Historic places of taste: Pesca della Masculina da magghia
Places included in the "Regional Map of Places of Identity and Memory" (LIM) established by the Sicily Region with DA n. 8410 of 03/12/2009
The reference sector is the one relating to the "Historic places of taste - Places where ingredients are produced - Peach of Masculina da magghia
The places included in the IWB:
- Gulf of Catania
The frame is that of the Gulf of Catania: an arch that goes from Capo Mulini to Capo Santa Croce, in the municipality of Augusta. A portion of the sea partly protected by the Marine Nature Reserve of the Cyclops Islands and crossed every day by the small boats of the fishermen of the gulf. Here, according to the season, garfish, sea bass, tuna, mullet, mackerel, and masculini are caught. Fishermen also call them anciuvazzu or anciuvurineddu: many names for the small, darting anchovies, the same ones caught by the Ligurians and the Cilento menaids. The same ones that, as padron 'Ntoni said in I Malavoglia, "hear the grecale twenty-four hours before arriving, (...) it has always been like this, anchovy is a fish that has more judgment than tuna".
In April, the lines begin to drop (this is the name of the menaid nets in Catania, which have meshes of one centimeter on each side and are about 300 meters long): the right time is the middle of the night, almost at dawn. The technique is the same practiced throughout the Mediterranean since the time of Homer. This capture mechanism (the imprisonment of the head of the anchovy in the meshes of the net, hence the name from magghia) causes a natural bleeding that makes the fish tastier and therefore prized. In Italy the flotillas that practice traditional fishing with the menaide are few: they are found in Pisciotta, in some small towns of the Cilento coast (in Campania) and in the Gulf of Catania. There are about thirty families living in this ancient profession: a small group - which is divided between the marinas of San Giovanni li Cuti, Ognina, Aci Trezza - and a few civitotu (this is the name of the inhabitants of the Civita district of Catania). port of Catania.
Seasonality
Masculina fishing takes place from April to July, the salted product is available all year round.
Text source: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/
Card insertion: Ignatius Caloggero
Photo: web
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Web
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