Balestrate Favorites

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Favorite thing: 19 March is an important day in Sicily. It’s the day dedicated to San Giuseppe, one of the most beloved saints, based on the way Sicilians are celebrating him. These celebrations are definitely having a kind of a spring flavor, as 19 March is also close to the spring equinox. The celebrations of the 19th of March started around 1400, and from 1600 they are connected with the name of San Giuseppe.
They are a lot of cities I Sicily where san Giuseppe is celebrated with the famous “I tavulate ‘I San Giuseppi”, because he’s also the protector of the poor’s, and the tradition is to prepare a lot of dishes and give them to poor people.
In a lot of cities they also use three “Saints”, symbol of the Sacred Family, walking around and tasting something from every dish.
In Balestrate they are a lot of families prepare a lot of dishes for the people passing by and they are honored if you taste and appreciate their efforts.

Fondest memory: Close to Balestrate there’s a city where this celebration is really special. I’m talking about Salemi. In Salemi all the people in town are participating to the preparative of this special “diner”: women are busy by baking special forms of bread (some of them are really pieces of art!) and men are building the altar in a shape of a chapel. The altar will be decorated with the bread in different shapes (flowers, fruit, the sun the moon etc.). In Salemi the 19th March is a mix of sacred and pagan, as there are celebrating San Giuseppe but also the ancient Greek goddess Ceres, protective the bread the everything the earth is giving to his labors.