Sicilianism when design met tradition

SICILIANISM WHEN DESIGN MET TRADITIONS

Politecnico di Milano Leandro Sgro - ITALY

CAPO D'ORLANDO Borgo di San Gregorio Messina - Sicily

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apo d’Orlando is a comune in the province of Messina, Sicily, Italy and is regarded as one of the main centers of the mountain and coastal district of Nebrodi comprensorio dei Nebrodi. Well known as a thriving tourist and commercial center, Capo d’Orlando is also the birthplace of the poet Lucio Piccolo, cousin of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Artistic activities take place in Capo d’Orlando (municipal’s picture-gallery, the museum “Villa Piccolo”), entertainment (cinema, theater, blues club).

Capo d’Orlando is renowned, among other things for its beautiful coastline, which offers a wonderful view of the Aeolian islands right in front, a remarkable coastal landscape and stunning sunsets to be admired. Tourism is one of the main resources that greatly contributes to the local economy. Capo d’Orlando’s based on its centrality role in the area which makes for a point of reference for the entire surrounding area.

Monte della Madonna is an hill that hostes a small church on the top, once per year people gather to celebrate “Festa della Madonna Maria SS di Portosalvo”.

Here many organizations and cultural events took place in the last years. Now it is time to bring also modernity by making space for first SICILIANISM Event, where Design Met Tradition.

MET TRADITIONS WHEN DESIGN

PRODUCTS

FURNITURE

1 Marranzano e Friscalettu...................07

1 Furrizuolo, furrizzu..................................40

2 Canne per cannoli.....................................10

2 U Trispitu............................................................42

3 Fasceddi..............................................................12

3 La Conca.............................................................44

4 Tumminu.............................................................14

4 Il Catuso, Il Cantaro.................................46

5 Nasse......................................................................16

5 La Naca................................................................48

1 Le cavagne.......................................................20

1 Collezione Filicudi....................................52

2 Truppy...................................................................24

2 Ferro.......................................................................56

3 Petra.......................................................................28

3 Ivetta......................................................................60

4 Idro...........................................................................34

4 Cactus...................................................................62

5 Vulvanica Piatti............................................36

5 Manic.....................................................................64

INTERIORS

DECORATIONS

1 Le Case dei contadini...........................68

1 Luminarie............................................................96

2 Le cucine siciliane.....................................70

2 I Pupi......................................................................98

3 La Pila e La Maidda..................................72

3 I tamburelli.....................................................100

4 Architettura Eoliana................................74

4 Carte da gioco Siciliane.....................102

5 Tannura Forno Siciliano.......................76

5 Teste dei Mori.............................................104

1 Made a Mano Tannura.........................80

1 Il Carretto........................................................108

2 Nero Sicilia.......................................................82

2 Baroq eat..........................................................112

3 4Decimi - PPP Burger............................86

3 Dolce e Gabbana.......................................114

4 Courtyard house of stone.................88

4 De Natura Fossilium...............................116

5 Casa Talia...........................................................90

5 Autarchy............................................................120

PRODUCTS

OF TRADITION

MARRANZANO

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he Scacciapenseri is a lamellophone instrument, which is in the category of plucked idiophones: it consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame. The tongue/reed is placed in the performer’s mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note. The frame is held firmly against the performer’s parted teeth or lips (depending on the type), using the jaw and mouth as a resonator, greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. The teeth must be parted sufficiently for the reed to vibrate freely, and the fleshy parts of the mouth should not come into contact with the reed to prevent damping of the vibrations. The note or tone thus produced is constant in pitch, though by changing the shape of his or her mouth, and the amount of air contained in it (and in some traditions closing the glottis), the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies. The volume of the note (tone) can be varied by breathing in and out.

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SICILIAN MUSIC Sicily’s historical connections lie not primarily with mainland Italy, but with the ancient Greeks, Arab and Spanish cultures.

The result has been a diverse and unique fusion of musical elements on the island. American musicologist Alan Lomax made some historic recordings of Sicilian traditional music in the 20th century, including lullabies, dance music, festival music, epic storytelling and religious music.

Sicily is home to several different types of folk music instruments, many of which can also be found in other parts of Southern Italy. The Sicilian ciaramedda is a type of Italian Zampogna (Bagpipe) that has two equal length chanters and from two to three drones. All the pipes use single cane reeds made from Arundo donax. Also made out of Arundo donax is a small end-blown flute called a friscaletto or friscalettu.

The jaw harp, known in Sicilian as “marranzanu” is heavily associated with Sicilian folk music. Since its invention in the early 19th century the Organetto, a diatonic folk accordion is also prevalent in traditional Sicilian music. Percussion instruments include tambourines and other frame drums as well as the “cupa cupa”, a unique-sounding friction drum.

U FRISCALETTU

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he friscaletto (or friscalettu in Sicilian) is a reed pipe typical of popular music of Sicily. It is considered, along with the jew’s harp, tambourine and quartara, one of the tools symbol of Sicilian folk music.

