Category: History
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Tonight: Online Sicily Trivia
Sicilian-Style Trivia Challenge & Happy Hour Today! Friday, October 9 at 7pm (Eastern) Register Now: https://wiccny.webinarninja.com/live-webinars/512255/register. Join me with my friend Carla Gambescia for a fun evening that was created specially by La Dolce Vita University to celebrate La Bella Sicilia! Presented by the Westchester Italian Cultural Center. Here’s a warm-up: What is the architectural…
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Dancing In Piazza Armerina
Waving a red scarf, this woman depicted in the Room of the Dance at the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina wears a decorative dress, elegant jewelry (note her bangles), and red shoes. She’s even sporting a cat eye makeup style! I like this woman! Archeologists think this 3rd/4th century C.E. mosaic was inspired…
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Three Irresistible Sisters In Ancient Sicily
Years ago, when I first saw a photo of this terracotta Gorgon, I thought it was Mayan! But no, it’s ancient Greek-Sicilian, from the 6th century BC, and it was found in Siracusa. Archaeologists know it was part of a relief–not much more is known about it; however, it gives me a chance to tell…
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Castle By The Golf On The Sea In Sicily
The castle at Castellammare del Golfo (which means Castle of the Gulf on the Sea) was first built by the Arabs then rebuild by the Normans and then the Swabians. It once had a drawbridge. Today, from town you can walk across a modern bridge to access it. From this perspective on the sea it…
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The Most Sacred Panorama In The Center Of Sicily
Demeter’s view. Back in ancient times on this spot at the top of the mountain on which perches the city of Enna was a temple dedicated to the mother goddess Demeter. As a most significant deity to ancient Greeks and Romans (The Romans called her Ceres.), this protector of fertility, the harvest, and grains was…
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Cook In Sicily At An Extraordinary Location
It’s hard to describe a day like today would have been because Chef Giuseppe Sciurca and Valeria Signorino do everything 120%. So when I ask them to plan something extraordinary, they come up with something like having a hands-on cooking experience outside under a tree steps from the ancient Greek temple at Himera. I mean,…
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Reaching New Heights In Sicily
I’m on a journey to seek and share joy. Amunì! Let’s go! A photo from May 2019, when I celebrated a joyful day in Selinunte (Photo Credit: Nicholas Gagliano of Studio Uno Photography)
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Windmill On The Salt Flats
A windmill on the salt flats of Marsala, Sicily
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From Cybele To The Black Madonna Of Tindari
These later days of summer during the harvest time are when Sicilians celebrate the Madonna, or “our lady,” the mother, with great reverence — in other words, our planet, Mother Earth. The dark, fertile earth provides for us and gives us sustenance, and since ancient times, throughout the Mediterranean, the spirit of the giving goddess…