Cervella & Tonon top the women’s podium at Italian snow volleyball tour event in Linguaglossa Sanalitro & Scheid claim the men’s gold on the slopes of Mount Etna Women’s gold at the second stop in Lorica goes to D’Arrigo Di Risio & Geromin win the men’s tournament in Lorica The first two stops of a total of three on the fourth edition of Italy’s domestic snow volleyball tour the 2025 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championships were held in Linguaglossa and in Lorica over the last two weekends The tour finals will be held in Prato Nevoso on March 29 and 30 Linguaglossa on the slopes of the majestic Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily hosted the first event on the 2025 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championships Cervella & Tonon topped the women’s podium Cervella & Tonon produced an emphatic 2-0 (15-3 15-5) sweep of their encounter with Clemente Leggio & Panfili were about as convincing in their 2-0 (15-4 The two losing teams of the semifinal matches shared the third place on the podium A total of five women’s teams took part in the tournament In a hard-fought men’s gold medal showdown Sanalitro & Scheid managed a 2-0 (15-13 Sanalitro & Scheid by a narrow 2-1 (15-17 Germana & Staiti in their tight 2-0 (16-14 A total of eight squads competed in the men’s tournament in Linguaglossa All results and standings ❄️ 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎 𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐎 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 ❄️ 📍Conclusa la prima tappa di Linguaglossa (CT) 🔍: https://t.co/kSBI5TyuTa pic.twitter.com/fsg2b51Yw1 — Federvolley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Federvolley) January 26, 2025 The second stop on the 2025 Italian national tour was held at almost two thousand metres above sea level in Lorica in the spectacular setting of the Sila National Park and perfect weather for snow volleyball (pictured in the main photo; credits: FIPAV) Four teams contested the women’s competition With a slightly different line-up (Parenzan instead of Cervella) D’Arrigo and Tonon triumphed again on the women’s side Parenzan & Tonon achieved an emphatic comeback from a set down to emerge with a 2-1 (12-15 Sarlo & Sarlo managed to turn the course of their encounter with Certoma Gentile & Sansotta bounced back with a hard-earned 2-0 (15-13 Rocca & Ussia in the bronze medal match Of the seven men’s teams that competed in Lorica Di Risio & Geromin reached the final against Barile Lopetrone & Remo and squeezed out a narrow 2-0 (19-17 Straight-set results marked the two semifinals as well – Camozzi Di Risio & Geromin achieved a 2-0 (15-8 15-13) sweep of the third-place match against Adornato Santacroce & Vizzari to snatch the bronze All results and standings 📍 Conclusa la seconda tappa di Lorica (CS) 🔍 LA NEWS: https://t.co/HmGk5db98u pic.twitter.com/SyFgUyPawy — Federvolley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Federvolley) February 2, 2025 The FIVB is the governing body responsible for all forms of Volleyball on a global level Working closely with national federations and private enterprises to develop Volleyball as a popular media and entertainment sport FIVB Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Château Les Tourelles Edouard-Sandoz 2-4 1006 Lausanne Switzerland Phone: +41 213 453 535 Fax: +41 213 453 545 Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab). Leave empty if the image is purely decorative. Thaddaeus Ropac will open a new permanent space in Milan this fall The new gallery—which will add to its other branches in Paris and Seoul—will be spearheaded by Elena Bonanno di Linguaglossa who most recently served as the senior director at Lévy Gorvy Dayan The inaugural programming has yet to be announced a country that profoundly shaped the evolution of art through the ages and where crucial modern art movements were conceived,” said gallery founder Thaddaeus Ropac “We increasingly felt Italy was missing from our European constellation of galleries since it has always been important to how we have grown internationally and to our artists’ development [...] We have fostered such meaningful relationships with collectors and institutions here over several decades and with the momentum of Milan as a destination for the arts coinciding with the artist’s 100th birthday “Always a place of great collectors and collections and now a burgeoning art scene Thaddaeus Ropac Milan will make a significant contribution to the city's emergence as a leading international arts destination,” added gallery director Bonanno di Linguaglossa This news coincides with a growing international interest in Milan—named one of Artsy’s emerging art capitals to watch in 2025 Hetty Lintell visits the utterly unique Palazzo Previtera in the shadow of Sicily's Mount Etna but with just a handful of white knuckle moments (Sicilians love to jostle but never jostle back) we wound our way from the tourist trap of Taormina — which was heavenly just don’t go in peak summer — to the sleepy town of Linguaglossa thanks to Etna’s feisty activity which forced the closure of Catania airport but did make for majestic and fiery moments which we watched safely from the serene new pool at Previtera.  The Italian palazzo is the Mediterranean's equivalent to our stately home but I’m relieved to report back that there’s nothing glaringly ostentatious about this fascinating home.  The Previtera family originally came from Acireale — a coastal city in the north-east of the island’s Catania region — and journeyed to Linguaglossa at the end of the 1500s They were administrators of the Princess of Spadafora part of a noble Sicilian family whose records date back to the 1200s.  