Christmas in Modica

One thing I do admire about Modica is the absence of ‘Christmas bling’ on display here.

You see it in the lack of ostentatious, over-the-top, uber-commercial shop window displays. Okay, there are Christmas decorations in shop windows: A few baubles, some tinsel, coloured lights, sometimes Babbo Natale (Father Christmas) dolls, and maybe a twee Christmas message or two.
The latter most often written in English, for some unfathomable reason!

Main street decorations

Anyways, it’s f’sure not like the window and store frontage displays to be seen elsewhere. With said ‘Christmas bling’ most often starting months before the big day, and purely for commercial reasons, of course.
There are, in fact, even fewer flashing lights in the windows than last year, given the price of electricity here.
I believe the reason is that while shop owners naturally want (and need) to make money during this period, Sicilians are even more traditional than other Italians, and there are (as discussed earlier) far more church goers here than elsewhere.
The Christmas season only ‘formally’ starts on the 8th of December, with Italians celebrating l’Immacolata, the day of the Immaculate Conception. This being a catholic festival that celebrates the conception of the Virgin Mary as free from original sin, and it’s a national holiday here.
And it’s only then that most window displays go up. That is: A mere 17 days prior to Christmas Day! For me, that’s one more reason we made the right move back in 2020.
Not that I need more!

Stormy Weather ... Not!

It’s worth noting that December in Modica is not at all like those we enjoyed and/or endured back in London.
F’sure there’s something to be said for cold ‘n crispy days, central heating or open fires, and warm pubs. And I did enjoy all of them, it must be said. Except for the rain, sleet, and hard frosts ... but who enjoys those?
But when you go out for a walk here in a warm jacket and beanie, and end up having to pocket the hat and carry the damn coat because it’s just too warm?
Yes please, of course!

Mid-December beach...

As an example, we visited a local beach mid-December (it was officially 22 celsius at the time), and saw several people sunbathing, and even a few swimming. And then, on Boxing Day (‘il Giorno di Santo Stefano’ or ‘Saint Stephen’s Day’ here), it was 21 celsius with not a cloud to be seen.
Talking of the sky, it’s been chrome blue and pure most days this month. By ‘pure’ I mean the colour is pretty much the same from directly overhead to distant horizon.
A sign I’ve always taken to mean a lack of pollution, and something I often saw back in NZ, not so much in the UK, and was so happy to note it here in our new home. Weather like this improves not only your general wellbeing, but also your mental health.
Okay, it’ll get way colder in January … but still, yeah?

Buon Compleanno

It was Alice’s birthday, so we went away for the night.
Marzamemi is on the Ionian Sea coast, less than an hour’s drive away, and it was an enjoyable break, I have to say.
However, I came away thinking the hamlet (it has less than 400 permanent residents) was really a microcosm of Sicily’s tourism industry. What do I mean by that?

The cliched view

Well, it’s got a lot of history, and of course. In this case dating back to at least the 17th century, and maybe even further. And, despite its ‘touristy’ trappings, it’s still very much a working fishing port. I was lucky enough to watch several boats leave before dawn.
The seafront’s pleasant too. In addition to the fishing port, there’s also a yacht harbour, and sandy bathing beaches. It also has most of the services you’d need to live there: A pharmacy, some general stores, and other shops. And there are larger towns close by.
So that’s all to the good then!
What’s on the other side of the coin?
Now, despite it being off-season, there were several bars open, which you could argue was good. But the drink prices easily matched those we experienced in Syracuse over this last Summer.
As for the restaurants? While the portions were tasty, they were tiny, and the prices ultra-high. Then so many of the (obviously holiday) homes and apartments were empty and unloved.
While Modica is f’sure somewhat ‘touristy’ it has at least managed to keep its soul…

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