Experience Sicily

Tag: new york city

  • A Bride and A Drum 

    When I learn how old an object like this vase from Sicily is, it puts things into perspective. I was thrilled to see this in person at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York a couple of weeks ago. Dated to have been made between 300 and 200 B.C.E., this polychrome terracotta jar associated…

  • I’m a Magnet

    Yesterday my friend Renee and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Last week, I thought, “I love museums, and I always go when I travel: Why not in my own town?” It had been a while since I’d been to The Met, so I proposed it. Of course, I…

  • Dancing in the Hall of Mirrors

    Tarantella anyone? Villa Palagonia, a band featuring guitarist Joe Ravo, bassist Greg Maker, percussionist Dave Mancuso, and me, Allison Scola, on vocals, clarinet, guitar, and frame drums, will be performing this coming Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7PM in New York City at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 (185 Orchard Street). We invite you to come…

  • Join Us in NYC this Tuesday 

    For those of you in the New York City area, please join us for Experience Sicily with Villa Palagonia, Tues., Aug. 30 at 6:30 PM at the Italian American Museum, 155 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013, $10 Donation. Reservations are encouraged, as space is limited. RSVP, ItalianAmericanMuseum@gmail.com.  Multifaceted guitarist Joe Ravo and multi-instrumentalist and singer…

  • Dancing in the Garden

    Bagheria’s Villa Palagonia inspired me and my husband, guitarist Joe Ravo, to name our folk duo for it. Here we are in its garden surrounded by the estate’s fantastic statues. Join us on Sun., Sept. 13 at 8PM Eastern Daylight Time for a live internet concert from our home in New York City. Tune in…

  • Thank You Michelina

    Sicily experienced mass emigration from the late 19th century into the early-20th century. To give you perspective, in 1880, 884 people from Sicily were documented as emigrants to other countries, while in 1906 that number was 127,603 (according to Sandra Benjamin’s book “Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History”). The year that saw the largest…

  • Celebrating What Once Was and What Now Is

    When immigrants from Tindari and Patti, Sicily came to New York at the turn of the 20th century, they brought with them the tradition of celebrating the Black Madonna or “Madonna Bruna.” Although East 13th Street has changed significantly in the last 50 years and Sicilians en masse  no longer live in the East Village,…