Day 4: The village of Castellammare del Golfo
Welcome to Castellammare del Golfo.
Len’s grandparents, Salvatore and Angelina Lentini, were born here. Goat farmers. They emigrated to America in the early 1900s, settling in NY first and then New Jersey.
It seems many travelers to this little harbor town are searching for family. At the market, we met two ladies, one (Karen) originally from Boston now living in Milan, and the other (Carol), from New Jersey whose grandparents were born here, too. Her Italian gave her a head’s up on explaining who she was and what she sought. We exchanged numbers and Carol told us of her cousin’s catamaran tour that goes by water to Scopello and Zingaro Reserve ; we’ll definitely go in search of him. The shop keeper’s son knew English; his mother did not so he translated. Len and I just looked at each other with blank looks. We’re hoping the more we hear, the more words we can pick up. Thus far, the plan isn’t working.
We’re getting our bearings in our small town, making lists for the grocery and planning days ahead. Of course, cameras are out.
Castellammare del Golfo, a coastal town in northwestern Sicily, has roots stretching back to ancient Phoenician and Greek settlements, later becoming an important port under Arab and Norman rule during the medieval period. Its historic district retains the layered architectural legacy of these successive civilizations, most visibly in its Aragonese castle — built on earlier Arab foundations — which juts dramatically into the Tyrrhenian Sea and gave the town its name ("castle by the sea of the gulf").
That first alfresco dining. The first sip of Nero d’Avola. The first bruschetta and those fresh tomatoes, wow! You remember what you’ve been missing and why you’re back.