It is named in a similar manner in all of Sicily, except for the village of San Fratello, in the province of Messina. Here the local dialect is still suffering the Gallo-Italic roots and friscaletto is called “vescot”.

A key element of its structure is the cap (made of wood of oleander, olive or fig). It has seven holes in the front and, despite being a flute crafted very simple, it has two rear holes (unlike, for example, the Irish flutes).

The friscaletto is a tool that does not allow changes in densities of soft and loud, because of greater intensity in the issue of the breath will inevitably cause the jarring melody. Each friscaletto is assigned its own personality, its own stamp and their nuances.

It is part of the family of aerophones, being similar to the recorder.

There are, like other flutes, friscaletti made with different tunings.

The most common are tuned in C, in G and A.

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CANNE PER CANNOLI

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he preparation of cannoli, far from being a daily practice, it combines the magic of tradition and the ancient practices of the past. The origins lie in the “simplicity� of the tools used to achieve them. Primarily reeds are necessary to give them the form.

By now the reeds or rods used by the vast majority of people are those in aluminum. However, as often happens, innovation is not always an indication of superior quality, this is because with the reeds made of steel, pasta tapers in the closing point of the cannoli, differences in what happens with the natural ones, and consequently the final result is not optimal.

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FASCEDDI “Firrizzi”, “panari”, “cartedde”, “coffee”, “Cavagne”, “cufini”, “zimmili” and “fasceddi” are the Sicilian handcraft products made by the ability of “cannistrari” capable of create baskets of different shapes using cane, wicker and reed. The “fasceddi” were built in different sizes and they were used by the shepherds in the preparation of the forms for cheese and ricotta.

TUMMINU

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ùmminu or Tummino was a unit of measurement for cereals equivalent to Kg. 18 but also the equivalent of area in square meters 2,200. Submultiples were “u dumundella” and “’a garozza” multiple “ ‘a samma”.

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LE NASSE

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oday traps can be found easily in stores, made of stainless steel with nylon net, but they are used by sport fishermen. The professional fishermen still use pots handmade, built with such skill, intertwining branches of cane, a plant that grows wild ductile especially in Sicily. The skill of “nassarolo” is to work the rush as it is still green because pots are better in quality due to their color that matches with the sea so the pot is more “fishy”.

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PRODUCTS O F

D E S I G N

LE CAVAGNE

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he cavagne lamps are hanging lamps in ceramic inspired by the cavagne, small containers made in in cane and fig wood that vendors used to carry the ricotta in Sicily.

In the collective imagination, these objects have never hung on the wall individually, but in clusters ‌ so the designer decided to propose a lamp consisting of three units and not single.

Salvatore Spataro PROTOTYPE: ceramist Alfredo Quaranta PHOTO: Ithaca Freelance Year / 2015

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SALVATORE SPATARO

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s a Sicilian architect who currently works with an architecture firm that deals with the design of hotels, private flats, office buildings.

Co-founder of GGAF-Gruppo Giovani Architetti Firenze (GGAFYoung Architects Group Florence), May 2008.With the publishing house LetteraVentidue Srl he has published What’s up- 15 young european architects” (Nov. 2012), and NEEDS- Architetture nei Paesi in Via di Sviluppo (NEEDS-Architecture in developing Countries), catalogue of the homonymous travelling exhibition inaugurated in Florence, March 2011. He has participated in numerous architecture and design competitions. He collaborates with the magazines Compasses, Livingroome, En-presstletter. In 2014 realizes his first design collection called “Design meets Sicily”. He lives and works in Florence, Italy.

LA TROTTOLA

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top is a toy designed to be spun rapidly on the ground, the motion of which causes it to remain precisely balanced on its tip because of inertia. Such toys have existed since antiquity. Traditionally tops were constructed of wood, sometimes with an iron tip, and would be set in motion by aid of a string or rope coiled around its axis which, when pulled quickly, caused a rapid unwinding that would set the top in motion. Today they are often built of plastic, and modern materials and manufacturing processes allows tops to be constructed with such precise balance that they can be set in motion by a simple twist of the fingers and twirl of the wrist without need for string or rope.

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TRUPPY

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ruppy is an handmade ceramic object inspired by an old Sicilian toy: the wooden spinning top. The object, which in former times was rustic and imperfect, now takes on a new structure more elegant and precious due to engobe finished and the extraordinary craftsmanship of the artisans. Truppy can be used as a vase, furnishing, centerpieces . Realized for the event Plasma (by association IMAKE) in July 2013 in Florence. Presented during the Milan Design Week 2014 at the Design Library in the event “fuori di design�, it was recently selected

by ChloroSphere for their Trend Design Book 2015.

Salvatore Spataro Year / 2013 Production / Ceramiche Rigoni, Nove (VI)

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PĂˆTRA

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etra is an oval picher, whose design is inspired by Bummulo Marauder an old Arab jug, later arrived in Sicily, used as a container for liquid, such as oil or water.

The conical shape is characterized by a spout projecting from the side; the ingenious operation was filling it from the bottom, in order to preserve the content from external agents contamination.

