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Few places in the world have experienced such an intense and eventful history as Sicily. It has been rocked by revolts and power struggles and rejoiced in great splendor and freedoms. Over thousands of years this small island has been a crossroads for many peoples, religions and cultures. Its melting-pot of influences has created a unique spirit of 'Sicilian-ness'. Through the evocative photographs of Melo Minnella, Sicily Art, History and Culture captures the elusive spirit of Sicily, its inhabitants and its landscape. It offers a sweeping account of the island, from ancient history to the present day.
“Reading these guides is the next best thing to actually going there with them in hand.” —Foreword Magazine AN ENGAGING INTRODUCTION TO A CULTURAL GIANT Long before it became an Italian offshore island, Sicily was the land in the center of the Mediterranean where the great civilizations of Europe and Northern Africa met. Sicily today is familiar and unfamiliar, modernized and unchanging. Visitors will find in an out-of-the-way town an Aragonese castle, will stumble across a Norman church by the side of a lesser travelled road, will see red Muslim-styles domes over a Christian shrine, will find a Baroque church of breathtaking beauty in a village, will catch a glimpse from the motorway of a solitary Greek temple on the horizon and will happen on a the celebrations of the patron saint of a run-down district of a city, and will stop and wonder. There is more to Sicily than the Godfather and the mafia.
Sicily by Cleveland Museum of Art,Palazzo Ajutamicristo (Palermo, Italy). Pdf
Published on the occasion of the exhibition Sicily: art & invention between Greece and Rome, on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa in Malibu, from April 3 to August 19, 2013; at the Cleveland Museum of Art from September 30, 2013 to January 5, 2014; and at Palazzo Ajutamicristo, Palermo, from February 14 to June 15, 2014.
Author : John Julius Norwich Publisher : Random House Page : 400 pages File Size : 40,9 Mb Release : 2015-07-21 Category : History ISBN : 9780812995190
Critically acclaimed author John Julius Norwich weaves the turbulent story of Sicily into a spellbinding narrative that places the island at the crossroads of world history. “Sicily,” said Goethe, “is the key to everything.” It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily’s strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world’s most powerful dynasties. Yet Sicily has often been little more than a footnote in books about other empires. John Julius Norwich’s engrossing narrative is the first to knit together all of the colorful strands of Sicilian history into a single comprehensive study. Here is a vivid, erudite, page-turning chronicle of an island and the remarkable kings, queens, and tyrants who fought to rule it. From its beginnings as a Greek city-state to its emergence as a multicultural trading hub during the Crusades, from the rebellion against Italian unification to the rise of the Mafia, the story of Sicily is rich with extraordinary moments and dramatic characters. Writing with his customary deftness and humor, Norwich outlines the surprising influence Sicily has had on world history—the Romans’ fascination with Greek civilization dates back to their sack of Sicily—and tells the story of one of the world’s most kaleidoscopic cultures in a galvanizing, contemporary way. This volume has been a long time coming—Norwich began to explore Sicily’s colorful history during his first visit to the island in the early 1960s. The dean of popular historians leads his readers through the millennia with the steady narrative hand of a master teacher or the world’s most learned tour guide. Like the island itself, Sicily is a book brimming with bold flavors that begs to be revisited again and again. Praise for Sicily “Suavely readable . . . The very model of a popular historian, [Norwich] writes to give pleasure to the common reader. And what pleasure it is.”—The Wall Street Journal “Entertaining on every page . . . There is something ancient and sorrowful in Sicily, ‘some dark, brooding quality,’ just as captivating as its spellbinding history or its beautiful and varied landscapes, from beaches to lemon groves, pine forests to volcanoes. . . . The most amiable and freewheeling of guides, Norwich will always find time for the amusing anecdote.”—The Sunday Times “Utterly engrossing . . . written with passion about the art and architecture of this magical island, filled with gossipy tidbits and sweeping historical theories.”—The Daily Beast “Dazzling . . . Norwich is an elegantly graceful and entertaining storyteller.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “Charming . . . richly nuanced history relayed with enormous fondness.”—Kirkus Reviews “A brisk and always-lively tour.”—Open Letters Monthly “Norwich is deeply in love with Sicily. [His] boundless affection has inspired a determined effort to understand its painful past. The result is impressionistic, as love often is.”—The Times “Norwich sketches personalities vividly. . . . He does the island and the reader a generous service in providing such an amiable introduction.”—The Sunday Telegraph “Norwich tells [Sicily’s] long, sad but fascinating story with sympathy and brio.”—Literary Review
Sicily by Dirk Booms,Peter Higgs (Museum curator) Pdf
"Sicily's central location and natural resources have meant that various peoples have sought to conquer, control and settle on the island throughout its 3000-year history. Its Italian identity, with which we are familiar today, emerges only comparatively recently. Under the successive rule of Greeks, Muslim Arabs, and medieval Normans, the island achieved a distinctly heterogeneous identity, becoming at times a major political actor in the Mediterranean and one of the wealthiest and most culturally prosperous places in the region. This book is the catalog that the British Museum is publishing for its major Spring 2016 exhibition, Sicily: Culture and Conquest. Written by two curators at the British Museum, this book highlights Sicily's long history as a cultural crossroads and battleground between empires and faiths. The book is illustrated with 200 images of objects from the British Museum's collection of Sicilian art and artifacts spanning almost 3000 years. Through text and art, the book uses art, architecture, and a remarkable selection of objects--from monumental metopes and beautiful mosaics to reliquary pendants and chess pieces (many revealing a distinct Sicilian character and style)--to provide a visually stunning insight into the key periods of Sicily's extraordinary past"--
Discover the rich history and culture of some of the world¿s most influential historical places with these highly illustrated books, packed with information and enlightening descriptions.
