Sicily.
Sicily Is My Love…
The team at Delizia Gelato and Sorbet are now collaborating with world renowned, Catania, Sicily based artist, Alice Valenti.
Alice has worked with many Italian and Sicilian companies such as Pasticceria Distefano, Averna and most notably, she was commissioned by Dolce & Gabbana to hand-paint retro-style refrigerators in collaboration with SMEG and their Sicily Is My Love range.
Sicily Is My Inspiration…
Inspired by traditional Sicilian folk art, vintage travel posters and the Futurism art movement of the 1920’s and 1930’s, Alice has created a bright and colourful, eye catching design for Delizia reminiscent of the hand painted carriages found throughout Sicily.
The Sicilian Cart
Sicilian carts (u carrettu sicilianu) are a symbol of Sicilian tradition and folklore. Known all over the world, their origin dated around the the 8th century.
The carts were built by skilled craftsmen called “carradori” (coach builders) and were once used to deliver any kind of goods. Different kinds of craftsmen took part in the construction of the cart, starting from “u firraru” (blacksmith), which manufactured all the iron parts, “u siddaru”, who saddled and adorned the horses with bows, ribbons, bells, decorated harnesses, golden nails and plumes (usually red and yellow as a reference to the Sicilian flag colours).
Finally there were “u ferrascecchi” (blacksmith), who looked after shoeing the horse and the carvers, who took care of the sides of the cart, decorating them with rich paintings and engravings as elaborate as the owner’s importance.
The colourful decorations represent different features: from the sacred images of the Virgin Mary or the Saints , to episodes of chivalric novels, from folk epic scenes of everyday life to historical events. These wonderful examples of the popular culture of the Island can be admired especially during the folk festival parades. The feast of S. Alfio, in Trecastagni (Catania) is one of the best known.
