Festivals
A few of our days and a couple roadtrips centered on Sicilian festivals, events where you can get a real feel for local life. We were fortunate to be in Capo d’Orlando once again for their annual religious festival. It was fun sharing the centuries old tradition with Anna and Jenny.
Frank and I had gone to Floresta’s Mushroom Festival in 2015. The mountain town now holds four consecutive weekend festivals featuring a plethora of tasty food choices. We knew Debbie and Red would love it — and they did!
Frank had been on an unsuccessful hunt for a good sausage sandwich (in Sicily? go figure!) so we decided to scope out the Black Pig Festival in Cesarò with Jenny and Sabiha.
Santo Stefano di Camastra
We took many of our guests to nearby Santo Stefano, the pretty little town known for its colorful ceramics.
Bottom: Local deaths are announced with paper postings.
Do you know the story of the iconic Sicilian ceramic heads? Although there are many variations, The Times of Sicily explains, “The original folk tale comes from Palermo and tells of a Saracen merchant who falls in love with a beautiful local girl. Together they start a passionate love affair, until the girl discovers her lover has a wife and children waiting for him in his homeland. In a fit of jealously and rage she murders him in his sleep, cutting off his head, so that her lover would stay with her forever. The girl uses the head as a vase to grow a beautiful basil plant.”
Waltzing Wanderers 5 