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Make That Studio has decided to redesign this item, keeping the particularity of the filling from the bottom and giving to the product a new contemporary shape, that also represents the history of the island of Sicily. Petra’s design is inspired by the shape and the color of stone polished by water in the depths of the river Simeto.

The result of the research is a contemporary table accessory with a strong organic shape, which blends local geography and cultural influences.

Bologna Design Week Make That Studio Year / 2015

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IDRO

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watering can made of bent sheet metal and welded adopting one of the oldest handicraft techniques used by “lo stagnino”, a traveling handyman specialized in welding. Idro is designed to be an environmentally-friendly, “green” object in every aspect: function, construction, form.

Completely handmade, Idro’s flared top is useful for collecting rainwater.

Client / Internoitaliano Year / 2014 Project Team / Giulio Iacchetti, Vittorio Venezia Production / Nino Ciminna

TERRANOSTRA

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s a project designed by Matteo Vilardo from Thesign Studio based in Milan. The Sicilian designer with the collaboration of the chef Simone Strano wanted to combine Sicilian materials with its Mediterranean cousine. This set of 4 plates are the result of the finest melting actions of eating and creating, where lavica stone shapes the place in which food becomes kind of spiritual gift.

Simone Strano Chef Matteo Vilardo - Thesign Studio Year / 2015 Lava Stone and bend steel

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FURNITURE OF TRADITION

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FURRIZZUOLO, FURRIZZO

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tool packed with “ferra” = ferrule. ‘U furrizzu is a rudimentary seat, lightweight, practical and manageable. Almost cubic shape was the chair of the poor and furnishings essential and ever present ‘nda caszotta (house). It was made from readily available materials and free (splint and branches Almond) and a time there was no farmer who did not know how to build it; today it is rare to meet one who still knows how to do.

Here are some basic technical knowledge on how to build it from the book of S. Arcidiacono, Wild plants of popular use in the territory of Bronte.

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U TRISPITU

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Trispiti and tavuli” was the popular way to indicate the furniture needed for the wedding and that is, the bed, the base of which was formed by two trestles made by a blacksmith on the standard model and six boards modeled so as to leave between the ‘one and the other a space that was used to ventilate the mattresses. Ther were four: two horsehair ‘s summer and two of wool for the winter. The poorest were using, instead, leaves of corn or rye straw, which made great noise at the slightest movement. The bed appeared high, so that women and corpulent bassine used a stool to climb. For children sleeping between the parents, they used a sheepskin to not get wet and dirty the mattresses.

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LA CONCA

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hat is a braccelora or conca (a brazier). In the old days, the Sicilian families used to heat rooms with la conca by placing red hot coals in it. The whole family would sit around la braccelora and warm their hands and feet. Those little braziers could really pump out some heat and that the electric heaters that replaced them are nothing by comparison.

The roundish wicker was placed over la braccelora that went under the dinner table so that no one got burnt while feet stayed toasty warm.

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CANTARI SELLER

U CANTARU

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antaru (from Lat. Cantharus = cup, mug) In dialect pot. It was tall and very large, made of terra cotta and glazed with two handles; it was used by the whole family and emptied during the night or early morning.

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LA NACA

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aca: nocula; cradle, suspended on the bed was constructed for each child. Were tied two ropes on the metal supports of the bed, “trispiti” on which you are enveloped in a sturdy cloth (hammock), it was often a jute bag; then it was used to tied a rope on the side of the head to produce the swing, pulling it in rhythm. From Arabic naq’a (h): cot, rocking. Or from greek nake, sheepskin, which was certainly made up the hammock.

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FURNITURE O F

D E S I G N

COLLEZIONE FILICUDI

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he 2014 for Barel, historical piedmont company’s iron forged, begins with a prestigious meeting: collaboration with the master of design Ugo La Pietra. By the expert hands of blacksmiths and artisans Barel from the creative mind of the master is born FILICUDIA (tribute to Sicilian Eolian Island) collection for the night environment in the pursuit of new languages and new ways of living of forged iron: an ancient material, strong but flexible, real strength of the company. The collection, which is composed of a bed with their bedside tables, a desk, a console with wall mirror e a mirror from the ground, Is all strictly made hand-forged iron

workshops Barel. The Company’s local roots are called not only in the elements of the story wood and stone, but above all in the inserts in Ceramics in Mondovi, from the characteristic cobalt blue, characterizing the headboard and bedside tables.

The combination of La Pietra-Barel is part of the deeper and broader path of research and innovation that Barel has undertaken in recent years. The collection of Ugo La Pietra is the first of a series of projects which will see the involvement of designers and artists with whom Barel initiated collaborations that mark a turning point for a company that still manufactures handcrafted all its productions.

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FERRO

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nspired by the brazier grills still manufactured in the workshops of renowned via Calderai in Palermo, Ferro is a furniture and accessories collection. The product family includes five seats, a table, six flowerpot holdersand a doorstop. Each piece is CNC cut from 5 and 10 thick iron slabs and hand welded by one of the youngest blacksmiths of the steet. Ferro is one part of the OfficineCalderai project which also includes 4decimi collection.

