FIRST OF ALL, WHICH SICILY?

FIRST OF ALL, WHICH SICILY?
For there is a classical Sicily with theatres and numerous temples, a baroque one with spirals
of tufa stone and stuccoes resembling whipped cream, a Sicily of castles that here have
a somehow less menacing air than those in northern Europe; and then there’s the refined Sicily
of Verga, Pirandello, Sciascia, and Quasimodo, the dramatic Sicily with its sulphur mines,
the Bourbon Sicily of the Viceroys and the aristocrats of old, the luxuriant Sicily
with coasts redolent of lemon blossom and jasmine, and a middle eastern Sicily imbued
with all the soft comforts of the Arab-Norman world.
To put it in a nutshell, there is a Sicily to suit all tastes. Let’s say it’s rather like an ice-cream
cone: you just pick your favourite flavour and start wandering around. As if in a dream.
People also come to Sicily because they have fallen in love with certain places, having read a book
or seen a film, or heard the tales of others who have already been here.
Or simply on the basis of some intuitive understanding, full of significance yet hard to put into words.
On this raft floating in the middle of the Mediterranean there are certain localities and towns
that remain etched in your memory, or your imagination, thanks to certain colours, perfumes,
and happenings. Because of playful tricks of memory. Or of the imagination.
Which is why it is best to make inquiries before you land here.
Because you don’t just go to Sicily. You arrive here by sea or by air. As in a dream.
READ WHAT? WELL, IT DEPENDS.
The Odyssey, for instance, if you want to enjoy the evocative coast stretching from Mount Etna
to the mythical straits of Scylla and Charybdis, or if you wish to feel the winds of
the Aeolian Islands, which change every hour, depending on the whim of their lord King Aeolus.
Or the fifth book of the Aeneid, if you would rather relive the emotions of Aeneas landing
near Trapani and the games in honour of his father Anchises. But it also helps to have read
Pirandello,
in order to understand Agrigento, its inhabitants, and their healthy follies.
And Verga, to see into the heart of Lola or Santuzza in the Cavalleria Rusticana.
And Rosso di San Secondo before visiting Caltanissetta, which has two s’s, despite the way
many people spell it - but probably not everyone has read these books.
And you may even be struck with the same Angst as Mallarmé, who exclaimed in dismay,
“J’ai lu tous les livres, hélas!” Because all the people who have visited the island and written
about it have taken away with them their ideas, their prejudices, and their certainties.
And maybe even residues of memories.
a museum of art and culture
between sun and sea.
the sea and the islands.
itineraries of faith and folklore.
Sicilian foods and crafts.
1) Filicudi (ME)
2) Enna, the Cathedral
3) Messina, the Cathedral
4) Pelagie - Linosa (AG)
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ART AND CULTURE BETWEEN SUN AND SEA.
The identity of a land born of the waves.
What is the identity of this land
born of the waves?
You may find yourself asking this question after
your first encounter. Indeed it may well happen.
For it is not easy to grasp the meaning
of this island, which is itself a continent.
But don’t despair - that’s how it always is:
at first sight you may well not fully understand.
It is not easy to understand Sicily.
Just like a beautiful woman, Sicily needs
a certain type of approach
and cannot be easily won.
All you can do is to let yourself be seduced.
Just as the first Mycenaeans were seduced
when they came this way to buy obsidian
and pumice-stone in the Aeolian Islands,
when nothing else was known for cutting
and polishing. Just like the Phoenicians,
who along these very coasts set up their trading
stations and left them in the charge of people
taken on in every corner of the Mediterranean,
people who lived in peace, trading with Siculs,
Sicans, and Elymians.
Why were they called Elymians? Ex limen,
in Latin means refugee, driven from home.
This gives an immediate picture of the ancient
island civilization.
Everyone was always welcome.
Just like the Greeks, seeking somewhere
to live in peace, and hosts of others.
As happens today to many other unfortunates
who escape to these shores, fleeing from
poverty, war, famine, and oppression.
Sicily welcomes everyone.
In civil fashion, and has always done so.
And one and all become Sicilians.
For you don’t have to be born here.
Hermocrates of Syracuse made this point
way back in 424 BC, when he said,
“We are neither Ionians nor Dorians,
we are Sicilians.”
We use the hand gestures of the ancient
Phoenician merchants, we are as crafty
as the Greeks, as captious as the Byzantines,
and as blasé as the knights of Andalusia,
and we still show great respect for the dead
and for the necropolises of all those
who died on the island.
In our language, behaviour, food, and religion
we carry fragments of Greek culture,
but also Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Norman,
Angevin, Aragonese, Catalan…
Each of these has left a mark, architectural traces,
masterpieces of art, transforming the island
into a unique open-air museum.
Sicily offers pleasure and joy
to each and every one of its visitors.
And to think that in the Middle Ages Sicily
was described as being “seared and riven by lava
and sun, like a hell on earth, inhabited by people
more devil-like than human”.
At the other extreme is the “invention”
of the Sicily described by Stendhal,
whose Duchesse de Palliano declares,
“… as I travelled through Sicily, my purpose was
not just to observe the natural phenomena of Etna
or to clarify to my own mind and to that
of others what the ancient Greek authors
said of Sicily.
Above all I sought the pleasure of the eye,
which in this singular land is truly great.”
1) Selinunte (TP), Acropolis
2) Morgantina (CL), archaeological site
3) Piazza Armerina (EN), Villa del Casale
4) Eraclea Minoa (AG), Greek theatre
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CLASSICAL CULTURE.
The footprints of the gods in the land of myth.