Palazzo Previtera is now owned and run by the charmingly calm Alfio Puglisi a cultural economist and academic who studied at King's College London The young man has brought a refreshing breath of life to the historic building through clever modern touches and an eye for contemporary style (he collects elegant mid-century furniture which rubs along fabulously with the 17th century elements) We jumped at the offer of a tour of the private rooms (available to anyone staying; Alfio is on site and always keen to show people around) The house was designed in the Baroque style which arrived in Sicily a century after it hit bigger Italian cities swathes of Sicily were all but wiped out in a massive earthquake and patrons and residents decided to rebuild in this beautifully ornate style with all of its requisite curves and flourishes jaws dropping because everything is (or seems) to be as it was when the rooms were first laid out Glass cabinets are jammed with precious Murano glass and silver heirlooms Desks are strewn with documents and important family trees to be poured over.  We stayed in the main house in a room a little like the ones we toured (there were fewer fragile ornaments if at first we took a while to acclimatise coming straight from air-conditioned modernity the night before we soon fell head-over-heels for this magical place.  Alfio’s parents still live in the former summerhouse and you’ll likely spot them darting around and making the most of the abundant gardens (the family also have homes in Milan and elsewhere which in my imagination are also very grand indeed).  The gardens were so totally unexpected I thought that I’d wandered into Frances Hodgson Burnett book: wrought iron gates reimagined as decorative elements exotic palm trees and gnarled olive trees older than the house stone hideaways — perfect for shaded respite from the hot summer’s sun.  Eclectic Sicilian and Moorish-style (Sicily was under Islamic rules from from the late ninth to 11th centuries) tiles and some cracked here and there It is the antithesis of modern-day hotel and hotel gardens where everything is attributed to a ‘name’ Previtera has grown organically over years and years — something money simply cannot buy.  must be why everything here — including a dozen rows of vines — thrives even in the throes of August ‘Is this the most unique spot on the island?’ I muse whilst enjoying a breakfast of local produce avocados and hazelnuts all come from their own farms; a cousin makes the pasta A holiday to Sicily is an exercise in constant digestion But back to that pool — with its unbeatable views of angry Etna and flanked by bamboo sun loungers and khaki green This area is overlooked by the hotel’s newest furniture sourced from another family member who was about to recycle it ‘I’ll have it for the Palazzo’ — and it works wonderfully.  There are other suites hidden amongst the gardens and some cottages which look charming we deem our room in the main house to be the most authentic way to experience total immersion in this astonishing hotel.  Hetty LintellSocial Links NavigationHetty Lintell masterminded the launch of the magazine’s Luxury pages back in 2012 and has overseen them ever since Country Life’s annual men’s lifestyle supplement and styles and art-directs all of the magazine's fashion and still-life shoots is compiling top-notch goodie bags for any party the magazine hosts Hetty can normally be found darting between Bond Street and a photographic studio in East London renowned for his focus on international contemporary art will inaugurate a new gallery in central Milan in early autumn 2025 The Milan location will be led by Elena Bonanno di Linguaglossa as Executive Director She brings nearly 25 years of experience in modern and contemporary art with a particular focus on Italian and American art Executive Director of the Milan Gallery (Image: Thaddaeus Ropac) a celebrated architectural gem near Teatro alla Scala and Via Monte Napoleone the gallery spans 280 square meters across two elegant rooms on the first floor The venue extends its reach to the adjacent Piazza Belgioioso where sculptures will be displayed in the public square Within Walking Distance of the City’s Iconic Duomo the gallery is within walking distance of the city’s iconic Duomo di Milano and integrates seamlessly into the surrounding network of renowned museums This new venture further solidifies Thaddaeus Ropac’s presence as a leading figure in the international art world while adding a significant contemporary art space to Milan’s vibrant cultural landscape Austrian gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac (Image: provided) Thaddaeus Ropac also attends this year's ART SG Highlights of the gallery's presentation include: We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Mario Scuderi, 73, passed away on Sunday at his home with his family by his side. In life, Mario Scuderi embodied the American dream. Born in Linguaglossa, Sicily in 1947, Mario came to America with his mother Egidia and his younger brother... View Obituary & Service Information https://vimeo.com/500627417 The TimesIt took me a while to find the Palazzo Previtera Sicily’s new guesthouse of lived-in history lies in a tight knot of narrow streets in Linguaglossa on the side of Mount Etna — I circled the district twice while I searched for a way in After a sparkling day by the sea in Siracusa The top of the volcano was wreathed in cloud and with rain in the air the lava-built town looked dark and forbidding All I could envisage were the scratches they would surely leave on the side of my hire car I parked by the railway station and walked to the palace to ask for help I was a lot closer to Etna’s spring snowline and the evening was cooling fast He’s not what you’d expect from the owner of a 17th-century Sicilian palazzo flamboyant and much too well mannered to laugh at my scaredy-cat motoring he showed me the easy way in (down Via Dante Alighieri) and en route chattered in flawless English about his great aunt It was her death in 2010 that prompted a family discussion about what to do with the property I’ve never seen such a kaleidoscope of colour in a single sweep of rooms We were on the piano nobile — the floor on which his forebears would have lived It’s the main focus of the painstaking restoration that followed those family meetings and I’d never have believed its authenticity unless Alfio was standing there next to me It looks like something from a Brooklyn fashionista’s boudoir and electrifies the room in which I later eat breakfast “We found it by stripping away every layer of wallpaper and paintwork until we got down to the 18th century,” Alfio