"Numerous are the traditions in..." Catania Favorite Tip by isolina_it

Favorite thing: Numerous are the traditions in a land where Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Spanishs, Normans and Swabs have lived.
The most important heritage of these peoples are the architectonical styles and the dialects, a mixture of exotic terms which are completely different from the national language.
If a stranger who doesn’t know Italian wants to make himself understand, he can try to say some words in his mother tongue: perhaps somebody will understand him.
The conquerors of the past have introduced, styles and customs which merged with the typical local ones and have hence given birth to unique traditions.The match between sacred and profane in the celebration of the patronal feasts which run during the year in all the towns of the province are to be remembered. Even the artistical representation shows traces of the external inheritance, for example the 'Opera dei Pupi' (puppet theatre). It is the story of the deeds of the paladins of Carlo Magno. Rich exhibits of 'puppets' can be admired c/o Natale Napoli in Gravina of Catania, in via Madonna di Fatima 14 (tel/fax 095/416787), c/o Turi Grasso in Acireale, in via Nazionale 95 Capomulini area (tel 095/7648035 - 800113 - 7632158) and c/o the Cooperativa E. Magrì of Acireale, Corso Umberto 113 (tel. 095/606272). A café in Catania near Porta Uzeda features a folkloristic exhibit of puppets. A 'café' or 'bar', especially in via Etnea in Catania, is rarely a 'bar'. The citizens of the province know that they can find elegant places of refreshment and therefore it would be too unsignificant the typical sentence 'let’s go to have a coffee': ice-cream-parlour, pastry shop, rotisserie, toasted coffee, granite (to be found only in Sicily), all home produced. Many of these places are so old and renowned to be a tradition for the countries or the cities where they are found. Those who are in a hurry or are thirsty may stop at the typical kiosks and quench their thirst with the typical home-made drinks, such as 'selz al limone e sale' (water with lemon and salt), the typical 'latte di mandorla' (almond flavoured milk), the 'schampagnino', the 'misto amaro', the 'misto frutta', and dozens of other syrup-based drinks. At night, in Catania, you can go to one of the numerous pubs in the historical centre, where musical bands often perform and where you can sit in the open air during the good weather. During the night the town, trasformes into a quite but at the same time lively place, completely different from the one you may see during the day, frantic and swarming with people who go around the numerous shops looking for that bargain. Shopping in Catania and in the whole province is a real ritual, because many citizens are involved in commercial activities. You can find everything: objects of art, local ceramics, jewels created with the amber of the Simeto River and also fresh and seasoned products in all the main squares of the towns and villages, such as mushrooms, almonds, pistachios, 'zagara' honey (orange-blossom honey), tomatoes, oranges etc. A part of this ritual is to bargain: you must always ask for a discount. Especially in the fish market of Catania (very fresh fish offered by local fishermen), near the Duomo (Cathedral basilica of Catania), and at the 'fera o luni' of Piazza Carlo Alberto, always in the provincial capital, which on Sunday morning becomes a very interesting market of antiques. Here, you can also find old and modern wrought iron objects together with objects made of lava which are a button-hole in the local craftsmanship. It is here impossible to list all the handicraft because some are typical of a certain area, such as the lace of Mirabella Imbaccari or the ceramics of Caltagirone and Giarre.Finally, the best way to live the numerous local traditions is to travel from one area to another, on the occasion of the various feasts and celebrations which are performed all the year round.