“Of all the imaginable forms of dissolution, travelling
is the greatest I know; it is what one invents when one
is tired of other people... One may sometimes get angry,
but at least one amuses oneself, and immensely so.”
Thus spoke Gustave Flaubert. And, reading
between the lines, this reveals the supreme and
sublime voluptuousness of a journey of discovery.
Sicilian architectural remains are amongst the finest
of all antiquity. It is not easy to resist
the charm of works whose beauty has conquered
visitors of every epoch. Particularly the cultured
travellers completing their “Grand Tour”.
The greatest of these, the “Traveller” par excellence,
is beyond any doubt Wolfgang Goethe.
Even if his Italienische Reise has been criticized
by many for its omissions, inaccuracies,
and trivialities. How can that be? It is simply that
his is a journey to the end of history, the end of time;
that great journey that each of us would like
to make into the heart of human nature.
Perhaps we can find Aleph in this island, the place
where all places meet, the history that contains all
histories. An initiation to mystery rites, a descent
to the Underworld: from the prodigy of Segesta,
with its temple that is not a temple,
to Villa Palagonia at Bagheria, the negation of the
traditional scene of aristocratic delights.
Or the city of the dead at Pantalica, which becomes
a charming place to live in.
And there lies the clue to it all - Goethe did not
write a Baedeker. And neither do these few pages
claim to be one. We are just at the invitation stage.
We would like you to come to Sicily, to see,
to learn, to enjoy, to savour what has enchanted
all those who have come here in the past
four thousand years.
And to dream. Roving this way and that, with a good
guidebook in your hand,
in the archaeological parks of Piazza Armerina
or Selinunte; witnessing the ancient spectacle
of sunset in the Greek theatre at Taormina
or from the ruins of Megara Hyblaea.
And to swim in the sea at Camarina, knowing
that under the sand are the relics of ancient ships.
And to sail along the coasts like Ulysses,
witnessing dawns and sunsets, while the coast
stretches out before you with its monstrous
architectural horrors, which can be pardoned only
by the sudden appearance of a temple
or twin columns still standing on a coast
that is sometimes unspoilt.
Here the gods have passed their way. Their myths
are the myths of the prehistoric world, folk
legends linked to the sea, the volcanoes, the rivers.
They are the basis of the literary tradition
of this island, which for tens of centuries
has been the commercial and cultural centre
of confluence of all those who braved the sea.
People of all races, speaking different tongues,
who together with their wares brought a cargo
of culture and experience. And also religious rites,
which - we should not forget - for centuries were
the only rules of conduct in human communities.
The choice is yours. A pilot to guide your way
or a good guide to help you plunge deep into time.
From Syracuse, skirting the southern coast,
without missing the enchanting Punta Braccetto,
before finding yourself in the gulf of Gela.
And then straight on to Porto Empedocle,
the loading port near Agrigento.
The Valley of the Temples, seen from the sea,
inspires a thousand desires. Even to pray.
The towers that occasionally rise along the coast
are all that remains of an ancient system
of coastal defence designed in the late sixteenth
century by the architect Camillo Camilliani.
They were supposed to be a deterrent,
but they didn’t deter anyone.
Especially not the pirates who plagued these
coasts. And then Sciacca with its enticing cuisine
and the mystery isle of Ferdinandea, which every
once in a while rises from the depths of the sea,
in a cloud of smoke and vapours, amidst explosions
and columns of fire, like a show of magic.
From Selinunte to Motya, with the colourful
enchantment of the Egadi Islands, and the landfall
at Marsala or Trapani.
Always welcomed by a flock of seagulls.
You will certainly not fail to make a trip
to offer tribute to the goddess Venus at Erice,
who has stood there, on Monte San Giuliano,
for three thousand years and more, protecting
those who cross the seas.
And then… and then take a look at your guidebook,
for there is more to come.
1) Palermo, Palatine Chapel
2) Monreale (PA), Cathedral - Almighty Christ
3) Castelvetrano (TP), Church of the Trinità of Delìa
4) Palermo, S. Giovanni degli Eremiti Church
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> ARAB-NORMAN CULTURE.
The perfumes of Islam and the dizzy twirls
of Gothic style.
The perfumes of Islam and the dizzy twirls
of Gothic style are there for all who desire
to learn more of this curious corner of Europe,
where the gastronomic delights include
couscous and cassata.
The Arabs never came to Sicily,
only Muslims from the nearby Tunisian coast,
as well as Egyptian notables. The only Arabic
thing about them was their language.
They landed in 827 near Mazara del Vallo
under the command of a leader of advanced years,
Ibn al Furat: a wise old man rather than a general.
The island was soon converted to Islam,
a process that encountered little opposition.
Those who switched religion paid no taxes,
they could have four wives and ride a horse
(rather than a mule or donkey), and at the end
of their earthly existence they had the paradise
of Allah awaiting them.
A place full of green pastures, plentiful orchards,
and sinuous, virginal houris, always on hand
to pour cup after precious cup of the finest
of wine…
In short, Islam was a success.
The few remaining Christians had their homes
marked with a cross, which was a sign
for the tax-collector: this symbol, now devoid
of its original significance, can still be found
on many houses in the Trapani area, especially
near Mazara del Vallo.
As a traveller wrote at the time, Palermo,
with its three hundred mosques, rivalled Damascus
and Cordoba in beauty.
It was described as “the most beautiful
of all the cities of the believers”. These people
brought to Sicily their great civilization.
Not just a vast variety of vegetables, cereals,
and exotic fruit, but also paper, hydraulic engineering,
algebra, and - above all - the art of the good life.
Today there are few authentic “Arab” architectural
traces, in the sense that they date back
to the Muslim domination - according to some
scholars, only the baths at Cefalà Diana,
in the province of Palermo.
