As you may have guessed, this first week in September in Sicily is bursting with feasts dedicated to the Madonna and the divine feminine. There’s a reason for this: It’s the end of the harvest season, and who do you want to recognize after a time of abundance, but Mother Earth for providing you with…
Tag: quadro
In This Corner, An Unknown Man
A couple of weeks ago, the day our group was in Cefalù, I wandered off on my own. (Hint: Stick with the tour guide, they know about the hidden corners!) The hidden corner I sought after was the Museo Mandralisca–a small collection of art and archeological works that is packed with punch. The punch here…
Caravaggio Captured Lucia’s Light
At the dawn of the 4th century, practicing Christianity in the Roman-ruled city of Siracusa was illegal. Already though, inspired by nearby Catania’s Patron Saint, Sant’Agatha, who lived just a few decades before (from 231 AD – 251 AD), the young and beautiful Lucia devoted herself to Christianity. In fact, she was known to enter…
Peace Dove
April 25 is Liberation Day in Italy. Liberation Day celebrates the 1945 fall of Mussolini’s fascist Italian Social Republic and the end of the Nazi occupation of Italy in World War II. This oil on canvas painting is by Sicilian, 20th century artist Renato Guttuso (1912-1987). “Medlar Leaves and Dove, ” or “Foglie di nespolo…
Bella Tarantella
Today, the tarantella (shown in this painting) is still alive and danced and played socially in many parts of southern Italy. In modern-day Sicily, however, it’s danced most often by organized folk music and dance ensembles at feasts and festivals. There remains a very strong folk music culture throughout the island, where you’ll find musicians…
Guttuso Captured Humanity
Sicilian artist Renato Guttuso (1912-1987) portrayed images of humanity in action. This 1953 painting, “Donne di zolfatari” or “Women of the Sulfur Minors,” captures the anguish and urgency women felt as their husbands and sons worked in the dangerous and arduous mining industry of Caltanisetta and Girgenti. Guttuso, who was from Bagheria, conveyed social issues…
A Woman with a Vision
A working woman with a vision: detail from a painting in the chambers at Palermo’s Palazzo dei Normanni, the house of Sicily’s parliament.
Appreciation for Wine and an Unknown Man
This bottle of wine is significant for a few reasons. First, the outstanding portrait on the label is important to discuss. It is of an unknown man, believed to be a wealthy merchant from Lipari Island, one of the Eolian Islands. It was painted by renowned Sicilian artist Antonello da Messina (1430-1479) in the mid…
Snippets that Reveal Treasures
This is a snippet of a larger painting that hangs in the chambers of Palermo’s Palazzo dei Normanni, the house of the Sicilian Parliament. I love it for two reasons: it shows pre-twentieth century traditional dress of the women working in the field and one of them is holding a traditional Sicilian, woven basket.