Norman castles and Sicilian pride

I figured I'd post something positive to start off, then gradually go downhill. Northeastern Sicily has a ring network of Norman castles built roughly during the late 11th and 12th centuries. One of them is located in Paterno', which used to be a few short kilometers from where I lived out in town. One day, I drove over to the castle with my then-15-month-old son. After hauling his stroller up the external stairs, for fear that it would be stolen if left unattended for a second, I donated a few Euro, received a few Xerox papers about the history of the castle, and was asked by the trio of octagenarian volunteers to sign their guest book. When they saw that I was an American, they asked how I had come to visit their castle in Paterno'. In my best pidgen Italian, I told them I used to study history and was interested in Norman castles. They beemed with pride, "You studied our castle in America?" How could I tell them no when they looked so pleased that Paterno' was evidently the focus of American historical study? How do you say in Italian that the only Paterno' I knew before I got to Sicily coached football? So I lied. "Yes, I studied your castle." This led to a personally led tour of the castle, the revelation of some archaeological artifacts not on display for general visitors, and the encouragement that I check out the book "Sicilian Castles" in the local library. One of them even guarded my stroller during the visit. When I left, they encouraged me to tell my friends back in America about the castle.

I never did find the town library or that book though.