Experience Sicily

Tag: villa palagonia

  • She’s A Tuff Mountain

    Monte Catalfano hosted an important quarry, pictured, of a soft rock composed of volcanic materials such as ash, lava, and magma. This rock is known as Aspra tuff, or “tufa,” in Italian. Down the road from where this photo was taken, the villas of Bagheria such as Palagonia, Cattolica, Butera, Valguarnera, and Spedalotto were constructed…

  • Chase Away the Dark

    Let the fantastic monsters from Villa Palagonia (replicated on a wall down the street from the villa in Bagheria) chase dark spirits into the ether of history in order to make space for the good spirits of the New Year.  For information about New Year’s traditions in Sicily, visit my 2013 post.   

  • Dancing in the Hall of Mirrors

    Tarantella anyone? Villa Palagonia, a band featuring guitarist Joe Ravo, bassist Greg Maker, percussionist Dave Mancuso, and me, Allison Scola, on vocals, clarinet, guitar, and frame drums, will be performing this coming Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7PM in New York City at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 (185 Orchard Street). We invite you to come…

  • Join Us in NYC this Tuesday 

    For those of you in the New York City area, please join us for Experience Sicily with Villa Palagonia, Tues., Aug. 30 at 6:30 PM at the Italian American Museum, 155 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013, $10 Donation. Reservations are encouraged, as space is limited. RSVP, ItalianAmericanMuseum@gmail.com.  Multifaceted guitarist Joe Ravo and multi-instrumentalist and singer…

  • La La La Le Ru

    Villa Palagonia, my music duo named after the estate in Bagheria, is hitting the road this weekend. We’re performing on Sunday at the Woodstock Folk Festival in Woodstock, IL.  See you in the square from 12 noon to 6 PM! We’re on at 3:30 PM. Bring your dancing shoes for some Sicilian tarantella! Please invite…

  • Baroque Dancing

    More fantastic statues from Bagheria’s Villa Palagonia. I love the one at the top of the arch. He looks like he’s dancing the tarantella! (Photo Credit: Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta). On Friday, April 1 at 7:30PM, in Teaneck, NJ, USA at Classic Quiche Cafe, my music ensemble Villa Palagonia will be sharing a Sicily-inspired evening…

  • Villa Palagonia Inspires Rhythms & Roots

    Villa Palagonia is a Baroque villa located in Bagheria, a town in Sicily, Italy near Palermo. The villa was built to be the country home of the fifth Prince of Palagonia, a baron under the realm of the King of Spain. In 1749, Ferdinando Gravina, the seventh Prince of Palagonia, commissioned over 600 statues of…

  • Sicily at University of Pennsylvania

    Yesterday and today I’m “in Sicily” … yet in Philadelphia, PA at University of Pennsylvania, discussing the complexities of this land we love with scholars from around the globe.

  • More from Bagheria’s Villa Palagonia

    Statue of shepherd on the outer wall of the estate of Villa Palagonia in Bagheria