No reason to be sad. I’m gonna do right by you. Amunì! I’ve got your ticket to ride. Join me in 2020 for a small-group tour. Use the code YES2020 and pay in-full by February 1, 2020 and receive an additional $150 off of your tour per person. More at Experience Sicily https://experiencesicily.com/2020-tours-of-sicily/. Contact me…
Category: Observations about Culture
The Ancient Art Of Basket Weaving In Sicily
Claudio Romano has a deep knowledge of medicinal herbs and wild plants, especially those from the Hyblaean Mountains of southeastern Sicily. Building on his passion for flora, Romano learned the art of basket weaving, a practice that has existed since humans sought containers to keep their foodstuffs and other products. Watching him work and learning…
Recalling A Time of Chivalry In Sicily
The UNESCO recognized opera dei pupi was a popular form of entertainment in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before film and television, it was a favorite form of diversion for men and boys (It’s actually pretty violent and bawdy!). Our hero Orlando and the knights and their enemies recall the age of chivalry, originating…
Naughty Or Nice: La Befana Knows
The visit of the friendly witch La Befana is celebrated on Epiphany Eve (January 5) throughout Italy. La Befana is recognized because of her broomstick, shawl, and sack filled with sweets and gifts for children. Legend is that she originally set out to meet the Baby Jesus, but never found her way to Bethlehem. To…
Say Yes To Sicily In 2020
Whenever I’m in Siracusa, I make a point to stop by the Antico Mercato in Ortigia to say hello to Angelo. Perhaps my roots as the great-granddaughter of fishermen from Porticello make me feel right at home in amongst the swordfish. TIP: Life is slower in Sicily, so when you are visiting friends and family…
Leave The Past In The Fire
Release today what you don’t want to bring into the new year! There isn’t a long history of celebrating New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day in Sicily. Only over the past century has it become a milestone holiday. Therefore, modern Sicilians celebrate New Year’s Italian-style–eating sausage (cotechino), grapes, and lentils. (Lentils, with their coin-shape,…
Antique Pasta Shop in Sicily
I ate fresh cavatelli pasta made at the “pastaru” (Sicilian for pasta maker or pasta seller) during last year’s Presepe Vivente in Licodia Eubea. Le signore hosting this scene were working hard to feed us hungry guests as we walked through the recreation of their ancient village. You’ll learn how to make fresh cavatelli pasta…
The Old Fashioned Barber In Sicily
Locals acting out how things were done at the old fashioned barber shop during last year’s Presepe Vivente (live nativity scene) presented by the proloco (community board) of Licodia Eubea. The townspeople of Licodia Eubea turned the ancient, abandoned quarter of their village into a living diorama. It’s a fascinating combination of art, theater, and…
Old Fashioned Olive Press In Sicily
At last year’s Presepe Vivente (Living Nativity scene) in Custonaci, Sicily, they presented an old fashioned olive press. For this antique method, ripe olives were placed in the round, stone trough, the horse was attached to the wooden beam, and when he walked in a circle, he pulled the round, upright stone press that crushed…
Live Nativity Scenes In Sicily
Today is Saint Stephen’s Day, a national holiday in Italy. Sicilians and Italians spend the day with family and friends visiting presepi di Natale, or nativity scenes, like this Presepe Vivente that I visited last year in Licodia Eubea in Catania province, where I’ll be hosting our Life in A Remote Sicilian Town tour in…