LIFE: Costa Scruise Up

SARONNO, Italy – Maybe if it hadn’t been Friday the 13th, things would have turned out differently for Captain Schettino and his ship, the Costa Concordia, but it wasn’t to be. Thanks to recently recovered satellite navigation data we now what he did just before the cruise ship hit the rocks and began to capsize. 

Oh Captain, My Captain

The initial impact with the underwater rocks happened because he decided to deviate from the prescribed route – an error he has admitted. The new information shows that he knew the ship was in trouble and in an attempt to make evacuation easier, he performed a sort of nautical hand-brake turn to get closer to the island of Giglio. That maneuver is thought to have subsequently saved lives.

While the Captain has not publically come out and said why he wanted to sail close to the Island, a former Costa Cruise officer, who wants to remain anonymous, told me that a sail by salute to former and existing Costa crew members and officers is a well-known tradition at Costa. A Facebook posting by someone living on the island confirms they were waiting for the sail by salute.  

 The Costa Concordia at home in Savona (Photo by Victoria R.)

After the impact the ship headed away from Giglio towards the mainland. With the ship in total darkness, passengers were told that there was an electrical failure which the engineers were trying to fix. Some have accused the captain of misleading them, but, with 4,200 people on board, not panicking them until the extent of the damage was known seems understandable.

What is not clear is the Captain’s apparent failure to notify port or coastguard authorities of what had occurred although he claims that he did. He says he called the Admiral three times to report the incident and ask for help, but his calls were never returned. This has been denied by Costa Cruise Lines.

Dining Room Costa Concordia

The judge's view is that the captain, due to incompetence and negligence, underestimated the extent of the damage and failed to notify the coastal authorities of the accident in timely fashion. The emergency services center first learned of the seriousness of the situation through a passengers' cell phone calls to land. He said the captain could not help being immediately aware of the seriousness of the damage due to the ever increasingly evident tilt of the ship and because he was advised by the crew of the great amount of water being taken in.

Prosecutor’s transcripts published here in Italy show that Captain Schettino said that 

immediately after hitting the rock he sent two of his officers to the engine room to check on the state of the vessel. As soon as he realized the damage caused to the ship, he called the director of operations for Costa Cruises, Roberto Ferrarini.

The Spa on the Concordia

"I told him: I've got myself into a mess, there was a contact with the seabed. I am telling you the truth, we passed by Giglio and there was an impact," Mr Schettino said. "I can't remember how many times I called him in the following hour and 15 minutes. In any case, I am certain that I informed Ferrarini about everything in real time," he said.

However, Costa's chief executive, Pierluigi Foschi, told Italian state television that the company spoke to the captain at 10.05pm, some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground, but could not offer the ship suitable assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth".

Concordia's Room with a View

What emerges from the satellite "best guess" tracking of the ship's course is that 11 minutes after impact, at 9.53pm, the ship slowed to about three knots. A few minutes later, as the ship took on water, the captain tried to turn it back towards the island's port, but the ship started to tilt and sink. According to the satellite tracking record, the ship was listing by as much as 20 degrees to starboard, the opposite side of where the 150ft gash had been opened up. At 10.10pm the Concordia came to rest 50 meters from shore, listing badly, and the evacuation order was given.

The evacuation was described as chaotic but with several thousand people trying to get off the ship in the dark, it could hardly be anything else. Coming into question is Captain Schettino's role during this unfortunate event. He says he helped passengers into lifeboats, gave one his own life jacket and, at some point, he tripped and fell into a lifeboat, which seems highly unlikely. An initial reports show he left the ship around 11:30pm, when there were still about 300 people onboard. That resulted in the now notorious conversation with Captain Gregorio de Falco, the senior coastguard officer, in which he was ordered to go back on board.  

