Seeing this sculpture in person earlier this month was very moving. At the site of Gibellina Vecchia, a town in southwestern Sicily that was flattened by the January/February 1968 earthquakes, a stunning exhibition of 8,000 square meters of concrete has transformed the ruins of what were once homes, businesses, and public spaces. Grande Cretto or il Cretto by artist Alberto Burri was completed in 2015. The stunning monument took 30 years to create.
Allison Scola is founder, owner, and curator of Experience Sicily and the Cannoli Crawl. Named one of the experts for the 2019 New York Times Travel Show, Scola writes and lectures on Sicily and leads immersive tours and designs custom itineraries that delight discerning travelers. She has been featured on Rudy Maxa’s World with the Carey’s, America’s #1 Travel Radio Show and as the cannoli expert in the documentary Cannoli, Traditions Around the Table. Scola has lectured about Sicily at University of Pennsylvania, The New School, LIU Post University, Queens College, Westchester Italian Cultural Center, at high schools in the New York City metropolitan area, and at events in New York City.
