This weekend in Trabia, the town that has documentation of being the first place to have made pasta (more than a century before Marco Polo returned from China), citizens celebrated the 26th Edition of Trabia in Sagra. Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta was there today with her family to enjoy this Sicilian cart on exhibition as…
Category: Fashion, Traditional Dress
Form and Function with La Vucciria
If I rode a scooter in Sicily, this is the helmet I would want: One that has Renato Guttuso’s (1912-1987) renowned painting La Vucciria (1974) imprinted on it. I saw this one not far from the entrance to the famed Vucciria market on Via Roma in Palermo.
Oh, Amore Mio! Tesore Mio!
Oh, Amore Mio! Tesore Mio! (Oh, my love! My treasure!) … Can’t you hear her say? Love is in the air and on Sicilian carts with their illustrations of chivalry from “Orlando furioso” and other stories of princesses and knights. Master cart painter Michele Ducato in Bagheria showed us this cart, almost completed, in his…
Today Women Claim the Streets
There’s no doubt that men dominate the annual activities of Catania’s Feast of Sant’Agata. The rituals that I’ve explained over the past few days are designed to display devotees’ physical strength and fortitude in tribute to the virgin martyr – – through expressions of traditionally male strength. However, in the past few years, women have…
Let’s Talk Travel and My Dreamy Tote Bag
One of my new prized possessions is this hand-crafted tote bag made by Signora Galfano of Ceramiche Galfano in Castelvetrano. For more than a year I’d been looking for a “practical” bag in which to carry my camera, sunglasses, sunscreen, itinerary book, and water bottle during our tours–after practical, the main requirement was that it…
Serving Up My Smile
Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta was in Cefalù last evening for the street food festival, and she sent me this photo she took knowing that I would love this hand-painted food cart, decorated in the style of the traditional and historic Sicilian cargo-carting carts. 💙💛💚
The Windows Woo Me
And then, there is shopping!
There Will Be Jousting
Speaking of Lords and Ladies, this weekend head to Piazza Armerina for the annual Medieval Festival featuring period music, dance, jousting, and a Palio (horse race)! The citizens of Piazza Armerina don’t fool around–from 12-14 August, the entire town recalls the 11th century, dressing, eating, entertaining, and sporting in the style of the citizens during…
A Bust of Persephone
Clay busts of Kore/Persephone, such as this one pictured from the archaeological museum in Aidone (Enna Province), have been found throughout Sicily, proving the significance of the goddess and her story. In the 5th century to the 3rd century B.C., for example, women devotees prayed to Kore for healthful fertility and protection during various stages…
Shoes and Song
The Museo Etno-Antropologico Annalisa Buccellato in Castellammare del Gulfo possesses a magnificent exhibit of items from past peasant-life in western Sicily. I can’t say enough about the glimpses it gives us into “the old days.” For example, this guitar, which of course, as a musician, attracted my attention. I’ll transcribe for you the explanation of…