MSFS Day 8: Journey to Piraino and an Evening of Eggplants

Notes from the Field School: July 30th, 2016

Students climb aboard
the bus to Piraino.

Our 8th day began with a one-hour bus trip to Piraino, a small Sicilian village. The area was beautiful, providing breathtaking views with vibrant blues from the sea, deep greens from the plant life, and hues of peach, red, yellow, and tan among the buildings. Despite all of the walking, there was very little complaining from the students as they became entranced by the sites on the way to our destinations.

One of our first  in-city views of Piraino. Note the tower we would later climb.

Front view of the mother church.

Marcello speaks to students about the
history of the mother church and
of one of its most famous martyrs.

Our first stop was at the town's mother church. Here, we meet Marcello Mollica, who is a cultural anthropologist with the University of Pisa. Marcello gave us an exciting lecture about the history of the church and one of its archpriests, Giovanni Maria Scolarici, who was killed along with his son during a raid by pirates in 1544. He became a martyr and his remains were kept in a box in the church because they were considered sacred. He is now considered a saint by the orthodox church. The bones were moved several times and were eventually lost to time. Currently, we do not know where these remains are, though Marcello thinks they may be sealed behind a wall in the church.

Karl introduces the student to Padre Carlo.

After his lecture, we stepped outside to eat our picnic lunch of ham or salami sandwiches that our favorite cook, Carmelina, packed for us to enjoy. After eating, we decided to walk over to a local bar for coffee, granita, and an excellent view of the city. While there, we met Padre Carlo, the religious leader for the city. Padre Carlo was excited to meet us and insisted that we take many group photos while in Piraino. We all walked back to the church together and Padre Carlo played the church's newly-refurbished organ for us. He continued playing on the piano in the church as we took turns going down into the small crypt beneath the church.

MSFS Class of 2016 with Padre Carlo in Piraino.

Padre Carlo plays for us on the newly-refurbished organ in the mother church.

Ruth, Erik, and Jordan
join Marcello in the crypt.

Emily, Mallory, Sam, and Mari
descend into the crypt.

The crypt was accessible through a staircase in the floor of the church near the main altar. When the door to the crypt was opened, anyone standing nearby could feel the rush of cool air escaping into the church. Students carefully entered the crypt in groups of 4-6 and Marcello explained how bodies were prepared in a small room near the entrance and about how the architecture of the crypt kept mummies from decomposing.

Students were seeing, for the first time, mummies that were not behind glass or in boxes. Many of them found it hard to describe the feelings that they had about being in such close contact with the mummies. (*Note* Students were not permitted to touch the mummies, but they still felt a connection to these mummies that they had not experienced in Santa Lucia.)

After leaving the crypt, we took a journey up to a tower built during the Middle Ages. We climbed the spiral staircase up to a small room with artwork and some of the textiles from the period. From there, you could either go down an internal staircase or up a different internal staircase. We ascended the staircase into another room with artwork and a tiny, metal spiral staircase leading up to the roof. Once on the roof, we were able to see an amazing view of the village and far beyond.

Mari and Johnica posing at the entrance to the tower.

Internal room of tower with artwork displayed.

View from the roof of the tower overlooking the city and the sea.

Next, Padre Carlo took us to his home, which was in a beautiful church. He talked to us about the stone from which his pulpit was carved, shared with us a story about love and freedom, and then showed us a room in the church that was covered in recently restored murals with religious iconography. Afterward, he met us at another small church for a quick look at Byzantine artwork that had been restored recently.

After a long day of walking and seeing amazing art, architecture, scenery, and, of course, mummies, we headed down to the beach for some refreshing swimming in the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. We swam to our hearts' content and then did a little shopping and had more granitas and gelatos before heading back to the van for the ride home.

We arrived at the convent in time for a delicious dinner of pasta with red sauce and eggplant. The dish was served alongside a local cheese that we've come to enjoy on a regular basis. We were also treated to small pears and freshly-picked figs.

The Eggplant Festival in Santa Lucia del Mela.

Candies and roasted nuts on sell at the festival.

Down the street from the convent, the community was holding an eggplant festival, so after dinner, many of us went to experience the local Santa Lucia del Mela culture. Walking up to the plaza, we saw bright lights and tables full of candy and nuts for sale. The smell of cinnamon and roasted nuts filled the air as we walked past a traditional nut-roasting set up. Music enveloped us as a live band performed for the enthusiastic crowd. There was a wide open space for dancing and we watched the locals twirling about as we made our way toward the food.

Yummy eggplant plate from the festival.

Though none of us were hungry, we all wanted to try the various forms of eggplant made available for only 2.50 euros. We decided to split a plate just to taste everything that was being offered. We got our ticket for a plate and walked up to the serving line. I asked to take a picture of the food, and one of the volunteers insisted that I take a free plate so that we had more to share! People in this city are very kind and generous! The eggplant plate consisted of a slice of breaded and fried eggplant, a small eggplant croquette, a slice of bread, eggplant cooked in a balsamic vinegar, and an eggplant sauteed with caramelized onions for a sweet flavor.

Erik and Karl enjoying various forms of eggplant.

Later in the evening, several of us joined in the dancing that was taking place in front of the main stage. Though we didn't know the words or the steps, we watched the locals and did our best to replicate or at least have fun in the attempt. We were excited when the macarena started, thinking that we already knew the motions. Shortly into the song, we realized that we were quite mistaken. The Italian version of the macarena includes more steps and hand movements than does the American version of the song. Dancing was still a blast, and left us thirsty, so we ended the evening at our favorite nearby establishment, the Poker Bar, so that we could drink some water while having fun conversations and listening to the music slowly fade away as the festivities died down.

Elisa and Mari dance at the eggplant festival.

All in all, it was a wonderfully busy day punctuated by lessons in the history and modern status of Sicilian culture. The students learned a lot about mummies and their religious significance, but were also confronted with the complications of studying mummies in the context of Sicilian culture. In addition, they were able to experience the modern culture by getting to swim in the cool, clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea, see the importance of eggplant in the native cuisine, and dance to the music of the nation. When asked about their favorite part of this day, most students stated that they could not choose because the whole day had been amazing. That's the kind of thing that we instructors like to hear!

Written by  Dr. Johnica J. Morrow (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)