The Almond Blossom Festival of Agrigento

"The Climate's delicate, the air most sweet ... Fertile the isle. The temple much surpassing the common praise it bears" William Shakespeare, Winter's Tale Act III, Scene I

The Almond Blossom Festival of Agrigento (Festa del Fiore del Mandorlo) is probably one of the most famous events in Sicily's calendar and it is when Agrigento literally goes NUTS !!!!!

This famous festival is always held in late February or early March, months with which, thanks to Sicily's mild temperatures, the spring awakening begins.

The Sicilian countryside is filled with delicate white almond blossoms and the famous Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) in Agrigento offers a wonderful panorama for the festival.

The almond blossoms are celebrated as the first sign of spring. Once the delicate pinkish white almond blossom appear, spring will not be too far behind, well at least in Sicily.

The festival originally started in a small town in the province of Agrigento in 1934 when a local Count decided to celebrate the start of spring as well as promote Sicilian food. The festival was later moved to the city of Agrigento and now includes parades, pageants and shows about Sicilian folklore, culture, tradition and food.

It is also the perfect excuse to taste and sample products made from this delicious nut.

The famed Valley of the Temples is home to stunning ruined Greek temples that stand against a backdrop of the distant sea. The temples are as awe-inspiring today as they must have been when they were constructed over 2,500 years ago and they set the perfect scene for the almond blossom festival.

The beautiful festival starts at sunset with a "torch of friendship" being lit in front of the Temple of Concord and then for more than a week Agrigento becomes the islands capital city of folklore.

The festival culminates in a choral dance in the Valley of the Temples which is meant to remind us of peace and to restore harmony between all cultures of the world.

The almond tree was brought to Sicily by the Ancient Greeks who knew how to make a type of marzipan with ground almonds and honey. The Arabs introduced sugar cane to Sicily and it was this combination that started the great tradition of Sicilian marzipan.

A sharp tongue in Sicilian dialect is "Pizzuta" which also refers to the famous sweet almonds grown around Sicily. The name derives from the shape of the shell that curves round and ends with a point. The hard shell protects the nut from the Sicilian sun and allows it to be stored longer.

These nuts melt in the mouth just like ready made marzipan, soft, rich and full of sweet oil.

The large flat shape and consistent size, which Sicilians are very particular about, make them suitable for making sugared almonds, known in Italy as "Confetti". This confection is a must at any Sicilian celebration with white for weddings, green for engagements, red for a degree, silver for a 25th wedding anniversary, golden for a 50th wedding anniversary, pink and blue for births and baptisms.

A very popular craft in Sicily is marzipan modelling where almond paste is shaped into the forms of fruits and vegetables. The almond paste replicas are know as "Frutta di Martorana" named after a convent in Palermo where the nuns once hung marzipan oranges on the trees to impress a visiting archbishop one Easter.

Almonds are also added to a lot of Sicilian dishes to add an exotic Arabic influence and of course a Sicilian meal is never complete without finishing with a glass of sweet almond wine.

The almonds are usually picked in late summer, when the flavour is at its most intense. The nuts are shaken down with long poles, falling onto canvas sheets placed under trees. Much like how the olive harvest is performed each autumn.

In Sicily the association of the almond tree with love is rooted in Greek mythology.

Almond blossoms first bloom between late winter and early spring. For this reason they carry with them the meanings of hope, fidelity, delicacy and of course love.

Not everyone knows this but the origin of the almond is linked to a legend very dear to Sicily, that of Phyllis, a noble maiden and Demophon.

Phyllis was the daughter of Theseus, the hero who had defeated the mythical Minotaur, and her mother was Phaedra. Phyllis fell in love with Demophon who reciprocated her love. Demophon was a fearless warrior who had visited Sicily after the Trojan war. After marrying Phyllis he had to leave the island after he was recalled back to war duty.

A distressed Phyllis went to the beach everyday hoping to see him return. The days passed which then became weeks and months, then years. Phyllis now certain that her beloved would not return, died of a broken heart. The goddess Juno, protector of faithful loves, transformed her into a bare almond tree which became her grave.

Finally, after another winter, Demonphon returned and saw that spring had not yet arrived on the island. He had never forgotten his young wife but had not been able to return any earlier. Among the almond groves he found the grave and recognised his beloved and began to cry desperately. As his tears fell to the ground the tree miraculously became covered with beautiful and impalpable white flowers.

Thus, the miracle of the almond blossoming, still in the heart of the Sicilian winter takes place every year in Sicily and is admired spectacularly in the countryside.

The Almond Blossom Festival is truly an amazing experience not to be missed and creates the perfect excuse to visit Agrigento and its surrounding area full of much beauty and history.

Please feel free to email for my recommendations whilst visiting Agrigento.

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https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2018/08/persephones-island.html

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