A few weeks ago I shared a photo of the impressive bell tower near the Duomo of Messina and was surprised by the level of interest in this landmark, hence this post. I’ve been taking people to visit the bell tower ever since moving to Sicily. The mechanical aspects of the tower are a little…
Continue reading ➞ The clockwork marvel at Messina
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
Daphne’s house: Giardini Naxos, Castelmola and Taormina Taormina is a beautiful town to explore but it is terribly touristy and there are many other things to see in the vicinity. Be sure to visit Casa Cuseni an historic house which became like a real character in one of the best books around about Sicily…
Continue reading ➞ A Sicilian wish list for the summertime
Venero Armanno's trio of Sicilian themed novels is a significant accomplishment, written masterfully by the son of Sicilian migrants with a powerful dedication to Sicily. The volcano is a novel of emotion, passion and fire set in the shadowlands around Etna and tells us of the epic journey of Emilio Aquila. The book…
Continue reading ➞ A journey to the Volcano with Venero Armanno
There is something about Sicilian's and their local bar. I too am addicted to my morning espresso. There is nothing like swaggering into your local cafe and ordering the 'black gold' even though you are usually surrounded by strange men. I need caffeine stimulation.
When I was a child I had an Uncle who was terribly capricious, a real joker (he still is until this day) and he took great pleasure in teaching my brother and I all the colourful Italian swear words possible. My Uncle thought it was all terribly funny and hoped we’d use them in front…
Continue reading ➞ Sicilian’s flare for uttering profanities
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
A detail of the bell tower of Messina. I was looking through some old shots the other day and I loved the elegance of this shot, even if it was sweltering when I took the picture. The cockerel crows every midday and midnight in the Piazza Duomo of Messina. He begins an elaborate dance of clockwork…
Continue reading ➞ Clockwork Messina
1. Ask for a discount, cos you can! Its normal to ask for a discount on expensive items particularly jewelry, designer items and white goods. Ask for it, demand it and you will get it! 2. Be careful with technology GPS off the main roads and the autostrada has a tendency to take you off…
Continue reading ➞ 5 things you probably didn’t know about Italy
This one's dedicated to literally hundreds of neglected dirty cherubs all around Sicily and Italy who are awaiting restoration. They are adorable just the same.
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
It is common in Sicily to see people living in unfinished houses or apartments with exposed bricks, cement and reinforced steel poking out dangerously like rusty modern sculptures on roofs left behind as it to say: ‘I could build a second storey if I feel like it, ora vediamo ...' Yes, the quintessential loitering phrase…
Continue reading ➞ The Sicilian art of the incomplete
I’ve been wanting to post about my visits to Etna and how the volcano has always been a rich source of inspiration for me. Her latest eruptions have given me the motivation to get to writing about her. Yes to the Sicilian’s Etna, is very much a ‘she,’ a strong female symbol of…
Continue reading ➞ The inspiration of Etna
I’ve always been a coffee drinker. I started off with instant stuff, then graduated to frothy cappuccino, milky latte and now I live in Italy it’s one hundred percent hardcore espresso. I briefly flirted with tea drinking in my youth, in the anglo saxon tradition of taking afternoon tea, so common in England loving Australia…
Continue reading ➞ A coffee temptation
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