Live from Sicily! Day 9 of Experience Sicily Myths & Mysteries of Sicily: As Above/So Below. With the help of Francesco, we explored the excentric mind of the Prince of Palagonia at Villa Palagonia in Bagheria. The estate’s hall of mirrors surprised and begged questions about the owner’s critical mind. Once in the vibrant center…
Category: Architecture
Entrance Elegance In Salemi
Front door, Salemi
Uncovering The Hidden Corners In Palermo
Live from Sicily! One of my favorite things is hearing the awe and wonder in my guests’ reactions once they see Monreale Cathedral Nad its cloister (pictured). You must see it! Palermo has so many hidden corners, like the Church of the Immaculate Conception, for example, that are not easily explored without a guide. Our…
The Easter Bread Arches of San Biagio Platani
Live from Sicily! We’ve experienced so much during these past two days while in Agrigento Province. A highlight has been seeing the work of the two brotherhoods from San Biagio Platini for their annual Archi di Pane, or the Easter Bread Arches. An Easter Sunday procession that unites Jesus and Mary in the center of…
Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo
Built between 1255 and 1277, the Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi has survived earthquakes and Allied bombings. Its facade, designed in 1302, sports a zigzag, Gothic design.
Liberty Style Architecture In Palermo
You may be familiar with the term Art Nouveau, a freer architectural style that swept Europe and the Americas at the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century. Well, differently, in Palermo, Art Nouveau is known as “Liberty Style,” and it was championed by architects Giovan Battista, who designed Palermo’s Teatro Massimo…
Palermo’s Santa Caterina’s Dizzying Baroque
The dizzying rococo baroque decorations of the Church of Santa Caterina, built between 1580 and 1596 on Palermo’s Piazza Bellini, feature multicolored marble inlay. The altar, pictured, is lit by the sun through a window at midday.
A Diamond In The Mishmash of Palermo’s Cathedral
When you visit Palermo’s Cathedral, be sure to go around to the north side of it, pictured. To me, the back side posesses the most beautiful architectural elements of the mishmash of styles that make up this temple dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. The inlaid lava stone designs (AKA intarsias) are from the…
Scraping the Sky: Teatro Andromeda
Scraping the sky of the Sicanian mountains, Teatro Andromeda is a modern sculpture created by artist and shepherd Lorenzo Reina. Although it feels ancient, the theater, which sits 1000 meters (3280 feet) above sea level, was built by Reina one stone at a time over the past 30 years. When you talk with the Lorenzo,…
Embracing The Longest Night
As we observe the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, I recall how beautiful the UNESCO site Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily is at night, when the the monuments, like this, the Temple of Concordia, are lit. Even in ancient times (Concordia was erected between 440 and 430 B.C.E.), it was…