Sunday was a special day. It was the day of rest of the week, of meeting with friends, when the girls came out of mass (and, now blessed, they could watch and talk with their secret love), the walk behind the castle, the news in front of the bar. We dressed well, on Sunday. Even the youngsters did not pull back and gave great attention to their hair.

In Nicotera, Sunday took a bold and striking appearance. It was expected, because there was the market. Early in the morning the streets became noisier than usual: the ciucci (donkeys) passed by carrying two baskets of harvest on the sides, at dawn you could hear quick steps, already tired and noisy at the same time, of peasants who dragged baskets full of vegetables and fruits. The shepherds came from the north, warmer and quieter, and brought ricotta and cheese. What does it taste the salted ricotta!

Even the Americans (as they were called the scientific team ones) enjoyed the Sunday in Nicotera. For the people of the village Americans was not to indicate the nationality of those concerned, in fact, the team was composed of scientists from Japan, England, Finland, Germany, and France. Americans were all the people who were not Italians and Americans were also all the people who flaunt wealth or dressed extravagantly or all - point. Their arrival in Nicotera, September 1957, coincided with the ripening of many local products, often unknown to them and that stimulated their curiosity until they become Liccardi (greedy). The nationality of the scientists, indeed, took them to different tastes. So it happened that Karvonen and Kagan (Finnish the first and English the second) preferred "I Zinzuli". They had grown such a passion for this fruit that used to keep a bunch of them at the edge of the draughts and for each piece taken they "ate" the one another's zinzuli according to an agreement established before the game: one for each token, two or three for a lady. Even in the cards game the winner gained a punch of zinzuli. The punch was an awkward measure for the English who had small and thin hands, while Karvonen had a hand big enough to draw more than twice the size of Kagan. This fruit, locally spread, was no more than the better known "jujube" which had the form of an olive or almond, green when unripe, which becomes reddish when it is ready to eat. The taste is pleasant and inviting.

The Nicotera Sunday market was very lively at that time, people came from all over the territory either to buy or to sell. The presence of the Americans had had a pulse effect as everyone imagined to cash a few dollars. There were people who really took up the greenback, and have kept it for so long, telling endless stories regarding its origins.

The real Americans and above all Paul White and Ancel Keys liked instead surva and cutugni, rowan and quince. The freshly harvested rowan is acre, and only after ripening becomes edible and of great taste. The quince has a firm flesh and a sour flavour. The wonder of the people was the audacity of the two scientists in eating them even when they were not yet ripe. In response, the scientists exposed the qualities of the fruits that were to have anti-inflammatory effects, to be astringent and to be recommended basically to fat people. But there has been a time when they became more famous for this than for their competence and skill as doctors.

A trip around the market was a must. The sellers were arranged on both sides of the road so that the goods were clearly visible to the passer-by tight in the middle of the street. There was everything in the market; sechera, escalore, misi-misi, fennel, garnets and ficamori. A vegetable managed to agree the whole team: a pistinaca.

Pistinaca was a very popular food in the Nicotera's houses. It grew everywhere and spontaneously. And so it had a price close to zero that comforted the families. The disquisition of this fruit fascinated the European components of the team, especially the French and Finnish. Dr. Karvonen claimed the origin, production and best quality of this vegetable to his nation. One thing united all of them and was the nutritional, healthy and diet properties of the vegetable that help the eyesight and eye colour, keep mind alive, and enhance the tan. But even more doctors weighted the medical tradition that it was recommended to men as and suggested to women as it or as tradition wanted .

Even for the goatherds (i caprari) Sunday was a day of rest. In Nicotera lived four goatherds and each one had his working area. It was a family profession: an activity which was handed down from father to son. Early in the morning the bell round the goat neck woke up the woman of the house and as the sound grew louder you understood the closeness of the flock. Even before the pastor knocked on the door she held out "u Landu" (tin) or a glass bottle, the man then milked the goat making the calculations by eye after giving a look at the size of the container. There was never a dispute about the amount and the payment was made on weekends or at the end of the month.

Only fish was not sold on Sunday. It was a day of celebration and in the popular imagination meat was the symbol of wealth and abundance. The smell of the meat sauce invaded the streets already in the early hours of the morning: it was also a way to tell the others "Noi mangiamu carni oggi" (we eat meat today). The preparation of the sauce had a sacral attention as from its success depended the degree of satisfaction of the table and of the day. The pieces of meat, veal and pork, were sauted in garlic and onion, then they were covered with tomato sauce. A slow process, which lasted several hours putting a strain on the woman's ability to keep a light fire or a low flame.

Sometimes, however, the town's streets even the more peripheral were invaded by a powerful voice: "Attention, -said- everybody is warned that by "a Porta Grandi "has arrived nu tunnu (tuna fish) big, big. Who wants to buy it must do it quickly. The price for you is of 50 lira per kilo. " It was the voice of the auctioneer announcing a new thing for the Sunday and that was due to an exceptional fished of albacores and longlines or of a quality fished, such as tuna and swordfish. The official auctioneer was the 'u cinu', so called because of his short stature. But his voice had nothing to do with the slender appearance. If he was not there, the place belonged to Peppi 'u rinni' that had a less powerful voice but he did helped it with a musical instrument made by himself from a cane, and later on he got by with a modern trumpet. The auctioneer was given a more consistent quantity of product, or was paid a few liras.

In the afternoon, Sundays really became for everyone a moment of play and games: there were the races du casu, the game du pizzicu, da raja and for the girls there was the game of the week. But that is another story. As another story is the spread and the attendance da' cantina (wine cellar), a place of endless discussions and fantastic stories.