“Spanish,” Vito said, when I entered through the door of Café Amadeo the next morning.
It was very humid outside and the faint air conditioning inside the building left a film of condensation on the windows. No American would say the place was “air conditioned” but compared to the Sicilian way of life, this was positively chilly.
“Sì, Spanish,” I echoed.
Sì“Fourteen Ninety-Two was a very important year,” he continued. “For centuries, the Spanish empire was growing stronger but it wasn’t until that year that the rulers, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille, captured the Emirate of Granada. By so doing, the expelled the Muslims from their country – from most of Western Europe – and ended about eight centuries of rule by Islam.”
“Funny, I thought you were going to say that 14
