“From Scratch” is the new Netflix miniseries partly shot in Sicily, once again protagonist in an international production.
It tells the love story of Amahle “Amy” Wheeler (played by Zoe Saldaña), an American student who falls in love with the Sicilian chef Lino (played by Eugenio Mastandrea) while in Italy.
They know each other in Florence and begin an intense love story: she is an African-American studying in Italy, while he is a Sicilian chef in the Florentine capital. They find themselves united in a very strong feeling that leads them to move together to Los Angeles and put together two completely different cultures.
The location of From Scratch
The Sicilian nature of the protagonist Lino is one of the central elements of the entire story, consequently the region could only become the setting for various moments in the series. In particular, the set touched the wonderful town of Cefalù and its surroundings, but also Termini Imerese and Pollina, for an immersion in the Palermo tour that alternates with the scenes shot in Florence and in the United States.
Termini Imerese is culturally interesting due to the nearby ruins of Himera and the antiquarium connected to them, fascinating churches, ruins from the Roman period and prehistoric finds. Not to mention the annual Carnival of Termita, one of the oldest of Italy, and direct heir of the ancient Carnival of Palermo. Pollina, on the other hand, is one of the most picturesque towns in the Madonie Park.
Thanks to its panoramic position and the particular urban layout, with the small houses that pile up and lean on each other, as if to seek shelter and protection from the immense space that extends all around between sky, sea and earth.
The peculiarity of the area around Pollina is given above all by the presence of ash woods. From July to September, manna is extracted from these trees, following an ancient extraction technique that has been handed down from father to son. An effective ingredient of popular medicine, manna has qualities that are now widely recognized also by official medicine.
Sicilian traditions depicted in From Scratch
But it is not only the settings that bring Sicily to the screens. The entire series is permeated by Sicilian traditions and culture, excellently expressed by the Sicilian actors who are part of the cast, namely Paride Benassai, Lucia Sardo and Roberta Rigano, in the role of Lino’s father, mother and sister.
“From Scratch” is inspired by an autobiographical book that was part of the New York Times bestsellers. In fact, it takes part of the name of the work by the author Tembi Locke which is entirely titled by her: “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home”.
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