My City Life by Andrea Lo Cicero

Loose head prop Andrea Lo Cicero is the most capped player on the Italian National Rugby Team – 100 to be exact – “notched up” in the game in Edinburgh on 9th Febraury. In his career in the “azzurri” he has scored 45 points making a total of 9 tries. Born in Catania to a family of noble ancestry hence the nickname the Barone, he began his career playing for Amatori Catania from the age of 17 to 21. Having made his name in this team he then moved to Bologna, Rovigo, and Rugby Roma, winning his first Italian championship at the end of the 1999-2000 season. He then played for Toulouse, Rome (this time with Lazio and Primavera Rugby Club), L’Aquila and Paris – since 2007 – with Racing Metro 92, and of course th Barbarians with whom he played between 2004 and 2006, Andrea has played in World Cups in England (1999), Australia (2003), France (2007) and New Zealand (2011). He is also active in charity work as the spokesperson for the UNICEF campaign “Zero”, against child mortality in the world.

What do you remember about your adolescence and the first team you played for Amatori Catania?
My adolescent years were great because I still lived in my home town and I had the possibility to become a good rugby player. With Amatori Catania I was able to make my name. I trained a lot with the team but also on my own Etna. My brother Giuseppe and I knew every plant on the mountain.

What do you love about Catania and what would you recommend to a tourist?
My adolescent years were great because I still lived in my home town I had the possibility to become a good rugby player. With Amatori Catania I was able to make my name. I trained a lot with the team but also on my own on Etna. My brother Giuseppe and I knew every plant on the mountain.

What do you love about Catania and what would you recommend to a tourist? Without a doubt the sea! Our sea is different and always fantastic, both for the beaches and the shallow sea bed: in just a few kilometres you can go from sand, lava and pebbles. I love looking at Etna erupting with the lava flows, for those lucky enough to see it, it’s a real spectacle. And then there are two things at one time: there’s nothing more extraordinary than skiing while having the possibility to see the sea and swimming in the sea looking up at the volcano.

What’s the word in the local Catania dialect that you use the most often even though you don’t live there?
I still use the dialect! My girlfriend whose from Puglia had to learn it.

You’ve been on TV in a few cookery programmes. Is there a particular dish that you like preparing for friends?
Well there’s of course the “scacciata” (TN: a folded pizza dough crust filled with vegetables and meat), which is the most social plate par excellence, the one you prepare for parties with the whole family together. Friends for me are part of the family.

Spring is the time for trips and picnics: Easter Monday, the 25 April and the 1 May. Where did you use to go when you lived in Catania?
With friends I used to do “arrusti e mangia” (TN: an expression in local dialect meaning roast and eat – usually with a barbecue). The best places were Trecastagni and Pedara. Then a trip to Etna was always a good idea even though at that time I didn’t have a car and we went by scooter.

Where do you get your strength on the pitch and off it?
For sure my homeland, a place of elegant contradictions, water and fire which are the forces of nature!