The Sicilian Carnival dates back to the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The annual Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore is held in Agrigento in early February against the backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage Valley of the Temples. The carnival is meant to celebrate the upcoming spring season and has now become an international event, starting off with a torch lit procession from the Temple of Concordia, and subsequently featuring traditional music, folk dancing and fireworks.

Every single August, Piazza Armerina hosts the spectacular Norman Palio to commemorate the deeds of Roger de Hauteville, the legendary hero who rid Sicily of the Saracens. Today the event is celebrated with a series of events including a medieval jousting tournament. Essentially, the modern carnival is similar to what many people see as modern renaissance fair in the United States.

While the concepts of renaissance fairs are still relatively popular as a folklore movement in the United States, the concept of these fair history back to the activities of those who head to the carnival and how it is carried into modern children’s days story.The activities and tales presented at these fairs may be old as time, but the stories and messages they share are still prevalent and passed down at this exact moment.

One common passed down trait of Sicilian folklore is the Sicilian Puppet Theatre, also known as the Opera dei Pupi. Dating back to the mid-nineteenth century, it’s believed to be originally a Spanish tradition that came to Sicily through Spanish travellers that had settled in Naples. The puppets were generally knights in armour who, through their puppeteer, told stories of chivalry and honor. Created from wood and manipulated by strings and metal wires, their size varied according to the significance of their residence within Sicily – with those in the town of Catania being nearly twice the size of those used in the town of Palermo. The emphasis of these tales was put upon mythical battles, betrayals and classical tales of chivalry. While it’s become quite outdated in an era of technological entertainment, it carries on through it’s significance as a historical and cultural touchstone in Sicilian culture. Currently, there is a large collection of puppets that can still be visited at the Museo delle Marionette in Palermo, and performances present the same traditional stories. Within the museum’s collection, there are puppets of knights, dragons and comical Punch and Judy dolls.

1. Nationality: Italian-American
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): Italian, Spanish
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco
Performance Date: April 3, 2017
The first piece of folklore I investigated was one that is widely interspersed with Sicilian culture and how that specific portion of Italy spends the holidays. In most (but particularly Chrisitan) European nations, sweet food is not a big part of the diet, which otherwise focuses on heartier and more savory meat or grain related dishes. However, this is not the case with Easter, which is celebrated by many Sicilians through overzealous consumption of food items inspired by the fruity, sugary marzipan. Grown from a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. Unsurprisingly, food plays a significant role in Easter festivities. This is the time for martorana, or pasta reale, the fruit-shaped marzipan that has become synonymous with Sicily, but marzipan ‘lambs’ also appear in the windows of local pasticcerie. The traditional dessert of cassata, made with sweetened ricotta, marzipan and candied fruit is also popular while cassatedde, a baked pastry tart with ricotta, sugar, egg and cinnamon is local to both Modica and nearby Ragusa. Essentially, the sweet nature of this dish is seen as an important and significant stepping stone in Sicilian culture as a sign of preening into a new era of the year, one filled with hope, redemption and opportunity.

A father of three sons wanted to make something of them, but did not have the money to afford for their education. So he sold himself to the Devil for the sake of getting money to school the three boys. One was to become a priest, the other a doctor and the third one a lawyer. The Devil gave him the money to pay for their education.

At the end of seven years, the Devil showed up to claim the old man and take him down to hell. The man had one of his sons with him when the Devil came. It was the priest. He began to pray and beg and appeal to the Devil to spare his father, and in the end the Devil gave in and gave the old father a few years more to live.

When that time was up and the Devil came again, the doctor son was there and appealed to the Devil to spare the old man, and he got still more years from him.

When the Devil came the third time to claim the old fellow, the lawyer was there. The lawyer says to the Devil:

“You have spared my father two times already, and I do not expect you to do it again. But will you let him live until that candle has burnt down?”

He pointed to the candle that was burning on the table.

The Devil said he would; it was only a butt of a candle and would not last very long. He would neither touch it nor blow at it, he said.

However, the lawyer picked up the candle butt, blew it out and put it in his pocket. And that was that! The lawyer held on to the butt of a candle, and the Devil had to keep to his bargain and be off without the old man. Essentially, this tale is more comedic and based around the specific dialogue placed around each of the sons and how they converse with the Devil to save their father, setting up a strong familial message while also bringing in humor to a supernatural concept.