Experience Sicily

Tag: sicilian language

  • Sicilian Poetry Reading At Seaton Hall University

    Ni viriemu! See you! Thurs., Nov., 8 at Seaton Hall University, actor Michael Badalucco will read the poetry of Sicilian poet Nino Provenzano (from Castellammare del Golfo, pictured), translated by Professor Gaetano Cipolla. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Delegation of the Constantinian Order and the Alberto Italian Studies Institute, the event is at 6 p.m. in…

  • Fresh From the Oven: Baking Bread in Sicily

    The Sicilian (or sicilianu) word for bread is pani. When you travel to Sicily you can learn how to bake traditional breads, like those in this bread basket during a hands-on cooking class.

  • When the Pavement Is Dry

    Quanno i balati ra Vucciria s’asciucanu … is a Sicilian expression that means, When the pavement of the Vucciria [market] is dry. In other words, we would say, When Hell freezes over. The irony of this well-known Palermitano idiom is that today, the significance of the Vucciria market is fading and the pavement, which was…

  • Sicilian Language Online 

    There is a restaurant in Santo Stefano di Camastra called “Tri quarti e na gazzusa,” which is an expression in Sicilian that means something like, Three quarter liters of wine and a soda… implying the conviviality of friends and family enjoying life together. But, don’t take my word for it (since I don’t speak Sicilian),…

  • Seeking Poetry

    “He who seeks poetry should come to Sicily.” Yes, this is true. There is much poetry in Sicily–the land, the sea, the wind, the sun, and the people themselves. But the language too–Sicilian–is also poetic. And Sicilians have a strong tradition of poetry, literature, and song. Together, we’re going to learn more about it in…