Bright red, a rosso the color of Rudolph’s nose, is the leitmotif of the season here in Southeast Sicily.
Political street theater in Catania on December 16, 2011
Ms. Santa was handing out "gifts" of scrolled paper that read "Merry Christmas. Monti's government is gifting you a cut in your pension." (A better kind of protest than throwing molotov cocktails, as in Greece, don't you think?)
Powdered wig, rider and horse at Siracusa's Festival of Santa Lucia, December 13
Santa Lucia, martyred patron saint of Siracusa, December 13
The band at the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Scicli, December 8
Onlooker at Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Scicli, December 8
Altar boy at Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Ragusa Ibla, December 7
How many years were they dry? I’m not sure, actually, but this year the village coughed up around 250,000 euro to make them gush again.
These antiques now have a modern twist. See for yourself.
Restoring Ibla's Fountains
A large, wide basin at the foot of Ragusa Ibla where donkeys drank and women did the laundry is also under reconstruction.
Ragusa Ibla is lucky to have money for things like this, thanks to its status as a World Heritage Site. In the poor village of Cassaro about an hour away, a wall mural has replaced the old village fountain. It sort of breaks my heart.
