GMT™ Halaesa-Nebrodi meets with Nicosia di Sicilia to develop unique experiential itineraries-Sicily

Recognition for Youth Entrepreneurship to an Operator of Halaesa Nebrodi

The current year continues to hold pleasant surprises for the Territory, for GMT™ Halaesa Nebrodi, and for the Operators who are part of it.

After recently telling the story of Elisa Cerrito and the Il Melograno Farm in Motta d'Affermo, which won a prestigious award in the field of beekeeping ([link to the article]), on October 4th, another young entrepreneur from Halaesa Nebrodi received an important recognition. She is Giuseppina Azzolina from Castel di Lucio, who was awarded in the context of the fourth edition of the "Una di tante" (One of Many) competition, organized by the Pro Loco of Nicosia.

Giuseppina Azzolina and her kiosk, "Al passo di Eolo" (At the pace of Aeolus), won the award in the Entrepreneurship and Management section. This important recognition was assigned following the suggestion of the Mayor of Castel di Lucio, Giuseppe Giordano, who in this way wanted to give due and deserved credit to the very young 25-year-old entrepreneur from Castel di Lucio. We recall that in the previous edition, another entrepreneur from Castel di Lucio, Franca Sacco, was awarded for her activity in the dairy sector, and in the same year, the Entrepreneurship and Management award was assigned to the entrepreneur from Mistretta, Maria Grazia Insana.

A Choice of Heart and Courage

Like many young people her age, at a certain point in her life, Giuseppina found herself at a crossroads: leave or stay? The love for her land, for her family, and for her town became determining factors in her difficult choice. Her decision was firm: Castel di Lucio, a mountain town of just over 1200 inhabitants perched on the Nebrodi Mountains, has been and will continue to be her home.

"A courageous choice, far from obvious, that has had an important impact on the entire community," underlined the Mayor during the award ceremony, "because with her gesture, she has restored dignity to the town."

The Birth of "Al passo di Eolo"

Giuseppina's family owns land a few minutes from the famous land art installation, The Labyrinth of Ariadne (Il Labirinto di Arianna), a highly frequented destination that is part of Fiumara d'Arte, Europe's most extensive open-air contemporary art park. On this land, located on a knoll exposed to the four winds with a breathtaking view, Al passo di Eolo was born in 2021, a small family-run kiosk where Giuseppina and Mimma, her dynamic mother, manage the kitchen and welcome guests.

From its beginning, Al passo di Eolo has stood out for its menus, a triumph of Sicilian cuisine: from cutting boards of fresh cured meats and cheeses to more substantial dishes like sandwiches with sausage and ricotta. There is no shortage of sweet delicacies, such as fresh cannoli, all served with refreshing drinks or a good coffee. The dishes are often presented on unique wooden cutting boards, hand-carved in the shape of a labyrinth, adding a special touch to the experience. Even on the cutting boards, there is, in a way, the family's mark, as they are handcrafted by her carpenter father who, obviously, also created all the wooden structures.

From that moment on, Al passo di Eolo became a genuine reference point for the territory and for the town of Castel di Lucio because, as the Mayor recalls, "it creates Value by uniting Art, Territory, and high-quality gastronomic Products, but it is also an important information point serving travelers."

"My award comes from a long way, the result of great sacrifices and supported by the closeness of my whole family," an emotional Giuseppina recounts. "I decided to stay and invest in the Territory, and it is to the Territory that I dedicate this award."

Beautiful words full of meaning, which aim to be an example for those who want to make their Territory their Home.

Stepping across the threshold of the large building housing the Ceramiche Fratantoni showroom and factory means immediately immersing yourself in a world whose contours are clearly defined by the gray of the clay ('a rita in the local dialect) of countless vases, "Moro heads," and lamps, all crafted and left to rest, awaiting glazing and firing. This stark contrast is met by the explosion of vibrant colors used for decorating the finished artifacts that literally fill the exhibition spaces. At the center of the stage of a nearly century-long performance, a workbench stands out, surrounded by pieces already worked but awaiting decoration and firing. It's a magnificent scenographic and communicative choice that speaks volumes about this ancient expressive art, which only finds its final expression at the end of a long working cycle.

Within this complex and ancient world are the people, the artisans, and the skilled workers who have dedicated themselves to this magnificent art for centuries and who have made Santo Stefano di Camastra famous worldwide: the ceramists, or, to use a lesser-known term, the ceramicari.

