page36 — He was a raven to boot — In Italian, a person who enjoys bearing bad news is called a corvo (raven or crow).
Page 37-given the government in power at that moment, and the fact that the Free Channel always leaned to the left — Italy at the time was still being governed by a centre-left coalition.
page jo -‘goes around with half a billion in her bag’ — At the time of the novel’s writing (1996-7) half a billion lire was worth about PS172,000.
page52. -side dish of gentle tinnirume — Tinnirume are gently steamed flower tops of long courgettes.
page 38 -‘from Punta Raisi to Bologna’ — Punta Raisi is the airport serving the greater, metropolitan area of Palermo and gets its name from the headland where it is located.
page 67 -‘I teach at the liceo scientifico of Montelusa’ — Italian secondary schools are called licei. There exist three different kinds of liceo: liceo scientifico, emphasizing scientific studies; liceo classico, emphasizing humanistic studies; and liceo artistico, emphasizing the arts. Students are grouped according to natural proclivities and personal preferences.
page 83 — ‘Half a million lire’ — About PS172.
page 90 — prepared the napoletana — A napoletana is an old-fashioned, usually tin espresso pot that one turns upside down at the first moment of boiling, allowing the hot water to filter down through the coffee grounds by force of gravity; The coffee thus obtained is judged to be superior to that created when the water is forced up at full boil through the grounds.
page 109 — ‘Azione Cattolica’ — A Catholic youth organization disbanded during the Fascist era and reconstituted after World War II.
page 109 — Famiglia Cristiana …
L’Osservatore Romano -Famiglia Cristiana is a weekly magazine published by the Catholic Church. L’Osservatore Romano is the daily newspaper of the Vatican.
page 111 — ‘Ah, these repentersl1 — Montalbano is referring ironically to the so-called pentiti (‘repenters’), Mafia turncoats who turn state’s evidence and are then treated very leniendy, and practically coddled, by the government See A. Camilleri, The Snack Thief (Macmillan, 2003).
page 114 — it was called La Cacciatora. Naturally, they had no game -La Cacciatora means ‘the huntress’.
page 114 -a hefty serving of delicious caponata — Caponata is a zesty traditional southern Italian appetizer usually made up of sauteed aubergine, tomato, green pepper, garlic, onion, celery, , black olives, vinegar, olive oil and anchovies.
page 114 — ‘A joyous start is the best of guides’ — In Italian: ‘Principio si giolivo ben conduce’ Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441—94), Orlando Innamorato.
page 119 — tetu, taralli, viscotti regina and Palermitan mostaccioli — These are all varieties of hard Italian biscotti. Tetu and taralli are covered with sugar but vary in size; viscotti regina are covered with sesame seeds; and Palermitan mostaccioli are made out of dough soaked in mulled wine.
page 129 — a colourful cassata — A traditional Sicilian sponge cake filled with sweetened ricotta, candied fruit, raisins, pine nuts, pistachios and jam, usually apricot. Not to be confused with the ice cream of the same name, which has some of the same ingredients.
page 123 — Aldo Gagliardo … as hale and hearty as his name — Gagliardo means ‘strong, vigorous, robust’.
page 166 — a gigantic Saracen olive tree — The ulivo saraceno is a very ancient olive tree with gnarled trunk, tangled branches and very long roots. The name suggests that the tree dates from the time of the Arab conquest of Sicily (ninth to eleventh centuries).
page 168 — ‘Di Blasi doesn’t have a licence to cany a gun, nor has he ever reported owning any weapons’ — In Italy, there are two kinds of firearms permits. The first is the licence to carry a gun, whether a pistol or rifle. With the second, one may only keep the firearm at home. _
page 169 — baby octopus alla luciana — In this simple dish, the octopi are cooked in a spicy tomato sauce with garlic and hot pepper.
page 207 — five million lire — About PS1,720.
page 207 — one hundred and fifteen million lire — About PS41,000.
page 222. — like one of Boldini’s ladies — Giovanni Boldini (1845—1931) was a cosmopolitan Italian painter originally from Ferrara who spent much of his career in Paris. A friend of both Whistler and Sargent, he was greatly influenced by the French painting of the period He is best known for his portraits of characters from Parisian high society and the artistic milieu.
page 226 — Two; three billion lire’ -Roughly between PS690,000 and PS1,000,000.
page 227— ‘a few hundred thousand lire’ -A hundred or so pounds.
page 236 — The hotel … zoning regulations be damned -
Outside the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Camilleri’s model for the city of Montelusa, stands the Greek Temple of Concord (440 bc , named retroactively), by far the best preserved of the ruins in this so-called Valley of Temples. In the modern age, against the protests of conservationists, historians and people of good sense, a large, unsightly hotel was built directly behind the archaeological site, right on the boundary line designating the perimeter beyond which it is now illegal to build — a demarcation determined only after the hotel was erected.
Page 253— Bagonghi the dwarf -Bagonghi was a famous Italian dwarf who performed as a clown in circuses all over Europe and often wore clothes that were far too big for him.
Notes compiled by Stephen Sartarelli