In Catania, it is impossible to escape Sicily’s patron saint, Agatha. Manifold stories recount how this 3rd-century woman – born in the ancient port city – was canonised. One of the most compelling is that she refused a powerful man’s hand in marriage , because their union would have forced her to give up her Christian faith.
Turning him down had serious consequences: he ordered Agatha’s breasts to be severed and she was subsequently thrown into a pit of burning coal to die. Read Next I've found the crowd-free Tuscany, with hot springs and wine-making villages Agatha, and, more importantly, her breasts, have become a symbol of the city’s identity. You can’t go anywhere without stumbling upon a tribute to them: murals of her carrying them on a tray, or the delicious minne di Sant’Agata , domed iced cakes filled with ricotta and topped with a glacé cherry.
I feel a strong affinity with Saint Agatha. Strip out religion and her story is fundamentally this – a woman who refused to live her life according to the demands of a man. I’d booked an autumn trip to Catania following a break-up.
We’d met during the pandemic, so it wasn’t until borders reopened and normality resumed that I recognised how poorly our outlooks aligned. I wanted someone who shared my dream of spending short periods living in different cities across the globe . He had been seduced by the idea, but had no intention of finding a job that would allow him to fulfil it.
So, newly single, I�.
