Category: Fashion, Traditional Dress
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Wearable Sicilian Art
This work of art… I mean, bracelet… was hand crafted by Marilita Borgese for Pizzi & Merletti of Palermo. Available exclusively in the U.S. from Gelsomino Imports, LLC, it was created using a technique called tatting in English. In Italian, it is known as “chiacchierino,” which literally means “little chatting” because women chat while they…
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Sophisticated Shopping
Coral jewelry is a popular item to purchase from Sicilian craftsmen in towns like Taormina.
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Tataratà: Say It and You’ll Understand
This past Sunday, the town Casteltermini held the Festa di Santa Croce e Sagra del Tataratà. Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta went to see this antique feast and took some magnificent photos which I’ll share over the next few days. Annually held on the fourth Sunday of May, the medieval feast features, among other traditions, citizens…
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Irrisistable Kitsch
On my recent visit to Taormina, I couldn’t resist purchasing these earrings featuring Sicilian carts.
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Bella Tarantella
Today, the tarantella (shown in this painting) is still alive and danced and played socially in many parts of southern Italy. In modern-day Sicily, however, it’s danced most often by organized folk music and dance ensembles at feasts and festivals. There remains a very strong folk music culture throughout the island, where you’ll find musicians…
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A Woman with a Vision
A working woman with a vision: detail from a painting in the chambers at Palermo’s Palazzo dei Normanni, the house of Sicily’s parliament.
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Delicate Craft
Delicate enough to be framed, this lace necklace (photographed at Villa Trigona in Piazza Armerina), was created with a technique called tatting. Tatting, which is called “chiacchierino” in Italian, is a craft that’s been practiced by Sicilian women for centuries. Designs are created using thick thread that is manipulated by hand in a series of…
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He Awaits
A young ring bearer waits for the bride to arrive in front of the Duomo at Cefalù.
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Portrait of a Young Woman
Portrait of a young Sicilian baroness, 1906, from Villa Trigona.