I Calascibettane

The work has the colors of Sicily and precisely takes up those of U carrettu Siciliano (Sicilian for cart). It was the means of transport par excellence in past centuries of the Sicilian people: both rich and poor. Basically it is a sort of wooden wheelbarrow pulled by horses. The peculiarity of the Sicilian cart was given by the sides of this structure, the sides, in which was almost always represented a scene of the Opera of the Puppets, representation of Sicilian puppets extremely popular since the seventeenth century (the cart itself was born around that time). Also, the cart was often very colorful in all its spaces, whether it was wheels, lateral woods, rods, etc.. Even the horse that pulled it, usually festive, was harnessed with brigth colors. Needless to say, its more or less its artistic opulence marked its social status. The artist imagines the scene in a carousel of the village of Calascibetta, center of Sicily, perched on a hill. An absolute cross-section of Sicily, with alleys and stone monuments plus it preserves historical evidence since prehistoric times: from the tombs of Realmese (9th century BC), to the spectacular Byzantine village of Canalotto (8th century) to finish with Norman works (11th century) and, above all, Aragonese (from the 14th century). A Sicily with an ancient scent is waiting for you in Calascibetta.

(photo) Calascibetta, perched on a hill, center of Sicilia, surrounded by grain fields