The house of Commisario Montalbano

the bay where Montalbano had his morning dip!

the house of Montalbano

The house is actually a B and B!

locals at Punta Secca

punta secca one of the nicest beaches

a local trattoria where Montalbano ate

the balcony

Commisario Montalbano is to Sicily what Hercule Poirot is to Belgium. Both are proud ambassadors and likeable sleuths. In Montalbano Andrea Camilleri has created a bandy legged, bald Sicilian detective who is able to multitask and manages to solve crimes effortlessly. He lives in a house that overlooks a stunning beach and after a long day fighting crime or early in the morning he walks outside and swims in the sea.

A good friend of mine watches the TV series and is able to quote the Commisario’s sidekick with a very passable Sicilian accent. I knew the series was filmed in the South of Sicily somewhere near Ragusa Ibla (a beautiful UNESCO listed Baroque town that I wanted to revisit as on my last visit it was raining heavily and I didn’t stop) so I decided to go for a drive and try to find the actual house where the series is filmed and stay overnight in a B and B in Ragusa Ibla.

Calogero organised a hire car through a friend and I headed off towards Messina in my black Citroen which was supposed to be a fiat punto! (Italian hire car companies are notoriously bad at actually giving you the car you asked for)

I was following the directions I got from google maps, although I had a pretty good idea about the first part at least as I had driven round Sicily before. I eased into the drive with surprising effortlessness, getting back into the manual gear changes around sharp corners without difficulty. I had forgotten just how hairy driving on the autostrada can be though, with few drivers observing the speed limits, most tailgating and visibility was not great as it was raining and foggy for the first hour or so. I had also forgotten how many tunnels I had to go through. No matter how short the tunnel, a placard at its entrance proudly announces its name. It reminds me a bit of Hong Kong where each of their countless man-made slopes are also named!  

The drive took me east on the A20 towards Messina and then South on the A18 towards Catania, past beautiful Taormina a very popular and well deserved tourist destination where I have stayed in the past. The landscape kept constantly changing, especially when I left the autostrada and headed towards Ragusa on the SS 514 I think (a state road that goes through smaller towns).

Ancient and more modern villas, dot the countryside. Some inhabited, others abandoned. John, you could find a do-er-up-er here and go to your heart’s content! Everywhere bursts of spring blossoms, lemon and olive groves and the ubiquitous cacti. A shepherd snoozes while his flocks graze contentedly on abundant feed. Across the road in another paddock fat cows meander across green fields. Later a pesky member of another shepherd’s flock darts across the road in front of me, and all his mates follow suit….that’s sheep for you…and it’s all I can do not to be responsible for my first road kill. A few expletives later …funnily enough in Italian…and a quick “Thanks God” the car is ok as I don’t think I paid extra for insurance, and I am on my way again.

I stop for a break and snack at an AGIP road house. The Panini are fresh and the toilets spotless. I buy a CD of a singer I like and sit in the Citroen devouring my panino and listening to the CD while I check my emails. One is from Carole Anne (the English travel agent) and I email back with some details she needs. She calls a few minutes later to confirm my Mediterranean cruise booking. It’s all starting to take shape!

Refreshed and excited I head back into the traffic and soon Ragusa is nearby. I head into the city centre looking for signs to the old town but get hopelessly lost. I call the lady from La casa di Grazia as arranged and luckily it seems I am right near her place. We meet at the petrol station below her apartment and I follow here away from the main town down a steep hill. As we turn the corner Ragusa Ibla appears. The view is amazing.

The b and b is right at the entrance to the town. In many ways a great position as it has ample parking and is easy to get to. It has been recently opened. The house was left to the lady’s nephew by his mother. It been completely renovated and only recently opened.

In contrast to the “characteristic” and ancient buildings surrounding it, this building is fresh and the inside is modern and colourful. There are 4 rooms, each one furnished in keeping with one of the four elements. I had already chosen “water” and the energy is just what I needed.

The website is www.acasadigrazia.com and my gracious host gave me a discount. It was the best 45 euro I have ever spent on accommodation! Those of you who have been to Europe know what I mean. The worst accommodation I stayed in was in Lecce, on the east coast of Italy when I was visiting the Trulli (another amazing UNESCO site well worth seeing) and I paid 50 euro for a room I think belonged to the young man’s grandmother. I suspect he either killed her or put her in an old person’s home and rented out the room for drug money!

Punta Secca, the seaside town which is the location for “La casa di Montalbano” is located about 18 kms away. It is a modest, somewhat shabby seaside town and when I get there, I just head straight for the sea hoping that the house will be easy to find. I almost miss it except that a huge gaggle of excited schoolchildren with cameras in one hand and mobiles in the other give it away. It appears they have been on some kind of school excursion to a secret destination. Most are talking excitedly on the phone…”Guess what Mum?  I’m at Montalbano’s house “…

I wait for a while, then go for a walk along the beach, hoping I will have the place to myself so I can get a good photo for my friend Reuven, but the kids aren’t budging. They congregate in groups and chat, taking endless photos of the house and each other.

I give up and take a different route back to Marina Ragusa, then back to my b and b.

It has started to drizzle, but I want to go for a walk before it gets dark, so I head off with my umbrella and camera in hand.

Every where I go there is a photo opportunity, so after a while I just surrender to the experience and the only sound I can hear is my shoes on the old cobblestones.

I decide to follow two old women walking purposefully into the labyrinth of small laneways as they climb some steep steps into a large building. Once inside I realise it is the Duomo, a huge Cathedral that towers over one part of the old town. Inside it is dark and cavernous. More old women dressed in black appear from other almost hidden doorways around the building. I sit in a hard pew and look around at the amazingly ornate, intricate art work that adorns this sacred place. I wonder why it is only women who come to pray and what they pray for and am in awe of the inspired artistry that surrounds me. (not that I want any of it hanging in my lounge room, but it is amazing!)

I head back to the b and b, looking for a trattoria or tavola calda (literally means hot table but implies typical local fare) to have something to eat. Everything is closed. Finally I ask a young man if he can help me. He looks at me sadly and says “ Signora e’ troppo presto! (lady, it’s too early) I look at my watch. It is 7.30pm In Europe people eat really late. Most nights my hosts sit down at 9.30. In Spain it can be 10 or 11pm! This old lady can’t keep her eyes open, so I scrounge some left over travel snacks and half of my “Colazione” (breakfast) and have a very long hot shower …after all it is the water room ….mmmm needed that!

A presto

Mon x