explained He introduced me to them in another room: sitting for their portraits furnished with a set of stiff-backed chairs and sofas upholstered in dazzling purple and gold When I got close enough I saw that in one or two places the fabric was slightly worn Alfio explained that it dated back to the time of another ancestor who I could see hanging on the wall behind me — wearing a prelate’s robes He was bishop of Patti in the late 19th century How on earth had they kept their intensity of colour “They were kept under covers for half a century,” he told me He unfolded the letter from the Vatican confirming the bishop’s appointment — hand-written on thick You know how it is when you check into some modern hotels and a member of staff dutifully accompanies you to the room and shows you how to work the lights and lock the safe check the news back home and think: “I could be anywhere.” This was the opposite of that How could it be otherwise when I was on nodding terms with 300 years of Alfio’s forebears I was even going to be sleeping in his granny and grandpa’s bed A team of fresco restorers from Bergamo and Catania were involved in the projectRILEY CLEMENTSThis is not as grand a mansion as the ones that grace the streets of Palermo Alfio’s family are not your standard Sicilian aristocrats either Every generation seems to have lived by their wits and education has clearly been their watchword has a PhD in political economy from King’s College London his father is the structural engineer who earthquake-proofed the palazzo’s walls and his architect mother was heavily involved in the restoration of the interiors which involved a team of fresco restorers from Bergamo and Catania she and Alfio have added two elegant modern bedrooms and a chic library The most magnificent book in the family’s collection An edition of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica But there’s more to this project than an invitation to bed down in an open museum of upper-crust Sicilian life and stroke the surface of objects usually kept behind glass That became clear over dinner at the buzzing Osteria Vinetna restaurant on the far side of Linguaglossa’s main square Over a glass of fruity Barbazzale rosso wine Alfio outlined his family’s plan “We want to turn our corner of Linguaglossa into a cultural hub,” he says they’ve established the Sicily Artist Residency Programme (SARP) which offers artists accommodation and studio space in and around the palazzo — as well as holding exhibitions of their work in a gallery beneath the piano nobile Among the lucky few international artists who have been to stay are the modernist Dane Matthias Malling Mortensen and the Liverpudlian painter Luke George You’ll see their striking works hanging among the family portraits plunging you into a world of flickering colours and deft It’s like losing your way in a blizzard of rose petals “We want to turn our corner of Linguaglossa into a cultural hub”RILEY CLEMENTSIf you’re wondering how on earth artists’ studios and a posh B&B will work together Among Alfio’s upcoming guests are a group of holidaying Harvard academics Once they’re settled in they’ll do more than explore his one-acre garden and sip coffee in his magnificent turquoise breakfast room They’ll be visiting SARP’s new artist-in-residence They’ll also sit down to dinner with him in one of the local restaurants Experiences such as this are sure to add zest to a tour of Mount Etna where for many wine tasting is now the big draw Using local grape varieties — nerello mascalese for the reds and carricante for the whites — a new generation of winemakers have worked out how to coax delicious mineral-tinged vintages from the volcanic soils Wineries such as Planeta Sciaranuova have won an international following and the morning after my stay at Alfio’s my plan was to visit some of them there wasn’t too much to see from the vines themselves Most were still crouched low and knotty over Etna’s dark earth pruned right back against the rigours of winter April’s resurgent warmth was beginning to have an effect and the first leafy shoots were bringing colour back to the fields Rather like the effect the Palazzo Previtera is having on the lava-built streets of Linguaglossa Sean Newsom stayed in Linguaglossa as a guest of the Palazzo Previtera Double rooms in the Palazzo start from £140 a night (palazzoprevitera.com) Our travel journalism is written and edited by independent experts to inform inspire and advise our readers about the best choices for your holidays We also feature properties and itineraries from a specially selected list of trusted operators These buttons and adverts are clearly signposted and provide direct links through to external sites Etna is Europe’s highest volcanoALAMYWhat to do in EtnaYou can’t ignore Etna Europe’s highest volcano upends every notion you’ve had about Mediterranean islands and gives the east coast an eccentric You can (almost) circumnavigate it on the 68-mile Circumetnea railway (£6pp; circumetnea.it) taste your way around its many wineries and ride its cable car and 4x4 buses up to the craters and lava fields (from £60pp; funiviaetna.com) For this reason it makes sense to book with a guiding company such as Etna Experience (etnaexperience.com) that can make the best of the conditions let the volcano’s vast bulk blind you to eastern Sicily’s other delights The fin-de-siècle resort of Taormina is the most obvious not least because hit TV series The White Lotus set up shop there last winter for its second season Get set for high-season crowds and make a beeline for its Greek theatre — it frames one of the island’s best Etna views TaorminaALAMYThen go south for a feast of baroque architecture at Noto It’s the most accessible of the towns rebuilt in flamboyant style after the earthquake of 1693 it’s ten miles from the beach at Marchesa di Cassibile just a strip of sand fringing a nature reserve and a pricey car park ● Best things to do in Sicily● Best hotels in Palermo Perhaps the biggest treat of all is the urban island of Ortigia You won’t be expecting it as you speed past the grim industrial sprawl around Priolo Gargallo hanging like a pearl earring from the southern end of Syracuse an island