Catania’s main fish market, the largest in Sicily & probably Italy. Tuna arrive unfrozen from the Trapani & Marsala fishing grounds off the western coast of sicily, some with hooks still in their mouths. The tuna hunt is one of the great dramas, blood-tinged and a bit sad, as much else in sicily. The great fish are herded by the fleet into large nets, each opening into a slightly smaller net, until the last: the ‘house of death’. Here they are, to the rhythm of antique songs of Arab origin, and upon the instructions of the rais, a word of Arab origin meaning ‘leader’, speared and slaughtered, with care taken to avoid damage to the precious stomach and midsection. The wine-dark sea turns a foamy red.
Men walking about in wellies, no pools of blood and water yet. That’s to come.
The market is mostly open-air, amidst the arches of a railway line. Fish come in by small lorries, and ice in the ubiquitous Ape 50. Fish are carted around on great hand-trucks. The dealers in large fish, with the biggest stalls (slabs of marble or high-density plastic chopping boards) in the main piazza next to Piazza Duomo. There is a raised area where old men stand, some shouting orders for fish, others joking with the fishermen. The smaller stands, retail as they carry a much broader range of fish, are under the arches. Three coffee stands supply the market, and one has a delivery service. After the tuna and swordfish are decapitated and gutted, the first espresso (that we saw) arrived in little plastic cups.
Simply cooked in the padella, with a tomato salad, and zucchini.