All the rest, built by Arab workmen during
the Norman period, is known
as Arab-Norman architecture.
In Palermo, the Zisa Palace
(the name comes from El Aziz, i.e. the magnificent),
the Cuba, i.e. cube-shaped, and the castle
of Maredolce or Favara (which means “spring”
in Arabic) are buildings ordered to be erected
by the Norman kings,
who from the start embraced the pleasures
of the Emirs’ good way of life.
They did not for a moment renounce harems
or these luxurious mansions, which were so different
from the gloomy castles of northern Europe.
The same process occurred in places of worship.
There were no more craftsmen capable
of constructing great religious buildings:
the only ones left were Muslims, and they could
only build mosques. And mosques are what
the newcomers commissioned them to build, only
they called them churches. You will see many of
these: in Palermo, San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, San
Giovanni degli Eremiti, San Cataldo,
and the Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio,
better known as la Martorana.
This was also the time of the great cathedrals
of Monreale and Cefalù, which with the Cappella
Palatina perfectly convey what religion meant to
these newcomers: a Christ Pantocrator, somewhat
different from the unassuming Ecce Homo, a
Christ who uses one hand to hold the Bible and
the other for His benedictions. Or are they threats?
In the area of Trapani, there are the Church
of San Nicolò Regale at Mazara del Vallo
and the Church of Trinità di Delìa, a few miles
from Castelvetrano, the only private cemetery
to survive to our days. Palermo Cathedral deserves
a mention apart, this picturesque hotchpotch
of original styles, some harmonious, some clashing.
During the Muslim period it was the most important
mosque in all Palermo, rising over the ruins
of what was first an ancient Phoenician sanctuary
and then a pagan temple. It was knocked down
and rebuilt by an English archbishop,
Walter of the Mill, to cancel it from all memory,
but some of the material was reused.
However, they can’t have looked too closely,
since a little column on the left of the southern
portico bears in fine relief an Arabic inscription
invoking Allah’s blessing.
Fortunately, not many people know this.
1) Ragusa, Church of S. Giorgio
2) Catania, palazzo Biscari - detail
3) Scicli (RG), palazzo Beneventano - detail
4) Noto (SR), the Cathedral
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> BAROQUE CULTURE.
The sensual and voluptuous luxury
of an epoch of passion.
You will also find baroque culture
as you wander around the street markets.
For when they lay out their stalls displaying
vegetables, tomatoes, or fennels, Sicilians are
guided by a profound sense of all that is baroque.
It is the expression of the sensual.
It is an emphatic and colourful language,
spectacular and fantastic, often expressed
in wall facings made of polychrome marble
with inlays that are either flat or in relief.
White or gilded stuccoes complete this folly,
adding even more to their opulence.
The external walls, instead, are covered in warm,
soft limestone, shaped into massive ledges
for balconies or façades, intended to convey
an idea of the wealth or importance of some
noble family or religious order.
This opulence was no chance matter.
It was rather the consequence of the convergence
of interests of Spain and the Church.
A sort of cultural, moral, and military “promotion”,
against the ever-imminent Ottoman threat
in the Mediterranean.
Even after the Battle of Lepanto.
Charles V, on whose empire the sun never set,
and of whom the Sicilians were almost faithful
subjects, wanted to make Palermo
the most representative city of his whole domain.
He therefore strove “to widen the streets
and squares and to build the richest and tallest of
palaces, as well as many magnificent monasteries.”
Almost as if in response to the wishes
of the Spanish government, in 1693 an extremely
violent earthquake destroyed not only Catania
but also dozens of hamlets in the eastern part
of Sicily. Thanks to a series of specially designed
projects, numerous Sicilian cities were rebuilt
in baroque style: Noto, Modica, Grammichele,
Ragusa, Scicli, Acireale, Militello Val di Catania,
and others.
As also the architectural splendours
of Via Crociferi in Catania.
Possibly the highest expression of this kind
of “beauty” is the Cathedral of San Giorgio
in Ragusa, or the Palazzo della Cancelleria,
next to the Church of Santa Maria dell’Itria,
with its bell tower covered in precious ceramics
from Caltagirone.
An explosion of passions set in stone,
a maze of gilding, cast iron, mixed marbles,
stucco angels and cupids, scantily-clad Virtues,
strategically placed to distract the attention
from what reality in fact had to offer.
This is perhaps the key to it all:
passions to distract the attention.
The immaterial transformed into the material.
To be seen and touched.
Like icons of devouring passion.
Stendhal understood this:
“The island is said to be like Africa:
but what is clear to me is that it does not belong
to Italy, except but for its devouring passions.”
1) Racalmuto (AG), Regina Margherita Theatre
2) Siracusa, greek theatre
3) S. Margherita Belice (AG), palazzo Filangeri
4) Palermo, Massimo Theatre
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> LITERARY PARKS.
The magic of Sicily in the words of Sicilians.
Sicily, a land of strong contrasts, has always had,
in every epoch, writers and poets capable
of expressing its intimate essence.
The Literary Parks focus on places
that were sources of inspiration for the most
sensitive observers of Sicilian reality, offering
the attentive visitor an unprecedented
opportunity to understand the real soul of a people.
Guided tours, theatre performances,
literary prizes and coffee houses,
publishing enterprises, craft workshops:
you are spoilt for choice in the abundance
of Sicily’s rich literary wealth.
