If you are a cook, you probably could guess what this ancient cooking implement is that I photographed in the archaeological museum of the ancient city of Himera near Termini Imerese. What do you think it is? We just added another Cooking In Sicily: Stirring Sicily tour to our 2022 schedule from September 14 to…
Category: Art, Ceramics, Music
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #51. Imaginative Ceramics
Throughout Sicily there are various ceramic centers that developed over the centuries around natural sources of clay. Of course, the raw material is one thing, but more significant, however, are the artists and painters that produce and imagine the remarkable designs and/or playful scenes found on plates, bowls, pinecones, heads of men and women, vases,…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #37. Live Classical Theater in an Acient Greek Amphitheater
Attending these performances between May and early July each year, is, as one of my clients pointed out, magnificent: Walking through the historic archaeological park to arrive at the ancient amphitheater, being a part of an equally eager audience, and then, the performance itself. It’s absolutely extraordinary!
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #22. Strolls Through Public Gardens
Strolls through public gardens offer a different kind of exploring. Villa Giulia, an oasis of greenery in Palermo that was commissioned in 1777, presents you with a geometric layout accentuated with neoclassical band shells and allegorical statues. In the midst of the park, is the Villa Giulia version of the Genius of Palermo, or the…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #15. Joyful Folk Art
Such wagons where used for centuries to transport goods throughout the island. Drivers were known for their melismatic songs, which were often employed to entertain each other at rest stops and to stay awake while traveling during the night, when it was cooler to protect the fish, fruit, vegetables or other such perishable goods they…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #10. The Crowds Slip Away
This is Sicily.
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #6. Royal Fairytales Are Real
Housed in the treasury of Palermo’s Cathedral, this work of art was created between 1220 and 1222. It was designed in Palermo in a Byzantine-Arab style and composed of gold, precious gems, semi-precious stones, pearls, filigree, glazes, and silver. According to scholar Jacqueline Alio, the Holy Roman Empress was interred wearing the crown. “It has…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #3. Palermo Goes To 11
Then there are ancient sites next to psychodelic baroque (Chiesa di Santa Caterina and Casa Professa, to name just two mind-blowing experiences!) next to Arab-Norman style architecture, next to Liberty Style… Oh, and royal palaces! Check out these mosaic-tiled lions (pictured) in the chambers of Roger II from the 12th century. And don’t forget Castello…
Bagheria’s Cove Of The Heart
In Sicily, you’ll come upon guerrilla art often, like this heart placed at Bagheria’s Tre Piscine (the three pools), now with the secondary name Cala del Cuore (Cove of the Heart). It’s one of my most favorite places in the world. Rugged and hard to get to if you’re not prepared for it, it’s a…