The Pitchfork Movement

The movimento dei forconi – which I translated with pitchforks into English – is weakening the already feeble Sicilian economy. According to the AGI (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia), companies in Sicily were allowed to continue their protests by 5 more days, until January 25. “We were granted an extension until January 25 “, said the head of Sicily haulage companies’ association AIAS, Giuseppe Richichi, who is leading a protest, staged alongside fishermen and the self-styled Pitchfork Movement of farmers, which has brought traffic on the island to a standstill for days. The protest was originally scheduled to end at midnight on Friday, but police authorities allowed organisers to continue their action by 5 more days. The move is aimed at keeping the ‘Forza d’urto’ movement united, given that farmers and fishermen already announced they would continue their protest indefinitely, although in a softer form.

Is it the right way to protests in these times when everybody is called o big sacrifices? Why are the Sicilians reacting as the Greeks? Is it the Greek blood? Who is behind this movement? It looks like that parties from the extreme right have leadership positions in the movement. The name they picked for themselves “pitchforks” says to me that they are not so peaceful. Tourism will temporarily suffer from this. Please call local authorities or check with friends and relatives in the island if you are traveling during those dates.

Indignados Are in Messina

The squares around the world seem to be on fire. After the indignados of Madrid, Occupy Wall Street in New York, etc… the protests arrive in Sicily too.

According to Sergio Busà at Corriere della Sera, one of the major Italian newspapers, the protest broke out in Messina lately. View slideshow.

 

September in Sicily

September is a lovely month to visit Sicily. The weather is beautiful and the sea temperature is still wonderfully warm which makes it perfect for a late summer swim. There are less tourists compared to August which is Italy’s “holiday month” and beaches and other top attractions are not invaded by tourists.

Prices for accomodations and rentals drop from their high season levels by the middle of the month.
The first substancial rains arrive, usually after mid-month. For the temperature, the month of September can be considered an extension of the long Sicilian summer.

The weather is ideal for sightseeing, it’s an ideal time to visit Sicily’s beautiful towns, small medieval centers, archaeological ruins and natural reserves.

In September harvests begin throughout the island. Grapes are certainly the main fruit of the season but not only: almonds, pistachios, prickly pears and figs are at their best. This is the time of harvest celebrations and festivals organized to promote typical products of the different areas.

By Maria Lina Bommarito

Just Another Beautiful Sight…

I’m here in the veranda of my home in Cinisi relaxing after lunch. Here in Sicily as in other Southern regions, it is usual to rest in the afternoon, especially during the summer when the days are very hot. In front of me I have the most beautiful sight of the mountains of Cinisi that seems to reach the “Venus Paradise” blue-colored sky. For me it’s amazing and I never stop admiring this scene that Nature offers.

When I say to my husband (born in Sicily): “Isn’t it beautiful?”, he answers carelessly: “Sure, but it’s always been there.”. This indifference, this neutrality drives me mad. I must realize, though, that for him and for those born in this magnificent land, it’s normal to live surrounded by such beauty. It’s normal to wake up in the morning and see these thousand-year old mountains that change colors depending on the season or the hour of the day.

What is there to do? I’ll just continue admiring the mountains, the deep blue sea and all there is to see…of this wonderful island.

By Maria Lina Bommarito

Map

Vacation… Finally!

Vacation has finally arrived. Vacation is a time to relax and stay with loved ones. I am writing this post at midnight, just after finishing packing. Soon I will head back home for a few weeks and I look forward to it, even though I am happy to live the life I have in NYC. The last few months have been a continuous turmoil: the world seems to face an emergency everyday. It will be nice to take a break and worry about everything later on. Hopefully, things will improve for everybody soon.

SicilyGuide will not be completely idle while I am on vacation. I worked on a biography series of famous Sicilians that it is already running. I have to admit that I am learning a great deal myself thanks to the editing of these articles licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License that use material from the Wikipedia article “Metasyntactic variable” and Creative Commons by Commons Deed.

I would like to publish more posts and tweet a lot since I am on location, but I cannot promise I could do it. Last year I had a painful Internet connection at my parents’. I am always connected in the US: it is a big shock when I arrive home and I have no Internet access, but I get used to it in two days. The first day is the worst, but I guess this is what you can call a real vacation nowadays!

