Tag: festival

  • Dress for Success 

    This weekend in the southeastern Sicilian town of Pachino, they are celebrating the “Inverdurata di Pachino,” a festival that features local agricultural production. In this case, it is their renowned sweet cherry tomatoes–here used to create a dress along with orange, lemon, cucumbers, and onion slices (there may be some celery and zucchini mixed in…

  • It Holds the Pasta 

    This Thursday, Aug. 11, the town of Salemi celebrates the 12th Edition of the Sagra della Busiata; That is, a culinary festival dedicated to the corkscrew-shaped, long pasta particular to Trapani province. In this photo, taken in May by Vincent Titone, I am attempting to make busiate. Our Sicilian hostesses in Castellammare del Golfo made…

  • So Beautiful, It Must Go

    A close-up of one of Noto’s flower petal carpets from the 2016 Infiorata. Once the weekend festival comes to and end, the children of the town are invited to gleefully destroy the art work, a gesture that represents a new generation coming and letting going of the past. (Photo Credit: Experience Sicily’s local guide Sebastiano…

  • The Power of Flower Petals in Noto

    The 37th annual Infiorata in Noto is in full swing! Hundreds of people from around the world lined via Nicolaci on Saturday to view the flower carpets designed after the theme, “Traditions, myths, and legends” that celebrates “Hosting the world.” I’m fortunate to have received this photo from Experience Sicily’s local guide Sebastiano Garifo. Thank…

  • Behind the Scenes at Noto’s 2016 Infiorata

    Today, artists were hard at work along via Nicolaci in Noto preparing their entries into the 2016 Infiorata. Our good friend GelsominoImports.com is fortunate enough to be in the Baroque city for the festival. These photos by Niki Masino give us a good idea of the planning and execution of the flower petal carpets. Hopefully,…

  • Flower Power: Noto’s 2016 Infiorata

    Celebrating spring in Noto is a professional sport that takes the form of the annual Infiorata, or flower festival. However, when I say flower, I don’t mean bouquets of fragrant buds placed carefully in vases. No, in Noto, it’s a full-on work of street art in the form of carpets created by flower petals and…

  • Agrigento’s Almond Blossom Festival

    Agrigento has been abuzz in celebration of the annual arrival of the almond blossoms. 2016 is the 71st year that the city, famous for its Valley of the Temples UNESCO World Heritage Site, has held a variety of events recognizing the merits of the almond, the principal crop of the region. Among the events of…

  • Infiorata in San Pier Niceto

    Sebastiano Garifo, Experience Sicily’s local guide sent in this photo from San Pier Niceto in the Province of Messina. This weekend they are celebrating their annual Infiorata festival with flower carpets depicting the Eucharist. Readers of the New York Times may recall an August 2013 article by Russell Shorto, the author of the “New York…

  • Infiorata through Sebastiano’s Eyes

    Experience Sicily’s local tour guide Sebastiano Garifo is in Noto tonight, and he sent me this photo of this year’s Infiorata flower festival to share with you! This photo gives us a great picture of via Nicolaci from la Chiesa di Montevergini, the church at the top of the avenue. Visitors from all over the…