There are many treasures in Castelvetrano, and this Fiat 500, painted by Ceramiche Galfano in the style of the Sicilian carts, is one of them. Therefore, on your way to or from Selinunte archaeological park, be sure to leave some extra time to stop by to visit this masterpiece! Galfano has ceramic miniatures for sale…
Tag: caretto siciliano
Reentry Fun
My return from Sicily has been made a bit easier because of beautiful weather in New York City; weather that allows me to wear my “Sicilian Cart” sandals.
Savoring Sicily, Day 10: Connections and Fascinations
During a planned surprise today (a surprise for our guests), Day 10 of Savoring Sicily, we were graciously hosted by Michele Ducato in his workshop. Michele is a fourth generation Sicilian cart painter from Bagheria, and he proudly showed us a cart he’s currently outfitting. We all loved learning about the culture of the carts…
Serving Up My Smile
Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta was in Cefalù last evening for the street food festival, and she sent me this photo she took knowing that I would love this hand-painted food cart, decorated in the style of the traditional and historic Sicilian cargo-carting carts. 💙💛💚
Dressed to Impress
An intricately decorated, more colorful Sicilian cart was a way of showing off the owner’s wealth and success. So, just like if you are driving an elegant, luxury, name-brand car today, a Sicilian cart driver would pay a high price to the cart maker to make his cart more elaborate in order to illustrate his…
The Exotic Parrot Vendor
“Venditore di Pappagalli” (“Parrot Vendor”) detail from my father’s toy, hand-painted Sicilian cart. The cart was painted in Bagheria by Onofrio Ducato. It was given to my dad by his uncle Domenico in 1950.
With This, I’m Easy to Please
My cousins Giulia and Silvana in Palermo gave me this ceramic necklace. They said that they knew I’d love it. They were right!
Traditional Dress of a Sicilian Cart Driver
According to “Il costume popolare in Italia,” a book by Emma Calderini published in 1934, this is an illustration of what Sicilian cart drivers, or carrettiere, typically wore. So, if you need a last-minute Halloween costume idea, you might be able to pull this off! Just know that in addition to transporting goods–often through the…
Bagheria’s Sicilian Carts
While in Bagheria on Wednesday, we had an extraordinary meeting at the workshop of Michele Ducato, one of the last painters of Bagherese Sicilian carts. Pictured is a detail from a cart on which he’s currently working. In addition to learning about the “family business” and the construction of the carts from Michele, Giovanni Di…
High Ho Folk Art!
The bridle gear and breastplates created for the horses that pull the Sicilian carts are elaborate extensions of the carts’ decorations. This detail gives you an idea of this other form of folk art.