A walk uphill to San Fratello

12/15 - Capo d'Orlando to San Fratello - 20.75 miles

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My little two-hour excursion to Piraineto could hardly be called an exploration of inland Sicily, so I decided to give it another go, this time to San Fratello, the gateway to the Nebrodi, a mountain chain and regional park in Central Sicily.

Awaking early, I left the hotel at Capo d'Orlando, flirted with the barista as I ate a delicious chocolate croissant and sipped a cappuccino, and off I went exploring.

Soon enough, I found the road that slanted uphill, and three to four hours later, I was clearly in the foothills. One of the first things I had heard about San Fratello was that it was renowned for its horses, and that the breeding and training of horses here was a fine mixture of art and science. I had imagined gigantic pastures with hundreds of horses galloping about, performing stunts and running faster than the wind; instead, I saw a few squat-looking horses lazily tugging at weeds. Looking back at it, I get the feeling that I missed the boat somehow, that some guidance by a local would have led me into the "real" horse zone, as opposed to the outer "pony" zone. I guess I'll just have to go back.

One thing that did not disappoint was the countryside, an ideal pastoral landscape with trees, farmland, pastures, olive groves, and rustic country homes. Best of all, I was arriving right at sunset, so I had the dramatic backdrop of a painted skyline to complement the land's varied bounty.

I would have stayed outside even longer, drunk with the overwhelming beauty of my surroundings, but a fierce mountain wind had picked up dramatically, infiltrating my lightweight outer wear and literally chilling me to the bone. So, relying on a steep uphill to keep me warm through exertion, I hustled the last mile or two, and finally arrived at the hotel.

Unfortunately, the wind only grew stronger, and from the groaning sounds it made as it blew down the street past my poorly insulated window, I knew it was not "take a walk and explore" weather. As a result, I passed the evening in my hotel room, with a trip upstairs for dinner.

The dinner was interesting, as I got to experience firsthand the other notable characteristic that distinguishes San Fratello from every other town in Italy. Ever since the Norman invasions of Sicily more than 900 years ago, San Fratello has spoken a Franco-Italian dialect that is unique to its population of around 4,500. So, even Sicilians from towns ten miles away understand little to nothing of San Fratello's dialect. Their language reminds the historically-minded thinker that this little hamlet has essentially lived in its own bubble for dozens of generations, and that modern Italian as it is spoken today is only widespread as of 60 or 70 years ago, when Fascism and television stepped in. For the most part, dialects are disappearing in Italy at an alarming rate, preserved mostly by the elderly, the uneducated, and joke telling youngsters. And it's a shame too, since a dialect speaks volumes about traditions, beliefs, and in the case of San Fratello, outside influences.

For those of you who refuse to believe that dinner alone is better than dinner with company, you will hopefully concede that being alone allowed me to concentrate fully on the conversations of the locals as they dined. And what did it sound like? Well, for lack of better terms, a Sicilian speaking street French with a more staccato rhythm than what French or the Sicilian dialect usually sound like.

Actually, it was a tad frustrating, as I understood nearly zero of what was going on around me. What's the use of all that Italian training when you can't understand people in Italy? I could not imagine trying to do a walk in a country where I did not speak or understand the language. How isolating and scary, what a demanding test of character it would be!

With a pair of cannoli to finish off the meal, I retired back to my room, and without hesitation, turned on the television. Often my great enemy, it became my great friend, a source of comfort, if only for tonight.