I was born in a town by the sea, water and sun are my vital elements and yet I love mountains and woods very much. In the 1970s, in the Magaggiaro locality, a few kilometres from Montevago, on a large expanse of uncultivated land, the forestry company began planting pines, Read more…
Saturday 6 January 1968, the last day of the Christmas holidays. Also that year I celebrated the Holy Epiphany in Montevago with my family. Mass at the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, a visit to the friars, a stop to admire the magnificent nativity scene and, finally, a hot Read more…
Today baccalà, better known in English as cod, is part of the culinary traditions of every Italian region, yet this particular fish from the northern seas arrived in Italy following unusual routes. Perhaps many know the story of the Venetian merchant who was shipwrecked in 1432 in the Lafoten Islands Read more…
That day Eolo left Syracuse, his father’s hometown, to go and discover the other wonders of the land of his ancestors. He had come from Australia and had already travelled several kilometers, when his peaceful journey was blocked by roadwork on a bridge. Eolo did not know the territory and Read more…
Once upon a time there was the festival of the dead. Many years ago, the commemoration of the dead in Sicily was one of the most heartfelt anniversaries by families and most awaited by children. Death was not seen with sadness and pain but as a moment of joy. The Read more…
November 2001. Ten years had passed since my mother’s death. During those ten long years I had not yet opened the trunk where she had stored part of my trousseau, the antiques, handed down by the women of our family. That morning I let myself be carried away by nostalgia Read more…
“The key to everything is found in Sicily”, wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On the other hand, in the green Ionian valleys of the Peloritani Mountains, I found the roots of two Sicilians: Agatino and Michael Cavalieri. One look at the Mungibebbu and another at the blue sea of the Read more…
During the twenty-two hours of flight I slept little, but I fantasized a lot. The Jetstar Airways aircraft landed at Melbourne’s Tullamarine right on time. After a thorough baggage check by the airport authorities, I finally go to the exit and the first thing I see is Carmela D’Amore’s dazzling Read more…
That day the heat was unbearable, so we decided to stop in Castellammare del Golfo and then continue our journey at sunset. Gianni, our tour guide, with a smile began: – What a coincidence, my mother is from Castellammare and, when I was little, I spent every summer there with Read more…
A light drizzle fell on the windows of the car. Suddenly the flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder startled me. The rain was turning into a storm and I thought it prudent to spend the night in one of the villages in the valley. I don’t know why Read more…
