February 9, 2013
As we tooled around Sicily this week, a theme emerged: scary sights.
Spotted in the Ballaro market in Palermo: goat heads. What is the home cook to do with these? Are they meant for lunch, or…?
Wikipedia says, “In Sicilian witchcraft it is customary to leave a fish head on the door step of one’s enemy to ward off malicious intention. The practice dates back to at least 1308, when Dante referenced it in his epic, the Divine Comedy. In a more serious feud, escalation of hostilities can be signaled by the appearance of a goat head or horse head.”
Below was the Dantesque vision that greeted us as we entered Mazara del Vallo. I can’t say for sure what it is.
And in the Mazara fish market, the catch of the day was a creature the size of a very large pizza, with eyes instead of olives, and a laughing mouth.