An Offer One Can't Refuse

After a lot of arm twisting to join me in Sicily, Meganne agreed on one condition. The condition being that we would drive to the town where her mother's family comes from. No problem for me, driving in Italy was finally starting to be fun. The town is called San Giuseppe Jato, it is known for its beef cattle breeding, as the birthplace of one of the most deadly bosses of the Mafia and happens to only be about an hour from Balestrate.


We found the town rather easily and once there we stopped at the first bar we saw to have a cappuccino before starting the search. The only information Meganne had about her family was a few first and last names and some information from her uncle describing a piazza where a family business had been. We walked down the main street and took a few photos, checked out a church or two, unsuccessfully tried to find the piazza and then headed back towards the bar. Meganne decided to ask the bar if they had a phone book to see if she could find the last name. The bar didn't have a phone book but a patron standing next to us asked her whom she was looking for. She gave him the name and he said that he knew a man by that name and that he could take us there. We were led around the corner from the bar and knocked on a door. An elderly man opened the door, we were introduced and a minute later we were in the door and Meganne was explaining that she thought she was his long, lost great-cousin (or something like that) from America. Hilarious. They talked for a few minutes before he called his son to come over. The son came over with a fifteen-page family tree in hand and sure enough, there was Meganne's name! The son then called another cousin to come over and chat. Everyone was shocked and so happy that she spoke Italian!

A few hours later, we were invited to have a tour of the area, lunch, and a place to stay in town if we wanted. We graciously accepted the offer and they took us around the countryside and showed us their homes. We shared a massive lunch in local restaurant and like always, I was expected to finish all of the food. Our tentative plans for the day included some other things but during lunch they told us to cancel them and visit a town that is famous for cannoli and go to a working farm for some fresh sheep's milk cheeses. It's hard to refuse such offers. After lunch, we drove to the town of Piana degli Albanesi for the cannoli. This town is very serious about its cannoli as evidenced by the yearly cannoli festival. Unfortunately, we had just missed it.

Piana degli Albanesi sits on a beautiful lake

i cugini - Pasquale e Giusseppe

yet another cannoli

After the huge lunch and cannoli, I was feeling rather full. Generally, after a big meal, a nice walk is in order. Instead, we piled back into the car and made our way to the farm. It was a rough ride, literally. Most of the way was gravel roads and both Meganne and I were feeling really queasy from all the food, the cannolo and the bumpy roads. After about 45 minutes, we finally made it to the farm. We got to watch the process and take a walk through the operation. Then at the end, they loaded Meganne up with about 20 pounds of their cheese.

After a great day, we said our goodbyes and went back to Balestrate for the evening.

La Famiglia