My time in Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, during this trip was packed with wonder, and even if it’s not officially a tarantella, 🎶 “Vitti ‘na crozza” gave me an opportunity to dance under la Fontana dell’Elefante, effectionaltely known as Liotru, in the Piazza Duomo.
Category: Art, Ceramics, Music
Valentine’s Dinner In New York City
Experience Sicily is hosting a very exclusive event on February 16, 2019 to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Sicilian Style, in New York City! We’ve rented a private kitchen and are so excited to have two outstanding chefs to cook dinner for you: Giuseppe Sciurca, from Termini Imerese, Sicily, and Antonino Elia, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Music duo…
Cannoli Documentary Now Viewable On Amazon Prime
It’s out! Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to work with Fusion Box Films as they created “Cannoli, Traditions Around the Table,” a documentary about my favorite pastry and Italian-American heritage. Now you can watch it on Amazon Prime! The film recently won Best Documentary at the NYWIFT’s Film Festival. Congratulations to Andrea Cordaro…
With Each Pump of Lu Sapuni
This beautiful soap dispenser was made for me by ceramic artist Angelo Varsallona, based in Caltagirone. It sits at my kitchen sink in the New York area. I think of Sicily with every pump! Bonus: lu sapuni is how one would say soap in Sicilian. Extra bonus: lu lumiuni or la lumia is how one…
The Days Between Christmas And Epiphany in Sicily
In the days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6, also known as La Befana or Three Kings Day), Sicilians spend time with family and friends and often enjoy festivals and presentations featuring the nativity scene–both performed live with actors or in diorama form, like this one created by Zio Lillo (Uncle Lillo) in Sant’Angelo Muxaro.
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! (Palermo, Church of the Immaculate Conception of il Capo Market)
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.
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…
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…
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…