You can easily identify Santa Lucia because she holds eyes on a plate. In my last post I mentioned that she denied her promised dowery and hand in marriage to a young pagan man during a period in the early 4th century when Christianity was illegal. Well, she wanted to devote herself to Jesus, and…
Tag: Italy
Santa Lucia in New York City, December 10
Viva Santa Lucia! The Feast of Saint Lucy is approaching. On Sunday, December 10, join me in New York City for our annual lunch to recognize the power of this ancient patroness of light, eyes, sight, insight, and wheat. Lucia lived in the late 3rd century. An early Christian, she devoted herself to Jesus and…
2024 Small Group Sicily Tours Early Incentive Offers
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…
The Florios Of Sicily Novel
I’m reading The Florios of Sicily. It’s hard to put down! I recommend it. Pictured here is the site of “the accident.” I’ll say no more so as not to give anything away. Only that I went swimming here at Le Calette dell’Arenella in July, so it was pretty neat to know exactly the scene…
Walking Alongside The Black Madonna Of Tindari
Last evening, in anticipation for today’s Feast of the Madonna, I made a pilgrimage to Tindari to see the procession of the Madonna Nera, the Black Madonna of Tindari. I’ve been devoted to this Madonna for many years, so to finally be able to attend the feast with other devotees was special for me. Tindari…
September 8 Marks A Rebirth
September 8 is considered the birthday of the Blessed Mother by the Catholic Church. As a result, throughout Sicily this week, there are festivals to celebrate the Madonna. It’s not clear why this date was officially chosen as such; however, let’s consider the cycle for cultivating grain — an essential crop for sustaining life in…
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Was Filmed In Sicily
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was filmed in Sicily in fall 2021. The day they shot this scene at the Ear of Dionysius, my tour group was scheduled to be at the Neapolis Archaeological Park in Siracusa too. Well, you can guess how that went! We explored the early Christian Catacombs instead, which…
NY Times Travel Publishes 36 Hours In Palermo
This weekend’s New York Times Travel features “36 Hours in Palermo” (A New edition, since the last one that was published in 2015). It offers ideas for some off-the-beaten-path things to see and do in a city that I love and that I spend a lot of time in each year (I even wrote and…
A New Film Version Of The Leopard
Back at the end of May, when I was in Palermo, I was fortunate to witness the filming of a new version of Il Gattopardo (or The Leopard), the novel by Giuseppe Tomaso di Lampedusa for Netflix. The Visconti original from 1963 with Burt Lancaster as the nobile Prince Don Fabrizio, will be hard to…
Ten Years Of Experience Sicily
Post 3000 of Experience Sicily! Today, I celebrate 10 years of posting about Sicily on Instagram, Facebook, and WordPress! Yes, I started this adventure ten years ago. For me, it starts here: Bagheria and Porticello, my ancestral towns – – now, my second home (But I now often wonder of it is actually my first…