The Leonardo Sciascia Park is in the territories
of Racalmuto, the writer’s hometown,
and of Caltanissetta; the Park named after
Salvatore Quasimodo, the 1959 Nobel Prize
Winner for Literature, spreads across
the provinces of Messina and Ragusa;
the Tomasi di Lampedusa Park, named after
the unforgettable author of The Leopard,
comprises Palermo, his native town, Santa
Margherita Belice, where he spent his childhood,
and Palma di Montechiaro;
and the Luigi Pirandello Park, named after
the 1934 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature,
is at Contrada Caos, a stone’s throw
from the Valley of Temples in Agrigento.
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THEATRES
A tradition that comes from afar.
For Sicilians, the theatre is a way
of understanding life. It is no coincidence
that since antiquity all the greatest playwrights
chose Sicily as the uncontested queen
of Europe’s stages.
In the Greek theatres at Syracuse, Segesta,
Morgantina, and Palazzolo Acreide, the tragedies
of Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca
and the comedies of Aristophanes, Menander,
Plautus, and Terence still live on in the warm
summer evenings.
The celebrated festival of Taormina Arte
is staged in the incomparable scenario
of the Greek theatre at Taormina, in the province
of Messina, a season dedicated to the cinema,
theatre, dancing, and symphonic music.
Opera, music, drama, and ballet are performed
in the late nineteenth-century theatres in
Palermo and Catania. Palermo has the Teatro
Massimo,
with its imposing neoclassical façade designed
by Giovanni Battista Basile,
one of the most important theatres in all
Europe for opera, while at the Teatro di Verdura
a wide-ranging season of music
and modern dancing is on offer in the open-air
theatre during the summer. Also in Palermo,
in Piazza Castelnuovo, is the Teatro Politeama,
a theatre in art nouveau style that hosts
the EAOSS season (the Sicilian Symphonic
Orchestra). And in Catania, at the Bellini
Theatre, you can enjoy the arias
of the illustrious composer born in that city.
1) Mussomeli (CL), the Castle
2) Palermo, Puppet Museum
3) Agrigento, archaeological Museum
4) Mazzarino (CL), the Castle
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CASTLES.
Unquestioned reigns of fantasy.
Castles. Originally they were just
small defensive forts, but later they developed
into the complex constructions that we know today.
The oldest of the Sicilian forts is to be found
among the ruins at Selinunte:
at the base of Temples A and O it is possible to see
a centenarium, originally built to hold a garrison
of troops in case of need and manned by sentries.
This dates back to the sixth century AD
and was used until the ninth century in defence
of the coast facing Africa.
This was the ancestor of two hundred
Sicilian castles.
Too many to describe in a couple of words.
Let’s just say that the most important ones
are those built by Frederick II.
The Torre di Federico (Frederick’sTower) at Enna
is intriguing: an octagonal prism which for centuries
was considered to be the exact geographic centre
of Sicily. And the most majestic?
Ursino Castle in Catania, while the most picturesque
is Castel Maniace, on the far edge of the island
at Ortygia in Syracuse.
No corner in Sicily is without a castle full
of fantastic stories and inevitable “finds”
of hidden treasure. Such stories helped people
to dream during the freezing winters in front
of a fire. It is interesting to know
that all place names starting with “Calt”
or “Calat” originally referred to Muslim castles:
Qatl, in Arabic, means rock, fortress…
So try chasing them out, looking them up
in your guidebook and identifying the towns
and villages whose names have this prefix.
One Sicilian castle not to miss?
Sperlinga Castle, in the province of Enna.
Rather than a castle, it is an immense work
of architectural excavation.
For it consists of an entire hill of sandstone,
dug out with tunnels, halls, passageways, stables,
and storerooms, and used since Neolithic times.
The name Sperlinga comes from the Latin
spelunca, meaning “cavern”,
and the place was the site of the Angevins’ last
stand as they fled after the revolt of the Vespers.
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MUSEUMS.
Precious caskets of a luminous past.
Each of the nine provincial capitals
possesses museums of great prestige
and extraordinary variety.
The Pepoli Museum in Trapani,
the Regional Art Gallery at Palazzo Abatellis
and the Giuseppe Pitrè Ethnographic Museum
in Palermo, the Archaeological Museum
in Agrigento, the Norman Castle Museum
at Adrano in the province of Catania,
the Civic Museum in Messina, the Antiquarium
at Tindari in the province of Messina,
the Alessi Museum in Enna, the Archaeological
Museum at Lipari in the Aeolian islands,
and the Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum
in Syracuse.
The museum of folk arts and traditions
at Modica is very characteristic,
with its collection of exhibits reflecting Sicilian
culture and rural life, as also the museum
of salt and salt pans at Marsala in the province
of Trapani, the museum of mineralogy
and sulphur mines at Caltanissetta,
and the pottery museum at Caltagirone
in the province of Catania.
And let us not forget the ancient art
of storytelling, richly documented
in the International Puppet Museum in Palermo
with its collection of over 2,500 puppets.
1) Egadi - Favignana (TP), Cala Rossa
2) Ustica (PA)
3) Pantelleria (TP), caves behind the island
4) Mondello (PA)
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THE ISLANDS.
Gems set in a sea of sapphire.
Tears of lava, limestone plains swept
by the wind, sunny lands the colour of bronze:
one by one the islands decorate the Sicilian
coast like a string of pearls on the neck
of a beautiful woman.
There are fourteen of these daughters of Sicily,
not including Motya, which at low tide is
sometimes linked to the coast of Marsala.
Fourteen paradises of untouched beauty.
Some have an African charm, such as the
Pelagie, in the province of Agrigento,
and Pantelleria in the province of Trapani.
Others, the uncontested mistresses
of the sea and its secrets, Levanzo, Favignana,
and Marettimo, form the archipelago
of the Egadi in the sea off Trapani.