 The Dirty Details

Mr Schettino, a 52 year old native of Castellammare di Stabia, a town near Naples, is now under house arrest and faces possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. He has been suspended and notified that the company will no longer pay his legal fees. In fact, Costa has signed on as a civil party in the prosecution. The former Costa Cruise officer I spoke with said in his opinion Costa is using Schettino as a scapegoat, not that Schettino didn’t make a lot of mistakes, but the blame is not entirely his.

In the meantime the search and rescue efforts for survivors and bodies continues and the operation to remove the 500,000 gallons of fuel in the Concordia’s tanks is on hold, an environmental disaster waiting to happen.  It may take up to four weeks to pump the remaining fuel from the ship. As the ship is no longer functioning, the heavy fuel oil can get thick and viscous, making it harder to pump. To remedy this, a steam-heated element is put through the pipeline to warm the oil, making pumping much faster. The oil will be pumped to a barge and then to a larger offloading vessel.

Who's Sorry Now?

Sucking out the oil creates a vacuum, so another hole is made lower down the tank to allow seawater to be pumped in, replacing the oil. This also ensures extracting the oil does not cause the ship to shift position on the seabed.


As for the Italians, they don’t know what to think. 

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AUNTIE PASTA: Nuts to You

SARONNO, Italy – The mud slides and floods that have devastated Liguria, and in particular the Cinque Terre, this week, got me thinking about the unique cuisine, a cucina povera, that is also part of the cultural heritage of this area. One of the most delicious dishes that developed in Liguria is pansotti with nut sauce. Nut sauce is simply a combination of crushed nuts, milk soaked bread and a few flavor enhancers like garlic and marjoram. 

Ligurian Nut Sauce

If you have traveled around Italy you know how different the food can be from one region to another. You probably already know that you won’t find Tuscan specialties like pappa di pomodoro (see Auntie Pasta: Viva la Pappa 6/2/2011), or saltless Tuscan bread in Turin, nor will you find Piedmontese specialties like bagna caộda or raviolini del plin with fonduta (see Auntie Pasta: Restaurants of Turin, 9/9/2010) in Florence. 

Given that the regional cuisines developed around the raw materials that were available, in my humble opinion the Ligurians, who had the least to work with, a few herbs and nuts and olive oil, ended up with one of the best cuisines in Italy. Salsa di noci, (nut sauce) known as Tocco de nux in Genovese dialect, is a perfect example. Here’s the simple, but delicious recipe. 

Salsa di Noci

1 glove of garlic

250 ml of whole milk

Marjoram, (one stem of fresh is best but a sprinkle of dried marjoram is ok too.)

250 grams of walnuts

½ wine glass of olive oil

40 grams of soft, white bread (no crusts) cut into small cubes

40 grams of Parmigiano Reggiano

30 grams of pine nuts (optional)

Salt (q.b. quanto basta or - to taste)

To make the nut sauce (1) first blanch the nuts in boiling water for at least 5 minutes so they are easier to peel. Then drain them and let them cool. In the meantime  (2) put the cut up bread in a bowl and cover with the milk, and (3) when they have absorbed the milk, squeeze them dry and put them in another dish, keeping the milk apart.

Peel the nuts, one by one (4) and put them in a blender (or in a pestle if you are using a mortar and pestle), together with the pine nuts, garlic, cheese (5) and oil (6).

Add the soggy bread and the marjoram (7) and whiz it all together in the blender adding a little milk (from the milk you set aside)  if needed, until the mixture is creamy and dense (8), then add salt.  The nut sauce (9) is then ready to use.  

If you are using a mortar and pestle, be sure to pound the mixture energetically, adding a little oil or milk (the milk you set aside earlier). You can also save yourself a little work by buying already peeled walnuts in the grocery store. If you are not fond of garlic just leave it out.  While this recipe is not exactly like the original, it still very good. 

Pansotti with Salsa di Noci

 Salsa di noci is most often served with pansotti alla Genovese which are a type of ravioli filled with a mix of herbs and a bit of ricotta.  

