The difference between "TAPPINA" and "TAPPINARA"

In 1952, the United States Air Force, following numerous sightings of unidentified flying objects, coined the term UFO for the first time; in Palermo in 1952, slippers had already been flying for decades. And while the slippers fly, the brothels teem—a Palermitan might say to me, "couldn't you use another verb?"—with "tappinare."

“Professor, can I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Who are the tappinare?”

Wait, let's hit the "rewind" button, go back, and start over in order. Ever since Homo Habilis discovered that living in caves was safer and more convenient than being outdoors, he also savored the pleasure of staying at home in slippers in front of a heat source and the newspaper.

In short, lounging in slippers, even before the invention of the slipper itself, seems to be an anthropological need that man begins to feel when he goes from being a nomad to being sedentary. Yes, for those who are not Sicilian, "tappina" is synonymous with slipper; "tappinara," however, is not synonymous with a person who wears slippers but with "prostitute."

The first sightings, since we talked about UFOs, or rather the first written testimonies about the use of slippers date back to the 12th century when a Chinese soldier talks about the strange footwear worn by the Vietnamese; in the same period, slippers were already widespread in the Middle East, so much so that even today when someone buys a pair of shoes that are slightly longer or with an upturned toe in Palermo, the usual joke starts: "What is it? Did you buy Aladdin's shoes?"

It seems that in Middle Eastern countries, the length of the slipper indicated the amount of money the wearer possessed; in our parts slippers began to spread around 1400 and here too they served to describe social status, as well as bank account: as a parameter, it was not the length but the lavishness of the slipper, which could be made of more or less precious fabrics, velvet, silk, and studded with more or less precious stones. It's no coincidence that in many versions of Cinderella, instead of the glass slipper, there is a "tappina."

Of course, many versions of Cinderella because there are more than 300, and the first seems to date back to ancient Egypt and tells the story of the slave Rhodopis and the red gold slipper. In the West, however, the first version of this fairy tale, all "salagadula, magicabula, and fetish," was rewritten by the Neapolitan Giambattista Basile in 1634 and obviously set in the Kingdom of Naples. The protagonist is not called Cinderella but Zezzolla, and the plot is a mix between Gomorrah and Beautiful: in fact, in collusion with her teacher, she kills her mother by strangling her with the lid of a chest; then convinces her father to marry the teacher.

Even in Zezzolla's fairy tale, there is no shoe but a "pianella," which if you look at pictures is a Renaissance slipper with visibly fetishistic wedges. In the 19th century, during an important reception, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria of England (the one from the Victorian era), perhaps after overdoing it with beer, is found dressed in a tuxedo and slippers (10/10, legend).

But let's get back to "tappina" and "tappinara." If throughout Italy it is called "pantofola" or at most "ciabatta" and in Sicily we call it "tappina," this is the Greeks' fault: the term actually derives from the Greek word tapeinòs meaning low/close to the ground. According to the most widespread and accepted version, it seems that during the years when brothels were still open and entertained dissatisfied Palermitan husbands, women of easy virtue or (allow me the folkloric term, which is always better than escort) the "bottane" used to wear this footwear because it made their work easier.

For this reason, when one went to these amusement parks of masculine affirmation, the gentlemen were received in slippers and therefore in "tappine": from tappina to tappinara is a short and easily deduced step. Furthermore, since before brothels there were "lupanare," "postriboli," and so on (it's not called the oldest profession in the world for nothing), according to historical accounts, it seems that during the Spanish domination in Sicily, the viceroys imposed on prostitutes the use of this footwear to make themselves recognizable.

However, there is another version that dates back even to the Arabs and is neither less fascinating nor less plausible, considering the great influence of this culture. In Arab times, in fact, in harems, the sultan was the first to use slippers precisely to avoid dirtying the cleanest environment of all, which was most often furnished with precious carpets. Furthermore, the concubines were also forced to wear slippers, which became a true symbol of submission (got it, "tappinare"?).

P.S. Next time your wife or husband is found at home in slippers, please, don't take it too badly, think that for a long time it was a sexy garment and a synonym for lust.

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