I Mille (The Thousand)

Ancient map of Parlemo. 
Palazzo Conte Federico occupied the tower
of the old Arab wall nearest the bridge to the 
left. The bridge no longer exists as the whole
harbour has been reclaimed.
Credit researchgate.com

Giuseppe Garibaldi (born in 1807 in Nice, speaking Ligurian- a form of Italian) was 53 when he became the 'dictator' of Sicily for about 6 months.  He had managed to sneak into Sicily with his 1000 men (or as reported in 'The Leopard', was it 800?)  He cleverly used the British navy in Marsala as cover.  The British were protecting the trade in Marsala wine at the time, which was extremely popular and lucrative back home. 

Frederic II, the Bourbon King of Naples (the Two Sicilies) fancied the infiltration to be a mild inconvenience.  

Sicily has been in constant political flux, and the idea of a united Italy might have been developing in the multiple personalities of Italy.  Frederic, the Conte de Frederic's son, told us on his guided tour of their Palazzo, that it was the Masons, and 'the great powers' including Britain, who wanted Italy to be a united nation, and a bulwark against the expansionists designs of Russia.  This is counter to my assumption that the Italian's themselves saw that unity might be necessary at this time to protect them from nearer neighbours.  Already ruled by the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Visigoths, Swabians, the Spanish, French, etc, the Sicilians knew that another spin of the dice was bound to occur. "In order to stay the same, everything must change" - the famous quote from 'The Leopard', or Il Gattapardo, by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa.  'Gattapardo' is the symbol of the house of Lampedusa, and is a serval cat, a smaller feline than the Leopard.  But an international audience was unlikely to have heard of the serval, so the Leopard was chosen. The conte de Lampedusa gets a brief introduction at a dance in the story.  Contemporary followers of  'The News' will sadly know about Lampedusa, as the most southernly island in Italy, and destination of many a flimsy boat carrying desperate migrants.

Inside the Arab Tower in the Palazzo Conte Frederic

So to the title of this piece.  We visited Santa Croce, or Holy Cross, the Anglican church in Palermo. Jo, our priest from Winchester, called out at the beginning of her sermon on 'The Good Samaritan', "How many people have heard this story 1000 times?"  I raised my hand (but - possibly it was 800?) 

Rev Jo spoke fluent Italian, and we wondered whether it indicated Italian heritage, or just a degree?  I was interested that she did not translate the key word in her sermon which was "predicament".  she mused on the predicament faced by our 'good natures' when we see beggars about us, including many with children.  No cathedral is complete without a biblical beggar.  Predicament, or 'difficili' in Sicilian, or 'situazione difficile' in Italian. Yes, how do we do English services in Palermo, where a number of the congregation are there to see what these mad Brits get up to?  Tricky; another predicament.  Jo did not tell us when to sit or stand.  There were no kneelers.  The congregation did look bemused at points, like one of those rising sitting games.    But the organ was well played, and Debbie, the church warden could sing.  We met Matteo, a history student, who told us that he had chosen Anglicanism from the panoply of Christian sects (sect to a catholic) and he felt it fitted just right, like a curious hat.

But I am still left wondering what to make of 'the good Samaritan', and did Garibaldi have anything to do with Samaria? My thoughts about giving to beggars are, 'what we do today is what we generally do tomorrow'.  If we give to beggars, we will give to beggars tomorrow, and the next day.  Some beggars are deserving, such as the migrant that is washed up on a wrecked boat in Lampedusa. I am guessing that as with the Samaritan, we will know if it is important, and we can ask for discernment from the Lord.  What about Chris Marriott, who came to the aid of a man in the street in Sheffield UK?  Seconds later he was caught up in a blood feud along with the man he was saving by Hassan Jhangur, who drove at speed at the pair.  Chris, a committed believer died at the scene.  A witness to the event, who also tried to help said "I grieve particularly for Chris's family, who are rebuilding their lives with courage and love but will always feel the tremendous loss of a kind, generous, unique man."