Mother's Day in Italy
It's interesting that Mother's Day is a fairly recent celebration in Italy. It seems that many of the holidays we celebrate here actually have historical ties to Italy. I've joked before that every day is Mother's day in Italy and the best food if not made by Mamma is made by Nonna. They have been celebrating Mother's Day in Italy since the 1950's adopting our tradition. This Sunday's Mother's Day celebration isn't much different from the regular Sunday tradition of the family gathering for a long meal as our family did growing up. On Mother's Day there is a special emphasis on Mom of course and flowers and candies are popular gifts just like here.
We just received some new beautiful dried flower arrangements that have a long shelf life, along with many sweet treats. Of course at Etto we are always here to help you create a great meal for Mom this Sunday. It's also been popular lately to take Mom out for lunch or dinner on Mother's Day - so if that's more your style you can join us at Etto Pasta Bar.
Sardinia
I'd heard for years what a great place Sardinia is to visit and maybe even a dream place to retire some day. Being a person with Sicilian heritage, I didn't want to love it too much since Sicily has a special place in my heart. What I learned is that Sardinia has a history similar to Sicily in many ways, yet different in others. Sure, both regions have both been conquered countless times over the years and they have dealt with innumerable financial hardship. Through it all the people have remained fiercely Sardinian yet very welcoming to outsiders, and they consider Sicilians to be their brothers (or sisters) in a certain sense.
What I discovered is that it's OK as a person with Sicilian heritage or any heritage for that matter to fall in love with Sardinia and the island, matter of fact it's hard not to. First of all, Sardinia is huge, just like Sicily, but it almost seems bigger (it's not) and has a longer coastline.
What I discovered is that it's OK as a person with Sicilian heritage or any heritage for that matter to fall in love with Sardinia and the island, matter of fact it's hard not to. First of all, Sardinia is huge, just like Sicily, but it almost seems bigger (it's not) and has a longer coastline.
We started our journey in the biggest city at the southernmost part of the island. The city of Cagliari is about the same size as Catania in Sicily, with about 500,000 people in the metro area which accounts for roughly one-third of the entire island's population. Sheep outnumber the human population on the island by at least 2-1. The city is cleaner and seems much safer and slower paced than many of the bigger towns in Italy.
This was true of the entire island. Sardinia seems to boast a slower pace of life relative to most of Italy and is very clean, charming and relaxed. When we headed into the interior these points only became clearer. We visited artisans who create cheese, wine and art. There was a distinct joy of craft that was not only evident but very impressive. Pecorino or Sheep cheese is an important product for the island and we visited one of the best artisanal producers.
If you want to visit a place to unplug from technology for a bit and celebrate the slow life this is the place. We stayed in a couple of resorts that integrated into the natural beauty of the surrounding area and also featured art and food products from local artisans. I got the sense that this really wasn't some type of marketing gimmick, but an authentic part of the local life. Many parts of Italy are becoming more and more homogenized with trendy influences, but the interior of Sardinia seems happier to lean into its history, culture and traditions maybe more than anywhere I've been in Italy. It was also made clear to us on several occasions that Sardinia is a blue zone and aside from diet and exercise the community connections seem to play a big part of the residents longevity.
Local meat on a big stick is popular here and delicious. The traditional pasta of Sardinia are similar to ones you find elsewhere in Italy, but are also their own thing and we had the opportunity to make some and eat even more.
Local meat on a big stick is popular here and delicious. The traditional pasta of Sardinia are similar to ones you find elsewhere in Italy, but are also their own thing and we had the opportunity to make some and eat even more.
We finished the trip on the nothernmost part of the Island which is where most tourists to Sardinia visit. This part is filled with beautiful beach resorts and luxury yachts. There are a bunch of islands that can be visited with empty beaches from a short boat ride. We took a catamaran around a couple of islands on what turned out to be the coldest and only rainy day of the trip. It was easy to picture how on a warmer sunny day this area could rival any of the best beach destinations in the world.
I will admit that our week in Sardinia flew by and I could easily spend much more time there getting to know more of the island. Our guide (Leslie from La Dolce Vigne) had been visiting the island for 15 years and was still discovering new places to visit. If you want to visit I'm happy to connect you with her. The experience and curation were amazing. If you'd like to go it alone I have some great recommendations and am willing to share them. I just hope it hangs on to its personality and unique sense of place and not too many people discover it.
