Teresa Di Fresco

One night in 1171, King William II, known as “the Good,” was resting from the burdens of war and governance, as was customary for Norman kings, in an ancient Arab village called Balharā. In a dream, the Virgin Mary appeared …

“I looked out the window onto Boulevard Saint-Germain and watched life pass by. I thought: this is the life we should be giving form to. Life as it is now. What nudes? What neoclassicism? Where are the bathers? I poured …

Danilo Dolci wasn’t Sicilian, but he spent most of his life in Sicily and earned the nickname “the Italian Gandhi.” He lived in Trappeto, where he is also buried. Trappeto, a small town in the province of Palermo, is about …

Who knows what the weather was like at 8:45 p.m. on that Friday, March 12, 1909, in Palermo? A few people stood at the tram terminus in Piazza Marina when the sudden crack of four gunshots shattered the evening calm. …

Pietro Mascagni was just 27 years old when he composed Cavalleria Rusticana, a one-act opera that met with immediate success at its premiere on May 17, 1890, at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Inspired by Giovanni Verga’s novella of the …

If Termini Imerese, in the metropolitan area of Palermo, and Sciacca, in the province of Agrigento, compete for the title of the oldest Carnival in Sicily” while Aci Reale, in the metropolitan area of Catania, claims to host “he most …

May is a month rich in events, reflections, and remembrance. Traditionally dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, it is also known as the month of roses and the fragrance of spring flowers. It brings with it longer days, as …

In the eastern part of Sicily, south of Catania and north of Ragusa, lies Syracuse — the capital of its namesake province and a city steeped in centuries of history and culture. It’s also the birthplace of Archimedes, the famed …

When Agrigento was declared the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025 on May 25, 2023, the significance of the title and the preparations it required may not have been immediately clear. The journey since has been long and fraught with …

Etna, Idda (She), Mungibeddu (Mongibello), ‘a Muntagna — these are some of the names used for Europe’s largest, widest, and tallest volcano, located in the plain of Catania. It is often referred to in the feminine form, as if it …