The winter solstice is upon us, yet I look forward to the summer solstice, when this sculpture of a Greek mask takes center stage at the sculpture garden and farm of Lorenzo Reina, the creator of Teatro Andromeda in Santo Stefano Quisquina. If you plan ahead and know an insider, you could be present here,…
Tag: solstice
The Fourth Season In Palermo
In Palermo’s “Theater of the Sun,” the intersection better known as Quattro Canti, four fountains featuring women illustrate the four seasons. Not only the annual seasons, but those of life too. Pictured here is Winter. She’s an older, wiser woman holding a flaming lantern. Showing us the way through the darkest time of the year….
Embracing The Longest Night
As we observe the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, I recall how beautiful the UNESCO site Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily is at night, when the the monuments, like this, the Temple of Concordia, are lit. Even in ancient times (Concordia was erected between 440 and 430 B.C.E.), it was…
Happy Solstice
Happy Summer! Buon estate!
Demeter’s Joy: Summer
Happy Summer! I present to you the magnificent Goddess of Morgantina, in celebration of the solstice. Scholars don’t know if she represents Aphrodite, Demeter, Persephone, or Hera. But her size (2.20-2.25 meters high), indicates that it was certainly a mystery cult statue of great importance. Personally, I believe that she is Persephone because her right…
Old Woman Winter
At the busy intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda, in Palermo’s historic center, sits Quattro Canti–four corners. The crossroads is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a series of statues: At the top, the city’s patron saints prior to Santa Rosalia; in the middle, the Spanish kings of Sicily; and…
Palermo’s Quattro Canti: She Represents Summer
At the center of Palermo, the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is called Quattro Canti, or Four Corners. Quattro Canti is octagonal in shape, and it is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a fountain and a series of statues. On the first level–the street level–are images representing the…