Experience Sicily

Tag: winter solstice

  • Serendipitously Seen In Sicily: Lucia’s Relics Come Home

    My friend Ed, who lives in Siracusa, sent me this photo (along with some video). On the Tuesday evening, the night of the solstice, he and his wife serendipitously came upon a marching band in the Piazza Duomo proudly performing as the fire department escorted the sacred relics of Santa Lucia back to their usual…

  • A Face Without Eyes For The Solstice In Sicily

    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,…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • La Vecchia: Winter at Quattro Canti

    In Palermo’s historic center two major thoroughfares intersect: Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda. This busy intersection, known as Quattro Canti, is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a series of statues: The the city’s former patron saints (prior to Santa Rosalia) at the top, a Spanish king of Sicily (in the…