community thousands of years in the making Its golden age came to an abrupt end when the Romans sacked Syracuse in 212BC a Greek temple and a busy market brimming with fish and fruit quite matches the simple pleasure of wandering in and out of the sunlight along its ancient alleyways Artisan linguine with a restricted of clams raw red prawn and coral sauce ShalaiWhere to eatWith so many vineyards on the doorstep it’s no wonder the wine list at Shalai in Linguaglossa is so strong on local vintages its Michelin-starred kitchen makes merry with a range of ingredients that stretches down from Etna and into the Ionian Sea local beef — they all feature (two-course menu £60; shalai.it) Sign up for our Times Travel newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Twitter Giuseppina "Josephine" (Grasso) Lomonaco, 80, of Syracuse, passed away Saturday in St. Joseph's Hospital surrounded by her loving family and special friends. She was born in Linguaglossa, Sicily and moved to Syracuse in 1956. She had been... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Giuseppina "Josephine" Lomonaco created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Giuseppina "Josephine" (Grasso) Lomonaco Available by phone 24/7 (315) 451-9500 You will be automatically redirected to the requested page after 3 seconds.Don't close this page Niki Blasina selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter “They’re the best cannoli in all of Sicily,” says Alfio Puglisi as we huddle outside a pasticceria in the town of Taormina hoovering up a plate of pastries filled with sweetened ricotta and candied orange peel — the acme of one of the island’s most famous treats a recipe that has been perfected over more than a thousand years home to one of the oldest and most diverse cuisines in Europe the island is home to regional ingredients and recipes that reflect the many cultures that have occupied it over centuries Sicily is sometimes referred to as “God’s kitchen” — and the area around Mount Etna We’re exploring this hallowed land as part of “Etna Wild Food” a three-day immersion in the region’s gustatory delights put together by Palazzo Previtera a historic bed and breakfast in the town of Linguaglossa I am particularly pleased that we’ll be sampling plenty in addition to food tastings and meals with Sicilian chefs and culinary experts author of the cookbook Sicilia: A Love Letter to the Food of Sicily is here to divulge some cookery secrets too My husband and I arrive at Catania airport on a Friday afternoon we hop into Alfio’s Jeep and drive about an hour to Linguaglossa where some 5,000 people live at the foot of Etna’s northern slopes the palazzo has been home to Alfio’s ancestors an aristocratic family that have been silk merchants and whose portraits keep watch from brightly painted walls from carefully repairing frescoes to sensitively installing the mod cons required by paying guests a historic bed and breakfast in the town of Linguaglossa © Riley ClementsInside the Palazzo Previtera — a technicolour labyrinth of ornate fabrics © Riley ClementsBruschetta with sun-dried tomato paste enjoyed at the palazzo © Fabio FlorioPalazzo Previtera is essentially a museum with rooms — a technicolour labyrinth of ornate fabrics geometric tiles and antiques that illustrate the evolution of interior design in Sicily There are four guest bedrooms (and two cottages in the gardens) plus an exhibition space on the lower floor rare English roses and a sweet family of tabby cats The weekend was high-intensity interval training in caloric intake but it was also a glimpse at Sicily’s future a small local restaurant with an enormous selection of Etna wine we munch on pane fritto and artichokes wrapped in lardo with falling-apart pieces of Nero Siciliano pork has notes of juniper berry — a local twist on a classic dish with an ingredient that can be traced back to the island’s Norman conquerors sciauni — fried ravioli stuffed with sweetened ricotta — and are grateful for the short walk home The next morning, en route to Guardiola, a prized parcel of vineyards (contrada) to the north of Etna, it’s clear why FT wine writer Jancis Robinson has called this “some of the strangest wine country in the world” The roads traverse metres-high peaks of black cratered rock — lava flows from large eruptions that happened as recently as 1990 — with awkwardly shaped steep and terraced vineyards nestled in between Mount Etna seen from Tenuta Rustica © Fabio FlorioAlberto Cusumano one half of the sibling team behind Alta Mora winery Giovanna Musumeci (left) in the village of Randazzo © Fabio Florio“A landscape like this is 10 times more expensive to work than flat vineyards” one half of the sibling team behind Alta Mora winery as he shows us how the vines are inaccessible to machinery and must be tended to by hand With Etna’s 3,357m of elevation and proximity to the Ionian Sea That other minor detail — the constant threat of volcanic eruption — is shrugged off; Etna’s activity is appreciated by its resilient native grape varieties (Nerello Mascalese for red wine that soak up the ash that settles in the soil Alta Mora’s silky reds — delicate and precise with light tannins — are archetypal of the region; its whites which Alberto says are more difficult to perfect is telling us about the origins of one of the island’s culinary obsessions when Sicilians would take snow collected from Etna (stored in underground caves called neviere) nuts and other ingredients mixed with sugar a speciality of the pasticerria © Fabio FlorioToday popular flavours include mulberry and almond but Giovanna also experiments with savoury tastes: pizza fritte with aubergine ricotta and tomato granita — a thrilling play of hot and cold; focaccia with pancetta and mayonnaise ice cream that is unexpectedly delicious “It’s challenging,” chef Ben says diplomatically Giovanna laughs and says it’s her most divisive dish We refresh our palates with mandarin granita Through peach groves and towering wildflowers, along potholed roads in desperate need of repair, we find Tenuta Rustica a beautiful olive oil-producing estate that has belonged to the Fisauli family since the 16th century Lorenzo shows us a nearly 3,000-year-old