Category: Haunting Graveyards

Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Operatic backdrop fit for explosive finale

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Above: Scene from The Godfather III shot on the steps of Teatro Massimo

Even if you have never seen The Godfather III, a spoiler alert scarcely seems necessary when revealing lots of bodies fall during the last few scenes of the film. You’d expect no less in any of Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy of films revolving around the Corleone family.

But who knew a silent scream could be rendered so powerfully as Michael Corleone’s? The unheard-scream scene was rendered on the steps of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, the largest opera house in Italy.

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Postcard from London, England: Art restores power to the station

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 Above: “Life in His Mouth, Death Cradles Her Arm,” Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, 2016. Photo grab from video.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Architectural Challenge Number One, 1940s: Design an industrial complex on a site directly across the Thames from one of London’s most cherished landmarks – Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was an accomplished architect by the time he was tapped to tackle the Bankside Power Station. Unlike his earlier two-chimneyed Battersea Power Station, Bankside featured a single soaring chimney front and center, prompting some to refer to it as the cathedral of industry.

Architectural Challenge Number 2, 1990s: Convert a massive decommissioned power station into a frame for modern art. An international competition attracted 168 submissions, with the Swiss architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron selected for the adaptive reuse project. The firm’s respect for and desire to preserve the external features of the brick power station impressed the selection committee of the Tate Modern.

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Marionettes and mummies

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Above: Museo Antonio Pasqualino Internazionale delle Marionette

Opera dei Pupi, a traditional form of Sicilian puppet theater originally focused on tales of the Crusades and French knights, was on the verge of disappearing when it attracted the interest of surgeon Antonio Pasqualino. He set about collecting everything he could related to the art and sparked the interest of others with the 1965 founding of the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions. A decade later, the association established the International Puppet Museum, naming it in memory of Pasqualino following his 1995 death.

The collection has become international in scope and is far from stagnant. The museum fosters cultural exchanges by hosting an international festival annually, nurturing contemporary artists and staging performances for all ages. We were surprised to witness a group of 11- and 12-year-olds howling at every punchline delivered in a dated traditional show.

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