I know you may be thinking about shopping. It’s impossible not to when your inbox is full of special deals. Well, we at Experience Sicily during this time of year always offer early registration incentive discounts of up to $300 for most of our next season’s small group tours. Just visit our 2024 Tour Page…
Tag: history
Temple E Is Electric
Today considered Europe’s largest archeological site, Selinunte was a Greek city built on the southwestern coast of Sicily by colonists from the eastern Sicilian Greek outpost of Megara Hyblea. Founded around 651 BC, it displayed its power by building massive temples dedicated to various gods, like this one pictured, Temple E, which scholars believe was…
Ancient Meets Contemporary
Quattro Canti, where the four ancient quarters of Palermo meet at the intersection of Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, is also known as Teatro del Sole. As you can see from this photo by my cousin Filippo Buttitta, throughout each day and throughout each season, the sun lights up the statues on the four…
Wheat
Wheat is one of the key elements to understanding Sicily. For millennia, wheat was Sicily’s main agricultural product and economic engine. The Greeks cultivated grain from the time they arrived on the island 700 years before the Common Era. Demeter, goddess of grain and the harvest, was central to eastern Sicilians’ religion because of her…
They Left Their Mark
Arab-Norman architecture in Mazara del Vallo
Savoring Sicily, Day 4: The Wonder in Their Eyes
Visiting the temples for the gods never gets old! For our fourth day of Savoring Sicily, we spent the morning making our way through the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. The best part for me is seeing the wonder in our clients’ eyes when they see this magnificent, 2-km long UNESCO site. Behind me,…
The Admiral’s Seven Arches Bridge
This seven-arched bridge once crossed the Oreto River (now dried up or relegated to flow underground) on the south-east side of Palermo’s historic center. Known as the Ponte dell’Ammiraglio, or Admiral’s Bridge, it was built in 1113 by Roger II’s emir of emirs, George of Antioch. Today, this wonder of Arab-Norman architecture sits in a…
Bridge Over the Kemonia River
It’s hard to imagine today, but in ancient times, Palermo’s harbor extended south into the city, and two rivers fed it: The Papireto and the Kemonia. The Kemonia has long since dried up; however, locals keep its memory present with this sign that translates to “Here was the bridge over the Kemonia river.”
History or PR?
The crumbling, probably 14th century, coastal warning tower at Isola delle Femmine reminds us of the legends of how this island got its name. There are three theories that I learned from the locals of the mainland town by the same name: in the 16th century, it was a women’s prison, in the 19th century,…
Homes throughout Sicily possess ironwork over their principal doorways that reveals their histories. The crescent window decoration over my great great grandfather Vincenzo Scola’s home possesses a V and S for his initials, indicating that he built the house. #experiencesicily #ironwork #window #finestra #storia #history #familyhistory #famiglia #porticello #palermo #sicily #sicilia #siciliabedda #italy #italia #sicily_tourism…