FERRO WINNER OF DESIGNREPORTAWARD2015 Collaboration in the Project / Carolina Martinelli Photo / Angelo Cirrincione, Carolina Martinelli Year / 2015

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VITTORIO VENEZIA

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ittorio Venezia is a product designer. He graduated in architecture from the University of Palermo in 2005. He has devoted himself to the design products since 2004, after winning the Bombay Sapphire Martini Collection Award. In 2006, his final university paper won the Lucky Strike Junior Award. In 2007 he moved to Milan and started collaborating with various international designers. In 2008 he was selected for the Triennial Prime Cup and included in the International exhibition New Italian Design.

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Through his career Vittorio Venezia has won various major international awards, including: Grand Prixe Emile Hermes 2008; Promosedia 2012; Cristalplant 2013. Some of his works have been exhibited at the Triennale di Milano, the Louvre and the MAXXI. In 2012 he became co-director of the master “Out of the door� from the Abadir Academy in Catania. He lives and works between Milan and Palermo, where he collaborates with many companies, such as Alcantara, Falper, Meritalia.

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IVETTA

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reated by Giancarlo Cutello for Formabilioin 2013, Ivetta is a chair or a rocking chair with a solid beech structure and soft, flexible felt seat that offers excellent back support, easy assembly. The one-piece seat is attached to the leg structure using two wooden screw pegs, eliminating the need for the use of adhesive and allowing periodical adjustment of the seat.

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AMARAMA

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marama - Design for children is an exclusive line of furniture dedicated to children. Coathanger, libraries, umbrella stands, desks , stools , chests and more. We become children for few days and we imagined how we would have like our bedrooms: full of colors and great respect for nature . Wooden furniture , painted water , designed to the highest ergonomic standards and security. In particular whith this coathanger Adduma Design Studio based in Alcamo, Trapani, they wanted to bring Sicilian prickly pear into common houses piece of furniture.

Adduma Communication Architecture and Design Year / 2014

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POLTRONA MANIC#

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ore than just a land of contrasts, Sicily is a land of history. History not only about peoples and kings, but also about large families of the earth formed, hearths ordered. A tradition, ours, which looks at the best form of all: the essential. The armchair Manic# comes entirely from our land, have not been foreign hands to draw it and build it. Hoes, brooms, rolling pins. Wood not only of our land, but also of our homes. The same tools that our ancestors have used today give a new life to a product of a land that looks to the past as it flies towards the future, firmly in the traditions and unbeaten in inventiveness.

Giuseppe Arezzi (dimension) H:85cm W:88cm D:68cm (detail) canvas, wood, leather Year / 2014

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INTERIOR OF TRADITION

CASE DEI CONTADINI

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ust 12 square meters is the space inside the house of a laborer, inhabited until the 60’ by six people. The floor is natural rock. In one corner there is a small stone kitchen, “a tannura”, and below the space for the wood or the hens. Above the bed there is a loft, “u sularu”, which was used as a small warehouse and place where daughters slept. An eloquent witness of the social status of Sicilians employees until that time. Denied space in the ground is reflected clearly in the extreme poverty of the forms of living space.

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LA CUCINA SICILIANA

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raditional cuisine is the identity card of a people. It reveals its true soul, the stratified identity over the centuries. It has always accompanied mankind, as a response to the need to mediate the objective reality of the countless foods available with the taste sensations that, once ingested, manage to evoke.

The rediscovery of the ancient flavors begins to be a journey undertaken by many, an attempt to recover a harmonic dimension with the quality of food and the environment, an escape from the race of the capitalistic society in search of new and sophisticated foods and flavors.

Trying to take a short trip into the traditional cuisine of Scicli, joyful and enchanted little town hidden in the corner of baroque Sicily, we will meet garlic, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, Ragusano Dop cheese, carob, bran, different types of flour wheat used for cakes, almonds, honey, must (wine not fermented), fennel seeds, tomato, parsley, lard (prepared by melting pork fat, was used to fry instead of oil, and was kept in earthenware jars or inside the pig’s bladder itself), citrus peel, saffron. All ingredients processed in recipes that embody an authentic culinary melting pot between very different peoples: pieces of French, Spanish, Moroccan good taste meet the most modern sensibility. Seafarers, always dominated by the peoples who sailed the Mediterranean during the centuries, Latin, solar, devoted to agriculture. So the kitchen is simple and imaginative, tied to the cycle of the seasons. The ritual around which articulated the full of scents and colorful world of country cooking of Scicli was the production of bread. Once a week, with bran flour and, more rarely, with white flour, bread was prepareted with a special technique: a real ritual between man and woman, in which he lowers a heavy wooden bar (sbriuni) and she turns the big dough while he goes down, sitting on the wood floor of the work surface(sbrivala). The work then continued shaping the bread in the form of large “S”, crunchy outside and soft inside, and ‘nciminati, large loaves which we will discuss later. Left to rise under heavy cotton towels and blankets, the forms of bread then went in the wood oven, properly heated for perfect cooking.

