Experience Sicily

Tag: castelvetrano

  • Stirring Sicily, Day 3: Madonna of the Cutters 

    This morning at sunrise, we walked more than a mile along with the devotees of the Madonna della Tagliata in Castelvetrano. It was very emotional and beautiful to be surrounded by local women chanting the Hail Mary (in Italian) and singing an Ave Maria. | STIRRING SICILY DAY 3

  • Emeralds or Olives

    Who needs emeralds when you can have Nocellara del Belice olives? On Day 3 of Savoring Sicily (our Sept. 22 – Oct. 4, small-group tour), we’ll have lunch at this working olive farm, where you’ll be surrounded by the Centonze family jewels. But, not only lunch. We’ll also have the benefit of the owner taking…

  • I Tried to Bottle It

    This morning in Castelvetrano, an “early spring” encouraged a mimosa tree that normally blooms in March, to bloom now. (Took a moment “to bottle” some sunshine to take home before I got on the plane.)

  • Sicilians Fill My Heart

    After traversing Sicily yesterday, I spent today in Castelvetrano (Trapani Province) with my good friends Sebastiano Chiofalo and Niki Masino, the owners of Gelsomino Imports. It has been the last full day of this adventure, and the theme that keeps filling my heart is the immense generosity of Sicilians. I know I’ve mentioned this before;…

  • Happy Name Day

    January 20 is Saint Sebastian’s Day. I’d like to wish my friends named Sebastian and Sebastiano,  “Buon Onomastico!” In Italy, your name day, i.e., the feast day of the saint for whom you are named, is as important as your birthday. So, if you have a friend named Sebastian, wish him “Auguri di buon onomastico…

  • A Slow Taste of Sicily

    Busiate pasta is particular to western Sicily, specifically Trapani province. It’s special because it’s made to look like ringlets and when it is made by hand, it is created by wrapping the dough around knitting needles. It’s traditionally served with Trapanese style pesto; that is, a pesto made with garlic, some basil, some tomatoes, olive…

  • All Saints Day

    November 1 is All Saints Day, a day to remember all the saints known and unknown. This image is of San Sebastiano from Castelvetrano’s Chiesa di San Domenico. Saint Sebastian, who is the patron saint of police, soldiers, archers, and holy death, was ordered to be killed in the late 3rd century because of his…

  • Sicily’s Sistine Chapel

    The Chiesa di San Domenico in Castelvetrano in Trapani Province is a masterpiece. Originally built in the 1470s when commissioned by the Tagliavia family, the church gained spectacle status once artist Antonio Ferraro da Giuliana and his sons spent three years from 1577-1580 creating the stucco scene above the altar titled “Albero di Jesse,” or…

  • Hand Picked

    Olives are ready to be harvested in October and November. In early October, farmers pick them for eating. Now, at the end of October and into November, they pick them to make olive oil. These beautiful Nocellara del Belice variety of olives from Castelvetrano are picked by hand in order to best preserve the integrity…