Whether you’re vacationing in Italy or simply an armchair traveler, this guide to the Mediterranean island of Sicily is a dazzling introduction to the region’s rich 3,000-year history and culture. A rich and fascinating cultural history of the Mediterranean’s enigmatic heart Sicily is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, and for over 2000 years has been the gateway between Europe, Africa and the East. It has long been seen as the frontier between Western Civilization and the rest, but never definitively part of either. Despite being conquered by empires—Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Hapsburg Spain—it remains uniquely apart. The island’s story maps a mosaic that mixes the story of myth and wars, maritime empires and reckless crusades, and a people who refuse to be ruled. In this riveting, rich history Jamie Mackay peels away the layers of this most mysterious of islands. This story finds its origins in ancient myth but has been reinventing itself across centuries: in conquest and resistance. Inseparable from these political and social developments are the artefacts of the nation’s cultural patrimony—ancient amphitheaters, Arab gardens, Baroque Cathedrals, as well as great literature such as Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s masterpiece The Leopard, and the novels and plays of Luigi Pirandello. In its modern era, Sicily has been the site of revolution, Cosa Nostra and, in the twenty-first century, the epicenter of the refugee crisis.
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year From the author of M and A Death in Brazil comes Midnight in Sicily. South of mainland Italy lies the island of Sicily, home to an ancient culture that--with its stark landscapes, glorious coastlines, and extraordinary treasure troves of art and archeology--has seduced travelers for centuries. But at the heart of the island's rare beauty is a network of violence and corruption that reaches into every corner of Sicilian life: Cosa Nostra, the Mafia. Peter Robb lived in southern Italy for over fourteen years and recounts its sensuous pleasures, its literature, politics, art, and crimes.
The Invention of Norman Visual Culture by Lisa Reilly Pdf
In this book, Lisa Reilly establishes a new interpretive paradigm for the eleventh and twelfth-century art and architecture of the Norman world in France, England, and Sicily. Traditionally, scholars have considered iconic works like the Cappella Palatina and the Bayeux Embroidery in a geographically piecemeal fashion that prevents us from seeing their full significance. Here, Reilly examines these works individually and within the larger context of a connected Norman world. Just as Rollo founded the Normandy 'of different nationalities', the Normans created a visual culture that relied on an assemblage of forms. To the modern eye, these works are perceived as culturally diverse. As Reilly demonstrates, the multiple sources for Norman visual culture served to expand their meaning. Norman artworks represented the cultural mix of each locale, and the triumph of Norman rule, not just as a military victory but as a legitimate succession, and often as the return of true Christian rule.
History on the Road by Marcella Croce,Moira F. Harris Pdf
In Sicily, decorated carts (carretti) pulled by horses and donkeys over country paths are an important creative cultural expression. These carts feature visions of the saints, Charlemagne, operatic scenes, and the histories of Napoleon, Columbus, Cortez, and even Mussolini. The authors examine the history, culture and use of these carts, as well as the generations of artisans who decorated them. They include who owned them, which museums have the best examples, where to buy the carts and over 100 vintage black and white and fourcolor illustrations giving the best examples of these pieces of art.
This publication illustrates the refined means by which the great artistic and cultural heritage of Islamic dominationof Sicily during 10th -13th by the artists working during the Norman reign on the island.
Swim in the sparkling Mediterranean, marvel at the peak of Mount Etna, and get to know this region's timeless charm: with Rick Steves on your side, Sicily can be yours! Inside Rick Steves Sicily you'll find: Comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more exploring Sicily Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites Top sights and hidden gems, from Mount Etna and the Byzantine mosaics of Monreale to the Ballarò street market and Siracusa's puppet museum How to connect with culture: Savor seafood-centric cuisine made from ancient recipes, catch an opera performance at the Teatro Massimo, or sample authentic Marsala wine Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a glass of local Nero d'Avola Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and incredible museums Detailed maps for exploring on the go Useful resources including a packing list, a historical overview, and helpful Italian phrases Over 450 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down Complete, up-to-date information on Palermo, Cefalù, Trapani and the West Coast, Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, Ragusa and the Southeast, Siracusa, Catania, Mount Etna, Taormina, and more Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Sicily. Expanding your trip? Check out Rick Steves Italy.
