And then of course, there are annual and biannual commemorations for deities and patron saints throughout the region that include everything from making ritual breads for Saint Joseph and Saint Blaze and decorating the streets with linens and flowers for the Pentecost, for just two examples, to processions for feasts recognizing Easter, the Madonna, Christ,…
Category: Seasons
Foraging For Wild Fennel In Sicily
‘Tis the season for foraging wild fennel in Sicily. Not to be confused with the bulb fennel we have in our supermarkets in the United States, wild fennel is mostly fronds (the fern-like leaves), and it contains the best flavor when it is young. One finds wild fennel in the mountains and countryside. A keen…
Sicily Is In An Orange Zone
Sicily is currently at the height of its orange producing season, when many different varieties of this beloved citrus fruit are sweet, juicy, and ready to be eaten right from the millions of trees throughout the island. In addition, importantly, Sicilians have reason to celebrate. Today the region moved from being designated a “Red Zone,”…
Sicilian Folk Music Concert This Sunday On Zoom
Concert on Sunday! Register at https://experiencesicily.com/sicilian-folk-music-concert/ Yes, this too is Sicily … On a snowy January day in Palermo Province (2019). The weather outside is frightful, and so, listening to an online concert-lecture of Sicilian folk songs with a bonus rendition of “Winter Wonderland” and more will be perfect this Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3pm…
Beware And Be Kind To The Mandrake Plant
Beware! Attenti! Mandrake (pictured), or Mandragora, is a perennial plant that grows in the Mediterranean. You’ll find them throughout Sicily in the fall and spring. They have long roots with a very short stem. When pulled from the earth, the plant and roots together resemble the human body–both men and women. The mandrake has medicinal…
Sacred Sicily And Lago Di Pergusa
We’re halfway through autumn in the northern hemisphere. Persephone has made her way to the underworld to join her husband Pluto (AKA Hades) to continue her work as Queen of the Underworld. Meanwhile, Demeter, Persephone’s mother, is turning inward and the earth slowly begins its winter cycle. Pictured is Lago di Pergusa, or Pergusa Lake,…
Blue Skies At Sicily’s White Cliffs
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies…at la Scala dei Turchi. La Scala dei Turchi, or Stairs of the Turks, are made of a hard-mud material that is a combination of calcium carbonate and lime mixed with other types of clay and silt, called marl or marlstone. A popular swimming spot, La Scala dei Turchi, in…
Acknowledging The Ancestors On The Day Of The Dead
Halloween, All Saints Day, and November 2–All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead (Giorno dei Morti, or in Sicilian, Un juornu re muorti)–mark the end of the agricultural year and recognize the delicate boundary between the living and the dead. In pre-Christian times, a similar set of Roman-era feast days called Lamuria were…
Today’s Sicily Wine-making Report
This grape mosto may not look too exciting to you, but it is exciting for winemakers! Currently, mosto, or grape juice, is in the midst of the fermentation process. Wine making takes time and patience and practice. See the stainless steel “barrel” in the background? That’s where the magic is happening right now (in a…
The Olive Harvest In Sicily Begins
The end of September is when the olives for eating begin to be harvested. Pictured is a classic ladder made of olive tree wood under an olive tree. (Olives for olive oil are harvested in late October into November, depending on the climate and the fruit, of course!)