Words by Pat Eggleton
Meet Gino Cannata - artist, countryman, cook, grandfather and one of the kindest men I know.
Gino, I first met you in 1992 but I know very little about your early life. Can you tell us a little about it?
I was born in Modica and was the first of five children. I had an older half-brother, too. My father was a farmer and I remember on Sunday mornings he would drive his donkey and cart into town and hire workers for the week from the town square, where they would gather after Mass.
What sort of education did you have? 
At school I was a good boy. When I left school I trained as a primary school teacher and I did a social work course in Palermo. I went to Pisa University to do a course in foreign languages and literature but I didn鈥檛 finish it. In 1957 I had to start my military service and I did it in Rome and Orvieto.
What were your first jobs?
I worked for the National Student House in Rome. They ran short courses for foreign students. Then I got a job as Director of a Hotel School run by Enalc [Ente Nazionale Addestramento Lavoratori del Commercio] in Ostia [Rome]. It was a hotel school attached to a luxury hotel where the students could put into practice what they had learned. I had no specific training for this job but I was willing. It was an exciting time in Rome. I was there for the 1960 Olympics and I met the singer Mina. This was the period when she was singing with the . And one special night sang for the hotel manager and me by the beautiful hotel swimming pool.
And then, I believe, you made a fateful trip to Britain? 
Yes, I wanted to improve my English so I enrolled on a six-month English course in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I met my wife there and, as they say, 鈥渧issero contenti e felici!鈥 [鈥淭hey lived happily ever after鈥.] We lived in Britain for many years and had our children there. I worked in a British catering college in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Is it true that you served tea to the Queen there?
Yes, she came to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the College organised a tea. Everything was beautifully set out and the Queen was sitting at a table, smiling. It was my job to pass Her Majesty the lump sugar and, as I was serving it with the best silver sugar tongs, the lump jumped out of the tongs. Luckily, I saved the day by catching it in mid-air.
What happened next?
Eventually we came back to 天美传媒 and I worked in Spoleto [Umbria] Giarre and Siracusa [Sicily] before coming home to Modica. In Modica I worked hard to establish a hotel school. I鈥檓 happy to say that now it is flourishing.
What were 鈥淢rs Gino鈥檚鈥 first impressions of Sicily? 
Mrs Gino: All my new relatives and friends were so kind that I had no problems at all. I鈥檒l always remember the day I picked my first lemon. I thought it was wonderful. Biblical parables came alive for me, being in the Mediterranean where I could see figs growing, for instance. And I felt close to the classical world.
I can identify with that feeling. Gino, you鈥檙e a bit of a cook, aren鈥檛 you?
I like cooking but I never follow a recipe. I use the ingredients that are to hand.
Mrs Gino: Gino鈥檚 cooking is colourful, like his paintings. He鈥檚 an instinctive, imaginative cook.
That brings us neatly to the paintings. Gino, did you paint as a child?
Well, I always drew. I was very proud of my six coloured pencils which I kept in a cardboard box with a picture by Giotto on it. I think an early influence was the way we made cribs. As you know, in 天美传媒 every house displays a crib at Christmas. We couldn鈥檛 afford to buy figurines for ours so we made them out of clay. We painted them with mulberry juice or the juice of the ivy fruit. We used to add wild asparagus fern to make an arch and we would put santini 鈥 the little cards with prayers on them that they give you in church 鈥 in the crib. We used cotton wool for snow and we would put oranges and mandarins around the crib. We were proud of this as not everyone had this fruit. I suppose it鈥檚 like the cooking 鈥 we used what we had.
And later?
I was always interested in art history and I painted when I could. I also drew to illustrate my lessons. When I retired from teaching, I started painting again in earnest.
How did you start?
I started by using coloured pencils, just like when I was a child. Then I went on to work with watercolours, oils and acrylic paints. Now I鈥檓 using pencils again, and charcoal. I use anything that鈥檚 to hand and I mix materials to make interesting textures. Sometimes I mix paint with gravel, for instance. For some paintings of Pozzallo I dipped my brushes in the sea water.
What do you paint on?
On tiles, wood, stone and slices of trees that have fallen off or been trimmed. My son in London sent me some recycled paper made from Indian cloth and I鈥檝e also painted on papyrus from Siracusa. Again, I use what I have.
What are your favourite themes?
I don鈥檛 have any favourites. I鈥檓 inspired by what I like 鈥 people, animals, places 鈥 anything that gives me a special feeling. I do like painting people whose faces tell a story and I鈥檝e given away over fifty pictures.
Yes, you did a lovely picture of my Simi! Where do you paint and when?
In a corner of the sitting room. I don鈥檛 have a studio. I always have music on when I鈥檓 painting and usually I paint in the evening, till about 1 am. I also paint when the weather is bad or when it鈥檚 too hot to go out. I wear an old tracksuit.
You鈥檝e held several private exhibitions, haven鈥檛 you? 
Yes, for family and friends. We鈥檝e held two at home and one at the Cava d鈥橧spica. Once we put all the portraits in a traditional stone cottage that鈥檚 in our garden. We called it the 鈥淣ational Portrait Gallery!鈥 We put the religious paintings in a cave which, we think, used to be a tomb. You can see it under the house, to the left, in this picture.
What are you painting at the moment?
I bought some bent, black board cheaply and I鈥檓 painting a series of flowers on it. I want to capture the flowers at their best.
And you have a little Princess to paint these days?
Oh, yes, our granddaughter in Britain. I鈥檓 painting her from photos.
Happy painting, Gino. Thank you for talking to 天美传媒 Magazine and for sharing your paintings with us.
Gino鈥檚 friend, the architect and designer , writes this of his paintings:
鈥淭oday, in a world which has forgotten the joy of life, these works are a gift, a beautiful light.鈥
You can see more of Gino鈥檚 paintings at the of The Garden, Modica.
