Sicilia: History, legend and lost traditions

Subject: Sicilia: History, legend and lost traditions

Short Stories From Sicilia

Dear Friend,

Are you interested in learning where your Ancestors used to live?
Here are five short stories about our region of Sicily that narrate about its legends and forgotten tales. We hope you will enjoy reading them:

Short Story No. 1: In the city of Palermo, specifically in the district called Olivuzza, you can find an enormous palace that looks like a castle; its name is Zisa. Zisa has a huge entrance, made of gold and full of charming frescoes; right in the center is a marble fountain that sprays fresh water and in which the golden mosaics of the walls are reflected. They say that the Zisa has an enchantment and a treasure of golden coins hides there. The guardians of both are the Devils whom originally were meant to guard them against the Christians. This palace was built at the time of the Pagans and it was here that they were hiding the Emperor's treasures. The Devils' paintings are located in the entrance and whoever goes there during the Festivity of Saint Annunziata (March 25) can see their tails snaking and their mouths growling. Nobody really knows how many there are; some say there are 13, others 15, perhaps more. They are devils and for this reason nobody will ever be able to count them. Even the golden coins, nobody knows how many there really are and nobody has ever been able to find them. Perhaps one day somebody will solve this mystery and Palermo will be rich again. For this reason today, when you cannot know something for sure, they say: "E chi su, li diavuli di La Zisa / Whom do they think they are, the Zisa's Devils"!?

Short Story No. 2: The Patron Saint of Noto, located in the province of Siracusa, is Corrado Gonfalonieri from Piacenza, who chose to become a hermit in Noto, where he lived from 1343 until the day he died in 1351. Amongst his miracles is the enlargement of a cave he caused by hitting it with his shoulders. Still today, when people are in difficulties, they say: "E chi sono io, san Corrado, che allargò la sua grotta a forza di spalle? / Who am I, Saint Corrado, who enlarged the cave with his shoulders"?
When he died on 19 February 1351, the church's bells mysteriously played by themselves to announce his death; for this reason, the people from Noto, worshipped Gonfalonieri as the Patron Saint long before the Pope canonized him. Rome, enraged, punished them with censorship from which they were freed only in 1544 by Pope Paolo III who beatified Gonfalonieri until Pope Urbano VIII declared him a Saint in 1615.

Short Story No. 3: In the town of Buccheri, located in the province of Siracusa, there is a street named after two well-known husbands who were accused of bigamy in the 1800s. The evil mother-in-law did everything she could to destroy her son's marriage, because she disliked her daughter-in-law so much. Because of that, her son went missing for so many years that everyone thought he was dead. Among those were, his ex-wife who considered herself a widow and remarried; but one day her first husband returned to Buccheri. The result was that she was married to two husbands. The case went to court and the first husband won the case. In remembrance of this uncommon fact, one street in Buccheri was named after the two husbands.

Short Story No. 4: There are many stories involving King Ferdinando di Borbone. One is about two Sicilian farmers, one from Trabia and one from Termini Imerese, both towns located in province of Palermo. When the King traveled through Trabìa, a farmer offered him a bucket of figs and while waiting to receive something in return, the King offended said to him: "By giving me this bucket of figs, do you think I am a poor starving person?" and had his guards cast him away. This news spread very fast and when the King traveled through Termini Imerese, a cleverer farmer approached the King and offered him a bucket of pears, declaring: "A gran signori, pìcciulu prisenti!/To a great man, a small gift". The king liked those kind words so much that not only did he thank the farmer, but also gave him a bag full of golden coins.

Short Story No. 5: In the countryside of Villafranca Sicula located in the province of Agrigento, there is a small church dedicated to the Holy Mary of the Mirth whose origin is explained by a local legend. An old friar returning to the convent of Buglio after the vespers was carrying two sacred paintings on the back of his donkey. One represented the Holy Mary. When he reached the convent, he realized he had lost the painting representing the Holy Mary. Immediately he went back the same way and found the painting behind a bush of mirth. In the convent, he told the other friars about what happened and when he was about to show them the painting, he could not find it. Again, for the second time it was found behind the same bush of mirth along the road to Villafranca. They then decided that the Holy Mary had to be honored and worshipped there and that is why the little country church of the Holy Mary of the Mirth was erected in Villafranca Sicula.

Learning about our origins can be an important legacy to our children, after all memories are not used to remember the lost time, but to start again, knowing that losing our roots inevitably leads to a loss in our identity as people who live, think and love.

If you are interested in authorizing a research project in your Ancestral town, go to: http://www.myitalianfamily.com/research/main_research_costs.html or call us direct at 1-888-472-0171.

If you are interested in traveling to your Ancestral town in Sicily, go to: http://www.myitalianfamily.com/trips/ or call us direct at 1-888-472-0171.