I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I've had so many messages saying how much you enjoyed last week's video so today I want to introduce my husband and co-founder of Sicilian Connections, Pietro Santangelo.
The beginning of the video is in Italian for those of you who speak the language and the second part is in English - enjoy!
I hope you're enjoying getting to know the people behind the scenes of Sicilian Connections.
We love to hear about the people in our community so please leave us a comment and tell us a little about yourself.
Buongiorno a tutti! This is our first blog post of the year and I would like to take a moment to wish you and your family a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2019. We had such a lovely Christmas and it's been truly enjoyable to take some time out from the hustle of daily life and spend time together as a family.
If you have your own 'Sicilian Connections' or even if you've simply been following the news, you will be aware that we have also had some worrying times over the past couple of months.
Our family in Adrano and Nicolosi spent several nights out on the street after being woken from their sleep by shaking beds and moving furniture. Mount Etna has certainly been very active lately and this has caused a frightening number of earthquakes throughout the region.
The province of Catania is used to living in the shadow of the fiery mountain and my husband even laughs how he and his friends used to go and play football near the flowing lava when they were young. However, the latest tremors have definitely caused concern and even the older generations can only remember a slight quivering of the light shades many years ago; nothing compared to the violent earthquakes that have been occurring over the past few months.
We are all praying that Etna has now got rid of any lingering anger and has finally settled down for a long winter's nap!
We were very happy that La Befana made a visit to our home on the eve of the Epiphany and our daughters were so pleased with the presents she left them. Does La Befana come to your home on her broom every year? I would love to hear about your stories and traditions.
If you would like to learn more about the Italian tradition of La Befana you should hop over to my earlier blog Buon Anno Nuovo and watch the good witch herself tell her enchanting story.
I'm very excited for 2019 as we have lots of lovely things happening over the next few months. If you feel like you want to get more involved in our Sicilian Connections community then definitely watch this space (& click 'follow' for new blog notifications).
I wish you a happy day or a 'buona giornata' and look forward to speaking to you again very soon!
P.S. - We have a BRAND NEW Christmas Guide out packed with Sicilian recipes and festive traditions!! Go to www.sicilianconnections.com to grab your copy :-)
Buongiorno a tutti! I hope that you are all well and enjoying this lovely Spring sunshine. Today I want to write about one of my favourite festivals in Sicily which is the 'Festa di Sant'Alfio' in the town of Adrano. This festival will take place on the 26th May 2013 and features a parade of beautiful Sicilian carts being pulled through the streets by intricately adorned horses.
The first parade will take place on the 25th May at 6.30pm and the second will be at 10.30am on the Sunday the 26th May. The horse's riders are all in traditional costume and play Sicilian instruments whch makes for a very festive atmosphere. At 5.15pm on Sunday there will also be a procession of the three Saints - Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, the three young brothers who were martyred in the nearby town of Lentini in 253 AD.
Now that Spring is here it is also finally 'granita' time on the island of Sicily! This is one of my favourite Sicilian delicacies and is similar to a sorbet. Here is the recipe for Almond Granita which is my all-time favourite flavour! -
Granita di Mandorla
600 ml Water
250g Blanched Almonds
125g Caster Sugar
1) Put the almonds, sugar and the water in a blender and process until as smooth as possible.
2) Pour the resulting almond milk into a large sieve lined with a clean J-cloth or muslin set over a bowl. Leave to drip overnight. Help it along every so often by gripping the cloth and squeezing the liquid through. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the almonds.
3) Pour into a shallow container and freeze, roughly forking the crystals 4 or 5 times during the freezing process. Serve.
When you have made your Granita di Mandorla, you can watch this video of last year's Sant'Alfio celebrations in Adrano while you enjoy it. Now you can truly feel that you are in the midst of the Sicilian springtime! -
Amici, if you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon at the top right of the page. Grazie mille for your support!!
Buongiorno a tutti i miei amici!! I hope that you are all well and finally enjoying some Spring sunshine :-)
We are now in Easter week which is one of the most significant periods in the Sicilian calendar. Every year, the atmosphere in Sicilian towns changes considerably throughout the week according to the day and its religious implications. Even the weather usually changes accordingly, with the week prior to Easter being dark and miserable only to give way to glorious sunshine on Easter Sunday. My own personal experiences of the week's events have mostly been in the town of Adrano, which is situated at the foot of Mount Etna, in the province of Catania. The processions are so elaborate and moving in this town, and they attract thousands of devotees.
Today the procession of 'Cristo alla Colonna' takes place from 6pm until 3am tomorrow morning, when the statue of Christ on the cross is carried throughout the streets of Adrano, calling in at each of the town's churches in order for the men carrying the statue to kneel at each altar. This is so emotional to watch as the statue is carried very slowly, three steps forward then two steps back, and sways from side to side.
On Good Friday from 7am until 2pm the statue of the Virgin Mary, l'Addolorata, is carried through the streets visiting each church looking for her son Jesus, and at 8pm there is the procession of 'Cristo Morto'. In dialect, this is 'U Lizzanti' and is the statue of the body of Jesus which makes four stops around the town, each time accompanied by a marching band playing the funeral song 'Canzoncina a Gesù morto'.