mill that was used for making oil and wine — fascinating evidence of Italian viticulture’s start in Sicily from around 800BC when it was introduced by the Greeks Niki Blasina and other guests drink a glass of rosé produced by Tenuta Rustica © Fabio FlorioAn olive oil-producing estate Tenuta Rustica has belonged to the Fisauli family since the 16th century Glasses of the rosé being handed around © Fabio FlorioWe’re treated to Margherita’s homemade bread and pecorino from the neighbouring sheep farmer drizzled with the estate’s extra virgin olive oil the duo’s latest project: a low intervention rosé Back in Linguaglossa, it’s Sunday morning at Dai Pennisi the local butcher — a carnivore dreamscape of sausages “The flavours that we have at the palazzo will all go nicely with it; the broad beans We stop at an alimentari for citron the size of rugby balls and a bounty of spring vegetables: romana courgettes scarola (a leafy green) and courgette flowers Some of the offerings at Alberto Angiolucci’s ‘macelleria di mare’ © Fabio FlorioBen Tish goes shopping for ingredients  including a medley of spring vegetables © Fabio FlorioNow chef-director of the Cubitt House group of London pubs and restaurants Ben started his career in Italian cuisine and eventually broadened his focus to the Mediterranean region Moorish — and Moors had a huge influence in Sicily — I fell in love with the place and the food,” he says Following a tasting at the Franchetti family’s Passopisciaro winery (where bottles command prices of up to €140) chop and slice vegetables in the palazzo’s kitchen (In the presence of a chef — even one as friendly and relaxed as Ben — I feel rather inept and mine look like they’ve been handled by a chimp.) The room smells divine Ben Tish prepares the wild fennel that grows on Palazzo Previtera’s grounds Sunday lunch at the Palazzo © Fabio FlorioSurrounded by antiquities in the palazzo’s dining room we tuck into our lunch of lamb and the abundance of spring vegetables braised in garlic and olive oil and sprinkled with jus and fresh herbs and a green salad with grated pecorino and orange segments Everything is drizzled with Sicilian vino cotto (a reduction of non-fermented grape must) and Tenuta Rustica’s wonderful olive oil Later, after our stop in Taormina for Sicily’s best cannoli at Bar Pasticceria Etna it’s time for Sunday’s most important tradition: service at the local pizzeria enjoys a pizza and beer at the table next to us Our Sicilian hosts are lamenting the island’s downsides: it’s slow to change there’s a lack of government support for business and the brain drain that has plagued Italy’s south the weekend was high-intensity interval training in caloric intake but it was also a glimpse at Sicily’s future through the young people who have left and come back the founder of the tour operator Emotional Sicily “I was pessimistic about Sicily,” she says “But when I started meeting these like-minded people around the island Niki Blasina was a guest of Palazzo Previtera (palazzoprevitera.com) and tour operator Emotional Sicily (emotionalsicily.com) Double rooms at the Palazzo cost from about €140 per night The next Etna Wild Food tour with chef Ben Tish runs from October 22 to 26 and costs €3,500 per person Find out about our latest stories first — follow @ftweekend on Twitter The TimesA legal battle has broken out between an Italian prince and his younger Belarusian girlfriend while he alleges she milked him for gifts worth hundreds of thousands of euros in 2019 before they embarked on a globe-trotting romance in which he whisked her to holiday destinations including Monte Carlo It is understood that he also gave her a Mercedes worth €83,000 a €58,000 share in a Rome bed and breakfast expensive jewellery and €18,000 to help her to rent a flat in the centre of Rome filed a legal complaint against the prince last March for stalking Bill Knott There is a butcher’s shop in the small Sicilian town of Linguaglossa the shop stocks local wines and spirits (including Volcano a terrific gin made with aromatic herbs from Etna’s slopes) and some splendid capocollo (cured pork neck) but rather regretted that the house speciality of polpette – freshly minced pork seasoned and pressed onto lemon leaves for grilling – were probably not going to travel happily in my hand luggage My bag of Sicilian goodies and I went for lunch at Boccaperta a hugely hospitable little wine bar and restaurant on the same street where an exuberant mural of Etna dominates the terrace wonderfully flavoursome grilled vegetables from Etna’s fertile soils simple but very fine platters of local sausages Lemon leaves add a sublime fragrance to fennel-spiked pork And I was delighted to discover the polpette from Carmelo Cannavò which were every bit as good as they had looked in the shop the lightly charred leaves adding a sublime fragrance to the coarsely ground Washed down with a couple of glasses of Passopisciaro’s thoroughly delicious my craving for the beguiling flavours of the Sicilian kitchen led me to Norma chef and restaurateur Ben Tish’s handsome new restaurant on Charlotte Street Named after pasta alla Norma – sauced with tomatoes the dish in turn named after Catania native Vincenzo Bellini’s operatic heroine – Norma offers its diners a culinary tour of Sicily in decidedly elegant surroundings saffron-yellow and stuffed with wild mushrooms Moorish-influenced vegetable stew on whose recipe no two Sicilians agree: Tish’s version is more dolce than agro dotted with olives and strewn with toasted pine nuts perky red prawns are dressed with orange and rosemary; inspired by the famous northern Italian dish of vitello tonnato rosy slices of veal are bathed in a smoked eel mayonnaise and topped with pickled carrots; little violet artichokes are sauced with a pine nut purée Tish is a chef with a penchant for strong flavours and his menu allies a profound grasp of Sicilian cucina with great technique and a painterly eye for a pretty plate Now if only his new restaurant served polpette grilled on lemon leaves… Comments have not been enabled for this article One of Europe’s leading art galleries will open a branch in the heart of Milan We’re talking about Thaddaeus Ropac: the