Filippo Fratantoni is one of them, son of ceramists and a ceramist himself. He's a multifaceted individual, always involved in the social life of his Santo Stefano di Camastra, to which he also dedicated a long political period.

The Legacy of Ceramiche Fratantoni

Filippo, this chat is taking place within one of the historic businesses of Santo Stefano di Camastra: Ceramiche Fratantoni, a descendant of the Ditta Fratelli Fratantoni, founded way back in 1935. What has happened in these 89 years of activity?

"The business was born in the post-war period when my grandfather and his four sons set up an artisan workshop where they produced 'i marazzetri and 'i cusuzze, which were nothing more than toys inspired by everyday objects. Using four lathes for processing, they created small bummuli, quartare, lemmi, and rasticetri, reproducing in miniature what Stefanesi artisans had long been producing in their workshops. The small pieces made were bought by street vendors who, aboard their carts, would then sell them in local markets for a few pennies, allowing less affluent children to also have a modest toy to play with.

Subsequently, at the end of the Second World War, a qualitative leap occurred, and the Fratantoni family, thanks to the purchase of larger warehouses and premises, dedicated itself to the production of terracotta for daily and building use, still remaining outside of ceramic products as we see them today.

In reality, at that time, furnaces and workshops were still located outside the town, along the national road (SS.113) that led towards Messina, which carried all the modest vehicle traffic of the era. These were the hard 1950s after the war, but subsequently, thanks to the economic recovery, we began to see Fiat 1100s, then Fiat 600s, some regular buses, and even tourists who, attracted by the goods left to dry by the numerous roadside artisans, began to be interested in purchasing the displayed products. From this moment on, interest also grew in producing and selling decorated ceramics, which led to the birth of 'a scola ceramica, now the Art School, which began to train the first decorators to support the master potters—a crucial moment given that the workers of the time did not have the skills to color their artifacts.

Our interest has always been directed towards reproducing 19th-century Stefanesi traditional tiles and bricks, and in the 1970s, we patented the glazing of lava stone slabs, with which we began to build tables of various shapes and sizes that would otherwise be impossible to create with clay, a material severely penalized in terms of resistance and contraction during firing.

Today, our company has reached the fourth generation. My brothers and I dedicate ourselves to the production of the classical line, particularly the production of tiles, while we give the younger generation the freedom to experiment with the new worlds and creative spaces offered by modern ceramics."

Responding to Market Challenges and Innovation

Some years ago, we witnessed an invasion of foreign-made products, especially from China, which had nothing to do with artisanal ones, distracting consumers and creating great confusion. How did the community of Stefanesi ceramists respond to this intrusive presence, what countermeasures were taken, and what has changed in the relationship with the end-user?

"We simply continued to do our job and to do it well. The real invasion happened, but it has also passed. Today, mainly reproductions of pinecones and 'Moro heads' arrive from China, which have little impact on our work. My father always told us: 'Don't get discouraged, ceramics always have their ups and downs,' and I must say that's how it has been. Today we are in a period of great recovery. People's taste is becoming more refined and they can recognize an object by the quality it expresses. The new generations are increasingly attracted to our world, thanks also to the presence of media and social media, which have given new impetus to our sector. Just think of the international projection that designers Dolce and Gabbana gave to the 'Moro head' by featuring it in some of their advertisements. This highlighted an object that has always existed but, undoubtedly, thanks to their intervention, has become highly sought after."

The MUDIS: A Diffused Museum

Filippo Fratantoni's name is closely linked to MUDIS, an acronym for "Museo Diffuso Stefanese" (Stefanesi Diffused Museum), of which you are the Artistic Director. I'm curious about the use of the term "diffused" and, at the same time, I'd like to delve into its history, which begins with Giuseppe Lanza Barresi, Duke of Camastra.

"We have always believed that Santo Stefano di Camastra is an open-air museum. The MUDIS was born from a vision that originated in the 1980s, thanks to the late mayor Gigi Famularo, who worked to find the necessary funds for the restoration of the palace that belonged to the Duke of Camastra. That's where the Museum of Ceramics was born, with ample exhibition spaces dedicated to the history of Stefanesi and Sicilian ceramics, coexisting with a very important collection of modern artistic ceramics. Alongside this, as part of the diffused museum project, there are installations scattered throughout the city, and our artisans' workshops themselves are an integral part, through their shops and colorful exhibition spaces that overlook the main streets of Santo Stefano in a very scenic way."

