Images of Sicily

BY: LUC KORDAS

RIGHT - Luc Kordas is a travel photographer currently exploring his home continent of Europe after having lived in North America in the past 7 years. He was recently awarded a National Geographic Magazine (Poland) Grand Prix award in its annual photo contest for documenting the corona virus pandemic in New York. Instagram: @youliveonlytwice Website: youliveonlytwice.com

LEFT - Priest shopping after mass in one of the many squares of Siracusa.

BELOW - View of Ragusa Ibla - the old town of Ragusa, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The origins of Ragusa can be traced back to the 2nd millennium BC.

Storm coming towards the town of Scicli. In Sicily, when it rains, it pours. The island, usually imagined as a sunny and hot vacation spot, in the autumn and winter months transforms into a humid, cloudy patch of land.

Woman working in a pizzeria takes a rest in a baroque town of Scicli, one of the seven towns in the area of Valle di Noto that are counted as a natural heritage of UNESCO.

Chiesa Santa Maria la Nova in Scicli - a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic church. Partially destroyed by a huge earthquake of 1693 which affected the entire area of Valle di Noto, destroying majority of the towns. Scicli and other towns in the area owe their tight Baroque-style architecture to the fact they were all rebuilt from scratch at the same time in late XVII c, at the height of Baroque in Europe.

A statue of Saint Mary in the patio of the Botanical Garden in Palermo. The Botanical Garden of Palermo is among the top Italian academic institutions. It is a center of scientific research deeply involved in the knowledge and conservation of the environment.

“Ape” drivers, that serve as local taxis, have a chat in one of Palermo’s piazzas while waiting for customers. “Ape” means “bee” in Italian and is what those tricycle vehicles are called in most of Italy.

A view to a beach and part of the marina in the beautiful town of Cefalù, located one hour drive east of Palermo. It’s known for its Norman cathedral, a 12thcentury fortresslike structure with elaborate Byzantine mosaics and soaring twin towers.

A common sight in Italy - a courtyard altar. Alongside pictures of the holy family, photos of Padre Pio are often seen. Born near Naples, Pio was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin, friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic, now venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

The Catania fish market is located in the heart of the city adjacent to the Piazza del Duomo, the historical city center of Catania. It is lively, boisterous, colorful, and gritty with an exhilarating atmosphere. If anything sums up the beating heart and soul of Catania, then it’s this place – full of life and as down-toearth as the locals.

An express courier equipped with a new type of eco-friendly tricycle vehicles popular in the whole of Italy.