An Irish military ship , Le Eithne, picked up 647 migrants in trouble at sea and brought them to Palermo. Among them were 95 women, two of whom were pregnant. A group of 180 migrans were transferred by ferry from Lampedusa to Porto Empedocle where they will arrive this evening.
Sicily
The Unwilling Expat interviews me
June 23, 2015
Rochelle Del Borrello asked me some interesting questions, and I answered.
https://unwillingexpat.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/the-poetry-of-theresa-maggio/
https://unwillingexpat.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/the-poetry-of-theresa-maggio/
Mafia stronghold given to scouts today
June 23, 2015
The first property Judge Giovanni Falcone confiscated from the mafia in 1980 will be given officially to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Italy today, although they have been camping and working here for years. The rual compound also contains a qanat and a sirocco room which I visited with Geologist Dr. Pietro Todaro. The Read More
I cry for Sicily when I watch this
June 23, 2015
The state funeral of Giovanni falcone, and his police escort, blown up on the highway in Capaci, at the Church of San Domenico, Palermo's Pantheon of illustrious Sicilians. Falcone is buried here foever, after having been transferred from his family vault. Read More
Italians have heart
June 23, 2015
From La Repubblica. A peasant farmer whose own home and farm is off the grid, set up a solar panel for the immigrants who are sleeping on the rocks at Ventimiglia, the border between Read More
Refugees become Volunteers for New Refugees
June 20, 2015
A beautiful story by my favorite La Repubblica reporter, Claudia Brunetto. I translate it here:
They arrived last June at the port of Palermo, picked up on the high seas by a military ship. And since then they live in the parish of Falsomiele, guided by Father Sergio Mattaliano, director of the Catholic charity Read More
They arrived last June at the port of Palermo, picked up on the high seas by a military ship. And since then they live in the parish of Falsomiele, guided by Father Sergio Mattaliano, director of the Catholic charity Read More
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Inside Santa Cita
June 19, 2015
View of the back wall of the Oratorio of Santa Cita, by Giacomo Serpotta
This often happens in Palermo. The outside is gruesome, or at least, uninviting. Inside, the big surprise.
Funny and Sad
June 19, 2015
The crumbling wall of the Oratorio of the Most Holy Rosary in Santa Cita, known locally in Palermo as just "Santa Cita" is covered with obscene graffiti. Inside is one of the baroque masterpieces of stucco moulding, by Palermitano sculptor Giacomo Serpotta, an all-white extravaganza recently cleaned and restored. But on the outside were phallic symbols, Read More
Latest wave of refugees saved
June 8, 2015
860 refugees reached land at Palermo, another 548 at Trapani. Many are already looking for a ticket to nortern Europe. Over the weekend 5,851 people were saved from the Mediterraneaean Sea. According to souces in Rome the number of immigrants landing since the beginning of the year are ten percent more than in the same time period Read More
2,000 migrants saved at sea, 3,000 more still at sea
June 6, 2015
Since this morning 2,000 immigrants have been saved at sea by Italian naval vessels and the ship Moas Phoenix of the Mr. and Mrs Catrambone. (Catrambone is a wealthy Italian-American businessman based in Malta and his wife is from Calabria. The first time she saw a floating jacket in the Mediterranean from her yacht and Read More
Giovanni Falcone: in memoriam
June 3, 2015
Giovanni Falcone
Read Alexander Stille's moving book, Exquisite Corpses.