Further north, in splendid isolation, is Ustica,
the island of Circe, with its unspoilt
marine reserve.
And in the Aeolian islands, in the province
of Messina, water meets fire.
Here nature still dictates its rhythms,
and travellers can let themselves be enchanted
by the magic spell of the fishermen and farmers
who inhabit these isles, the last custodians
of the ancient Mediterranean traditions.
The choice is yours - between the lively throngs
on the Aeolian Islands, the peace and quiet
of the Pelagie, and the perfumes of the Egadi.
The sea is perennially the colour of sapphire,
the domain of dolphins and swordfish.
And so it has been since the dawn of time.
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THE EGADI ISLANDS.
“Sicily’s white archipelago” lies off the coast
of Trapani, and it owes this appellation
to the islands’ limestone and tufa geological origin.
Favignana, shaped like a large butterfly
flying off towards Africa, each year relives
the ancient tradition of the mattanza, the slaughter
of the tuna fish in the Florio tuna fishery,
the biggest in the whole of Sicily.
Cala Azzurra and Cala Rossa are two little coves
famous for their crystal waters.
Levanzo, the smallest of these islands, enchants
the tourist with the unspoilt natural beauty
of Cala Tramontana and the palaeolithic graffiti
at the Grotta del Genovese.
The charm of Marettimo, which the Greeks
called “Hiera”, the sacred, is in the extraordinary
natural caves along its coasts, such as the Grotta
del Cammello, the Grotta della Bombarda,
and the Presepio Cave, and the splendour
of the seabed.
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PANTELLERIA.
Almost within view of the promontory
of Tunis, the ancient Cossyra is without
a doubt more African than European.
First colonized by the Phoenicians, Pantelleria
is a volcanic island rich in thermal springs,
such as the lake called the Mirror of Venus.
In the territories of Kazzen and Benikulà
are a series of stufe, hot steam saunas,
while at Bukkuram the jets of steam are cold.
You can enjoy a view of rare beauty
from the crater of Montagna Grande,
at a height of 830 metres. The Elephant Arch,
a rock formation in the shape of an elephant
drinking from the sea,
is one of the most evocative views
in all Pantelleria.
1) Pelagie - Lampedusa (AG)
2) Scopello (TP), the stacks
3) San Vito Lo Capo (TP)
4) Realmonte (AG), Scala dei Turchi
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THE PELAGIE ISLANDS.
Lampedusa, Linosa, and the uninhabited islet
of Lampione make up the southernmost
archipelago in all Italy. Lampedusa, the biggest,
is a great slab of limestone with steep rocky
cliffs that drop sheer into the blue of the sea.
Golden beaches and crystal-clear waters
surround the famous Isolotto dei Conigli
(“Rabbit Islet”), a crag some 27 metres
high covered in Mediterranean vegetation.
An unspoilt natural habitat, declared
a natural reserve, where turtles of the Caretta
Caretta species come to make their nests
and lay their eggs. Linosa, the “black pearl”
of Sicily and so called because of its volcanic
origin, is a paradise for anyone seeking peace
and natural scenery. Here the only changes
in the regular order of the slow pace
of the centuries are to be seen in the dazzling light
that the sun casts on the plaster of the houses
on the islands: a light that is ever-changing.
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THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS.
The yellow and red of the sulphur on Vulcano,
the white pumice and black obsidian on Lipari,
the green of the maquis on Salina, the purple
of the heather on Alicudi, the red fire
on Stromboli, the lime-white on Panarea,
the yellow of the broom bushes on Filicudi.
And everywhere the intense blue of the sea.
These are the colours of the rainbow
in the Aeolian Islands, a variety unmatched
anywhere else in the world.
This was the kingdom of Hephaestus,
the blacksmith of Zeus and the companion
of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
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USTICA.
Those who really love the sea must pay a visit
to Ustica. Here is the first ever underwater
archaeological route in the whole of Italy.
The marine nature reserve surrounds the whole
island and up to three miles off the coast,
presenting evocative underwater seascapes,
as for example the Grotta Azzurra, prairies
of posidonia, coral banks, gorgonias, and colonies
of sponges. It is not unusual, near the shore,
to find oneself swimming side by side
with groupers and sea bream.On the sea bottom,
where wrecks have lain for centuries, you may
come upon octopuses and moray eels. On land,
you must visit the Fishermen’s Village, which is
all white, the Bourbon tower,
and the archaeological ites at Capo Falconiera.
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OTHER SITES.
There are other sea resorts that are just
as evocative as the minor islands, with clear waters
and beautiful natural scenery.
The Gulf of Castellammare, in the province
of Trapani, is a splendid example. In the vicinity
are Cala Bianca, with its white pebbles,
and the endless beach at San Vito lo Capo,
the picturesque fishing hamlet at Scopello,
with its tower, the Zingaro nature reserve,
and the bay of Guidaloca.
In the province of Palermo, the beaches
at Mondello and Cefalù are the most popular
in the summer months, with throngs
of local people and visitors.
The reserve at Capo Tindari, in the province
of Messina, is justly famous for the lagoons
and its crystal-clear lakes of intense turquoise.
And then, moving on to the eastern coast,
you proceed from the enchanting bay of Isola Bella,
near Taormina, to the faraglioni, isolated rocks
rising out of the sea known as the Islands
of the Cyclops, at Aci Trezza near Catania.
Heading further south, towards Syracuse
and beyond, you can admire a stretch of sea
of tantalizing beauty that stretches from
the beaches and bays at Brucoli and Fontane
Bianche to Porto Palo near Capo Passero.
The itinerary terminates in the province
of Agrigento, with the memorable
beach of Sciacca.