If you read this blog with any regularity you know that everything you eat and eat with here in Italy, has a story behind it, and salsa di noci is no different. It seems the sauce was invented by Ligurian farmers to go with their pansotti, a ravioli that was given this odd name because it is a little paunchy, or ‘un po panciuta’.

In the past, pansotti were filled with whatever herbs and vegetables the farmers had at their disposal. It was never the same and so the combination – whatever it was – became known as ‘preboggion’. Pregoggion could be made up of whatever herbs were in season like Swiss chard, borragine,  pimpinella,  dente di cane,  raperonzolo, l'ortica,  cicerbita and parsley. And other than the Swiss chard, dandelion and parsley, I don’t have a clue what the others are.

Borragine

As for the nut sauce, you can put it on almost any type of small, vegetarian ravioli. It will keep in the frig for a couple of days, but not much longer. If it gets too thick, thin it with a few drops of milk. 

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LIFE: Precious

SARONNO, Italy – I met Precious in the train station when I was on my way home from a doctor’s appointment in the nearby town of Busto Arsizio. I first saw her when we both got on the wrong bus and ended up sharing a 30 minute bus tour of the hinterlands of Busto.

Saronno train statio

We didn’t talk on the bus. It was raining and I was damp and tired and all I wanted to do was get to the LeNord train station and go home. I didn’t know she was going to Saronno too until she sat down next to me and we started making small talk, you know, the way people do who happen to be next to each other in waiting rooms.

She told me her name was Precious and she was from Nigeria. She was surprised that I was American and said so. I was the first American she had ever met, she said. About four sentences later she suddenly turned serious and said to me, “do you believe in Jesus.” As she said that, she pulled a small bible out of her handbag and held it in her hand.

She caught me by surprise and I didn’t know what to say. I knew if I said yes, she would roll into a discussion about the wonderfulness of Jesus and religion and how we have to venerate Him. Or even worse, she would start reading to me from the bible, or wanting me to pray with her. On the other hand, if I said no, she might take the hint and let the conversation take a lighter note, like what films in English were playing in Milan that week.

 Waiting for the train

I realize now, of course, that it would not have mattered which road I took, she wasn’t going to let me get away that easily. But at the time, I was convinced a strong stand would put an end to her interrogation. So I took a deep breath and said, “No, I don’t.”

The girl was horrified. She took a deep breath and said, “How old are you?” 

I told her. Obviously I was, in her opinion, close enough to my expiration date that she felt compelled to save me, and so the onslaught began. With bible in hand and a most serious and concerned face, she recounted the horrors that were in store for me. Did I really want to spend eternity burning in the pits of hell? And didn’t I see all the glories of the afterlife that awaited me in the house of the Lord, if only I would believe in Him.

The train station in Busto Arsizio didn’t seem to be the place to discuss such a heavy subject as the pros and cons of my impending encounter with the afterlife, so I did my best to change the subject. To move her off the Jesus track and onto a lighter, more suitable discussion for a brief encounter – the weather for example.

Via Roma, Saronno

When we got on the train for Saronno I sat down next to a young Italian woman and Precious sat across from me. As I wracked my brain trying to think of some way to distract her, the young Italian woman, hearing Precious and I speak English, joined the conversation. Precious immediately turned her focus to her.

“Do you believe in Jesus,” she asked the Italian woman.

I’m coming from Marrakesh, the Italian replied, “where I met the most beautiful Frenchman. He’s a singer. He’s making concerts traveling around in North Africa. Do you think there is such a thing as love at first sight?”

Eureka! That was it! All I had to do was start another conversation. So I did. With the Italian. Now if Precious would just put her bible back in her purse, and join in we could have a nice conversation, but she didn’t. She just sat there and clutched her bible.

I was sorry that I couldn’t engage her on some other subject . I would have liked to known about her as a person, her life, why she was in Italy, how she was getting along. I could tell by the seriousness in which she talked about her relationship with God, and her obvious concern for me, that she was a wonderful person, a daughter any mother would be proud to have.