Austrian gallery with branches in Salzburg Seoul and Sankt Moritz is expanding and opening a new location in Palazzo Belgioioso one of the treasures of the Lombard capital just a few meters from Teatro alla Scala and Via Montenapoleone will be directed by Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa who will bring nearly twenty-five years of experience to the gallery having worked in the fields of modern and contemporary art with particular expertise in Italian and American art she was previously senior director at Lévy Gorvy Dayan Gallery and before that worked at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere and curated exhibitions at Villa Bardini (Florence) A law graduate of Luiss University in Rome Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa has also lectured on the art market and contemporary art at the European Institute of Design in Rome Thaddaeus Ropac’s Milan office will span two large rooms over 280 square meters on the second floor of the historic building The exhibition spaces will extend beyond the building to Piazza Belgioioso where the gallery has already made it known that it plans to display sculptures.Built for Prince Alberico XII di Belgioioso d’Este the Palazzo Belgioioso is among the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Lombardy The lavish residence was completed in 1781 by Giuseppe Piermarini and extensively restored to its former glory in 1991 The palace’s rooms feature period decorations including remarkable frescoes by Martin Knoller and stucco work by Giocondo Albertolli will provide a public space where the gallery will display sculptures and installations by its artists The exhibition program at Thaddaeus Ropac Milan will be announced in the coming months: an exhibition at the Milan Museum of the Twentieth Century has been pera anticipated to commemorate Robert Rauschenberg’s (1925-2008) 100th birthday from spring 2025 Juxtaposing his work with 20th-century masterpieces in the museum’s collection the exhibition will create a dynamic dialogue between Rauschenberg’s innovative vision and the rich mosaic of modern Italian art Italy the beating heart of the continent: a country that has profoundly shaped the evolution of art over the centuries and where crucial modern art movements were born,” comments Thaddaeus Ropac “We have always felt the absence of Italy in our constellation of European galleries considering it important for our international growth and the development of our artists Many of them have held major institutional exhibitions in Italy with new projects we will be able to hold the first exhibitions in Italy of more of our artists Over these decades we have established significant relationships with collectors and institutions and the particular momentum that Milan has been showing in recent years as an art destination makes it a natural choice for us Having the right team and the ideal venue is essential so we are very happy to have Elena at the helm of our Milan gallery.” “I have always admired the exceptional selection of artists the gallery represents and the visionary approach with which Thaddaeus works with them as well as the way the program has evolved in such a compelling way thanks to the new artists who have been added in recent years,” says Elena Bonanno of Linguaglossa “I am very happy to be joining the team and firmly believe that Milan which has always been a place of great collectors and collections and now with a thriving art scene is the right choice for the gallery and its artists Thaddaeus Ropac Milan will make a significant contribution to the city’s emergence as a leading international art destination.” Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery has a longstanding commitment to Italy and its art scene it has represented Fondazione Emilio Vedova internationally since 2014: among its most significant exhibitions is the retrospective at Palazzo Reale in 2019-2020 curated by Germano Celant (1940-2020) on the centenary of the artist’s birth reviewing the history of Thaddaeus Ropac’s exhibitions an exhibition on Medardo Rosso was presented in the inaugural year of Thaddaeus Ropac’s London gallery (2017) Guillaume Apollinaire described Rosso as the “greatest living sculptor,” and Auguste Rodin wrote of his “wild admiration” for the artist Medardo Rosso: Sight Unseen was the first exhibition to focus on Rosso’s relationship with London: it featured rarely exhibited works and presented the artist’s personal photographs of his sculptures and drawings Thaddaeus Ropac oversaw the 2004 opening of the Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan and the creation of Kiefer’s Seven Heavenly Palaces as a permanent installation within the Milan exhibition venue five large-scale paintings were then added to complete the original work in the history of Thaddaeus Ropac’s presence in Italy the solo exhibition Turn Me On (2022-23) by Sylvie Fleury at the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin the largest exhibition in Italy to date devoted to Sylvie Fleury’s work Many other artists represented by the gallery have had exhibitions at institutions throughout Milan These include Oliver Beer’s Hypertimes FuturDome (2019); Valie Export’s The Desire of Freedom Palazzo Reale (2013); Sylvie Fleury’s A Noir Triennale Milano (1998); Strade / Ways Talking to Gabriele - Carpet - Lullaby to my Father by Amos Gitai Palazzo Reale (2014-15); Sturtevant’s The Great Mother Fondazione Nicola Trussardi (2015); Hans Josephsohn at Fondazione ICA Milan (2019); Tom Sachs’ solo exhibition at Fondazione Prada (2006); and Andreas Slominski’s solo exhibition at Fondazione Prada (2003) the most recent being K at the Fondazione Prada (2020) who had his first solo exhibition in Italy at the Milan Triennale (2023) Mount Etna photographed during the duo’s field investigations earlier this year Formafantasma has spent three years studying the geology of Mount Etna exploring the effects of time on volcanic rock Now its labours have come to fruition in a collection of lava-based objects On the morning of 20 November 2013, a 12m plume of black smoke emerged from the south-eastern crater of Mount Etna: a signal for its seventeenth eruption that year The most active volcano in Europe then rumbled into its well-rehearsed motion violently spitting red lava from its underground chamber and showering the surrounding villages with thick ash and debris For Sicilians, the event was fairly small news, passing with little damage despite the disruption. But for designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma it was a timely sign for their years of research on Etna’s lava-based materials to come to fruition “The forces of nature here are absolutely visible,” Farresin says you really can see the changes in the landscape So we couldn’t help but think of production when we saw it … For us the mountain is like a mine without miners.” The pair are no strangers to unconventional subject matter with past projects having seen them manipulate fish skins biological plastics and bread flour in pursuit of materials so far undiscovered or under-appreciated.  