• Majolica - Sicilian Ceramic Art
It's literally a piece of Sicily. Terra cotta harvested from the earth and caressed by the Sicilian sun. It is formed, moulded. Then it's glazed - colors painted on a white background
define majolica - and fired at high temperatures. In some ways this is the purest Sicilian art, something that has withstood the test of time,
flourishing in Sicily for over four millennia. To call it "pottery," apart from the fact that vases are but one kind of object created in majolica,
doesn't do justice to this timeless art. Read more »»
• Sicilian Jewelry - Poetry in Gold
The word jewellery embraces so much that it can defy simple definition. In Sicily it usually implies gold,
but the island boasts some talented silversmiths. As elsewhere, white metal has been in vogue for some time. But a
few years ago when a certain person - this writer - wanted to give his wife something different, or at least against the
current trend, he turned to craftsmen to create something that couldn't be found in any shop in Sicily. And it ended up
costing less than what would have been charged by any other shop in a large city. But to the "outsider" it isn't always easy to
determine what's made in Sicily and what isn't. That's what we're here for. Read more »»
• Sicilian Wines - A Love Affair
It isn't about "luck." Great wines don't happen by pure chance. They're the result of the perfect grapes, cultivated the right way.
The ideal soil. Plenty of sunshine. If viticulture is a fairly sophisticated science, winemaking is a centuries-old art. In Sicily it has been
practiced for around thirty centuries, give or take a few. Beyond their long history, Sicily's wines have enjoyed a kind of "renaissance"
of late. No longer relegated to the world of fortified dessert wines like Marsala, they've earned their place alongside Italy's other regional
products. The pleasant surprise is that some of Sicily's best wineries have been around for decades, even generations. It's just that they weren't all
selling their wines under their own names. Read more »»
• Sicilian Olive Oil - Tasting Nature
We'll admit it: We're very biased. We prefer "natural," cold-pressed, unfiltered organic olive oils from Sicily. Not
the mass-produced oils made from olives pressed in Sicily but actually "imported" from elsewhere in Italy. We just think
fresh is better. And we refuse to compromise. The challenge is finding the best olive oils produced on Sicily's independent farms, where
organic is the order of the day and where families have cultivated olives for centuries. These aren't oils sold under names invented by retailers; they're the brands of the people who actually grow,
harvest and press the olives. It doesn't get more real than that. Read more »»
• Coppola - The Sicilian Golf Cap
Coppola is one of those arcane Sicilian words with more than one meaning. Nothing cryptic, though. It means
either cup or cap. We prefer the cap.
The secret is in the style - and the way you wear it. Available a spectrum of colors and models, it's much more than a golf cap.
Here the coppola is an artsy high-fashion statement. You
can wear a simple design and color for playing a round of golf, or just playing around. The caps are anything but
dowdy, and may even protect you from the elements. Can a simple cap represent an entire fashion culture? This one just might. Read more »»
• Antiques - A Glance into Sicily's Past
In a place with such an old history you might be forgiven for expressing surprise that there are so few antiques in
most Sicilian homes - be it furniture, paintings or everyday items. Not only do most Sicilian homes lack any sign
of life before 1900, most of the residences themselves are new, the exceptions being the historic
palazzi preferred by the few, having been acquired through inheritance or purchase. Apart from paintings and sculpture, antique furniture in Sicily falls into two general
categories: rustic arte povera and variations of the Baroque. Most of what is sold emanates either from churches or from aristocratic homes. Read more »»
• Women's Fashion - Beyond Clichés and Conformity
East and West. An invisible line running through the middle of Sicily, between two hilltop towns called Enna and Caltanissetta, separates the island
into two spheres of influence led by the rival cities of Palermo in the west and Catania in the east, the province of each metropolis boasting a million residents.
Catania is more commercial, a touch more staid and serious than slightly flamboyant, chaotic Palermo. The distinction is a very subtle one, yet its effect is felt slightly at the cutting
edge of women's fashion - reflected in things like the most stylish bridal dresses. When it comes to what women wear, Sicily has two designers of note, a Catanian and a Palermitan. Meet Marella Ferrera and
Roberta Lojacono. Read more »»
• Men's Fashion - "The Sicilian"
Does a men's "Sicilian style" exist beyond the imagination of a few designers far away in chilly Milan?
Yes... and no. Yes, there is a certain Sicilian mode of dressing, but it's really a subspecies of the Roman-Neapolitan
look, and in the hands of its more able proponents it is distinguished by a bit of sprezzatura - a kind of disdain for
everyday dress and perhaps for fashion itself. To the Sicilian male a blazer is little more than a convenient, and perhaps conventional,
sartorial crutch, nothing to be taken too seriously. Yet quality may sometimes be presumed, if less often than what you might expect, even
if neatness is hardly an obsession. Dapper Sicilian men are actually the exception that proves the rule. Strange but true. There
are a very few Sicilian shops which sell their own lines of suits, shirts and ties. We've found three of them. Read more »»
