Discovering Sicily

Scritto da Salvatore Midili

Piero: this time we decided to play at home, telling the story of my homeland, Sicily!

Angela: geographically, Sicily has the shape of a triangle: this conformation gave it the ancient name of Trinacria, with the three vertices represented by Capo Lilibeo in the west, Capo Peloro in the northeast, and Capo Passero in the southeast.

Piero: the name Trinacria was already used by Homer in the Odyssey. Its particular shape is also found in its symbol made of a woman's face, Medusa, surrounded by three legs representing the three vertices. Since classical antiquity, the name Trinacria was replaced by Sicania (from the name of the Sicani, the first inhabitants of the island) and then by the current name, Sicily. The term probably derives from the root of the name of some fruits that ripen quickly (for example Sikè, the fig), symbolizing fertility; more likely it derives from the Italic term sica, meaning sickle, which would be confirmed by the fact that for the Romans this was a land rich in grain and therefore reapers. According to myth, the name Sicily instead comes from a beautiful princess forced to leave her homeland to reach this wonderful and luminous island, warm and full of flowers, fruits, and scents, but absolutely deserted and solitary because the entire population had been killed by a plague; she was welcomed by a young man who gave her shelter and love; from her originated a strong and gentle race: the island would thus be named after the woman who repopulated it. It has always been considered the land of the sun, beloved by the god Apollo. According to myth, Sicily was born thanks to three nymphs wandering the sea, each gathering a handful of earth from the most fertile parts of the world: finally, they chose the clearest, bluest sky in the world, and from the three points where they stopped, they threw their handful of earth into the sea, creating the island. According to another myth, the island was born from the clash between gods and giants: Enceladus, one of them, tried to escape but fell into the Mediterranean, and Athena buried him under a rock—that rock is Sicily itself.

Estate 2013 in Sicilia - 141.JPG

Angela: even if we used this entire blog to tell about the beauty and wonders of this land, it might still not be enough, but let’s try anyway…

Piero: Sicily is a unique land, a wonderful blend of sun, sea, and culture that you probably won’t find in any other region in the world. A unique heritage, with an extraordinary concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Angela: not to mention its millennia-old history, shaped by the stories of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, and Spaniards.

Piero: we will try to get to know the myths, the folk traditions, and the sayings, born from a millennia-old culture and the use of a common language, Sicilian, still alive especially in small villages. Traditions often peculiar and sometimes picturesque that created the stereotype expressed by the term Sicilianità, meaning the unique character of the island compared to neighboring regions.

Angela: a land full of contrasts and contradictions: the water of the sea against the fire of the volcano; the black of the lava stone contrasting with the ochre of the limestone of Baroque towns; the lush green of the coast and the barren yellow of the inland; but above all the magnificent hospitality and warmth of the Sicilian people, opposed to the traits for which Cicero defined Sicilians as “sharp and suspicious people, born for controversies.”

Piero: people whose character is shaped by a “terrifying insularity of spirit,” as Tomasi di Lampedusa put it, because of the violence of the landscape, the cruelty of the climate, and the “external” dominations that, in exchange for magnificent and mysterious works of art, offered only oppression and taxes; dominations by peoples with finished civilizations and cultures to which the Sicilians always submitted without ever sprouting their own autonomous one.

Angela: today Sicily and the Sicilians are the extraordinary result of this story made up of heterogeneous civilizations in terms of religion, language, and traditions.

Piero: Sicilians are above all love for this land and proud attachment to their origins; but there is also a strong sense of inescapable fate combined with rejection of change. Giovanni Verga, in “I Malavoglia,” explains it well, describing the cult of “roba” (possessions) and the high sense of family, contrasted by the punishment of bad luck for those who want to change the world and are forced to return to the starting point, their land and their roots; likewise, Tomasi di Lampedusa in “The Leopard” recounts how “in Sicily it doesn’t matter if you do harm or good; the sin that we Sicilians never forgive is simply that of ‘doing’; in the deepest love for this land, I will never stop reproaching the atavistic stubbornness of those who, according to Tomasi di Lampedusa, never want to improve simply because they believe they are perfect, hiding misery with vanity.”

Angela: yours is surely a cry of pain from a lover hurt by distance. This is shown by the love and passion with which we will discover everything that gives charm to this wonderful land. In this wonderful journey, we will be accompanied by a new character, more or less imaginary, our “adopted son,” Alberto, ready to give us his suggestions and ideas.

Piero: we will certainly talk about well-known places, trying to uncover the more particular and lesser-known aspects; but we will also search for less frequented places off the usual tourist routes.

Angela: so let’s go! Here is the program:

Piero: follow us then!

Salvatore Midili
Avanti

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