A few days ago, I published a poll. Thanks for all your answers. Most of our readers would like for SicilyGuide to expand its activities. I will study the possibility and try to meet potential suppliers back home. If anything seems feasible, I will try my best.

It is late now. Forgive me if you see any mistake here. Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep reading SicilyGuide!

P.S.: If I have the chance, I will keep posting.

A Nice Note from a Reader

It is really nice to hear from our readers. This is one of the last messages that we have received.

When we launched the Website with no budget a few years ago, our goal was to portray Sicily in a different and more positive way than the mainstream media without forgetting the problems that Sicily still has.

Emails like this one make us hope well for Sicily. Diane gave us permission to publish this note and we thank her very much for sharing.

Both of my parent’s families came from Italy. My mother’s family immigrated from Calabria, my father’s from Sicily. I am almost 60 years old and recently made my first trip. In all my travels in many countries in Europe, I have never experienced a kinder group of people. And the beauty of Sicily was far beyond what I imagined. My daughter, who had been to Greece said the ancient ruins were far more spectacular than anything she had seen in Greece. To top it off, I met the grandchildren of my grandmother’s identical twin sister outside of Palermo. (My grandmother came to the U.S. in 1913 for an arranged marriage and never saw her identical twin or her parents again). It was just an amazing trip. No matter how long it takes you to get there, it is so worth it!

Palermo Prison’s Inmates Have Been Banned from Wearing Designer Suits

Vogue reports that Italian criminals have been banned from wearing designer suits in prison. New governor of Palermo‘s Ucciardone prison Rita Barbera has banned labels such as Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Versace and Louis Vuitton from being worn inside in its walls.

“The popular image of this jail is linked to the silk suits of godfathers and we need to cancel that image,” Barbara told Italian newspaper La Stampa. “We need to cancel class differences and the showing off of status, power and wealth.”

The Palermo prison is known to its inmates as The Grand Hotel, with one prisoner Michele Catalano having thrown a Champagne and lobster birthday banquet in the gym – while another criminal arranged his daughter’s wedding in the jail chapel. The wives of the prisoners have been left less than happy with Barbera’s new rules.

Source: Vogue

They Do Not Make Things Easy for Lampedusa

 

Lampedusa is a small island south of Sicily. After the explosion of the Libyan war, this relatively quiet place turned into the very first harbor refugees from North Africa find on their way to Europe. The economy of the island is suffering a great deal and things have not improved in spite of all the politicians’ promises. Now Siremar – the main company that operates ferries between Porto Empedocle in Sicily and Lampedusa – and the major airlines flying into the island have increased their fares during the months that should bring the most tourists to the island. In the meantime, tourism is down 90%.

Remembering Paolo Borsellino

It is 19 years since judge Paolo Borsellino was assassinated by the Mafia in Sicily. It was a Sunday, I was in church for the feast of SS Redentore in my hometown of Pace del Mela. I saw somebody crying and screaming during the mass. Soon the voice spread out that Paolo Borsellino was killed with a bomb while visiting his mom in Palermo. This is his last public speech he gave remembering his friend and judge Giovanni Falcone assassinated on May 23, 1992 by the Mafia. These are truly national heroes.

Min 5:32 (Italian)

Enel SpA (ENEL), STMicroelectronics NV (STM) and Sharp Corp. Opened Italy’s Biggest Solar-Panel Plant in Sicily

Enel SpA (ENEL), STMicroelectronics NV (STM) and Sharp Corp. opened Italy’s biggest solar-panel plant to benefit from the Mediterranean basin’s growing renewable energy market.

The three spent a total of 300 million euros ($428 million) to 400 million euros on the venture to produce Sharp’s so-called multi-junction thin-film panels near Catania in Sicily. Initial capacity of 160 megawatts a year will rise to 480 megawatts.

“We are uniting our different know-hows to produce panels that we plan to market to the entire Mediterranean area,” Enel Chief Executive Officer Fulvio Conti said today in an interview at the plant. “While fossil fuels will continue to play a large role for some time, I see a very strong push towards renewable energy.”

More at Bloomberg.com

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