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
The cult of the Patron Saint was developed by the early church which used the established pagan desire for multiple gods to lead people towards the Roman Catholic religion. Reinforced by the Spanish domination of eighteenth-century Sicily, the Italian peninsular still finds itself celebrating endless saintly patrons during the year, a tradition also widely practised…
Continue reading ➞ A Sicilian female trinity
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
Sicily’s rich history, culture and literature are filled with endless stories, and so one writer or interpreter visiting here will never come up with a definitive interpretation, each experience will remain unique. Sicily has many faces and reflections, depending on where and when you visit and who you meet, it is impossible ever to finish…
Continue reading ➞ Seeking Sicily an interview with John Keahey
There are literally hundreds of museums in Sicily as humanity has made its home here since prehistoric times. You can get lost in amongst the limitless exhibitions of ancient Greek artefacts, fossils and ceramics and risk museum burnout. The best way to avoid exorbitant museum visitation is to select a few which spark a particular…
Continue reading ➞ Sicily’s most intriguing museums
Possibly one of the most fascinating relics left behind by Sicily’s many conquerors must be the impressive array of fortresses and castles. These majestic fabrications are not for the faint hearted as they are often located in strategic places high up in the mountains or dotted around the harsh coastal escarpments all around the island. It…
Continue reading ➞ In love with Sicilian Castles
The beginning of Autumn in Sicily can be abrupt. The gradual changes from one season to the next are now a thing of the past, there are no more slightly shortening days or time for the leaves to go from greens, yellows, warm rusty reds or browns, now the fall begins with heavy rains and…
Continue reading ➞ Fall in Sicily
Elio Vittorini’s Conversations in Sicily has been on my reading list for a while and I was delighted to find the original English translation in the Amazon Kindle store compete with an introduction from Ernest Hemingway so I immediately snapped it up. However, for some unknown reason, it was never delivered and after several emails,…
Continue reading ➞ Conversations with Elio Vittorini and his critics
I love all things Vintage so I was so happy when I came across this vintage souvenir from Messina. In the series of postcards the landscape of the city, the port and the mountains on the other side of the strait at Calabria are always the same yet the infrastructure is ever-changing.…
Continue reading ➞ Vintage Messina
The sport of hunting is widely diffused all over Sicily and Italy. The Greenie in me is terribly uncomfortable about living side by side with this sport. However I can understand the cultural value of this tradition as it has connections to the proud agricultural world, the community and families from the past.…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Sicily: The art of hunting
I'm a bit of a postcard addict, always on the lookout for original or vintage images from wherever I am visiting. I recently found this great series of cards depicting ancient arts from Sicily. Work that is no longer needed or has simply disappeared as the world has become 'modern'. It saddens me to…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Sicily: ancient crafts
Sicilian playing cards are works of art. There are many versions around, these ones are Neapolitan and I picked them up at my local Tabaccheria. This is the ace of spades a wonderfully baroque angel holding a cascade of flowers and an Arabic vector. I grew up playing Sicilian card games and love the…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Sicily: playing cards
I’ve always been a lover of the travel writing genre, ever since my mother gave me a paperback of Bill Bryson’s ‘Neither here nor there’ which took me backpacking through Europe before I left high school. Since then I have made my way through many travel writing classics from Paul Theroux to Bruce Chatwin. Many…
Continue reading ➞ A Sicilian Summer with Brian Johnston
Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s The Leopard (Il gattopardo) is my favourite Sicilian novel of all time. The sumptuous world of the Prince of Salina is a precious link to Sicily’s baroque aristocracy. It also inspired one of the best international cinematic productions with the classic 1963 film adaptation directed by Luchino Visconti starring Burt Lancaster as…
Continue reading ➞ Literary Islands: Giuseppe di Lampedusa
This year I was fortunate enough to get to San Leone’s ‘festa’ at Longi (20th Feb) which I find is generally more traditional and particular then the one celebrated at Sinagra (even if I love them both!) I liked the solemn religiosity and playfulness of Longi’s interpretation of this Saint’s celebration. Not only does the…
Continue reading ➞ E viva San Leone … E musica
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