Experience Sicily

Tag: santo

  • San Sebastiano Patron Of Palazzolo Acreide

    His story is a bit extreme, however, it’s a good reminder to me to keep the faith and get up again over and over. Although San Sebastiano lived and died in Rome, in Sicily on January 20, the early Christian martyr is celebrated with fervor in the towns of Acireale (Catania), Tortorici (Messina), and Barcellona…

  • Another Of Sicily’s Heroes, Father Pino Puglise

    Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi was killed in Palermo on September 15, 1993, his 56th birthday. A courageous defender of the poor in the Sicilian capital’s inner city neighborhood of Brancaccio, Blessed Father Puglisi worked tirelessly to convince young people that there was a better life than organized crime. He was extremely outspoken about the Mafia and…

  • Travel to Sicily For A Feast Day

    Feasts, and how Sicilians celebrate them always inspire me. I recommend you plan your dates around such an event. For example, today I’m envious of our clients who are in Acireale to experience the fervor; for annually on January 20, the town in the province of Catania recognizes one of its patrons, Saint Sebastian, with…

  • Learning from San Sebastiano

    His story is a bit extreme, however, it’s a good reminder to me to keep the faith and get up again over and over. Although San Sebastiano lived and died in Rome, in Sicily on January 20, the early Christian martyr is celebrated with fervor in the towns of Acireale (Catania), Tortorici (Messina), and Barcellona…

  • The Dance of Saint Vitus and Who is Vito Anyway?

    One of my favorite songs is “Il Ballo di San Vito” by Italian artist Vincio Capossela. It’s a wild tarantella, and it discusses just that–a wild dance in the south of Italy with hot winds from Africa, burnt earth, fire, and dancers frenetically moving in and out of a circle doing the pizzica tarantella. The…

  • Happy Name Day

    January 20 is Saint Sebastian’s Day. I’d like to wish my friends named Sebastian and Sebastiano,  “Buon Onomastico!” In Italy, your name day, i.e., the feast day of the saint for whom you are named, is as important as your birthday. So, if you have a friend named Sebastian, wish him “Auguri di buon onomastico…

  • Fluorescent Dedication

    Small homegrown shrines are very common in Sicily. This one is dedicated to the recently canonized (2002) Padre Pio (1887-1968). (Previously posted on 14 September 2013.)