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LA PILA E LA MAIDDA

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he pila is a traditional basin-stone where Sicilian women used to wash cloth and stoves in. It was quite normal to find it in kitchen but also outdoor. The Maidda instead is a big rectangular case made of wood commonly used to make pasta, pizza and bread. Sicilian people were also used to make food for more people during the popular fests, bringing and serving it through maidda.

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ARCHITETTURA EOLIANA

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eolian architecture is the’ traditional architecture that characterizes the buildings of the Aeolian Islands , archipelago Italian of Sicily . The buildings that are based on this type of architecture, keeping intact at least the main features, are still very widespread in the archipelago, despite the urban development and tourism in recent decades. The Aeolian architecture was strongly influenced by the Campanian in the sixteenth century , that following a migration was grafted on an earlier type architecture greek - Roman and Islamic . In past centuries it was usually only one compartment cube-shaped or rectangular, with only one entrance door and two round windows with bars on the sides of the entrance. It was short, a building that responded primarily to the needs of defense from external dangers, especially any raids or invasions of enemies coming from the sea. Inside the house, in the only room was on one side the kitchen (said cufularu) and in the other just beds. Later, when the needs of defense became less pressing, they also began to build houses with several rooms in a row, with larger windows and without bars. Today, the eolian house has the form of a modular cube which can be added horizontally or vertically other cubes. What results is a construction in the shape of parallelepiped with one or two floors, perforated by numerous doors and windows to allow the passage of air. The building materials are generally stone or lime , without the use of cement . They are usually used, especially in older houses, also local materials: blocks of lava rock for the foundations, pumice for the outer walls, tuff for the floor of the terraces. The modern Aeolian house is configured so as much open to the outside and the neighborhood, thanks to climatic conditions that make life possible outdoors in all seasons of the year.

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TANNURA E FORNO IN CASA

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he tannura is a coal stove portable (similar to a small barbecue), generally made of iron, typically used in Sicily. The name probably derives from “atanor”, the furnace of the alchemists. Cube-shaped and supported on four feet, it consists of a room with front door access, covered by a grating equipped with removable sides to contain the fire. The lower chamber is for placing wood chips or straw easy starting to poke the coal (charcoal) on the rack above; ventilation, which can also be forced with a bellows or a fan, promotes faster and more intense combustion of the charcoal when the flip is open; in the same room they gather to fall the combustion ashes. In the upper part, on the banks, there is the container for cooking food, which can be a pot (in Sicilian pignata), a pan (in Sicilian paredda or Padedda), a grid or a grate (in Sicilian rarigghia, radigghia) .

The tannura is also called “cufuneddru” cufuni, fornellu or fucuni.

The name Sicilian di’Tannura “comes from” TANDUR “and it is precisely the so-called” furnace “in which coal was used in Sicily until the early years after World War II.

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INTERIOR O F

D E S I G N

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TANNURA MADE A MANO

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roject “Tannura” (Coal stove for outdoors).

Selected by Design Competition, exhibited at the Salone del Mobile.

Design by: Pasquale Lorusso Federico Roccasalva Stefano Verga Tiles: Made A Mano Project carried out by the “C & B Serramenti” as part of DESIGN COMPETITION, promoted by Regione Lombardia Year / 2015

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NERO SICILIA e BOFFI

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n 2015 Patricia Urquiola designed for Boffi the new kitchen collection Salinas. Among the various natural material used, the designer chose for the counter top natural stone nerosicilia and designed the pattern on the surfaces laNera and enneUno. To satisfy different requirements of design, nerosicilia offers the wide range of solutions for worktops, from the kitchen to the bathroom, indoor/ outdoor fitments, thanks to the size and treatments of the slabs.

4DECIMI

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decimi is a collection of twelve pendant steel lamps, inspired by the sculptural simplicity of metal containers and traditional tools of western Sicily. Each light fitting is hand-cut, curved, bent and welded by eighty-six years old craftsman Nino Ciminna in the oldest workshop of via Calderai. 4decimi is one part of the OfficineCalderai project which also includes Ferro collection. Carolina Martinelli and Vittorio Venezia designed the interiors of PPP Burger Restaurant located in Palermo.

Collaboration in the Project / Carolina Martinelli Production / Nino Ciminna Photo / Angelo Cirrincione, Carolina Martinelli 4decimi WINNER OF DESIGNREPORTAWARD2015 Year / 2015

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PPP BURGER

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PP Burger was born from the will to combine tradition and Sicilian identity with a contemporary taste, expressed through the design of the restaurant, inspired by the style of “putie� from Palermo, all focused on organic, slow food and kilometer zero, to provide a Sicilian quality.

Piazza San Francesco di Paola, 49 Palermo, Sicily, Italy

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COURTYARD HOUSE OF STONE

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n this work, nature and the relationship with the landscape play a fundamental role, with a rigorous, rationalist approach to the project and the freedom of expression typical of organic architecture.

The designers managed to highlight the relationship between the interior and exterior through a careful dialogue with pre-existing features typical of the Sicilian countryside, like the centuries-old carob tree, the guardian of the place’s memory, which was a fascinating element, the genius loci of this elegant restoration project.