The "Passport of the Ceramic Route"

Artistic ceramics are a very important tourism driver, especially if the right synergies are created with other regional and national realities. I find the "Passport of the Ceramic Route" initiative very interesting. It aims to unite six Sicilian communities in a stimulating journey to discover the world of ceramics, and Santo Stefano is an integral part of it. The Passport was presented on March 24th of this year—I was there—but I didn't see many ceramists present. How many businesses have joined the project, and what developments do you foresee from this initiative?

"It's true. Although we ceramists have cordial and collaborative relationships with each other, we are quite reluctant to leave our workshops and engage in collective, broad-ranging projects. Sometimes in the past, the expected results were not seen, and this has led us to increasingly retreat into our individual activities, avoiding professional confrontation with other colleagues, and thus we have gradually given up on creating the right synergies. I think instead we should change our attitude.

Regarding the Passport of the Ceramic Route, I believe it was and remains a valid initiative that the current administration believes in and has put a lot of energy into. It probably needs to be revised in some aspects, but the initiative is truly interesting."

Ceramics in the Age of Robotics

The challenges of the third millennium bring us closer and closer to a robotic and computerized world. Do you think the world of ceramics and craftsmanship in general, sooner or later, will have to adapt to this non-gentle revolution? Will a robot ever use a stick to shape a "Moro head" or a brush to glaze a "Matrangela"?

"In reality, 3D printers have already entered the world of industrial ceramics. With them, and thanks to them, it's now possible to create decorated laminate slabs of 3 square meters with thicknesses of just a few millimeters, which would be impossible to achieve with traditional machinery. But we're talking about industrial and large-scale productions.

Craftsmanship is another thing: it's a place where 'a rita (clay), creativity, heart, and manual skill intersect. I don't believe a robot could ever intervene and replace the artisan-artist, at least in this aspect."

A Dream for the Future

Finally, Filippo, your story tells of a person who has dedicated himself to his company, his family, and his community. Do you have a dream tucked away that you would like to entrust to future generations?

"The dream exists, and I've kept it tucked away for several years: I would like to see a great museum of contemporary ceramics realized, with young artists from all over the world gathering in Santo Stefano to dream, experiment, and create contemporary works of art. It would be a valuable tool for cultural and tourist attraction to accompany the artworks contained in the Diffused Museum of Fiumara d'Arte, which would further strengthen the tourist and artistic vocation of our territory.

You can learn more about the Operators and the Project of GMT™ Halaesa-Nebrodi.

Forty-eight short films in competition, made by artists from different parts of the world, divided into three screening sessions; an evening dedicated to the nomination announcements and another dedicated to the awards ceremony. All enriched by guided tours of the Fiumara d'arte works, workshops for children, musical entertainment, and, of course, insightful tours of the host city: Pettineo.

These are the numbers with which the first edition of the Short Movie Fest, the international short film festival conceived and organized by the municipal administration and the Small Shaker theatrical association, presents itself to the public. It is framed within the much larger project called "COAST AND ALESINE VALLEYS: AN ITINERARY TO REDISCOVER THE VILLAGES OF CASTEL DI LUCIO, MOTTA D'AFFERMO, AND PETTINEO."

The project, which we have already covered previously (https://www.halaesanebrodi.it/Pnnr-attrattivit%C3%A0-borghi), born and developed with substantial European funding provided through the PNRR, aims to achieve the ambitious goal of strengthening the cultural and tourist offerings of the three municipalities through a series of specific interventions for each reality, yet interconnected.

Along this journey, which will unfold during the month of June, in addition to the Short Movie Fest, other interesting activities will come to life, such as: "Risalendo la storia" (Retracing History) (Castel di Lucio-Pettineo-Motta d'Affermo), "Medievalia" (Castel di Lucio, June 29), "Il filo di Arianna" (Arianna's Thread) (Castel di Lucio), "Residenza d'artista" (Artist Residency) (Pettineo), "1 km di tela" (1 km of Canvas) (Pettineo).

To expand the rich offer of events, interesting cultural and musical events are scheduled to be hosted at Palazzo Minneci (Motta d'Affermo), such as the upcoming Euterpe Fest planned for June 26, 29, and 30.

The three evenings of the Short Movie Fest will be hosted by the duo Alessandra Storniolo-Filippo Di Pietro and will feature the renowned musician and composer Nino Nobile and the comedian Roberto Anelli as guests.

The jury will be composed of Francesco Nucara (Director of Photography), Michele Tarzia (filmmaker), Giovanni Puliafito (composer), and the Small Shaker Theatrical Association.