September 17, 2010
“Can I take your picture?” I ask the phalanx of guys warming themselves in the sun.
“Sure,” says the baby-faced man in the foreground. “But hurry up. We’re all on our way to the cemetery.”
That’s Sicilians for you. Curious dark humor.
History’s to blame. Tyranny. Plague. War. Famine. Earthquake. Poverty. Excellent cadavers. Having survived all that, you’d be telling black jokes, too.
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For some more black Sicilian humor, read Camilleri (if you like mysteries), or Pirandello’s “The Oil Jar and Other Stories” (see my review here), or see the wonderful (long) Taviani Brothers’ film Kaos (Chaos), based on four of Pirandello’s short stories. The village scenes in Kaos were filmed in my town!
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I like this answer 🙂 Humor, even dark, helps us to overcome big or little problems in everyday life…Great photo Jann!
Thanks Giulial!
LOL that’s so funny! Very beautiful photograph
KAOS is a wonderful movie and I’ve watched it numerous times. Besides the interesting tales by Pirandello and the marvelous photography of the Taviani brothers, I always enjoy seeing the scenes of Ragusa Ibla in this film. I’m so glad you recommended it to your blog followers Jann because I know they will enjoy it as much as we did. Cari saluti.
Josephine–I’m so glad to find someone else who’s seen and enjoyed the movie!
wonderful.
Thank you Catherine!
very cute. thank you.
Ciao Beatrice–thanks for your comment.
were these guys in Ragusa at the bottom of the hill across the street from a church and an info booth (and around the corner from a barber?) i took their picture too, a few weeks ago….
Wayne, I know which guys you refer to in Ragusa Ibla near the barber shop. These are in upper Ragusa–sitting in the main piazza.