Good Things From Italy - Le Cose Buone d'Italia

Comiso in South East Sicily In his second Sicilian report Pat Keenan flew into a new airport, visited a charming town, admired some great artistic riches and had another encounter with dead monks [...]

Modica chocolate might be an official Italian food, but it has a truly international heritage. chocolate that comes from Modica. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas they learned of chocolate from the Aztecs. Using a special stone rolling pin, the Aztecs would grind cocoa pods and mix them with spices to create Xocoàtl, a chocolate that was considered a sign of wealth and said to confer strength. When the Spanish ruled Sicily they introduced this method of making chocolate to the island.[...]

San Nicolo L’Arena was the second largest monastery in Europe with endless corridors, cloistered gardens and immense halls. An earthly paradise now populated by students.

A tour of the noisy Palermo market resembles a visit to an Oriental bazaar. Here you can have all senses are battered by crowding, shouting and strange sights and odours as a reminder of Sicily’s historical ties with the Arab world and the proximity to North Africa.[...]
In Palermo dialect Vucceria means ‘confusion’ and the market generally lives up to this name. It is open long into the evening, which may explain the local saying ‘quannu e balati ra Vucciria s’asciucanu’ – when the Vucceria pavement becomes dry – as an indication of something that will never happen.[...]

Castelbuono is a small town in the mountains near Palermo, Sicily.
The unexpected things you see when you look up – like Arabic-inspired towers with shimmering blue fish-scale tiling …
Latin inscription over the gate to the 14th century Sicilian castle which gives the town its name. The castle was originally called Castello del Buon Aere – the good air castle – owing to its breezy position at the top of a hill. [...]

This tiny archipelago off Sicily's west coast will transport you back to la dolce vita, Fifties-style

The Egadi Islands are a tiny archipelago off Sicily’s west coast. I first visited them in the early Nineties and in the 20-odd years since it’s safe to say that little has changed.

Whereas the Armani set has descended on other Sicilian islands such as Lipari and Pantelleria, leading to a rash of smart hotels and high summer prices, Levanzo, Favignana and Marettimo remain, for the most part, as sleepy, peaceful and unaffected as ever. [...]

Sicily has beautiful black-sand beaches, a volcano to ski on and desserts to satisfy the sweetest tooth.
Plus 8,000 mummified citizens in the catacombs of Palermo, to keep you awake at night.
Oh, and the Mafia? There are hundreds of places to eat, shop and sleep run by Sicilians who have said no to organized crime.
1. Sicily isn't all that Italian
2. If you meet the Mafia, you won't know it
3. The bikini is very old news here
4. Sicily rivals Greece for ancient Greek architecture
5. Desserts will satisfy the sweetest tooth
6. Manners remain very formal
7. You can ski on a volcano
8. Mummies are a weird attraction
9. The beaches are black and white
10. The wine's no longer all swill

(click on the photo to read more)

During the Festa, the statue of Santa Lucia is carried through the streets of Syracuse, no mean feat considering that the statue alone is made of 90 kilos of silver, and it stands on a huge base of carved silver – no wonder it takes 60 men to carry it.  But back to those eyes on a plate.

Several versions of Lucia’s martyrdom are told, including having her eyes gouged out by Diocletian soldiers when she refused to renounce her Christian faith, or even tearing her own eyes out in a rather overly dramatic gesture of her dedication to Christ.  Therefore, Santa Lucia is commonly depicted with the symbol of her eyes on a plate.  Syracuse’s splendid statue of Lucia is no exception. Lucia’s right hand holds a plate, offering her eyes to God.

The name Lucia comes from the word luce – light.  She is the protector of eyesight, the patron saint of Syracuse, of ophthalmologists and electricians, and of the blind.

The Festa of Santa Lucia begins with the statue being carried out of the Duomo on the shoulders of the berretti verdi – green berets – accompanied by a raucous display of fireworks. The procession becomes solemn as it slowly winds along the waterfront and through the city until dusk, when the statue is carried into the Church of Santa Lucia, where it remains for 8 days.  On December 20, traditionally the shortest day of the year with the least luce, the statue is carried back to the Duomo in another procession, and locked away until the following May.