Mercoledi
Wednesday! Just another Wednesday here in the Sardinian countryside
Mercoledi is Italian for Wednesday, the day of the god Mercury. In Roman mythology, Mercury is the god of commerce, travel, and communication (the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Hermes). Quite apt really as Wednesday is a big shopping day for us here.
There’s the big market in the centre of Alghero every Wednesday morning but we rarely go, especially in summer, as it's teeming with tourists and parking is impossible. We generally get our fresh fruit and veg from local shops and farmers. On Wednesdays though, every two weeks, we tootle about the hills gathering water, eggs, and meat. Come join me!
First up is usually water. We grab our big containers, bidoni, and head for Olmedo or Santa Maria la Palma, two nearby villages, to meet Federico the water guy. He fills his truck with clean spring water from the granite hills of Tempio and then does the ‘milk run’ through the villages. It’s a community event really and we often run into neighbours and stop for chats while the bidoni are being filled and sometimes pop into a cafe for a second breakfast, a coffee and a fresh-out-of-the-oven croissant. Pure clean drinking water is wonderful - another taste altogether! You can buy the same Tempio water in supermarkets here, bottled in plastic six packs, but this way we know it hasn’t been sitting around in the sun in plastic bottles for who knows how long.
Incidentally, the red shoes on top of the little stone pillar are real and you see red shoes like this in many places in Sardinia. They are scattered across piazzas and landmarks, often next to a red bench, as a powerful symbol of protest and mourning used to raise awareness about gender-based violence and femicide. It’s part of the Zapatos Rojos (Red Shoes), an art project started in 2009 by Mexican artist Elina Chauvet in response to the epidemic of murdered and disappeared women in Ciudad Juárez.
Then it’s back up north to the countryside behind La Corte where our butcher is located. It’s a big old farm filled with ancient trees and he’s converted one of his out buildings into a butcher’s shop. It’s mostly home grown, free range, beef and pork. With all the chemicals, vacs and hormones, now pumped into livestock, we tend not to buy meat at the supermarket anymore. Good to know where the meat we eat comes from and the land the animals walked and grazed. Not that we eat a lot of meat really but there’s nothing quite like a fresh cut steak or slice of pancetta (bacon) cooked on an open fire!
Across the road from the butcher is another farm, where Maria and her brothers live and, among other things, raise chickens. It’s a delightful experience to pop in and visit with them to buy a basket of fresh, free range eggs. We drive up the long path and, as we enter the gate into their flower filled courtyard, we’re met by several dogs who circle the car barking to alert Maria there are visitors. We aren’t allowed to leave until we’ve sat and chatted over a coffee or ginseng with them surrounded by flowers, dogs, chickens, cats, and the odd tortoise. The siblings are so lovely, with stories of country life now and then and that wicked Sardinian humour. Laughter really is good for the soul! And the chickens are so funny to watch.
Ah the delights of living in the Sardinian countryside! Feel blessed and I’m thoroughly enjoying this return to slow living. The rhythm and pace of country living takes some getting used to after decades of city life and the corporate grind but it’s so rewarding. Even with all the stresses of waiting for our project to be approved, there is a kind of peace here. I can feel my nervous system healing.
And, happy San Giovanni by the way! On 23rd June, in Sardinia and parts of Italy, it’s customary to gather flowers and leave them overnight in water outside in the moonlight. On the morning of the 24th, you then bathe in the water - well, wash your hands and splash it about your face and neck. It’s known in Italy as Acqua di San Giovanni (Water of Saint John) - an ancient folk ritual performed on the night of the summer solstice (June 23rd) leading into the Feast of Saint John the Baptist (June 24th). The tradition connects the Christian feast day with pre-Christian, pagan solstice rituals centred on light, water, and earth. They say nature’s curative, protective powers are at their peak during this magical time.
Thanks so much for joining me, for reading! I’m off now to wash in my flower water and then hopping in the car to find Federico and his water!
Take care of you!
F ox
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Unless external credit given, all images copyright Fiona Pape.