thoughts...

Studying on the top terrace of Babilonia with Mt. Etna for a vista, or reading in the peace of the public gardens of Taormina is quite an experience compared to studying in one's bedroom. Our history course, "Civilizations in the Sun" helps us to better comprehend the history that surrounds us here, while "Modern Migrations of the Mezzogiorno" explains why people left this paradise and eventually came back. It is a paradise to us because we are used to a fast-paced consumer society. Sicily is a land where time slows down, where it's not just the sun that's full of warmth and where the cerulean sea beckons one to come closer. Yet to the young people who have lived here all their lives, while they may be fiercely proud of home, it may also be a bit provincial to them; like a small midwestern town in the U.S. There may be a desire to "make it big" elsewhere. It's funny how perspectives vary. In terms of the past, Sicilians must be one of the most unique peoples on earth. Not Italian in the way of those on the mainland, but a mixture of the various cultures who made their homes here or conquered and reconquered, leaving their mark in various ways. The original Sicels absorbed or were absorbed by Greek culture. Later, the Romans took this island prize before Byzantium left its impression. The various cathedrals and castles we saw in Palermo attest to the great many influences upon this island. In a Catholic cathedral, one will find Muslim, Byzantine and Latin elements placed together in harmony among the mosaics which drape the walls and ceiling. A question brought up in a class presentation keeps coming back to me: Are Sicilians defined by a lack of definite identity? In cultural multiplicity, in past and present, we find the definition of Sicily.