When you take those “strade brutte,” meaning “ugly roads” that you are afraid for your car to drive down, you’ll see some beautiful scenery, like this hill that exists somewhere between Palermo and Trapani Provinces. (NB those are ruins of an ancient castle on top of the hill)
Tag: Palermo
The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros, Selinunte (Part I)
The ancient Greek community of Selinunte was founded as a sub-colony of Megara Iblea in 651-650 BCE. One of the first sacred sites in the western Sicilian city, which is considered one of the world’s largest archaeological zones, is the Santuario della Malophoros or the Sanctuary of the Fruit Bearer. “Malophoros” implies pomegranates or apples,…
Treasures In Plain Sight in Bagheria
Meanwhile, while walking down the Corso Umberto I in Bagheria…. (Yes, this butcher shop is probably owned by a relation to Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore, who grew up in Bagheria. NB Bagheria has a lot of treasures hidden in plain sight!) Photo Credit: Filippo Buttitta
Recognizing Sicily
It’s hard to get something about Sicily past me without me recognizing it right away, so when watching CNN the past couple of days (for obvious reasons/I usually avoid TV news), when I saw the promotional spot for Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy show that premiers in February, I said, “Wait, that’s the Mother Church…
La Vucciria Isn’t So Cacophonous Anymore
Oh, how much La Vucciria market in Palermo has changed over the last few years! It gets its name because it used to be a butchery (fish and meat) with vendors singing their sales at the top of their lungs from crowded stalls and carts. Not so much anymore (at least during the day). Now,…
A Peek In Palermo
Inside a Palermo pastry shop (from 2019)
Giuseppe “Peppino” Impastato, Organized-Crime Fighter
January 5 is Giuseppe “Peppino” Impastato’s birthday. Impastato was a political activist who vociferously exposed and confronted the mafia in his hometown of Cinisi. After his uncle Cesare Manzella was brutally killed in a car bomb in 1963, when Impastato was 15 years old, his outlook on the Cosa Nostra, of which his father was…
Mother And Child, Monreale Cathedral
Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! (Madonna and child from Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Sicily)
Little Suns Hang On Sicily’s Trees
This time of the year, oranges and lemons hang on the trees in Sicily like little suns. It’s still early in the citrus season, but with patience the results will be sweet.
Sicilian Folk Music Concert This Sunday On Zoom
Concert on Sunday! Register at https://experiencesicily.com/sicilian-folk-music-concert/ Yes, this too is Sicily … On a snowy January day in Palermo Province (2019). The weather outside is frightful, and so, listening to an online concert-lecture of Sicilian folk songs with a bonus rendition of “Winter Wonderland” and more will be perfect this Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3pm…