We fell asleep in one world and woke up in another.
Suddenly Vibo Valentia seems very far away.
Disney is out of magic, Rome is no longer the eternal city, Paris is no longer romantic, New York no longer stands up, the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, and the Vatican and Mecca are empty.
Far from my Calabria and the world, hugs and kisses suddenly become weapons. Not visiting parents, grandparents, uncles and girlfriends and friends becomes an act of love.
Suddenly you realize that power, beauty and money have no value and they can't get you the oxygen you're fighting for.
Nature, on the other hand, continues its life, in a luxuriant way, retaking its spaces. While we humans are in a cage.
The Planet is sending us a message:
"You are not necessary. The air, the earth, the water and the fire without you are fine. When you return, remember that you are my guests. Not my masters."
We will come back to meet each other, to embrace each other, to travel but with a different dutiful gaze towards the planet and nature.
But today Vibo Valentia, my hometown, seems very distant, almost unreachable. In this difficult period, our origins acquire an almost melancholic flavour.
I miss the walks to the castle, which retains traces of Norman and Swabian architecture. Walk near the walls of the acropolis of Hipponium, from where you can command the view of the beautiful Costa degli Dei which overlooks the Aeolian islands directly.
You almost feel like you can touch them if you reach out. Here they are, they are right in front of my eyes. But only if I close them.
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Pitta Pie - Pasticceria Rio Verde[/caption]Among the Easter traditions, in addition to the traditional "affrontata", I can't help but let my mind go to the scents of the "Pitte Pie" tradition. Shortcrust pastry with a delicious filling made with almonds, walnuts, raisins, jam, cinnamon.
And more ... depending on the area of origin and the aunt who prepared them for me.
The addition of spices such as cloves and cinnamon indicate that these sweets are very old, dating back to the period of Arab domination.
They are sweet in every way exquisitely "feminine": the name Pitte Pie, which recalls feminine devotion and religiosity, probably recalls the figures of the three Marys who accompanied Jesus on Calvary.
The Pitte Pie, typical of the Vibonese area, is prepared for Easter. In the past, housewives began to collect and set aside the ingredients from summer, to prepare them, from jams to honey, from dried figs to cooked wine.
The pitte pie has a round shape with three holes above which the filling can be glimpsed, who knows perhaps just to remember the Gospel event.
They remind me of home.
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