Italy from the Inside

Between the Cracks: One Woman’s Journey from Sicily to America

Between the cracks

In the wake of my blog posts about beautiful Sicily, it is my pleasure to introduce Carmela Cattuti’s latest book “Between the cracks”, a novel based on real events happened in Sicily more than one hundred years ago.

Join Angela Lanza as she experiences the tumultuous world of early 20th century Sicily and New York. Orphaned by the earthquake and powerful eruption of Mr. Etna in 1908, Angela is raised in the strict confines of an Italian convent. Through various twists of fate, she is married to a young Italian man whom she barely knows, then together with her spouse, immigrates to the U.S. This novel is an invitation to accompany the young Angela as she confronts the ephemeral nature of life on this planet and navigates the wide cultural gaps between pre-World War II Italy and the booming prosperity of dynamic young America. Join Angela Lanza as she traverses the tumultuous landscape of Sicily and New York.

Carmela Cattuti started her writing career as a journalist for the Somerville News in Boston, MA. After she finished her graduate work in English Literature from Boston College she began to write creatively and taught a journal writing course at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education As fate would have it, she felt compelled to write her great aunt’s story. “Between the Cracks” has gone through several incarnations and will now become a trilogy. This is the first installment.

To connect with Carmela email her at cattutic@gmail.com or leave a comment at betweenthecracksnovel.blogspot.com.

The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Buona lettura!

Feeling like Julia Roberts…

Antipasto prosciutto e mozzarella- Italy From The Inside

If you have seen the movie “Eat, pray and love” you probably remember the scene in which Julia Roberts was sitting on the floor in a Roman apartment eating a very light and simple meal all by herself. And yet, despite being in complete solitude, she was enjoying every bite of it.

Well, I felt pretty much like that the day I prepared this dish. I wasn’t sitting on the floor or anything like that, but I certainly was in complete solitude (a.k.a. kids were at school) and I was eating a very simple dish made of mozzarella di bufala, mini scamorza cheese, succulent black olives and the always winning grissini with prosciutto crudo. The basil was there for decoration, but eventually I attacked it and ate that as well.

These are what we call “le piccole gioie della vita” (the little joys of life).

Fiatmania

Fiat500- Italy From The Inside

A strange thing happens when you move to a completely different country: you go back to your hometown and fall in love with things you didn’t care much about before leaving. For me one of those things is the Fiat 500. The intramontabile, timeless Fiat 500. I’m glad it is still around.

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