Courtyard house of stone Architectural project and DD.LL: Studio 4e Architects Fabio Costanzo and Maria Rosaria Piazza Botanical consultant: Lucia Gitto Pictures by Angelo Geloso, courtesy of Studio 4e.

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CASA TALIA

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alĂ­a is a fascinating place, an island on the island, where harmony is the main protagonist, thanks to the meticulous restoration by the two owners, Marco Giunta and Viviana Haddad - a couple of young married architects from Milan who decided to live in Modica choosing slowliving over city life.

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The restoration of the rooms has been inspired by the unique features of Arabic houses in the Medina providing peaceful spaces in the heart of a busy town.

Like a Moroccan riad, rooms in Talia are independent and do not communicate, but they all face the central garden which is an important element of the space and a place for encounters.

Great attention has been given to the choise of materials, which are natural, ecological, and, above all, typical of the Sicilian tradition: stone walls, lime plasters, cane roof, stone and polychrom tiled floors.

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DECORATION OF

TRADITION

LUMINARIE

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lways parties were characterized by using light sources to make sense of joy and happiness. Before the invention of electricity and the light bulb torches were used with tarred canvas and small vessel containing oil of low quality lamp. To make more rich party decoration were built with wooden poles and arches so-called “Parature� where glasses conteined oil and which were lit one by one.

Finally, the use of electricity and light bulbs made everything easier.

These are the famous Santa Rosalia fest Luminarie, from Palermo.

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I PUPI

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he age-old tradition of the Sicilian Puppet Theatre (Opera dei Pupi) dates back to the mid-nineteenth century although its roots go further back, to at least the 15th century. Thought to have derived from the Spanish tradition that came to Sicily via Naples, the puppets were generally knights in armour who, through their puppeteer, told stories of chivalry and honour.

Created from wood and manipulated by strings and metal wires, their size varied according to their locality – with those in Catania being nearly twice the size of those used in Palermo.

The traditional theme of the puppetry was the battles, betrayals and chivalric deeds of Orlando, Rinaldo, Charlemagne and Angelica although subjects from classical Greece and Rome, such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, were also covered.

A large collection of puppets and scenery can still be visited at the Museo delle Marionette, Via Butera, in Palermo, and performances present the same traditional stories to this day, amidst some violence and much shouting – in Sicilian dialect!

Within the museum’s collection, there are puppets of Rajasthan, gleaming Rangoon dragons and traditional Punch and Judy puppets in their own theatre.

In 2011, the Opera dei Pupi was declared part of the ‘oral and intangible heritage of humanity’ by UNESCO with an accompanying plan devised to save the Sicilian Puppet Theatre from extinction.

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TAMBURELLO

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amburello is a frame drum with one skin and jingles inserted into its frame. The tamburello can vary from 15 to 60 cm. The tamburello is a circular band of wood. One of the traditional methods to obtain the circle, mostly in the Mediterranean area, is to curve the wood after it has been heated using vapor. The skin is fixed on one side of the frame and it’s streched and maintained tense with nails, tensors, thorns or glue.

Tambourines originated in the Near East. They came into being when bells and other rattles of various kinds were attached to the shell of a frame drum. The instrument was known to the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians: in Egypt it was used in religious ceremonies by female temple dancers. Women were the principal players of tambourines in other early civilizations, too. Additionally, tambourines were played in processions, at festivities and at funerals.The tamburello is the most popular and important percussion instrument in Italian popular musical tradition. It is still played and made according to the traditional methods in most of Italy, and most importantly in Sicily.

The long presence of Arabian-Muslim cultural influences in Sicily contributed to the spread of the tamburello throughout Italy.

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CARTE DA GIOCO SICILIANE

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deck of Italian cards consist of 40 cards, divided into four suits. Neapolitan, Piacentine, Triestine, and Sicilian cards are divided into Coppe (Cups), Ori or Denari (Golds or Coins), Spade (Swords) and Bastoni (Clubs), while Piemontesi, Milanesi and Toscane cards use the ‘French’ suits, that is Cuori (Hearts), Quadri (Diamonds, literally “Squares”), Fiori (Flowers) and Picche (Spades, literally “Pikes”).

The values on the cards range numerically from one through seven, plus three face cards in each suit: Knave [Fante in Italian] (worth a value of 8), Knight [Cavallo in Italian] in the Neapolitan-type decks or Queen [Donna in Italian] in the Milanese-type decks (worth 9), and King [Re in Italian] (worth 10). A Knave is a lone male figure standing.

The Knight is a male figure riding a horse; the Queen is a female figure. The King is a male figure wearing a crown. To determine the face value of any numeric card, simply count the number of suit icons on the card. Since the Coins are important in winning some points, the cards of that suit are also nicknamed as “bello” (handsome): so, “il settebello” is the Seven of Coins, “l’asso bello” is the Ace of Coins/ Diamonds.