Linguaglossa is a box made from lava rock But De Natura Fossilium, their collection of more than 30 pieces for Gallery Libby Sellers, is the first to use material to capture a genius loci: an attempt to interpret Etna’s volcanic landscape through a set of unusual designs. “It’s quite important for us that this work has been generated by looking to a place,” Farresin says. “A remote place in the south  of Italy that has nothing to do with where design usually comes from.” He and Sicilian-born Trimarchi describe a desire for the project to present Etna as more than just a tourist destination, where local basalt (volcanic rock) is still used by craftsmen but only to make souvenirs. “It’s almost a symbolic gesture. Everything in the landscape is there for the tourist, so we looked for a different perspective.” The furniture part of the vast collection – a set of stools and tables – is made of juxtaposed basalt slabs taken from different eras of the volcano’s history, or “geological moments”, Farresin says. The darker, denser rock is older and the more recently produced grey rock shows where air has been trapped as the lava flow cools and hardens. Tying the two together are prominent brass connections contributed by the Viennese workshop of Carl Auböck, which the pair encountered while they were exhibiting The Stranger Within at the MAK Museum last year.  Lipari bowl is an assembly of process material Also rooting the collection in time and place is the Monti Silvestri clock. Three plates of lava sand – for hour, minute and second – each have a slim and elegant brass arm that gently shifts the material as it turns. The volcanic landscape around Etna is an agglomeration of soil, sand and rock produced in its previous eruptions and layered up over time. While basalt and sand are the obvious materials that a volcano can produce, Formafantasma sets itself the much harder task of finding new ones. In an alchemical move, they started re-melting lava to see what the process might create. “When we saw the results, the material was looking much closer to glass than to a liquid stone … more like obsidian,” Farresin says. Carl Auböck’s workshop contributed the brass element of 1614 stool Obsidian, a glossy, semi-precious stone that forms when molten lava comes into contact with water, appears in the collection as a hanging mirror counterbalanced by a lump of volcanic rock. “By looking into obsidian’s formation, we saw why our material was more like glass than stone. At a certain moment, the material fails to crystallise, which gives it these properties.” “The whole  collection ranges from organic to much more brutalist and geometrical,” Farresin says. “It is really about the control of nature more than nature itself.”  Small Pillar and Big Pillar coffee tables combine basalt from different geological eras The forms of the vases also reflect man’s influence on the local environment. The settlements at the foot of Etna, in perpetual danger of being destroyed by a major eruption, are home to many illegal dwellings that Farresin describes as “pretty ugly … or at least very geometric and unfinished”.  These characteristics find form in boxy black constructs that, like Formafantasma vessels from previous projects, support various embellishments that are artistically placed or tied on with string. The objects are named for the settlements – Zafferana, Nicolosi, Valle del Bove and Linguaglossa – where illegal dwellings can typically be found. De Natura Fossilium (named after the 1546 book by George Bauer that first categorised natural minerals, rocks and sediments) has a sense of timelessness about it. Two great tapestries woven in basalt fibre and cotton depict the ancient and the modern: on each, the head of a god (Vulcan and Athena) is mounted on magnified views of rock fragments made with microscopic scans from the volcanology centre. Formafantasma collected three sand types for Monti Silvestri clock   When shown in Milan this April, the faded grandeur of the Palazzo Clerici lent the collection a museum-like sense of importance. There was a reverential hush as visitors pondered the pieces like an archaeologist’s haul of treasure, or the results of a pioneering scientific expedition. And of course, there’s a sense of the contemporary designer at work too. The design week showed a clear revival of interest in the postmodern forms of Ettore Sottsass and Memphis Group, and this was also a point of reference for De Natura Fossilium’s confident aesthetic direction. “Sottsass was fond of the Aeolian islands too: he had a house there and did a graphic series on the islands’ sedimentation. When we started working with more geometric forms, we found a technique of slicing glass that he had done before … There were all these coincidences. I don’t think he was the main inspiration, but when we were designing the pieces we could not avoid thinking about him.” For all its influences, Formafantasma clearly has a preoccupation with – and a remarkable talent for – simply making exquisite things. Even bowls that were meant to function as documents of process are so beautiful they have found their way into the main collection. There’s a smattering of fiddly components made purely for visual pleasure, but others have more than an aesthetic purpose. Efesto depicts the god of