SICILIAN WAY

The traveller explores the senses, the culture and in particular the secrets of the land that he is visiting.

This is why we have decided to dedicate to you, traveller, a space in which we explain what you cannot miss: the hidden places and traditions of our land, for the pleasure of discovering the best of our Sicily and...the Sicilians.

                                  

                                                               CULTURE

Sicilian History

Sicily is the biggest and the richest Island in the Mediterranean Sea, it was colonized by different civilizations, Greek, Roman, Arabs, Norman, Spanish, those cultures enriched Sicily with monuments and relics that make the region one of the privileged places where history can be relived through remarkable signs.Sicily knew and still knows how to enchant its  visitors, Johann Goethe was amazed by its scents, colors and traditions describing it as “Incredibly beautiful”.

Mafia: how everything started.

The Sicilian Mafia is a historical phenomenon, and its customs and rules have changed over time, following the evolution of our region. Its origins probably date from the period between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At that time, while the rest of Europe tends to strengthen the central power, Sicily is witnessing the fragmentation of power and, consequently, the law. The feudal lords come soon in competition with the weak central government and its local representatives. The poor and the middle class, subject to the power and abuses of the barons, started to feel not protected by the law, unable to ensure public order. In this context a privatization of violence, started to be common in Sicily, even as a precondition for security, and soon many “associations “were able to guarantee .These groups soon began to settle down, forming gangs, secret and subject to strict rules and be able to support each other.

                                                                     Art

The Sicilian Cart

The history of the “Carretto Siciliano” is dating form 1800, when streets were not well developed, so it was the idea of using carts with high wheels, able to overcome any obstacle encountered on the tragit .Jean Baptiste Gonzalve de Nervo was the first one to describe a Carretto Siciliano, saying that there were pictures on the sides of the Virgin or some Saints, derived from painting on glass, very popular in those days in Sicily, and their horses covered by a leather harness and adorned with plates of gold nails, and on his head a plume of yellow and red.The colors red and yellow are the colors of Sicily.

Sicilian Puppet Theatre

Puppets (from the Latin pupus, i, which means little child) are the characteristic armoured marionettes of the epic popular theatre from first half of the nineteenth century, in Sicily, where it was to reach its full development.For more than a century protagonists of a theatre for people, the Sicilian Puppets were unarmed in the beginning but soon appeared dressed with armor more or less as they are today.

The Dancing Satyr

The torso was recovered from the sandy sea floor as a depth of 500 m (1600 ft.) off the southwestern coast of sicily, on the night of March 4, 1998, in the nets of the same fishing boat (operating from Mazara del Vallo, hence the sculpture's name) that had ,the previous night discovered the sculpture's left leg. Though the satyr is missing both arms, one leg and its separately-cast tail (fixed in a surviving hole at the base of the spina), its head and torso are remarkably well-preserved despite millennia spent at the bottom of the sea. The satyr is depicted in mid-leap, head thrown back ecstatically and back arched, his hair swinging with the movement of his head. The facture is highly refined, the whites of his eyes are inlays of white alabaster.

Gastronomy

The Sicilian gastronomy it is one oldest in Italy, and the richest in specialities.The main ingredients are Vegetables and Fish, where aromatic spices make them irresistible like: Basil, Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Laurel, Sage, Wild Onions and Fennel mixed together Lemon and Orange rind, Breadcrumb, Pine nut and Lemon juice.Used as well, are Almonds, Nuts, and Pistachios, useful for the preparation of desserts.

The most famous dishes are :

Pasta alla Norma (Fried Aub ergines and Ricotta cheese with tomato sauce) Pasta con le Sarde (Sardines, Fennel, Breadcrumb and Raisins) Parmigiana (Baked Aubergines with cheese and Tomato sauce) Caponata di Verdure (Mix of stir fried vegetables enriched with raisins)

For dessert the most known are :

Cassata (Ricotta cheese cake with almond paste and candied fruit) Torrone (Toasted almond with sugar in a bar shape) Cannoli (Filled with Ricotta cheese ) Frutta Martorana (Almond paste with the shape of fruits or vegetables)

Sicilian Cinema 

The cinema’s history begins in Sicily in the early years of the twentieth century and over the decades the island has been used as film sets for many operas.
Many films were written from works of Leonardo Sciascia, Louis Capuana, Federico De Roberto, Ercole Patti, Elio Vittorini, Vitaliano Brancati, Gesualdo Bufalino and Luigi Pirandello.
Among the most famous films stand out: La Terra Trema, Il Gatto pardo, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Malena and Baaria.
Even the Mafia had and still has space in the cinema, films like the Godfather, Salvatore Giuliano, La Piovra, and Montalbano, are works  inspired by events happened in Sicily.
Leonardo Sciascia, known Sicilian writer, said "Sicily is Cinema ", as many ideas and places can be found in this beautiful island.