We moved to Italy

The amazing, surprising village of Presa shows there’s life in Italy’s small towns

The small village of Presa, population 159, has been one of the biggest surprises of our time in Sicily.

You know the stereotype: Italy’s small towns and villages are just about dead. They’re inhabited by a few old people. The young have moved away. These villages are desperately trying to attract residents, sometimes essentially giving away houses to anyone who will move there.

Not Presa on the northern slope of Mount Etna at an elevation of 600 meters.

Last Saturday night we went to a sagra at the town community center.

The promise was local food and dolci, sweets. And besides, our neighbor Sara had invited us. She would be working the food counter.

The first clue that this would be something unexpected came when we had to park three blocks away. (We live only a 20 minute walk away from town but it was after dark.)

The courtyard of the community center was packed. Where did all these people come from? Remember Presa’s population is just 159.

The event had pulled people from other small towns. As would the 4-play theater festival that began in town the following Monday with performances by the theater group in Presa and by groups from equally small nearby towns.

The sandwiches were good. The sweets very sweet. (This is Sicily afterall.) And the live music an almost dance-able mix of Mina ("Parole parole" from 1972) and Gladys Knight and the Pips (“Midnight Train to Georgia from 1973. )

“Mangia!” urges our neighbor Sara.

Afterwards we walked up the street to the Presa winebar Ritrovo. Jammed. No table for us. We told Carlo, the owner, we’d be back tomorrow for a glass of Zibibbo. Ever had it? It’s a white wine, primarily grown in Sicily, particularly on the island of Pantelleria. The dry white versions present flavors of ripe pineapple and peaches, sometimes with a hint of salinity. The sweet versions, made using grapes left to dry in the sun, often have notes of orange jam, caramel, and figs.

Ritrovo is the only wine bar in Presa. The village also has one pizzeria, one pharmacy, and one bodega. (At least that’s what we would call it back in New York.) But how many do you need? And in the evening lots of little kids running around the piazza with soccer balls and scooters.

The village bodega. Please note the Thanksgiving scratch pad on the counter. And can I recommend listening to my daughter’s song “Bodega Cats” streaming under her performing name Lunoctium?

Caio,

Jim and Marie