1) Catania, S. Agata Festival
2) Palermo, Santa Rosalia Festival
3) Piana degli Albanesi (PA), Greek-Byzantine Easter
4) Marsala (TP), Holy Thursday Procession - the Veronica
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ITINERARIES OF FAITH.
Devotion suspended ‘twixt sky and sea.
Are Sicilians religious? They must certainly
be cautious, if you consider there are almost
seven hundred patron saints looking after the 389
Sicilian towns! Palermo alone has twenty
“ordinary saints”, fifteen “principal saints”,
four female “patron saints” who can be seen
at the Quattro Canti, and one “patron to watch
over all”, Santa Rosalia.
Why so many saints? Perhaps because, unlike God,
they too were once mortals on this earth and were
considered to be the only ones capable
of understanding and providing for human needs.
And then, after all, it’s the saints who perform
miracles… The festivities in their honour
originate from ancient pagan cults, rites linked
to the solstice and the seasons, while others may
strictly speaking have little to do with religion.
From the tenth to the fifteenth of July, in the
sweltering heat of summer, the inhabitants
of Palermo are in a state of frenzy: it’s Festino time.
The Festino is hard to explain. It is most certainly
the peak moment of city life, a gigantic popular
ex-voto dedicated to Santa Rosalia as a thanksgiving.
She it was who saved the people of Palermo
from the plague in 1624. This is the last surviving
example of the “baroque festivals” of Europe,
with a triumphal chariot, huge enough to transport
a band of musicians. It is a symbol of the city,
unique in Europe, demonstrating the wealth
and splendour of Palermo. An act of municipal
pride,to remind people - spectators and participants
alike - of the City’s regal dignity! Still today,
for many, Santa Rosalia remains the Great Hope.
People’s hopes in Catania lie in the hands
of Sant’Agata, who for almost eighteen centuries
has protected them from the destructive fury
of Mount Etna. From the third to the fifth
of February the bust of the saint with the holy relics
is borne through the streets in solemn procession.
The Mayor and the Town Junta ride aboard
a Bourbon carriage, while the heavy barrow
is dragged along by two lines of faithful devotees
garbed in white and wearing small black velvet caps.
In bygone days it was carried by devout believers
dressed in nightshirts and walking barefoot,
to commemorate the night of 17th August 1126,
when everyone ran to the port to welcome
the bones of the Saint on her return
from Constantinople.
In the past, this solemn occasion was particularly
cherished by the women of Catania, who for once
could go out on their own, their faces hidden by
a shawl that covered everything but their eyes.
They courted the men and allowed themselves
to be courted, without jeopardizing their honour
- Sant’Agata would protect that…
In Syracuse, Santa Lucia is solemnly celebrated
on the first Sunday in May and on 13th
December. It is worth remembering that the
Cathedral is located inside what was the once
Templeof Athena, dating to the fifth century BC.
It bears the proud inscription “Ecclesia
Syracusana prima divi Petri filia” - it is the first
church in Europe erected by Saint Peter himself.
The celebration in honour of Santa Lucia
is a Christian version of the ancient cult
of Artemis (or Diana, as the Romans called her).
From Ortygia - Greek for “island of quails”
and later renamed Delos - came settlers
who colonized the islet, which they named after
their homeland. On that Greek island,
the goddess Latona gave birth to Apollo and his
sister Artemis and the cult was subsequently
transferred to the new land. This festivity
is one not to be missed, especially in view
of its anthropological interest.
The devotion of the inhabitants of Messina
to the Virgin Mary is unrivalled. This is shown
by the inscription at the entranceto the harbour,
which proudly proclaims, “Vos et ipsam civitatem
benedicimus”, i.e. we bless you and the city.
This declaration was the Mother of Christ’s
answer to a letter sent to her by the people
of Messina, through Saint Paul, who happened
to be passing that way. They will tell you,
full of pride, that Mary’s letter, rolled up
and clasped by hair from her head,
was hidden away to save it from destruction
in times of persecution. The third of June
is the day of celebration, when the glass case with
the hair of the Madonna is carried in procession.
This case, made in 1626, is a masterpiece
produced by the goldsmiths of Messina.
But the most solemn celebration is on the
fifteenth of August, when the case is carried
on a great triumphal chariot, designed in 1535
to celebrate the triumph of Charles V
returning after vanquishing the Turks.
1) Custonaci (TP), Living Crib
2) Acireale (CT), the Carnival
3) Prizzi (PA), the “Ballu di li diavuli”
4) Piazza Armerina (EN), the Norman Palio
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In Agrigento there are two patron saints:
San Gerlando and San Calogero.
But people’s hearts in Agrigento beat more
strongly for the latter, a black saint depicted
with hands and face the colour of chocolate
and an open book in his right hand,
while the little box under his arm reminds us
of what we might call his “tool box”
- he was a miracle-worker.
The procession in his honour is a unique sight:
bread is thrown to him and then collected
together, in order to ensure a good harvest,
and little children, stripped bare for the occasion,
are offered up to him.
Can this offering be a hangover from ancient
rituals? From ancient human sacrifices?
Of what age?
The other important occasions in Sicilian
religion have to do with Easter rituals derived
from Spanish traditions.
During Holy Week you can really feel the extent
of people’s religious spirit.
The climax of the passion and death
of Jesus Christ is literally staged.
At Trapani, the “Procession of the Mysteries”
begins on the afternoon of Good Friday and
lasts until the Saturday. Twenty compositions
of papier mâché and glue, the work of illustrious
craftsmen who flourished in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, are paraded through
the streets of the city, stimulating great emotion
night and day. At nearby Marsala, real people
are the main characters of an eighteenth-century
rite. Nowadays more than two hundred people
parade in the procession, which is over
a kilometre long. At Enna and Caltanissetta
the “Craftsmen” go on parade.
