Ameri-Sicula: Sicilian Culture in America

Abstract

This book was originally envisaged as a collection of anecdotes by Sicilian immigrants, and these indeed make up its most substantial part. With few exceptions, such as one on Sicilian dialect expressions, the chapters, written by various generations of immigrants, recount the personal experience of Sicilian traditions that survived the crossing to America. One of the stated aims of the book is to contribute to ensuring that “rich traditions would not be lost”; these traditions provide the focus for many of the authors.Without overgeneralization, these accounts bear witness to an extraordinary similarity of experience. Sentiments such as “family was everything” are expressed by many of the contributors, sometimes using these exact words. Similarly, many stress the idea of community perceived as an enlarged family, summed up by one as, “We viewed our friends’ homes as extensions of our own. A drop-by always entailed an offer of some type of food” (p. 50). We sense not only nostalgia for a more innocent past but a conception of family and social life that centered on the kitchen, where nourishment for both the soul and body were dispensed. One writer mentions that “my most comforting memories are associated with food” (p. 141), a view shared by many of the contributors, who mention key maternal figures, particularly grandmothers, for whom food was not only a source of physical sustenance but an expression of love, and remembered as such. “This was what it was all about: family sharing life and food together” (p. 79), notes one author. The foods in question are rolled out in lists, which invariably include braciole, sugu, meatballs in tomato sauce, sausages, thick Sicilian pizza, and caponata. The inclusion of meatballs in tomato sauce is curious, since this dish is neither in the past nor today considered typically Sicilian; it is closer to Neapolitan or even Italian American—yet for these immigrants, it became highly representative of their culinary culture. Many reminisce about sweet pastries, nearly always purchased rather than made at home, as is still the case in Sicily today. Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, is another recurrent theme, along with religious festivals, such as St. Joseph's (March 19) and St. Lucy's (December 13). Various authors mention the Christmas Eve “feast of the seven fishes,” a tradition that has sadly been almost universally abandoned in contemporary Sicily.It might seem, then, that Ameri-Sicula could be summed up in the expression “family, food, and feste,” and this is, on one level, undoubtedly true. Few of the testimonies fail to touch on at least one of these aspects of life; many revolve around all three, this indissoluble Sicilian trinity. Yet to reduce this anthology to three words would be to miss its enormous charm. It is precisely the thread of common experience, the importance of festivals, that provides, in an aptly Sicilian way, a sense of family and community and gives a binding unity to this collection.The nostalgia palpable in these stories is not only for Sicily but also for the past, seen often through the eyes of childhood experiences. Yet time has moved on, in Sicily too. Tradition, like culture, evolves. Although the relationship to tradition in the “old country” may have changed, we sense in these accounts a strong desire to perpetuate and protect the essence of these traditions as a cornerstone of identity. As one contributor comments, “I made it a mission to ensure we ate together as a family and that the food reflected our cultural identity” (p. 61). And it is this longing to reconnect with and consolidate a sense of identity wherein lies the real heart of this book.