the forge in a basalt fibre and cotton tapestry Playing on a theme of raw versus refined, the seductive touches of orange glass and the almost-classical Auböck brass trace a line between the primitive state of materials and man’s mastery of them. You can’t fault Formafantasma’s compendium of volcanic material for thoroughness – from slick obsidian to jagged rock clusters, every aspect of Etna’s fiery output has been interrogated. Farresin says the ambitious scale of the project – a three-year journey of field visits supported by research from their Eindhoven studio, collaborations with glass masters, textile specialists, metal workers and volcanologists – has taught them as much about themselves as their subject. De Natura Fossilium was at Gallery Libby Sellers in London until 12 June We couldn’t help but think of production when we saw Etna … for us the mountain is like a mine without miners 1/7Mrs Charles Methven and Elena Bonanno Di LinguaglossaMrs Charles Methven and Elena Bonanno Di Linguaglossa 7/7Alison Poole and Lady Alexandra Spencer-ChurchillAlison Poole and Lady Alexandra Spencer-Churchill A Canadair firefighting plane crashed into Sicily’s Mount Etna on Thursday The plane crashed while it was helping to fight a large forest fire at Linguaglossa – a town in the vicinity the volcano the cause of the plane crash is yet unknown We use cookies to ensure users are given the best experience on our website We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the various categories Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms The _cf_bm cookie is used by OneSignal to facilitate the delivery of web push notifications on this website Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors This cookie is installed by Marfeel Solutions Registers data on visitors' website-behaviour This is used for internal analysis and website optimization This cookie is installed by Facebook and identifies browsers for the purposes of providing advertising and site analytics services This cookie is installed by Google Analytics Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns The OAID cookie is set by our Adserver to deliver targeted ads on the  website It tracks user interactions with ads (e.g. impressions) to optimize ad delivery without collecting personally identifiable information This helps provide relevant ads based on browsing activity Other cookies are those that are being identified and have not been classified into any category as yet A moderate magnitude 3.7 earthquake hit 12.2 km (8 mi) away from Giarre, Sicily,  Italy 2025 at 3.19 pm local time (Europe/Rome GMT +2) The quake had a very shallow depth of 2.5 km (1.6 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter A light magnitude 1.7 earthquake hit 14.4 km (9 mi) away from Giarre, Sicily,  Italy The quake had a very shallow depth of 0.9 km (0.6 mi) and was too small to be felt by people Bonanno di Linguaglossa will steward Lévy Gorvy’s deep relationships with the region’s artists and institutions while extending its network there The gallery has a longstanding commitment to Italian art and artists representing the estates of Enrico Castellani and Carol Rama and exhibiting to critical acclaim the work of Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana as well as renowned contemporary artist Francesco Clemente. In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Arte Povera in 2017 Lévy Gorvy staged an exhibition highlighting Ileana Sonnabend’s central role in introducing the movement to the American art world the gallery will host its first New York City exhibition of recent and historic works by Michelangelo Pistoletto working in close collaboration with the artist and Galleria Continua Bonanno di Linguaglossa brings to her new role at Lévy Gorvy more than twenty years of experience and an exceptional passion for modern and contemporary art with specifical expertise in the field of 20th-century Italian and American art She has contributed curatorially to major exhibitions at ARTER Rome; Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna; and the Villa e Collezione Panza di Biumo With a law degree from LUISS Guido Carli, Bonanno di Linguaglossa has applied her legal skills and acumen to the complexities the international art business helping to guide clients and co-ordinate projects with institutions As guest professor at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome she taught courses on the art market and contemporary art. Based between Italy and the United Kingdom over the past two decades she has contributed her leadership skills in management and sales in positions at Fondazione Pastifico Cerere Dedicated to the development of connoisseurship as well as markets Bonanno di Linguaglossa will play an essential role on the Lévy Gorvy team Brett Gorvy says: “Dominique and I are excited to welcome Elena as a new member of our international team Having worked with her during my time at Christie’s I’ve been impressed for quite some time by her extensive knowledge of and personal passion for 20th-century art and her dedication to the deep relationships she has built with private collectors and museums Lévy Gorvy is proud to be a home for Italian artists and artists’ estates and Elena’s experience will be a tremendous asset to our work in Italy.” and website in this browser for the next time I comment © All rights reserved. Martin Cid Magazine we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads may adversely affect certain features and functions Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen Already basins and valleys in Atlas elevated below 1000 MASL reported in the last days frosts or the first snowing -0,7°C was measured in Morocco and +0,2°C in Algeria (link above) in lower situated areas only around 800 MASL (Youtube video below) A collection of videos from Morocco and Algeria with a current snowfall we have placed into materials below Tunisia are very favorable and according to tropicaltidbits forecast tool Snow should appear in the next 16 days even in southern Saharan districts of countries – in the case of anomalous snowfall in the region or snowing in Sahara we will bring fresh news already until the end of this month