The Way To My Heart

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hearts made from the same pastry as cannoli shells?! Why, yes! Now, just add ricotta mousse and fresh strawberries, and you’ve found the way to *my* heart … and seen a preview of the dessert for our Experience Sicily Valentine’s Sicilian Style dinner on Saturday night, 16 February. We’ve got one seat…

Oh, Amore Mio! Tesore Mio!

Oh, Amore Mio! Tesore Mio! (Oh, my love! My treasure!) … Can’t you hear her say? Love is in the air and on Sicilian carts with their illustrations of chivalry from “Orlando furioso” and other stories of princesses and knights. Master cart painter Michele Ducato in Bagheria showed us this cart, almost completed, in his…

Seeking Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

In ancient Sicily, Aphrodite was one of the most venerated Greek goddesses. The goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure, she was especially important in western Sicily, where in Erice, her temple–known since Roman times as the Temple of Venus (her Roman name)–was a destination of pilgrims for centuries. Those seeking romance and success with love…