Santa Rosalia, as illustrated in this year’s Archi di Pasqua… Created in a mosaic style using cereals. She is depicted holding a skull, which is a reminder of our mortality.
Tag: demetre
Gifts From Mother Earth
The chandeliers that line the main corridor of San Biagio Platini’s Archi di Pasqua (Arches of Easter) are made with natural materials. Citizens of the town spend months creating these works of art that celebrate the gifts from Mother Earth.
Circular Loaves For Maria Santissima
The Maria Santissima or Madonna brotherhood side of the Archi di Pasqua in San Biagio Platani, Sicily is decorated in blue and features artwork illustrating the legends and myths of Sicily and its saints and ancient divinities. Pictured here is the entrance archway that displays the cuddura circular bread (behind the white, glazed bread loaves)…
Cuddura Bread Loaves For The Mother
Bread loaves created in the form of a circle or doughnut may be found all over Sicily. The name, “cuddura” bread (also called cuddureddi), comes from the ancient Greek word kollura (or kuddura), which means crown. The loaves are shaped as such so that shepherds and those working in the grain fields and vineyards could…
This Little Piggy Went to the Thesmophoria
Terracotta statuettes of Demeter holding a piglet have been found at archaeological sites throughout the landscapes of ancient Greater Greece. Such statuettes often indicate that at the site where they were found, there was once a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess of the earth, agriculture, and fertility. In archaeological museums throughout Sicily you will see…
We’re Waiting for Her
Terracotta statuette of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, from Morgantina’s North Sanctuary, c.300 BC.
Hail Demeter, Hail Kore
Demeter and Kore-Persephone were fervently venerated in Sicily in ancient times. This exhibit from the Regional Archaeological Museum at Aidone features two acroliths (That is, sculptures that have been constructed of stone, such as marble, and other materials, such as, in this case, iron, and draped with fabric) most likely depicting the mother goddess and…