Leaving behind one’s beloved and habits requires a great courage, but also an unconditional passion. In fact, as the Sicilian writer Vincenzo Consolo once said, the act of leaving reflects the civilization level of a people. Sicilians who leave their land are neither disdainful nor disappointed, but eager to grow and do some good...
1903: Luigi Pirandello lost his family due to an accident. The writer’s wife accused a breakdown from which she would never recover. Poverty and loneliness seemed to prevail in his life. On those nights he spent his time caring for his wife, his first masterpiece came to light and with it a new hope...
Even though cinema and television often portray them on the basis of prejudices or superficial knowledge, Sicilians are characterized by a far more complex depth. The works of the writer Andrea Camilleri have the ability of restoring the true humanity of these people, which makes them at the same time similar and multifaceted in...
True, passionate, always present in the minds of the islanders: the volcano has been an integral part of the territory for millennia and has often been mentioned in Sicilian literature. From the words of Rapisardi to the ones of Verga, the magnificence of Mongibello is similar to those who it frightens and protects at...
To dive into the worlds created by one’s favourite Sicilian writers can now become a reality. There is a track, going from Porto Empedocle to Caltanissetta, that touches some of the most iconic places in Sicilian literature: Pirandello’s house or Montalbano’s Vigata-inspiring Porto Empedocle, by way of natural beauties like Scala dei Turchi and...
Perhaps from Palermo, more likely from Messina, this woman living in the thirteenth century has a legendary aura and seems to give Sicily another record, after the one held by the School of Poetry of Frederick II. She had the ability to put women in the foreground giving them an active role towards the...
Each year on November the 2nd a special occasion is celebrated in Sicily, a mix of materiality and spirituality involving the entire population in a unique way. Between characteristic themes, hidden elements and a short story by the writer Giovanni Verga, the true meaning of this event is more complex than it may seem...
Sicilian flag is red like lava and yellow like wheat, with three legs like its three edges, but this is not all. This regional symbol has deep historical and religious roots, which make Sicilians what they once were and what they still are, as if it was the chest of their most untouchable secrets
The Palermitan folklorist Giuseppe Pitrè sounded better than anyone else the meanings hidden behind the most typical customs and traditions of Sicilians. In this sense, the most famous puppets of all, animated by strong feelings, have a profound connection with religion – and this explains the care with which tradition is still handed down...
This small city in Val di Noto boasts a unique history of its kind, if compared with residential areas of the same dimension and geographical location. However, it isn’t all peaches and dandelions: getting there is not easy and services, whose jackals are the economic difficulties worrying many small and medium towns, are not...
