice by the front door for you to pick for your meal. Since the island is volcanic the soil for growing crops for food is very fertile and the vegetables are lush and plentiful.

The community was very friendly and as we walked in the town square we were always met with a smiling face. There are many shops to wander in and check out souvenirs, beautiful ceramics, and groceries that sold the lush fresh vegetables, fresh baked breads, all variety of cheeses and staples needed by the locals. Ice cream or gelato bars are plentiful as well, as the Italians love their café lattes and desserts. Cannolis were a delicacy that was favored by all. Be sure to try them.

A special event was visiting the Pasquale Palmisano farm where they grew lentils, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, basil, lettuce, tomatoes, to name a few and also the wine that we drank everyday. When not harvesting, the fellows made the baskets that they used to gathered their vegetables. They transported their wares to market via a donkey which was tethered by the barn. His bray was so loud that we had to hold our ears for comfort.

The steep and rocky coasts and the landscape of the island make it ideal for underwater sports. It is considered a world renowned diving and snorkeling destination. The water is so blue and clear that you can see 30-40 feet deep. The water is so inviting that you don’t even notice that there are rocks rather than sand. We took a day to boat around the island to view the many underwater caves in the rocky coastline. Some were quite large and we were told that fishermen used to moor their boats during storms in these caves.

Our experience in Usitca was one of adventure, fun and meeting new friends. We will of course want to return and hope that you may want to experience it too.

Sincerely,
Carol and Marty Kable
(Washington)