Hooded members of the Guildsaccompany
the dead Christ, placed in a glass urn, together
with Our Lady of Sorrows wearing widow’s
weeds. In Palermo the little alleyways
of the old town are crisscrossed by the Good
Friday “Processions”. These are organized by
the ancient town guilds. The most ancient
of them all, not to be missed, is that of the Guild
of Coachmen, set up in 1594. The Coachmen
of the ancient noble houses parade, wearing wigs
and the original livery of their former master.
From their collections come suits of armour,
once used in jousts and tournaments,
that transformed reluctant guild members
into “Pilate’s Legionaries”.
There are various other intriguing occasions,
such asthe “Festa di li schietti”, i.e.
the Bachelors’ Festival, at Terrasini (Palermo),
when young men seeking a soul mate give
a demonstration of their strength and dexterity
by lifting a lemon tree in one hand. And they
have to keep it balancing! Even more bizarre,
at Prizzi, also in the province of Palermo,
is the “Ballu di li diavuli” (“Devils’ Dance”).
The participants, wearing monstrous masks
made of tin and dressed in red costumes
with goatskins over their shoulders, roam
around making fun of everyone, to the sound
of bugles. By synchronizing their progress
with that of the bearers of the religious icons
in the procession, they try to prevent the Virgin
from meeting her dead Son.
In the end they are defeated by two warrior
angels, thus symbolizing the eternal struggle
between Good and Evil.
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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS.
Not to be missed by all fans of culture.
In Sicily there are many other events each year that
attract an international audience of aficionados.
Carnival is celebrated in great style
with the colourful processions of carts
at Sciacca in the province of Agrigento, at Acireale
in the province of Catania, and at Termini
Imerese in the province of Palermo.
In August, don’t miss the “Palio dei Normanni”
at Piazza Armerina, near Enna, which recalls
medieval tournaments, with brave knights
representing the various quarters of the town.
There is the evocative atmosphere of the Weeks
dedicated to sacred and Renaissance music
in November at Monreale, in the province
of Palermo, and in July at Erice, in the province
of Trapani. In December there are important
exhibitions on baroque art at Ragusa,
as also in May at Noto.
The “Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore”
(Almond Blossom Festival) in Agrigento
in February is a traditional date,
while the “Orestiadi” classical play festival
at Gibellina, near Trapani, between July
and September, attracts a cultured audience.
1) Pasta with the sardines
2) Mediterranean mains
3) Palermo, the Vucciria
4) Cherry tomatoes hanging out to dry
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SICILY AT TABLE.
A journey into flavours and popular
traditions.
Our cuisine is a perfect blend
of all the influences of the various cultures
that have followed each other in the island.
Rather than a cultural residue, it is the most
resistanttrait of a whole culture.
The dining-table is the place of introspection
of all the different civilizations that have passed
through the island.
An ancient pleasure indeed, if it is true that
Plato, once visiting Syracuse, criticized its citizens
for “sitting down at table several times a day”.
Sicilian cuisine? There are three sorts:
the patrician or baronial cuisine, that of the
ordinary people with all its lively inventiveness,
and street cuisine, i.e. that of the “buffittieri”,
as they used to be called, a term originally derived
from the French buffet.
An immense wealth and variety of dishes,
since every city, town, and family has always
had its own version of each recipe, reflecting
the island’s strong sense of individuality.
While the Monsù, the chef to the great
aristocratic families, produced in the palaces
celebrated dishes of soles and groupers,
hares and capons, the people down below
could enjoy the aromas and the fantastic
descriptions made by the servants. With great
imagination and skill these dishes were reinvented
using ingredients that were often quite basic.
De-boned sardines were promoted to the rank
of soles: “lenguado”, in the Spanish of the nobles,
meant “sole”, and thus sardines a linguata
were created. A certain small bird similar
to the blackcap, when skilfully prepared,
became the beccafico that the Monsù proudly
served in jelly with pickles.
Aubergines were thus disguised as “quails”
and even as “parmiciana”, which is a dialect
word meaning simply a shutter.
Nothing to do with Parma and its parmesan
cheese. And from the aubergine also came
the queen of popular cuisine, caponata,
the aubergine appetizer served as a sweet and
sour sauce and originally created in the kitchens
of the courts of pre-Islamic Persia.
Even pasta is part of Sicily’s history.
It was the Muslims who at the beginning
of the 10th century set up the first factory
for the production of “itrya”, i.e. spaghetti,
at Trabia, a few kilometres from Palermo.
Hence the name of the town.
When Marco Polo brought spaghetti back from
Cathay, Sicilians had already been eating it for over
three centuries. They accompanied it with the
cheese that Ulysses and his companions had
found in the cave of Polyphemus on Mount
Etna: a cheese made from the milk of sheep
(pecora, in Italian): the cheese called pecorino.
And then there is fish, which is never to be
insulted with a heavy sauce. This is a real mania
with Sicilians, who want to savour the taste
of the sea.
1) Vintage
2) A winery
3) Sicilian Cassata
4) Sicilian capers
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PASTRIES.
We owe our traditional patisserie
to the epicureanism of the Arabs.
As in a fine mosaic, glazed candied fruit
is displayed in perfect geometric forms
surrounded by marzipan inlays.
Whether the word cassata comes the Latin caseatus
or the Arabic qas’at is not all that important:
it used to be a sacred dish originally made only
for Easter. Its baroque roundness, wavering
between Bible and Koran, is perhaps the highest
aspiration to the sublime of every Sicilian
worthy of the name.
