Category: Fashion, Traditional Dress
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What She Wore
19th century traditional dress of a woman from the “environs of Agrigento.”
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Salt Jewelry
Jewelry-designer Daniela Neri created this unique necklace that recalls a Sicilian cart. Oh, I would have loved to buy this, but for now, I’ll settle for the two pairs of earrings she designed that I purchased. Daniela is a native of Trapani, and she takes the salt from the local salt flats and makes “coral”…
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Chestnuts… in an Open Basket
These two figurines from Palermo’s Museo Etnografico Giuseppe Pitrè are carrying traditional baskets filled with foodstuffs. The woman carries eggs, and the man, it’s hard to say. I’m going to venture to guess that perhaps he’s carrying chestnuts or “castagne.” This is the season for harvesting chestnuts–and like the olive festivals also celebrated in November,…
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Made in Sicily
Before purchasing any kind of souvenir, I recommend you ask where it was made. Many items appear to have been made in Italy or Sicily, yet in fact, they were made somewhere else… far, far away. There are beautiful, handcrafted items that are made in Sicily, sometimes that were crafted following centuries’ old traditions. These…
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Hand-painted Wishes
“Auguri per il Matrimonio” (“Best Wishes for Marriage”), detail from my father’s toy, hand-painted Sicilian cart. Painted in Bagheria by Onofrio Ducato.
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A Superb and Heterogeneous Civilization
“For more than twenty-five centuries we’ve been bearing the weight of a superb and heterogeneous civilization, all from outside, none made by ourselves, none that we could call our own,” wrote Giuseppe di Tomasi Lampedusa in his novel “Il Gattopardo,” or “The Leopard.” Published posthumously in 1958, the story about a prince and his family…
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Palermo Soccer Club: Rosanero
This is one of my prized possessions: my Palermo soccer team jacket. Soccer, or “calcio” in Italian, is Italy’s religion after Catholicism. I don’t say that lightly. In Sicily, there are many professional teams, but the top-ranked club from the region is the Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo (“Palermo” for short and “rosanero” for those…
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Ancient Greek Drums in Sicily
This ancient lekanis dipicts women holding drums (Why I was interested in it!). Lekanides were ceramic vessels often used by women to store items or serve food (The lid could be overturned and used as a second serving dish.). I don’t know the age of this one (Unfortunately, I didn’t make a note when I…
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Abballati! Abballati! A Traditional Tarantella
“Abballati, abballati, Fimmini schetti e maritati, E si n’abballati bonu, Non vi cantu e non vi sonu…” “Abballati Abballati!” is a traditional Sicilian tarantella. “Abballati” is an invitation to dance… “Single and married women (next verse: single and married men), and if you don’t dance well, I’m not going to sing or play for you!”…