Happy International Women’s Day! I offer this statuette of the goddess Cybele, the ancient mother goddess from Anatolia, as homage to all of the mothers and women in leadership and caretaking positions. Your power is profound and inspirational. You all have goddesses within! This marble piece is Roman from 1st-2nd century AD, based on a…
Category: Art, Ceramics, Music
Sicily’s International Folk Music Festival
Now until March 10 is the annual Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore (Almond Blossom Festival) in Agrigento. The festival is a 10-day extravaganza of events, the heart of which focus on folk music from around the world. I’ve yet to attend the festival that attracts everything from Mexican Mariachi bands to Japanese drummers. During this…
Me and Vincenzo Bellini
Celebrity Selfie Alert! Well, sort of. While in Catania in January, I took the opportunity to take a photo with the composer Bellini at the (You guessed it.) Giardino Bellini. Catania and Sicily are very proud of their “son,” the opera composer, Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835). Bellini was born into a family of musicians in Catania…
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.
Feel Like King And Queen This Valentine’s In New York City
These lovers will greet you on Saturday, Feb. 16 during our Experience Sicily Valentine’s Sicilian Style in New York City event. Just like in Sicily, where ceramic planters featuring the heads of queens and kings seem ever present, your table this weekend will be graced with such icons, so you’ll feel like you’re in Sicily!…
My Grandfather’s Craft
When my grandfather Vincenzo Scola first came to the United States from Sicily in 1913, he worked as a marble mason in Wisconsin. Years later, he made this marble piece, featuring his and my grandmother’s wedding photo. It’s one of my prized possessions.
Take A Trinacria
Hand-painted chair with Trinacria by R. Caputo of Laboratorio Artistico Roberto Caputo; More about the Trinacria, Sicily’s ancient symbol, at https://experiencesicily.com/2015/07/24/3-feet-a-head/
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,…
I Wore It As A Sun Hat To Bring It Home From Sicily
Yesterday, when completing some home improvement projects, I remembered bringing home this lampshade from the island of Stromboli. I wore it as a sun hat to get it on the plane (convincing, right?)! The memory reminded me that each of these artisanal products pictured were made with river reeds: the lampshade, storage baskets of all…
Always Make Time To Dance
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.