Pinecones are a powerful symbol that you’ll see all over Sicily and southern Italy in ceramic (like these shown) on balconies, front gates, and prominently displayed inside homes. The significance of pinecones in modern times is one of hospitality and welcoming, but not only. The pinecone as a botanical is a reproductive organ. Female pinecones…
Category: Ceramics
Sicilian Ceramics By Mirella Pipia
The beautiful ceramics of Mirella Pipia need to be shared! Mirella Pipia hails from Bagheria, where you can visit her workshop and boutique. An artist in every sense of the word, Pipia’s works are inspired by the myths and folklore of Sicily, but even more so by her mother’s needlework in tadding and lace. So…
A Sciacca Scene
Sciacca, on Sicily’s southern coast, is one of the region’s ceramic centers. The fishing town is also renowned for its coral jewelry and outstanding fresh fish.
The Nativity Scenes Of Caltagirone, Sicily
Today, Saint Stephen’s Day, is a national holiday in Italy. Traditionally, Sicilians and Italians spend the day with family and friends visiting presepi di Natale, or nativity scenes, like this one pictured from Caltagirone, a city renowned for its ceramic presepi. In fact, the city is home to a museum of nativity scenes that boasts…
Sicily’s Head Of Hades
Until Sunday, August 8, this magnificent “Head of Hades,” also known as Barbablù will be in a special short exhibition at the Museo Archeologico Regionale “Antonino Salinas” – Palermo. The head, which is normally housed in the Museum at Aidone in Enna Province, was brought to Palermo briefly in order to promote the Barbablù Fest,…
Palermo Next Level: Salinas Archeological Museum For Antiquities
Palermo’s Salinas archeological museum hosts many treasures from antiquity. Many of the findings from Selinunte are housed here, including these late-4th/mid-3rd century BCE terracotta statuettes, made in the style of those traditionally made in Tanagra, Greece north of Athens. They were found in a Punic grave site.
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 | #10. The Crowds Slip Away
This is Sicily.
More Sicilian Ceramics In Burgio
Burgio, a remote mountain town in Agrigento province, is one of Sicily’s ceramic centers, where for centuries different family studios created distinct pottery. Different from Santo Stefano di Camastra, Caltagirone, and Sciacca, most of Burgio’s are most depicted on tan-colored and off-white beds. If looking for an off-the-beaten path stop, it’s a great place to…
Votive Offerings Through The Millennia
Archaeologists are very careful to identify to whom an ancient temple is dedicated until they have concrete evidence (and I don’t just mean concrete in the sense of stone!). In Siracusa, for example, we know that the temple to Apollo on Ortigia is for Apollo because there is an inscription on the east-facing stairs stating…