Saronno Rules

I also understand how difficult it is for Africans immigrants to have any kind of contact, other than the most superficial with Italians. It was difficult for me when I first came to Italy and I have the advantage in that until I open my mouth everyone assumes I am Italian.

But while I felt bad for her, the thought of future conversations that most certainly would center on my impending demise and the penalties I would suffer for my lack of belief, hardened my heart.

And then we got off the train.

There are two exits to the Saronno train station. I was turning right to go home, and she was turning left to go to a religious service, but before we parted she said to me, “will you’ll come to my wedding mama?”

A Nigerian Wedding

For years I had bristled at the African vendors calling me “mama”. “I’m not your mama,” I’d reply to their attempts to get me to buy whatever they were selling. But in that moment, standing in the sottopassagio of the Saronno train station, I realized that for Africans the title “mama” is the equivalent of “signora” in Italian. It’s a sign of respect. I also realized how much I don’t know about the Africans I pass every day on my daily to and fro along the streets of Saronno.

I grew up surrounded by immigrants on both sides of my family, and lived their immigration experience with my own decision to move to Italy. But there is a big difference between immigrating to a multi-cultural country like the United States that was built on the backs of immigrants like my grandparents, and a mono-culture like Italy.

There are no Italian J.P. Morgans, Andrew Carnegies or Cornelius Vanderbilts building railroads or steel plants or digging for oil. There are mostly small family run businesses doing their best to survive the global crisis and any additional competition from non-Italians is suspect. The role of Italy’s immigrants still needs to be defined. In the meantime, people like Precious are breaking new ground, and I wish her well.

LIFE: Back to Lugano, One More Time

 Dinner on the terrace of Villa Sassa

SARONNO, Italy –  In a few more weeks my friends in Lugano are going to be heading home back to Pittsburgh, so  I decided to visit them one more time before they leave. I was hoping we would go back to restaurant I wrote about last month, http://thisitalianlife.blogspot.com/2011/05/life-lovely-lugano.html, but unfortunately when I got to Lugano I found that  the weather was just about as bad there as it was in Saronno, rain, rain and more rain. It was obvious that another meal at the Antico Ristorante del Porto was not in my future. 

In between storms we managed to walk into the center of town and do some shopping. I was happy to find a linen blouse and a couple of pairs of slacks. Out timing was fairly good, except for Thursday when it decided to pour just as we decided to head home.

 19th Century Villa Sassa

That night I was all for ordering in a pizza and staying in their cozy apartment, but I was overruled. “Come on,” they said, “we’re going to the Villa Sassa, it’s just up the hill.”

 

The city of Lugano is built like a Roman coliseum: the lake is the arena and the seats, or in this case the streets which surround the lake, fan upward like a massive bowl. Except for the city center, which is flat, you are always  going up or down a hill. 

I was expecting the Villa Sassa to be a neighborhood restaurant, a trattoria or pizzaria, instead it turned out to be a massive complex set on 16,000 square meters of land overlooking the town of Lugano and the lake. The property is anchored by a restored ninetieth century villa, the original Villa Sassa, plus an elegant four star hotel, a residence with 70 apartments, a spa and a wellness center and two restaurants - a bar restaurant and a more formal restaurant. 

 The grounds of the Villa Sassa

It was raining when we got there, but it was a warm evening and we decided to eat out on the terrace of the bar restaurant anyway and enjoy the misty views of the mountains and the lake.  

The bar restaurant is informal and perfect for when you are not in the mood for a full three course meal. Since we were not particularly hungry, we decided to just have a first course and we all wanted pasta. Mr. T and I opted for lasagna, while Mrs. T ordered spaghetti Bolognese. 

The lasagna noodles were perfectly cooked and the light béchamel sauce had just the right hint of  nutmeg. Since moving to Italy I find I prefer béchamel sauce in lasagna, because it is smoother and more delicate than ricotta cheese. As Mrs. T was making ummmy sounds as she ate her spaghetti, I have to believe hers was very good as well.

