Such wagons where used for centuries to transport goods throughout the island. Drivers were known for their melismatic songs, which were often employed to entertain each other at rest stops and to stay awake while traveling during the night, when it was cooler to protect the fish, fruit, vegetables or other such perishable goods they…
Tag: cart driver
Working Man’s Sicilian Summer Recipes
Thank you so much to everyone who joined me for the Cart Driver’s Pasta online event! It’s so wonderful to share Sicilian culture with you all who appreciate it so much. Your messages and photos make my heart sing! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipes. I look forward to when we can see…
Meet Alessandro
Meet Alessandro Castro, a master accordion player and singer who calls himself “Il Carrettiere di Erice,” or the Cart Driver of Erice. Alessandro specializes in performing Sicilian and Neopolitan songs. You can find him in front of the Castello di Venere at the top of Mount San Giuliano in Erice. I was fortunate enough to…
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…
Wheel of Fortune
Sicilian Cart. (Photo Credit: Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta)
Bagherese Cart Drivers’ Songs
The singer on this cart is performing a traditional cart driver’s song (for a contemporary celebration). This photo was taken in Santa Flavia, near Bagheria. Bagheria is not only renowned for its tradition of building intricately decorated carts, but also for the tradition of virtuosic singing employed by the cart drivers. The drivers’ songs…