Paul Wilson meets our shrinking Sicilian sister

Old, beautiful and friendly

THE HIGHLY-REGARDED Lonely Planet guide to Sicily is 320 pages. And not one word on Hamilton’s Italian twin, Racalmuto.

We went there anyway. Marnie and I prepared by attending a celebration last month at LIUNA Station, site of the old CN terminal on James North — the very place where many immigrants from Racalmuto arrived a couple of generations ago.

More than 500 friends of Sicily showed up for comedy routines, folk dancing, fine food and wine. And there we met two generous citizens of Racalmuto, who said they would show us around.

We arrive on a Sunday, under impossibly blue skies, in this hill town where the roadside sign proclaims the twinning with “Hamilton, Canada.” At one church, service is just letting out. Numbers are down. Of 17 churches in Racalmuto, four still operate.

As promised, Salvatore Picone and Cologero Giglia are here to show us around. So is high school English

teacher Adele Troisi. She will be our translator.

Racalmuto is old and beautiful and shrinking.

Its recorded history goes back 1,100 years, but the Greeks, Romans, Arabs were here before that.

At its peak, in the 1930s, the population was about 20,000. But then people began to leave, many for Hamilton. Today, there are 8,000 in Racalmuto, a thousand less than 10 years ago.

“I have students who go to study in Germany and the UK,” Adele says, “and they don’t come back.”

Before the tour begins, we drop our bags at Racalmuto’s one hotel, The Regalpetra. It opened three years ago, a bright and handsome place with balconies overlooking the main street. The hotel name means Royal Stone, a nickname noted Italian writer Leonardo Sciascia (pronounced sha-sha) gave the town in his books.

From there it’s up the hill to a converted power station now home to the Sciascia Foundation. It’s an airy space, with photos and letters from the author’s collection. Some of this treasure might get a Hamilton showing.

Sciascia, who died in 1989, understood Racalmuto. He was a man of the people and wrote of many things — from government corruption and the Mafia to the plight of children in his town, their spines deformed from carrying heavy baskets of salt at the mines. Such child labour was still taking place in the 1950s.

It’s on to the town’s magnificently or nate theatre, opened in 1880 for opera. Next, it was a cinema. Those black and white films gave Racalmuto a window into the world beyond. But then the theatre closed for years.

It’s now been renovated, but new building codes mean it can’t host shows. It is open for tours most days, which any visitor would enjoy. But tourism is a tough go here.

Accommodation is limited, and so are restaurants. And very few speak English. For many who stayed, life is family and doing things the same way. “Family is wealth, family is chains,” Adele says. “Too much love will kill you.” She borrowed the last part of that from Queen. She’s a big fan of the band.

But family can make wonderful things happen too. We’re at Il Carretto, for a bountiful five-course lunch. Brothers Andrea and Luigi Miceli opened their restaurant just the week before, with help from their father. “He told us roots are important,” they say.

Afterwards, a slurp at the Fountain of Nine Taps. It’s down to eight now, but that water’s delicious. They have drawn water, hydrated horses and done the laundry at this site since the 1700s.

In the cemetery, amid the cypress and the palms, we see familiar names. If you know someone named Criminisi, Macaluso, Mattina, Curto, Tinebra, Agro, Sardo, Randazzo, Cino, Scime, Borsellino, Chiarelli, Tirone, Alaimo, Ruggieri, Merulla, there’s a good chance they trace their roots to Racalmuto. Some 25,000 Hamiltonians do.

Last stop is the lush hilltop compound of sculptor Giuseppe Agnello, son of a shepherd. His art is found around the world. He created the statue that catches Leonardo Sciascia in mid-stroll in the heart of Racalmuto. And he would have come to Hamilton last month to unveil its twin outside the James North station, but fear of flying kept him here in paradise.

This town is not Rome or Venice or Florence. But there is a peaceful beauty here, and history that’s important to us. Wear a Hamilton T-shirt, put the Google Translate app on your phone, and for a day you can savour the town that Lonely Planet forgot.

Paul Wilson’s column appears Tuesdays in the GO section. PaulWilson.Hamilton@gmail.com @PaulWilsonInHam

This town is not Rome or Venice or Florence. But there is a peaceful beauty here.

PAUL WILSON PHOTOS The town of Racalmuto, in the rugged hills of southern Sicily, has a history that goes back more than a thousand years.

At the cemetery in Racalmuto, there are many family names that found their way to Hamilton.

The theatre in the heart of Racalmuto opened in 1880 as an opera house. It’s open for tours most days.

COLOGERO GIGLIA PHOTO Hamilton gets its own street in Racalmuto. No wonder. Some 25,000 Hamiltonians trace their roots to the Sicilian town.

The waters have been running for centuries here at the Fountain of Nine Taps.

PAUL WILSON PHOTOS Giuseppe Agnello is the sculptor who made the statue of Racalmuto writer Leonardo Sciascia — his head in the artist’s hands — that was unveiled in Hamilton last month.

A few citizens of Racalmuto stroll along Via Garibaldi, alongside the statue of the town’s favourite son, late writer Leonardo Sciascia.

REGALPETRA HOTEL COLLECTION The Church of Monte. Racalmuto has 17 churches, but just four still operate.

In the Regalpetra Hotel guest book, Racalmuto gets a thumbs up from Hamilton visitors.

At the Leonardo Sciascia Foundation, hardworking guides take a short break. From left: Cologero Giglia, Adele Troisi, Salvatore Picone.

In this town, everyone knows about Hamilton.

No one leaves hungry at Racalmuto’s new restaurant, Il Carretto. It’s run by brothers Andrea, left, and Luigi Miceli.