Viva Santa Rosalia! Viva Palermo! Annually on July 15, devotees of Santa Rosalia, the patroness of Palermo, solemnly process her sacred relics through the city. The ritual is held in commemoration of the miracle that she performed in 1624 and 1625 when Sicily’s capital was under siege from a plague that mortally cursed more than…
Tag: feast
The Staff, Wreath, And Palm: Ritual Bread For Saint Joseph’s Day
Join me to recognize St. Joseph’s Day on Thursday, March 18 at 8PM Eastern. Register at https://experiencesicily.com/st-josephs-day-online/ You’ll learn more about the feast. Such as, on traditional St. Joseph’s Day altars or le tavolate di San Giuseppe, you will see these three types of loaves pictured. On the left is the staff (vastuni), which represents…
Ritual Bread For Saint Joseph
Food historians believe grains were introduced to Sicily in approximately 1000 BCE by the Phoenicians. By 150 BCE, during the Roman era, grain became the base of island’s cuisine. By 1000 CE, during the Arab era, the majority of Sicily’s landscape was dedicated to grain agriculture, and that remains true today. Once you learn the…
Join Us Thursday For Saint Joseph’s Day Online
Join me on Thursday, March 18 at 8PM Eastern for an online presentation for Saint Joseph’s Day. More details and register at https://experiencesicily.com/st-josephs-day-online/ San Giuseppe is the patron of fathers, carpenters, and those who toil for their work. He is probably Sicily’s most important saint.
W Sant’Agata!
Viva Sant’Agata! Word spread throughout Sicily about the brutality that Agatha endured and how she stood strong in her Christian faith through it all (as recounted in yesterdays’ post). Over time, her cult grew. That brings us to contemporary Catanian’s devotion to the virgin martyr that reaches a fever pitch during the annual feast from…
Start Making Your Cuccìa For Santa Lucia Now
Sunday, Dec. 13 is the Feast of Santa Lucia. For those who wish to make cuccìa (pictured) with Alessia of Smile and Food during our online feast event (Details and registration at https://experiencesicily.com/santa-lucia-2020/ ), you should start planning now. Your farro (wheat berries) need to soak in water for 72 hours (and change the water…
The Street Exuded Joy In Sicily
Although today is the feast of Sant’Anna, I’m recalling last July when, along with our Experience Sicily Life in A Remote Sicilian Town tour group, we were communing with the locals of Licodia Eubea for the feast of Santa Margherita, their patron saint. The Strada Lunga was decorated with luminare, the bars and gelaterie were…
There’s More To Sicily’s Santa Rosalia Than You Might Think
For many years I’ve worn on my wrist a bracelet of red roses with a charm of Santa Rosalia. I purchased the first one years ago when I visited the sanctuary for La Santuzza on the top of Mount Pellegrino. I’ve replaced it a couple of times with the same €2 souvenir purchased at the…
If We Need Santa Rosalia, It Is Now
During the late spring and summer of 1624, Palermo was under siege from a plague that cursed more than 10,000 inhabitants. Things were looking pretty bleak until in early July, when a lost hunter had a vision: Santa Rosalia appeared to him and promised to help him and the city of Palermo once he followed…
Modica, Sicily And Saint Peter And Saint Paul
Today is the feast day of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Peter, of course, is the protector of Rome (and popes too). But importantly (For my family especially, since my father is named Peter and I come from a long line of fishermen), he is the patron saint of net-makers, shipbuilders, and fishermen, and…