A tale of two cities, Ragusa Superiore and Ragusa Ibla. The first one sans intérêt vraiment, the second one, probably the most interesting agglomeration to visit of our stay! Rebuilt after the great quake of 1693 on the same rock, at the bottom of a valley, the whole city is a maze of churches and pallazzi! (at one point, in the 17th century, when the 2 cities were competing for the archbishop seat, it is reported that there were some 41 churches for a population of 15,000, between the 2 of them!) Several of them and the whole city have been classified UNESCO “World Heritage” sites.
One of the churches, Chiesa dell’Idria, was built for the knights of Malta (their cress overlooking the principal door); next to it is the Pallazo Consentini, renovated and the site of a painting exhibition that marked the recent re-opening of the place. Walked all the way to the Piazza Duomo, dominated by the church of San Giorgio and its dome, to go all the way down to the lovely public gardens that overlook the valley of Irminio down under.
Walked back to the Ristorante Duomo, on the street at the back of the church, for surely the meal of the visit, at this 2-star Michelin establishment! (there are apparently only 2 Michelin-starred restaurants in Sicily, both in the region!) A small place, very comfortable and warm, around for the last 10 years or so. Chatted with the chef, Ciccio Sultano, and attended to by the sommelier Angelo, shared an antipasti of red mullet and a pasta with sardines (a recipe from Palermo), that preceded by no less than 3 amuse-bouches (swordfish with caviar; shrimps on spaghetti in a pork belly sauce with lentils; and an oyster and snails in a potato cream – simply out of this world!). Not to mention the various breads accompanied by (very)local olive oil...As main course, Cynthia had the lamb, I had the pork. For wine, a few glasses of Sicilian woman wine maker Alice Bonaccorsi’s 2008 Valcerosa (carriante grapes), followed by 2 glasses of a very fresh (but how complex!) 2006 chardonnay Milazzo from Selezione di Famiglia winery, to finish with a fantastic red – Rosso del Conte 2005 from Tasca D’Almerita winery – grapes: Nero d’Avola and a few plants of Perricone (to the best of my ability, my handwritten notes having gone by then pretty uncertain!), a special reserve wine from the Regalaeli domain created some 50 years ago, which Angelo described as the best red wine in Sicily!... Could not finish without sharing a chocolate dessert (with an accompanying sorbet), plus a cappuccino and an expresso. Memorable!
http://www.ristoranteduomo.it/cucina.htm
Skipped dinner that night!...
December 30, 2010
