Links To More About Sicily

Sicilian Diaspora Web Sites

• A thorough examination of the Termini-Imerese Baptismal Records of 1542-1548 by Charles Matacia-Lehrer and Father Anthony Delisi, yields a documentary view into one aspect life in Sicily during the mid 1500s. Excellent photographs of every page of the baptismal records are included, together with a downloadable english translation in PDF format, a monumental achievement by itself. The work is accompanied by a listing of the principal residents of Termini-Imerese during that time including: the nobility and well-to-do, the priests, nuns, parents, godfathers, notaries, office holders, preachers, physicians, enforcers, handicapped, illigitimate children, unnamed individuals, gypies, slaves, and persons with single names or an alias.
• Joe Accardi Prima Pagina   Plan on spending some time on this page.   Joe has put a great selection of annotated photographs online that you'll want to look at and enjoy.   If you're planning a trip to Italy, stop here first.   He also makes good use of leading edge technology that you have to see.
• Spence Sacco-Burton's Homepage   Spence has modified his page quite a bit.   In this version he makes use of frames and organizes the content for easy accessibility. The most recent modifications work on Internet Explorer but may not work on some versions of Netscape.
• This site: I Siciliani!!, was started in 1996 by Philip B. Pignato. It's intended for "...all Sicilians outside of Sicily", but the site language is English.
• "Territorial identity is of capital importance for the Pantano Project. ... The Pantano Project's challenge is the preservation of the existent, restoring together with the buildings the memories and the social value of its inheritance. ..."
• This site: Il Siciliano's Website, is offered in English and in Sicilian. It is authored by Nino Russo, who was born and grew up in Sicily and immigrated to the U.S. as an adult. It is wide-ranging and very informative. There are currently thirty-three menu selections including, to name just a few: The Origins, Archimedes, The Normans, Folklore, Poetry, History, Language, and many others. If you're interested in Sicily, be prepared to spend some time at this web site.
• The Almanacco Siciliano Grifasi is a website administered from Milan, Italy, but is available in both Italian and barely understandable English. It is authored by Angelo Grifasi, whose father came from Palermo, Sicily. The site is organinized by subjects available from links on the main page. It contains a treasure trove of pictures that recommend it.
• A Family of Immigrants is a website compiled and collected by Joseph F. Laicona. It includes an informative paper on Italian migration, a delightful account of Joseph Laicona's trip to Sicily, pictures of Caltagirone, and PDF files of family trees.

Sicilian Libraries

• Messina University Library
  Fondata nel 1924 dall'illustre giurista Salvatore Pugliatti (Seminario giuridico), informatizzata nel 1989, è oggi valido punto di riferimento per l'informazione giuridica, normativa e bibliografica per docenti, studenti, magistrati e professionisti che fruiscono giornalmente dell'antica e bellissima sala di consultazione da 60 posti a sedere. 100.000 monografie, più di 1.000 volumi editi tra il '500 ed il '700, oltre 1.000 titoli di riviste di cui oltre la metà in corso di abbonamento, la raccolta completa delle Gazzette ufficiali nelle diverse serie, i vari repertori e codici, il reference bibliografico e la documentazione informatizzata la rendono, nella sua completezza, una splendida realtà del Mezzogiorno.
• Palermo CNR Library
  Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. La Biblioteca è completamente automatizzata per quanto riguarda la gestione Amministrativa, dei Servizi e dei Cataloghi.  E' possibile collegarsi alla Biblioteca col proprio computer attraverso la rete locale del Dipartimento; è possibile inoltre l'accesso via Internet mediante un browser WWW (http://www.area.pa.cnr.it).  Nella Sala lettura sono sempre a disposizione degli utenti 4 terminali per la ricerca a catalogo e le richieste di prestito.

• Michelangelo Balistreri
  Michelangelo Balistreri was born in Aspra on October 26 1963. He lives at via Cotogni 1 in Aspra. He's an author, composer and poet. His first book of Sicilian poetry was published in 1990. The link takes you to his site.
  Michelangelo Balistreri nato ad Aspra il 26/10/1963. Abita in via cotogni 1 Aspra Autore e Compositore.Ha pubblicato il suo primo libro di poesie in lingua Siciliana nel 1990.
• Sara Cappello on Palermo Web.
  Palermoweb is host to Sara Cappello, an accomplished singer and musician who is specializing in popular and traditional songs sung in Sicilian. Both the musicianship and the voice are beautiful.  
• Geppina Macaluso
  Geppina Macaluso has a degree in foreign language and literature and has taught French language and literature in high schools. She is the editor of the series "Bella Sicilia" published by Target. She has received numerous national and international first prises in poetry. The link takes you to her site.
  Geppina Macaluso, laurea in Lingue e letterature straniere, ha insegnato lingua e letteratura francese presso gli Istituti superiori. E’ direttore editoriale della collana “Bella Sicilia” della Target Editrice. Ha ricevuto numerosissimi primi premi nazionali ed internazionali di poesia.

