Tag: catania
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Do As the Catenese Do
When in… Sicily… And today, more specifically, Catania… do as the Catenese do! Going deeper, as they say… So, yeah, I ate horse meat today. I know. I know. I normally don’t eat red meat or pork, but I am on a research trip, and in the spirit of an intrepid traveler, my Catanese friends…
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Sicily’s Mount Etna Means Well
Sicily’s volcano Etna, pictured, has been displaying her power this week, both with eruptive activity and an earthquake, centered below the surface of the town of Viagrande on the south slope. Thankfully, the injuries from the quake were limited, and although there was damage to centuries old buildings in the village of Fleri, for example,…
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Sicily And The Myth of Demeter and Kore
The leaf-less trees along my morning walks in the New York City area are a painful reminder that winter’s arrival is imminent. And so, I think of earth’s seasonal cycles, which for centuries were explained by the myth of Demeter and Kore: Hades, the God of the Underworld, abducted the maiden Kore while she was…
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Beyond The Bend: Licodia Eubea
Beyond the bend is a small town with a lot of heart: Licodia Eubea. Join us on Wed., Nov. 28 at 7PM for “An Evening in Licodia Eubea,” featuring a reading by writer and native of Licodia Eubea, Natale Caruso. Meet old friends and make new for a social with light refreshments, music, and literary…
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Explore A Remote Sicilian Town In New York City
Corso Umberto I, Licodia Eubea, photographed in the 1940s … Please join me next Wed., Nov. 28 at 7PM in New York City for an evening of literature and old friends and new ones as we “explore” life in the remote Sicilian town of Licodia Eubea, Sicily. Author Natale Caruso, a native of the town,…
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Then And Now In Licodia Eubea, Sicily
Today I was at the Brooklyn “Club” of the brotherhood of New Yorkers from Licodia Eubea, Sicily in Catania province. My contact, author Natale Caruso, showed me old photos of the town. And well, I have a matching one I took from the castle in May this year to one he had from the 1920s!…
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Custom for the Customer
This is my new soap dispenser, made for me by ceramic artist Angelo Varsallona, who is based in Caltagirone. In May, I went hunting along the famous stairs of the baroque town seeking two different dispensers for our new apartment. When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, Angelo offered to make them for…
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Prickly On The Outside, Sweet On The Inside
This weekend, San Cono in Catania province, which is considered the capital of the prickly pear, will celebrate the bounty of the season at the 34th Annual Sagra del Fico d’India. Cooking demonstrations, workshops about how to cut and eat the tuna (the proper name of the fruit), tastings, and live music are the focus…
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October in Sicily
October in Sicily means harvest festivals and sagras celebrating the abundance of the season. Each Sunday of this month in the town of Zafferana Etnea, pictured, on the east slope of Etna, they host the 40th edition of Ottobrata Zafferanese, a culture and food festival celebrating the typical products of the volcanic region. Each Sunday…