La sagra del mandorlo in fiore

The Festival of the Almond Tree in Flower happens in Agrigento in the first week of February to celebrate the start of spring with the flowering of the almond tree, shared by folk groups from all over the world. The festival was born in 1934 in Naro, a city in the province of Agrigento next to the chief town. It was born with the intent to publicize typical products of Sicily, framed by the anticipation of spring and the almond tree in bloom. In 1937 the feast definitively moved to Agrigento and took the official name of The Festival of the Almond Tree in Flower. At this point it starts to develop with the addition of folk groups and some tourists.

But in 1940 the festival was suspended because of the outbreak of the Second World War up until 1948. From 1948 onwards it has had richer and richer demonstrations, and even if it was characterized by the calamitous event of a landslide in 1966 and changes in management, it has always maintained its cultural meaning of peace among all the people of earth. The most meaningful moment of the festival has always been the lighting of the torch of friendship in front of the Temple of Harmony, following a very evocative walk towards the sunset in the Valley of the Temples. The following Sunday the great parade of all the folk groups happens with Sicilian wheelbarrows and musical groups in the city of the Valley of the Temples, with the final show at the Temple of Hercules and the awarding of the best group with the ‘Gold Temple’.

By Claudio Castronovo

A song I love

Il Mondo Che Vorrei
The World I’d Like by Vasco Rossi

And it’s exactly the impossible that I’d like
Ed è proprio quello che non si potrebbe che vorrei
And it’s always what you can’t do that I’d do
ed è sempre quello che non si farebbe che farei
And it’s like what you can’t say that I’d say
ed è come quello che non si direbbe che direi
When I say that it’s not the world that I’d like.
quando dico che non è così il mondo che vorrei

You can’t
Non si può
Fly over the mountains
sorvolare le montagne
You can’t go
non puoi andare
Where you’d like to go
dove vorresti andare.
You know what’s there
Sai cosa c'è
Everything stays here.
ogni cosa resta qui.
Here you can only cry
Qui si può solo piangere...
And in the end you can’t even cry anymore.
...e alla fine non si piange neanche più.

And it’s when I get there that I’d already return
Ed è proprio quando arrivo li che già ritornerei
And every time I’m here that I’d go back again
ed è sempre quando sono qui che io ripartirei
And it’s like what’s not there that I’d miss
ed è come quello che non c'è che io rimpiangerei
When I think that this is not the world I’d like.
quando penso che non è così il mondo che vorrei.

You can’t
Non si può
Do what you want
fare quello che si vuole
You can’t push down only on the accelerator
non si può spingere solo l'acceleratore.
Look around a bit
Guarda un pò
You must content yourself with what you’ve got
ci si deve accontentare.
Here you can only lose...
Qui si può solo perdere...
And in the end you can’t even lose anymore.
....e alla fine non si perde neanche più.

A translation by Alessio Lotta, IV B

My Sicily

I don’t understand the people who think that Sicily is only about the Mafia. This is an island full of many beautiful things, which explains why many people who come here love it. There are gorgeous seas and in my country we see it everywhere, it’s a place that I love a lot. So please don’t think Sicily is only about this or that but come and see it with your own eyes, and after, talk about it. You’ll change your mind and you will understand why we are angry when people say “Sicily is an island of bad things.”

Gabriele di Filippo, III ASP