Cala Palermo – Slideshow

The Cala di Palermo is the oldest port of the city, situated in a cove between Via Francesco Crispi  and Foro Italico. Recently, it has been restored and about 50,000 cubic miles of illegal constructions have been demolished. The new cala was inaugurated on July 29, 2011 and represents a first, but important step for Palermo to recuperate its green space.

Slideshow

 

 

Map

 

Messina Before and After the 1908 Earthquake (Slideshow)

Messina was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami on the morning of December 28, 1908, killing over 75,000 people and destroying most of the ancient architecture. Here is a slideshow of old photos that shows how it was before.

Cinisi Sicily

Piano Margi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiaggia Magaggiari

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Maria Lina Bommarito

Alcantara River in Sicily (Photo)

The Alcantara (Sicilian: Alcàntara) is a river in Sicily. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is 52 km (32 mi) long.

The name Alcantara is of Arabic origin (Arabic: القنطرة‎ al-Qanṭarah, ‘the Bridge’) and refers to a bridge from Roman times found by the Arabs. Thucydides called it Akesines Potamos while its Latin names were “Assinus or Assinos” and “Onobala“.Cantera was another hydronym adopted by Normans. (Wikipedia)

Photo: Cala Rossa Nearby Terrasini (PA)

On the northwestern coast nearby Terrasini (Pa)

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The Procession of the Mysteries in Trapani (Photos)

Franca Calderone, a professional photographer and dear friend of Sicily Guide, was in Trapani for the Procession of the Mysteries on Good Friday and took wonderful black & white pictures of the event. Franca said that the procession started on April 22 at 2:00PM and lasted about 24 hours, until about 2:30PM of the following day. She photographed the exit of the 21 votive varas at the exit and entrance at the church, which took four hours each time!

You can see for yourself how religious and pagan the procession appears from the photos. To learn more about Franca Calderone, visit her blog at http://francacalderone.wordpress.com/.

Enjoy the slideshow!

San Vito Lo Capo (Photo)

No words…

Delicious Carnival Temptations from Sicily

Carnival is celebrated in Sicily as the final pagan celebration before the religious Ash Wednesday recurrence. As you might already know, each festivity has its special culinary traditions in the island. For Carnival many special sweets are prepared to celebrate these days of conviviality.

Every town and every family has their own special dessert made out of recipes handed down from generation to generation. The most famous Carnival treat is the Sicilian cannolo filled with sweet ricotta, which is well known and can be found all year round.

Another specialty is the sweet raviolo also called cassatella or cassatedda in Sicilian dialect. These pastries are filled with ricotta cream or with a special sweet paste made with chick peas.

The sfince is also prepared for Carnival. The plain fried sfince hasan “e” shape and is dipped in sugar and cinnamon. Another variety of sfince is deep fried and staffed with ricotta cream garnished with candied cherries and orange peel.

The chiacchere is very popular in Sicily for Carnival. These light and crunchy fritter has an ancient origin which probably dates back to the Roman Period and can be found in other parts of Italy with different names (i.e. sfrappole in Bologna).

A wide variety of deliciousness, indeed!

By Maria Lina Bommarito

Photo Gallery

Cinisi’s Carnival

March 5, 2011 3:00 pm

to

March 10, 2011 10:00 pm

Cinisi is a beautiful town about 12 miles away from Palermo, surrounded by the mountains and  Mediterranean Sea. Carnival is certainly one of the the most important traditions and cultural events in town.

Each year thousands of visitors come to Cinisi to actively take part to celebrate Carnival. The brightly colored and paper-maché floats mounted on carriages are the main attraction of Cinisi’s Carnival. These two-story high floats are put in motion with mechanical movements. The characters, usually of satirical nature, move their arms and heads while strolling along main street of the town. The floats – illuminated and surrounded by masked dancers – create an impressive atmosphere. Loud speakers blast sambas and Latin-American music to which it is impossible to resist.

This year the Carnival celebrations start on Saturday March 5 for five days of thrilling excitement. The arrival of the nannu, a puppet that represents the spirit of Carnival starts the celebrations. In the evening musical bands perform in the town’s main square.  Sunday is the big day of the the Carnival Float Parade to which all school children participate dressed up.

Slideshow

On Monday, comical performances of improvised actors enchant the public with their original sketches and funny costumes.

On Tuesday the colored floats make their way again along the main street to reach the square where the jury decides which float is the winner of the 2011 Carnival Contest. After that, the
celebrations continue with masquerades and dancing until dawn. Cinisi’s Carnival is popularly known as one of the most involving and most exciting carnivals in
Sicily.

By Maria Lina Bommarito

A visit to Palermo Vucciria’s Market – (Photos)

It has been years since the last time I visited the Vuccirìa market. The event Wuccirìa made me return to see what was going on there. I was very impressed how well attended the event looked with the many tourists walking around the market streets. The Vuccirìa market can certainly be considered a tourist attraction and Wuccirìa was a real success. Many people participated to the charity fish auction, which was a real show with music and dances.

The weather was gorgeous that day. I enjoyed strolling through the colorful fruit stands overwhelmed with fresh fruits and vegetables, so nicely arranged. There was every sort of typical Sicilian product of the season: prickly pears, pomegranates, grapes, persimmons, broccoli, squash, etc. Among the fruit and vegetable stands were fish mongers, butchers, spice merchants, all shouting to attract the attention of the customers. This was certainly an entertaining experience, a full immersion in Palermo’s most picturesque historic market as you can see from the slideshow below. Next time you are in Palermo, the Vuccirìa is a must see!

By Maria Lina Bommarito

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