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CALTAGIRONE - LE TESTE DEI MORI

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he story says that in the heart of the Kalsa, the Arab quarter of Palermo lived a young Sicilian girl. She was very beautiful with long black hair and blue eyes like Mediterranean Sea. She spent all days doing gardening, she had lot of flowers and exotic plants and she used to put them on the balcony. One day, a young Moorish merchant was walking down to the street when he was attracted by the girls’ flowers. He waited to see the owner of such beautiful flowers and once finaly he saw the girl he felt in love with such beauty. After having declare to her his sincere love he started to pass in front of the girl’s window every day until she fell in love with him as well. But one day the Moor told her that he has to go back to his country where his wife and children were waiting him. The young girl with her heart broken and her honor lost decided to plan her revenge. During the last night before his leaving she convinced him to spend their last night of passion together then once he fell asleep the girl cut off his head and made a pot with basil on her balcony. Basil grew lushly and the envious neighborhood commissioned terracotta vases shaped with the head of a Moor. ”

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D E C O R AT I O N O F

D E S I G N

IL CARRETTO SICILIANO

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he Sicilian cart (or carretto siciliano in Italian and carrettu sicilianu in Sicilian is an ornate, colorful style of horse or donkey-drawn cart native to the island of Sicily, in Italy.

The carts were introduced to the island by the ancient Greeks.

Carts reached the height of their popularity in the 1920s, when many thousand were on the island. Miniature carts, or Carrettini Siciliani, are often sold in Sicily (or in Italian shops and restaurants in other countries) as souvenirs. The Museo del Carretto Siciliano, in Terrasini, in the province of Palermo, is a museum dedicated to

the carts. The crews that built carretti included woodcarvers, metal workers, and painters. The woodcarvers carved the many panels that were often historic reliefs. The metal workers worked the iron, in a ‘ferro battuto’ style, which included highly decorated metal undercarriages. The Sicilian Carretto is made in several provinces in Sicily each with their own style. Carretti made in the province of Palermo have more of a square box design, those made in Catania are made with more elaborate ‘keys’, and then there are the carts made in Agrigento which have their own distinctive style.

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LABORATORIO SACCARDI

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arretto Siciliano Antimafia (Sicilan Anti-Mafia Cart) made in 2010 is a traditional Sicilian Cart where the artists painted the Anti-Mafia heroes, such as Leonardo Sciascia, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and represented the most tragic events of the history of Sicily. In contrast to the Tonalities of traditional carts, which are usually colorful and bright, the Saccardi Laboratory painted their cart in black and white to highlight the tragedy of the represented stories. This work resulted from a workshop held at the Primary school “Padre Cataldi� in Terassini (Palermo). With their work, Laboratorio Saccardi intends to ridicule and mock the intellectual elite and the star-system of the art world. With their debunking and ludic language, they manage to use different medias from painting to video and visual poems.

Vincenzo Profeta - Marco Leone Barone Giuseppe Borgia - Toti Folisi Year / 2010

LA CINQUECENTO E L'APE

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he craft of making the carts is handed down from generation to generation, through the training of apprentices. Carts are known for being covered in carvings and brightly painted scenes from Sicilian history and folklore as well as intricate geometrical designs. These scenes also served the purpose of conveying historical information to those who were illiterate. The colors of Sicily’s flag, yellow and red, feature prominently on the carts, along with details in bright blues and greens. The animals pulling the carts are often elaborately adorned as well. Nowadays Sicilian people are used to move their traditional decoration onto moder vehicles as Fiat 500 and Ape 50, getting even more attraction from turists.

Artist Gianfranco Fiore Year / 2008 (detail) Oil, paint, varnish

BAROQEAT

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s a collection of 12 porcelain plates hand decorated with the transfer technique. The graphics represent some of the most beautiful plans of central-plan baroque Sicilian churches:

- Chiesa Crociferi Fathers | Noto (SR) - Chiesa Santa Chiara | Noto (SR) - Chiesa Carmine | Noto (SR) - Chiesa Of the Holy Trinity | Noto (SR) - Chiesa The Badia di Sant’Agata | Catania - Chiesa Santa Chiara | Catania - Chiesa St. Joseph | Caltagirone (CT) - Chiesa Of PP. somaschi | Messina - Chiesa Of SS.Cosma and Damiano | Alcamo (TP) - Chiesa Ecce Homo | Alcamo (TP) - Chiesa Of the Jesuit College | Mazara del Vallo (TP) - Chiesa Dell’Addolorata | Niscemi (CL) Designer: Salvatore Spataro Producer: DEPOS Porcellane, Sesto Fiorentino (FI) Materials: Porcelain Year / 2014 Dimension: ø31cm Photo: Alessandro Michelazzi / Samuele Castiglione

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DOLCE E GABBANA

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omenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana return many times to Dolce’s native Sicily for seasonal fashion launches. Dresses printed with street-theater puppets, and tops and skirts emblazoned with the collectible head-shaped vases and dishes native to the Caltagirone region. Their models wear souvenir scarves in their hair and chandelier earrings in the shape of those street puppets.

