Mary Ann's Blog
A Humble Carpenter Creates A Scene
February 19, 2025
When I visited the sleepy little town of Buscemi, Sicily (population about one thousand) about an hour’s drive from Siracusa, I thought about the actor, Steve Buscemi, who starred in Boardwalk Empire. I wondered if his relatives came from this town?
The town’s residents are mostly retirees; the young people have moved away. Yet this town has an interesting museum, the Paese Museo della Vita Popolare where you can visit an old palmento, where grapes were made into wine by stomping on them with your feet. And you can still see the ancient wood presses used to extract the juice. You can visit a typical home of the 18th century where people lived in close quarters with their animals and you can visit the the famous display of artfully crafted breads prepared for Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19. On that day in Sicily, entire towns like Buscemi and Salemi are covered in bread symbols. The dough for them is a sourdough type and hundreds of fanciful shapes from animals to flowers to fruits and tools used by a carpenter, which St Joseph was. The renown and devotion to the Father of Jesus cannot be measured; he is simply a cult figure who protected Sicily from severe famine.
The women of the town fashion these symbols from things like thimbles, scissors, knives, pasta wheels and knitting needles. Hair combs are used to create the intricate shapes. Homemade altars are adorned with gorgeous bread flowers, wreaths and symbols.
Food is so important on this day and over 100 dishes are prepared for le tavole di San Giuseppe. Because the feast day occurs in Lent, everything is meatless. Fish, legumes, vegetables, pasta and an army of desserts play a big table roll. Busloads come from great distances to be part of this celebration that is hundreds of years old and the scene is one of faith, devotion and hospitality.
One of the must have treats on March 19, are zeppole. Here’s my recipe.
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