“See you between three and five. And please, be on time!”
(Renzino Barbera)
Italian precision — and even more so Sicilian precision — is a form of art.
Forget Einstein: we bent space and time long before relativity.
“Between three and five” is not a time. It is a state of mind.
It is an invitation to enter a temporal zone where clocks follow the rhythm of the heart and the level of post-lunch blood sugar.
At three? Someone is still finishing their coffee, and someone else has not yet decided whether to go out or wait until the heat fades.
At four? Perfect balance: late enough not to seem eager, early enough to say “I arrived on time.”
At five? In theory you are late, but in practice you are perfectly on Sicilian time — the time of those who “were about to come but stopped for a quick chat.”
And then there is that “please, be on time.”
Said with the solemnity of someone who knows perfectly well they will not be on time either.
It is an elegant way of saying, “Just get there before I do, so I do not look bad.”
In the end, it is a philosophy of life: punctuality is a relative concept, conversation is absolute, and coffee — that, at least — is sacred.
Renzino Barbera, a true son of Palermo, was a humourist, cartoonist, poet, actor, and playwright: always a brilliant observer, quick with a line, and capable of laughing at himself and others in equal measure.
His remark inspired me to write these variations on the theme:
- “The Sicilian is never late — it is time that moves more slowly here.”
- “Punctuality does exist in Sicily; it just prefers to keep a low profile.”
- “Punctuality is a northern virtue. In the South, we prefer good company.”
(Yours truly)