Experience Sicily

Tag: villa palagonia

  • Persian Drummer at Villa Palagonia

    On the left is a print from Bonanni’s 18th-Century “Gabinetto Armonico,” a series of plates documenting antique musical instruments and their players. On the right is an 18th century statue from Bagheria’s Villa Palagonia that was created based on Bonanni’s plate Number 118. It’s a musician with tamburro Persiano or barrel drum from Persia that…

  • Villa Palagonia: Castanets

    Statue of musician playing castanets, Villa Palagonia, 18th century. (NB, further to yesterday’s post… Castanets are often made with chestnut tree wood.)

  • Dancing in the Garden

    Bagheria’s Villa Palagonia inspired me and my husband, guitarist Joe Ravo, to name our folk duo for it. Here we are in its garden surrounded by the estate’s fantastic statues. Join us on Sun., Sept. 13 at 8PM Eastern Daylight Time for a live internet concert from our home in New York City. Tune in…

  • One Monster

    One of what was once over six hundred, now approximately 70,  statues of monsters, fantastic characters, imaginary animals, knights, ladies, peasants, and musicians that decorated the outer walls and grounds of Villa Palagonia in Bagheria. (Photo by Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta)

  • Villa Palagonia at Villa Palagonia

    Villa Palagonia in Bagheria continues to inspire me. Today my cousin, Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta, graciously took photos of Joe Ravo and I for our music duo Villa Palagonia at Villa Palagonia! Our debut album of music inspired by our Italian-American roots and Sicily is almost finished. We look forward to getting it out to…

  • It’s All About that Bass Viol

    Statue of bass viola da gamba player, Villa Palagonia, Bagheria.   Listen live to my music duo Villa Palagonia on Chicago’s WFMT.com at 8PM CST tonight, 7 February 2015. It’s a one-hour concert of our brand of Sicilian inspired acoustic world folk music.

  • Villa Palagonia: Guitarist

    Statue of musician with a Spanish Guitar, Villa Palagonia, 18th century.

  • A Monster to Welcome You

    This is one of the two statues flanking the back entrance (now the main entrance and ticket booth) to Villa Palagonia in Bagheria. These are two of about 70 left from the original 600 or so that decorated the gardens and grounds of the Baroque “Villa of the Monsters,” built in the 18th century.

  • Let’s Celebrate with a Sicilian Tarantella

    Let’s celebrate! It’s the first day of summer! Today, my band Villa Palagonia is participating in Make Music New York 2014 in New York City. And although we won’t be dressed like the dancers painted on this traditional tamburello that I photographed in a tailor shop in Palermo’s historic center, I will be playing my…