Designer: Dolce&Gabbana Year / 2013 Summer Collection

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DE NATURA FOSSILIUM

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hen Mount Etna erupted on 20th November 2013, the dramatic event was broadcast by a haunting noise of rumbling stones and a vast plume of dark smoke that completely obscured the sun. After the smoke, black earthen debris began showering down over the villages and cities within the immediate vicinity of the mountain. From the highway through to the Greek theatre in Taormina, everything was covered with black. Mount Etna is a mine without miners – it is excavating itself to expose its raw materials."

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Studio Formafantasma, in collaboration with Gallery Libby Sellers, present De Natura Fossilium – an investigation into the cultures surrounding this particularly Sicilian experience to bring both the landscape and the forces of nature together as facilities for production.

As in their previous projects Autarchy (2010) and Moulding Tradition (2009), Formafantasma questions the link between tradition and local culture and the relationship between objects and the idea of cultural heritage. De Natura Fossilium is a project that refuses to accept locality as touristic entertainment.

Instead, the work of Formafantasma is a different expedition in which the landscape is not passively contemplated but restlessly sampled, melted, blown, woven, cast and milled. From the more familiar use of basalt stone to their extreme experiments with lava in the production of glass and the use of lavic fibers for textile, Formafantasma's explorations and the resulting objects realize the full potential of the lava as a material for design.

In homage to Ettore Sottsass, the great maestro of Italian design and an avid frequenter of the volcanic Aeolian islands, this new body of work takes on a linear, even brutalist form. Geometric volumes have been carved from basalt and combined with fissure-like structural brass elements to produce stools, coffee tables and a clock. The clock itself is deconstructed into three basalt horizontal plates to represent the passing of hours, minutes and seconds. A brass movement spins around the plates, shifting three different ages of lavic sand that have been sampled from three different sites on Stromboli.

Lavic glass, procured by remelting Etna's rocks, has been mouth-blown into unique vessels or cast into box-like structures that purposefully allude to the illegal dwellings and assorted buildings that have developed at the foot

of the volcano. Drawing on their own vocabulary, these solitary glass boxes and mysterious black buildings have been finished with such archetypal Formafantasma detailing as cotton ribbons and Murano glass plaques. By returning the rocks to their original molten state Formafantasma are reversing the natural timeline of the material and forcing a dialogue between the natural and manmade.

A black, obsidian mirror that is suspended on a brass structure and balanced by lavic rocks continues this line of narrative, as the semi-precious glass like stone is produced only when molten lava is in contact with water. Formafantasma have also investigated the tensile properties of lavic fibre and woven two different wall hangings.

These pieces combine illustrative references to both the Greek mythological gods of Mount Etna and the microscopic views of lavic rock's geological strata as ascertained through the designers' collaboration with the Volcanologist Centre of Catania (INGV). As a sustainable alternative to carbon fiber, Formafantasma's use of lavic fibre has effectively reappropriated a conventionally high tech material for artisanal ends.

De Natura Follisium - Year 2014: Lipari (detail) Occhio di pernice basalt, lava rocks, brass, textile Alicudi, Linguaglossa, Nicolosi (detail) Casted lava, lava rock, Murano glass 1614 stool (detail) Basalt, brass, textile Monti Silvestri (detail) Basalt, brass, electrical components, lava sand Small Pillar and Big Pillar tables (detail) Basalt, Occhio di pernice basalt, brass, textile.

AUTARCHY

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alled Autarchy, the collection includes pots and lamps made of flour, agricultural waste and limestone. The material can be hardened by baking at low temperatures or drying naturally, and dyed with vegetable extracts.

The designers “Formafanstama” have collaborated with a broom-maker and bakery to create the installation at at Spazio Rosana Orlandi.Developing further the material and the concept of the previous project “baked”, inspired by the folk event of the “cene di San Giuseppe” in Sicily, “Autarky” is an installation that proposes an autonomous way of producing goods and outlines a hypothetical scenario where a community is embracing a serene and self inflicted embargo where nature is personally cultivated, harvested and processed, to feed and make tools to serve human necessities. “Autarky” pays homage to the uncomplicated, the simple and the everyday. In the installation, a collection of functional and durable vessels and lamps, naturally desiccated or low temperature baked, are produced with a bio-material composed of 70% flour, 20% agricultural waste, and 10% natural limestone. The differences in the colour palette are obtained by the selection of distinct vegetables, spices and roots that are dried, boiled or filtered for their natural dyes. As guests in the project, Studio Formafantasma invited the Italian broom maker Giuseppe Brunello and the renowned French bakery Poilane, to join in the development of the installation. The cereal Sorgho works as a link between these crafts – in a perfect production process without waste, the cereal is harvested and used to create tools, vessels and foods. “Autarky” suggests an alternative way of producing goods where inherited knowledge is used to find sustainable and uncomplicated solutions.

Autarchy- Formafantasmsa - Year 2010: Vessels (detail) bio-material composed of 70% flour, 20% agricultural waste, and 10% natural limestone

Politecnico di Milano Leandro Sgro

Prof. Arch. Matteo Vercelloni Prof. Arch. Michelangelo Giombini Politecnico di Milano – Master PSSD HISTORY of DESIGN 2015/2016