Sicilian History, Culture & Way of Life
History
Sicily, a mountainous island south of Italy, is one of the Mediterranean Sea’s “most densely populated” islands.(101) Approximately 10,000 years ago, Sicily was inhabited in “8th and 6th centuries BCE” by the Greeks shortly before “a melting pot for a dozen or more ethnic groups whose warriors or merchants sought its shores.”(102) Power of Sicily shifted as Sicily became the first Roman province in the 3rd century BCE, fell under Byzantine rule in 535 CE, came under Arab conquest in 965, was “progressively Latinized” by the Normans in 1060.(103) However, it wasn’t long until the island shifted its power to the “Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (or Naples) which was a split rule between the French on one side and the Spanish on the other.(104) It wasn’t until “Italian patriot” Giuseppe Garibaldi’s revolt of 1860 that Sicily was “liberated from the [Spanish] Bourbons…[and] was incorporated into the united kingdom of Italy.”(105) Finally, Sicily became a self-governing region in 1947.(106)
Sicilian Politics and Culture
As mentioned previously, Sicily experienced centuries of diverse colonization and power. Although Sicily is one of the five “autonomous regions” of Italy, it “still operates under the government of Italy,” but is still led by the equivalent of an American state’s governor, a “President of Regional Government.”(107) The somewhat governmental and geographical separation between Sicily and Italy, are far from the reason that Sicilian are seen as “excluded” from Italian culture. Stereotypically, some may identify Sicilians as “conservative and suspicious (usually by mainland Italians), stoical and spiritual, confident and gregarious, and as the possessors of a rich and dark sense of humour.”(108)
However, as a descendant of deeply rooted Sicilians, I believe their culture is far from what Gesualdo Bufalino wrote in his 2008 Cento Sicilie described Sicilians as “suffering from an excess of identity.”(109) From personal experience, Sicilians have created a culture and personality from the people who came before them. They are fiercely loyal, unapologetically honest, deeply devoted to their family, and relentlessly rooted in their religious beliefs, morals and traditions. The many ethnic groups that inhabited Sicily didn’t create an identity crisis for its culture today, rather, it wove the colorful and abundant tapestry that is modern-day Sicilian culture. Furthermore, Sicilian traditions serve as an addition to Italian culture including “lyrical poetry,” “popular religious festivals,” and “folk art--such as embroidery, painting, and puppetry.”(110)
Sicilian Way of Life & Gender Roles
Aside from loyalty to family and friends remaining the “bedrock of Sicilian life,” personal image and “maintaining a bella figura (beautiful image)” through “dressing well, behaving modestly, performing religious and social duties and fulfilling all essential family obligations” is imperative.(111) Marietta Parker Kahl, Joseph DiGiorgio’s great-niece and DiGiorgio family matriarch, described the personality traits of Sicilians, “They really are gregarious and [our family] loved being together.”(112) It is said that the priority of status and being perceived as higher in status than an individual may be is due to the “race for status” that formed when the Spanish rulers in the 18th century “outlawed extravagance.”(113) This emphasis on achievement, image and deep loyalty are all qualities Joseph DiGiorgio possessed, forming him into an innovative family businessman. However, despite the status focus in Sicilian it is clear that DiGiorgio was humbled by his modest beginnings as an immigrant with no money, no plan and no one in America.
However, the emphasis on image has led to stark differences between a man and women’s role in Sicilian culture. This “heavily patriarchal society” with a focus on “manliness” is personified in the form of the man being the “head of the family” and the main provider and main source of influence and betterment of the family.(114) Furthermore, women fulfill the more traditional and outdated role of taking care of the house while the husband went to work.(115) However, it is common for the woman of the house to handle the finances.(116) Overall, respectability, preserving family honor and upholding religious duties are at the root of Sicilian culture.
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107. Ferdinand Bada, “Is Sicily a Part of Italy?,” WorldAtlas (WorldAtlas, July 29, 2019), https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-sicily-a-country.html.
108. “Sicily,” Encyclopædia
109. Bufalino, Gesualdo. “Chapter One: Of Sicily and Its Ripples.” Essay. In Cento Sicilie, 22. Scandicci (Firenze): La nuova Italia, 2008. https://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/63262.pdf
110. “Sicily,” Encyclopædia
111. Lonely Planet, “Sicilian Way of Life,” Lonely Planet, accessed 2020, https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/sicily/background/other-features/8689e215-b132-431a-b2e3-522210356415/a/nar/8689e215-b132-431a-b2e3-522210356415/359993.
112. Morton, Kahl. Personal.
113. Lonely Planet, “Sicilian Way”
114. Lonely Planet, “Sicilian Way”
115. Caroline H, “Interview with Vittoria Cirello on the Role of Women in Sicily,” Maymester in Sicily (Vanderbilt University, 2020), https://my.vanderbilt.edu/maymesterinsicily/2017/05/interview-with-vittoria-cirello-on-the-role-of-women-in-sicily/.
116. Caroline H, “Interview”
