Sicily is famous for its ceramics, designed in the classic Maiolica glazed style with delicate baroque patterns. The most original pieces and those who stimulate the most interest from visitors are the Moorish head designs, which consist of pairs of pots, cups or jars which depict a fair-skinned woman and a man with distinctly…
Continue reading ➞ Mata and Grifone
I use my camera like I'd use a notebook. I record little details and notes, things I've noticed or want to remember for later. I photograph small things that catch my eye, a particular design or pattern which seems unusual. It could be a texture that catches my eye or how the sunlight hits a…
Continue reading ➞ The story is always in the details
When people come to Sicily, they tend to go along the well-followed tourist road, sticking to the main cities like Palermo or Catania or visit coastal resort towns like Taormina or Cefalù, which are all beautiful and worthwhile. Still, the island offers many more unique experiences.I always advise people to go and explore smaller towns,…
Continue reading ➞ Exploring small Sicilian towns
Deep in the kingdom of the hazelnuts, the Baron of Salleo’s family had wealthy agricultural patronage with many hectares of hazelnuts, olive trees, wheat fields, together with country properties, a residence at the centre of Sinagra and another in the nearby hamlet of Baronia, most probably named in honour of the Baron himself. The Salleo…
Continue reading ➞ A Baron’s dominion
In the mirror there I can’t see myself. I see my grandmother’ eyes looking back at me and remember how I made them cry. She is the strongest person I know and in one mad moment, thinking of myself I made her weep. I was distracted worrying about overweight baggage and departure times I forgot…
Continue reading ➞ My Grandmother’s eyes
San Fratello is perched high up in the rambling Sicilian highlands, nesting itself in the crown of the Nebrodi Mountains, which run along the Tyrrhenian coast towards Palermo. The road on the way to the town negotiates its way through the mountains like an elaborate obstacle course; every car is climbing up navigates hairpin curves…
Continue reading ➞ The Giudei of San Fratello: part 1
Remember to follow my advice on how to avoid Stendhal Syndrome on your next visit to Sicily: The best way to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the beauty of art and history, especially in Sicily where art seems to grow ever more elaborate, is to space out your museum visits. I have…
Continue reading ➞ Italy Magazine Features
I live in Sicily because I fell in love with a Sicilian, but in reality, the love affair existed long before … I’ve been enamoured since birth, Italy is imprinted on my DNA, my family and heritage has always been here connected to this place of endless human history my love of stories keeps…
Continue reading ➞ Poetry inspired by Sicily: Sicilian DNA
I discovered the work of John Keahey by accident a few years ago when his first book about Sicily (Seeking Sicily: a cultural journey through myth and reality in the heart of the Mediterranean) randomly popped up on my Amazon search for books on my usual trawl through the internet for inspiration. After a…
Continue reading ➞ Sicilian Splendors: discovering the secret places that speak to the heart
The Chiesa di San Tommaso Apostolo il Vecchio is a precious artefact of the Norman period of Sicily. It dates back between 1061 and 1109 under the reign of Count Roger the first, a French Catholic ruler whose crusading knights left for the Middle East from the port of Messina. For many years it was…
Continue reading ➞ The Normans in Messina
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III at Messina was built from 1924 to 1929 by architect Camillo Puglisi Allegra who was inspired by the ornate seventeenth-century Sicilian baroque style which dominates the island, particularly in the Val di Noto area of South Eastern Sicily. The beautiful Galleria has recently been reopened after many decades of abandonment, and in the…
Continue reading ➞ A newly restored treasure of Sicilian Art Nouveau
Messina has a special connection to its Parton the Virgin Mary. Not only does she welcome the ships into the port with her giant golden statue at the entrance of the naturally formed inlet. She has many churched dedicated to her, and her image is at the centre of the city’s immense faith and religious…
Continue reading ➞ Messina’s Madonna
I love walking around and exploring the streets of Messina. This city is filled with many treasures, and its details tell many stories. The beauty of the world is always found in small pieces of beauty. Like in the moments we connect to those around us, a handshake, a smile, a quick greeting, the brush…
Continue reading ➞ Walking around Messina
Sicily is famous for its ceramics, designed in the classic Maiolica glazed style with delicate baroque patterns. One of the most characteristic pieces of Sicilian ceramics and those who stimulate the most interest from visitors are the Moorish head designs, which consist of pairs of pots, cups or jars which depict a fair-skinned woman and…
Continue reading ➞ The truth behind Sicilian ceramic Moorish heads
Of all the major cities in Sicily, Messina is the one with which I am most familiar, simply because it is physically closer to where I live. Palermo can be too decrepit and full of crime, Catania is just plain dirty and dangerous and the others are simply too complicated to travel to for me.…
Continue reading ➞ The city of giants
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