Heritage

On 13 December, Italians celebrate Santa Lucia, a very important feast in the North as well as in Sicily. The name Lucia comes from Latin and means Lux (light): it dates back to the pagan celebration of winter solstice before …

Rome is a city famous for its fountains. The largest and most celebrated one is the Fountain of Trevi, so called because it is situated at the center of three converging streets (tre vie). Some say that the Trevi fountain …

Legend says that, on a cold and rainy day, a soldier from Rome named Martino, while riding his horse, saw a man on the road almost freezing because of the low temperature. Martino really wanted to help the man, but …

The wheel has been around for at least 6000 years… from Mesopotamia in the Middle East all the way to central Europe. No one really knows when it was “invented”. Wheels move people, wood for making fires and the construction …

Wherever you go in Italy, it’s amazing to see how ancient donkey paths have been lovingly and beautifully maintained over the course of history. They are still used on a daily basis–a necessity, since most of the towns throughout Italy …

Rick Geary è un fumettista con l’anima di uno storico, uno di quegli artisti che con il passare degli anni non smette di amare l’arte per cui ha dedicato tutta la sua vita. E il suo lavoro artistico non smentisce …

One of the many unique features/characteristics of Lecce is its dramatic architecture.  Every where you look–and you must look every where–your gaze will be met with rich Baroque ornamentation.   Lecce is often referred to as the “Florence of the …

In the first half of this two-part discussion, we left off with the question, “How did St. Nicholas become Santa Claus?” I must answer by first explaining that the custom of gift-giving, especially to children during the Christmas Season, is …

2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Giovanni Meli, Sicily’s most celebrated poet, who died of pneumonia on December 20, 1815. Prof. Giovanni Ruffino, director of the Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani, in collaboration with Sicily’s …

January 7 is the National Day of the Flag and this year Italy celebrates the 219th anniversary of the birth of the First Tricolore, was invented in the city of Reggio Emilia in 1797, as the flag of the Republic …