The crooked streets of old Lugano

I’m going to miss them when they leave. It's a pity they are not going to be around this summer as they are going to miss the all the classical and jazz concerts in the piazza. But I know they’ll be back in a few months. Mr. T has a business in Lugano and wild horses can’t keep him away too long.

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LIFE: Ten Things That Make Us Happy

SARONNO, Italy - In reading the lists that were sent in I found that no matter where we live, we have a lot in common when it comes to being happy.

What makes me happy? Pouncing on Ol'What's Her Name 

Family, but not just blood family, but friends, old friends and new, and things that bring us together like a smile, were mentioned often. Laughing was important, especially laughing at silly stuff with someone you care about. Even being able to cry made the list – mostly at sappy movies, but sometimes just because we all need a good cry now and again to cleanse our soul.

The awareness of your faults and the ability to accept yourself as you are popped up more than a few times, while travel, beaches, starry skies, sunsets and sunrises were almost everyone’s favorites. Food was also high on the lists, chocolate, pizza, pasta, even French fries made a lot of people happy. They sure make me happy, and so does the fact that you took the time to send in your lists.   

Here’s my list of other things that make me happy – I tried to cut it down to ten but couldn’t decide which one to take off, along with five lists chosen at random from those sent in.

This is Ol' What's Her Name

What makes me happy:

1.    Having the courage to change my life as many times as I want

2.    Sitting out on my balcony with my feet up reading a good book

3.    Not wearing a bra

4.    Walking along the sea early in the morning

5.    The smell of honeysuckle

6.    Writing an article that touches the hearts of my readers

7.    Baking something delicious (and sweet) for the guys across the street and seeing their faces light up when I bring it over

8.    Cooking holiday dinners   

9.    Discovering new places

10. Speaking Italian

11. Knowing I am exactly where I belong 

  Monica (Toronto, Canada)

1. The first time I held my newborn son

2. Thinking about the first time my husband said “I love you.”

3. Eating gooey pizza

4. Laughing with a friend until we are both in tears

5. Being warm and cozy in my house when it is storming outside

6. Long, lazy baths with lots of bubbles

7. Being able to sleep until I wake up

8. To start and actually finish a book by Tolstoy

9. The smell of old books

10. That first cup of coffee in the morning

Carol  (Florida USA)

1.    Discovering that I haven’t really lost someone I cared about, I’m still carrying them inside me 

2.    To go back to a special place and finding it still special 

3.    To find a comfortable pair of shoes and be able to buy them

4.    Teaching my child not to be afraid of difficult choices

5.    Payday

6.    Random acts of kindness

7.    Roller coasters

8.    My iphone

9.    Getting a postcard in the mail

10. Music – just about any kind 

Joy (Kentucky, USA)

1.    The surprise to discover something new in something I thought I knew all about

2.    Reaching a goal

3.    Walking with my dog

4.    Watching any Johnny Depp movie

5.    Being in love

6.    To know that every day something great can happen

7.    French fries

8.    Petting my cat and listening to her purr

9.    Great hair days

10. Crying without shame at sad movies

 Helga (Basel, Switzerland)

1.    The sun shining in my bedroom window early in the morning.

2.    Being able to decide what to wear to work in 15 minutes or less

3.    Smiles from strangers

4.    Falling in love

5.    Knowing that, in spite of it all, there really are some good guys out there

6.    An outdoor concert in the summertime

7.    A hug from my mum

8.    Traveling to warm places

9.    The joy of making up with a friend after an argument

10. Reading Marie Claire 

 Janine  (the Netherlands)

1.    Telling jokes with my kids

2.     My oldest son asking me how I am

3.    The smile on my grandmother’s face when she sees me at the door

4.    Watching sea gulls

5.    Watching people everywhere

6.    Walking along a country road

7.    The way babies laugh

8.    Re-reading a good book

9.    Finding a seat on the train in the morning

10. Making a super good Sunday night supper

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