Tag: naples

Postcard from Siracusa, Sicily: Palatial birthplace of ‘Queen’ of Two Sicilies

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Eighteenth-century gowns in Palazzo Borgia del Casale

From noble lineage of two families, Giuseppe Maria Borgia Impellizzeri built an elegant palace on the edge of Piazza Duomo on Siracusa’s isle of Ortigia in 1760. Rococo fashions stationed throughout the main floor, open to the public, help spark the imagination to time-travel back to the times when grand balls were the norm for nobility.

Duchess Lucia Maria Migliaccio (1770-1826) was born within these halls. Widowed in 1812, she attracted the interest of a widower, King Ferdinand I of Naples (1751-1825). At the time, his Kingdom of Two Sicilies was besieged by both the British and the French, so he and Lucia married in secret in Palermo. Regaining his kingdom in 1816, Ferdinand was able to send for his wife to join him in Naples.

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A season when cemeteries reunite the living and the dead

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Above: No rearranging of the surroundings would be needed to film a horror movie in the dark and cavernous Cimitero delle Fontanelle in Naples, Italy.

It’s not surprising that a writer who would include Haunting the Graveyard as part of a book title is drawn to cemeteries. A few random headstones can reveal stories about individuals and entire communities.

Someone in the family demonstrates great patience with sating my taphophilia wherever we travel. Naturally, All Saints Day and All Souls Day are among my favorite times to do so. Posts in this blog are filled with the resulting photos, and the links below will take you to a few from our past travels. So many graveyards from which to choose….

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Where have all the chestnuts gone?

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Above, chestnut in “our” backyard during 2019 stay in Naples, Italy

Not only was baby’s crib likely made of chestnut, but chances were, so was the old man’s coffin.

George Hepting, “Death of the American Chestnut” via Forest Pathology

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire….” It’s one of the first seasonal songs that pops into my head this time of year. But why have we latched onto a song that is rooted around a tree many of us have never seen in the United States?

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