Category: Art
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Packed With Punch in Cefalù
Some of the most extraordinary treasures can be found in tiny museums in Sicily, so don’t overlook them! An example is this crater featuring an illustration of a tuna fisherman/fishmonger from 370 to 380 A.D., found in the Mandralisca museum in Cefalù.
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Awe-inspiring Mosaic Designs in Sicily
Every inch of the Cappella Palatina is embellished with intricate mosaics of inlaid marble, colorful stones, and golden glass tiles. This detail illustrates the multi-cultural mix (Norman, Arab, Greek, and Byzantine) that existed during Roger II’s 12th-century rule, when the Palazzo dei Normanni’s chapel was built.
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Medusa And Women’s Power at The Met
Last evening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, we discussed the mythology and iconography of Medusa with Danielle Oteri of Feast on History leading the way. Along with Tony Allicino, and an astute group of attendees, I enjoyed a fascinating discourse about this ancient art and what it told us of women’s…
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Otherworldly In Agrigento, Sicily
Close your eyes and imagine yourself at the foot of the remains of an ancient Greek temple from the 5th century B.C.E., like the Temple of Castor and Pollux, pictured left. After learning about the thriving civilization that built Agrigento in the centuries before the common era from your archaeologist-guide, you’ll then savor a picnic…
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Buona Madonna!
Buona Madonna! This is how my cousin Evelina in Sicily greeted me by text today. So, Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception or la Festa dell’Immacolata to you! Today’s feast recognizes that the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived without original sin — something with which, in Catholic dogma, every person is considered…
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Sicily And The Myth of Demeter and Kore
The leaf-less trees along my morning walks in the New York City area are a painful reminder that winter’s arrival is imminent. And so, I think of earth’s seasonal cycles, which for centuries were explained by the myth of Demeter and Kore: Hades, the God of the Underworld, abducted the maiden Kore while she was…
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Ancient Sicilian Devotion
As we prepare for our annual Feast of Santa Lucia on Sunday, Dec. 9 in NYC at Cacio e Vino (Details and register at https://experiencesicily.com/events/festa-di-santa-lucia/), we must first start long before Lucia’s time, in the 7th century B.C.E. During this ancient Greek era, women devotees prayed to the goddesses Persephone and Demeter for healthful fertility…
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Beyond The Bend: Licodia Eubea
Beyond the bend is a small town with a lot of heart: Licodia Eubea. Join us on Wed., Nov. 28 at 7PM for “An Evening in Licodia Eubea,” featuring a reading by writer and native of Licodia Eubea, Natale Caruso. Meet old friends and make new for a social with light refreshments, music, and literary…
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In May, Take Your Breath Away
One of the most magnificent experiences you could have in Sicily is attending the festival of ancient Greek theater in Siracusa in the 5th century B.C.E. ancient Greek theater. Last May, our tour groups were each fortunate to have seen one of the productions in rotation–like this one pictured, Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus, which was…