On Easter Sunday the sun shines bright in the sky and hundreds of families head towards the town centre to see the procession of 'Cristo Risorto' (Christ Resurrected), the Angel and of 'Maria Annunziata' (Virgin Mary).
The happiest time of the day is when the statues of Jesus and Mary finally meet and this is known as 'A Paci'. The statues are made to dance and kiss and the atmosphere in the piazza is so happy and uplifting. Adrano is renowned for 'la Diavolata', which is a theatrical production held outside in the piazza on Easter Sunday and depicts the fight between good (symbolised by angels) and evil (the devils). In the evening the town holds an incredible fireworks display.
I wish each one of you a 'Buona Pasqua' and leave you with a video in Italian showing the highlights of Easter in Adrano -
Amici, if you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon at the top right of the page. Grazie mille for your support!!
Buongiorno a tutti i miei amici!! I hope that you are all well and enjoying the Spring sunshine :-)
We are now entering a period which, to me, is the most significant week in the Sicilian calendar, and that is Easter. Every year, the atmosphere in Sicilian towns changes considerably throughout the week according to the day and its religious implications. Even the weather usually changes accordingly, with the week prior to Easter being dark and miserable, only to give way to glorious sunshine on Easter Sunday. My own personal experiences of the week's events have mostly been in the town of Adrano, which is situated at the foot of Mount Etna, in the province of Catania. The processions are so elaborate and moving here, and they attract thousands of devotees.
Today the procession of 'Cristo alla Colonna' takes place from 6pm until 3am tomorrow morning, when the statue of Christ on the cross is carried throughout the streets of Adrano, calling in at each of the town's churches in order for the men carrying the statue to kneel at each altar. This is so emotional to watch as the statue is carried very slowly, three steps forward then two steps back, and sways from side to side. On Good Friday from 7am until 2pm the statue of the Virgin Mary, l'Addolorata, is carried through the streets visiting each church looking for her son Jesus, and at 8pm there is the procession of 'Cristo Morto'. In dialect, this is 'U Lizzanti' and is the statue of the body of Jesus which makes four stops around the town, each time accompanied by a marching band playing the funeral song 'Canzoncina a Gesù morto'.
On Easter Sunday the sun is normally bright in the sky and hundreds of families head towards the town centre to see the procession of 'Cristo Risorto' (Christ Resurrected), the Angel and of 'Maria Annunziata' (Virgin Mary). The happiest time of the day is when the statues of Jesus and Mary finally meet and this is known as 'A Paci'. The statues are made to dance and kiss and the atmosphere in the piazza is so happy and uplifting. Adrano is renowned for 'la Diavolata', which is a theatrical production held outside in the piazza on Easter Sunday and depicts the fight between good (symbolised by angels) and evil (the devils). In the evening the town holds an incredible fireworks display.
I wish each one of you a 'Buona Pasqua' and will leave you with a video in Italian showing the highlights of Easter in Adrano -
Amici, if you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon at the top right of the page. Grazie mille for your support!!
September is known to be a month full of festivals in the Italian calendar and most Sicilians have recently spent their summer celebrating occasions such as 'Ferragosto', therefore this seemed like the perfect opportunity to write about the festivals which form such an integral part of the Sicilian culture. These 'feste' provide the perfect occasion for Sicilian communities to come together, share news with family and friends and indulge in the vast variety of festival food on offer. Many merchants come together and set up stalls selling everything from jewellery and clothes to paintings and sculptures. The atmosphere is always full of anticipation and excitement as everybody joins in the 'passeggiata' along the promenade or through the streets dressed in their 'vestiti della Domenica' or Sunday best!
The main highlight of the summer for Italians is 'Ferragosto' which is celebrated on the 15th August. The majority of Italian workers are on holiday over this period and journey to seaside resorts for the festivities. In Sicily, many groups of friends and family spend the night of the 14th August sleeping on the beach, lighting bonfires and participating in a traditional midnight swim. Everybody then gathers together to watch the sunrise before heading to the local café for their espresso coffee and their granita & brioche. One of my most memorable summer moments was spent doing just this on the Giardini Naxos beach in Messina..........truly unforgettable!
The main religious festival during the summer is that of Santa Rosalia, the Patron Saint of Palermo. Thousands of visitors come to the city on the 15th July to see the statue of the saint being paraded through the streets and on the 4th September devotees walk barefoot from the city of Palermo to Mount Pellegrino in her honour. At the beginning of the twentieth century Sicilian immigrants took the tradition of the Feast of Santa Rosalia over to New York to the first Italian parish in Brooklyn - the Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen's Church in Carroll Gardens. The festival has since moved to the Bensonhurst neighbourhood.
My favourite summer festival in Sicily is that of San Pietro in the town of Adrano in Catania on the 1st August. I just love the intimate atmosphere in the small piazza where the statue of the saint is carried out of the church. When it comes to choosing my favourite festival food it would have to be 'zeppole di San Giuseppe', also known as 'crespelle'. You can enjoy these filled with ricotta cheese or anchovies or made with rice and covered with honey.......absolutely buonissimo! :-)
Be sure to get in touch with stories and photos about your favourite summer festival!