The inhabitants of this sunny island
have always had a weakness for the mirage
of cool refreshments.
That is why, for one thousand years,
all their desserts have been served cold.
Lunch in Sicily can only end with an ice cream.
There a vast selection of spongati (soft ices),
granite (water ices), pezzi duri (hard ices),
and cream cones. It’s a world where only
a connoisseur can guide you. “A uniquely Sicilian
madness…”, as Vitaliano Brancati put it.
In the end you realize that Sicilians don’t just
feed themselves - they eat.
For the discerning and inquisitive visitor, getting
to know this cuisine can be an amusing way
of interpreting a culture, of understanding one
of life’s true values. Possibly because it succeeds
in giving something that is unreal.
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WINES.
Vines, grapes, and wine
have always been sacred in Sicily.
They are the dream of each and every Sicilian:
The dream of the poor man is a vineyard
in the backyard. That of the rich man
is a vineyard with which to give lustre to his House.
In Palermo, in May 1860, Garibaldi toasted with
Corvo wine to the dream of “Rome or death”,
but before him Julius Caesar had used a Sicilian
wine to drink a toast to his third election as consul.
He too was dreaming of Rome.
The ancient tradition of the patrician cellars still
continues today, side by side with the products
of age-old farms where for centuries master
winemakers have filled their barrels with the juice
of grapes grown in the implacable sun, from
which only the sea breezes give occasional relief.
There are reds and whites, prestigious muscatels
and passito wines, with nineteen DOC awards.
Visitors seeking good food and wine can enjoy
the “Wine Roads. Itineraries of Flavour.
Tourism of Taste and Tradition”.
This is a rediscovery of landscapes that satisfy
the senses and let you bring away with you
not just memories but also sensations
that can be relived at every lunch
and at the drinking of every toast.
Seven itineraries and seven varieties stretch
around the island:
Alcamo Doc, Avola Black and Cerasuolo
from Vittoria, Etna Wine, Insolia, Malvasia
from Lipari, Marsala and Moscato
from Pantelleria, and Moscato from Noto
and Syracuse.
1) The tuna killing at Favignana (TP)
2) Saline labourers, Marsala (TP)
3) Wickerworker
4) Pottery from Caltagirone (CT)
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FISHING AND HANDICRAFTS.
An expression of the people.
An activity that for centuries supported thousands
of fishermen on both sides of the Strait
of Messina is now reduced to a tourist attraction.
We are referring to the catching of swordfish,
where the luntri (from the Latin word linter,
a light craft) of the past have given way
to spadare derivanti, modern boats with all the
latest technology.
The “animal”, as the fishermen call it,
is no longer confronted face to face,
sword against harpoon.
They just slaughter it. That’s all.
In the area of Trapani there are two tonnare
(tuna fisheries). In the late 18th century
there were some 70 of them, large and small.
By 1889, only 20 remained.
Yet once they represented “one of the main
sources of wealth of all Sicilian industries,
yielding an average profit of one million lire a year”.
Today, they welcome tourists,
stirred by the terrible ritual of death known as
the mattanza (the kill).
Directed by the orders of the raìs (headman),
the killing is performed to the chant
of the ancient Scialoma.
This word comes from “Shalom” or “Salem”,
a greeting of peace: this is the unbelievable
contradiction of life and death
that all Sicilians carry within them.
The traditional handicraft par excellence
is the production of artistic pottery.
Caltagirone in the province of Catania,
Santo Stefano di Camastra in the province
of Messina, and Burgio and Sciacca in the province
of Agrigento carry on this ancient tradition.
A strange thing: pottery is fragile, but permanent.
By an oxymoron of chance, the most fragile
of objects leaves the most resistant of traces.
The combination of earth, fire, water, air,
and human labour has created a material more
permanent than bronze or iron.
For archaeologists it is a “guide fossil” - a special
trace that enables us to identify the migrations
of peoples, levels of cultural development,
and the changing of fashions. Jugs, plates, flasks,
bowls, pharmacy vases, flowerpots, holy water
containers, votive tiles, and all sorts of everyday
objects still tell us today, with their brilliant
colours, of the ingeniousness and creativity
of the people that made them.
This craft is the product of able hands.
Sicilian towns and villages conceal skilful
embroiderers, ironsmiths, carpenters,
coral jewellers, and carpet weavers using
ancient looms. Also skilled makers of the plumed
paladins of Charlemagne, or small-scale
Sicilian carts. Nowadays these are reduced
to being mere souvenirs of a journey to Sicily,
displayed as evidence that the journey,
like an ancient pilgrimage,
was successfully accomplished.
We would have liked to tell you of many other things,
of the woods, of the nature reserves with their 420 endemic plant species,
of the papyri of the River Ciane, of the Marionette Theatre, of our thousand mysteries.
But if you really want to learn more, start by reading the Odyssey and the Aeneid.
We will show you the rest when you arrive here.
By land or by sea. As in one’s dreams. Welcome to Sicily.
Gaetano Basile
PHOTOS:
W. Leonardi, P. Scafidi, M. Minnella, Dagherrotipo (fototeca Assessorato Turismo, Trasporti e Comunicazioni),
il Centro per il Catalogo e la Documentazione della Regione Siciliana - Archivio ministeriale “ORAO”,
la Terre Sicane Soc. cons. a r.l., il Dr. Andrea Guarneri, la AAPIT di Palermo, Angelo Pitrone - Fondazione Teatro Regina Margherita, Archivio Krea.
Created by Gruppo Moccia
Intervento finanziato dall’Unione Europea - POR Sicilia - misura 4.18.a