• Sicilian Wikipedia
  This link is in Sicilian and is an excellent opportunity for you to read Sicilian in the Wiki format. Those of you who can write in Sicilian have a vehicle for contributing articles and adding to existing articles. By December of 2009 there were more that 15,000 articles on la Wikipedia n sicilianu.

  The section entitled "Articoli" has the transcript of an interesting conversation with the linguist, Professor Tristano Boielli of the University of Pisa who was interviewed by Luciano Simonelli in October of 1983. Also in this section is an article entitled "La Lingua Siciliana: origini e influssi", that's a record of the evolution of Sicilian. The authors; Dr. Leoluca Criscione, Carmela Damante and Sergio Gregorio, refer to it as a brief review. It is surely that, but it is also sufficiently informative.

• Sicilia nel mondo.
  Un viaggio nella storia e nell'attualità dell'Isola, fra nostalgia e news, cultura e riscoperta del dialetto. Ecco, così, mese per mese e città per città, il calendario di feste e manifestazioni, la rubrica degli indovinelli in siciliano, con traduzione e link per la soluzione, le cartoline illustrate della Sicilia monumentale e turistica, da guardare e inviare ad amici lontani. Ancora, fotografie e biografie dei personaggi illustri, da Brancati a Pirandello, da Bellini a Quasimodo, a Guttuso, le più belle poesie dialettali, e un guest-book, zeppo di congratulazioni dai cinque continenti. "I numeri - dice il creatore del sito, Vincenzo Bonanno, ingegnere elettronico di origine mazarese - parlano da soli: centinaia di e-mail anche da Australia e Giappone, 7.200 contatti in tre mesi"  
  
  A journey into the history and current events of the island, from nostalgia to news, culture and the rediscovery of the dialect. Month by month, city by city, the calendar of festive days and exhibitions, writings of Sicilian riddles with translations (in Italian) and links for the solutions, postcards illustraed with Sicilian monuments and tourist attractions, to look at and to send to your far away friends. And more, photographs and biographies of illustrious personages, from Brancati to Pirandello, Bellini to Quisimodo, to Guttuso, the most beautiful poetry in dialect...etc. 

• Rete Sicilia Sicily Net.
  This is a relatively new and artistically done site for all sorts of things about Sicily. Because of all the art work, expect it to take one or two minutes to load but don't get impatient, it's worth the wait. Much of it is still being developed but you'll probably want to bookmark the site. Notice that you can sign up for their newsletter.  

• The Wikipedia article on Caltagirone
  This link takes you to a comprehensive Italian language Wikipedia article on Caltagirone. It includes a number of useful and instructive links.

• The Sicilian language page in Sicilian
  Note the "scn" prefix to the Wikipedia url. Those of you who already know one of the other romance languages will have a basis for comparison and you'll immediately recognize the uniqueness of Sicilian.

• A List of Sicilian Municipalities on the Web
  You can click on this link and then wander through any number of offerings by the various Sicilian municipalities that have taken the trouble to put their information online.   Some have included useful telephone numbers, notes on their history, tourist attractions, architecture with pictures, etc.   A great way to get an introduction to tourist Sicily.

• La Sicilia in dettaglio - Sicily in full detail
  This is an unusually rich site in its plan though much of it is still under active contruction. The most recent update was on May 23, 2005. As you may have guessed from the title, the site is bilingual, Italian and English. It lists the 390 municipalites of Sicily with an accompanying map and allows you to link to information on each one. It also includes a color map of the 9 provinces of Sicily. The site is intended to serve as a connection between buyers and sellers. Interesting and useful. The surname search provided by this site limits the lookup to the region of Sicily and also lists each community where the name appears, as well as a count.

• Unione Delle Communità Ebraiche Italiane
  This Italian Language site deals with Jewish Italy. It includes six main categories: 1) Ebrei in Italia 2) Altri enti ebraici 3) Informazioni utili 4) Ebrei ed Ebraismo 5) Attualità 6) Unione Communità. It also includes a site limited search engine that worked when I tested it. (3/14/2001) The site yields some 404 errors and uses frames to separate navigation and content. It contains a too brief discussion of the history of Jewish Italy, but I enjoyed reading what it has.

• Italia Judaica
  This English Language site also deals with Jewish Italy. Italia Judaica is a project established by Professor Shlomo Simonsohn together with scholars from Israel and other countries.

• Best of Sicily
  This English Language site includes the following subheadings: Sights to See; Localities; Travel FAQs; Nature, History, Culture; Arts & Culture; Food, Wine, Dining; Real Sicilians; Hotels;Magazine; Map of Sicily; Site Index; Mini Menu; Sicily Links; and a Contact subheading. The site appears to be current and evolving.

• The very informative Anthology of Italian Literature is no longer available online. This is a replacement in Italian of a similar very large collection, the result of Progetto Manuzio.
  It contains the original texts of Italian litereray works in electronic format.   That is to say, the texts are online.   They are organized into nine categories.   Collaboration is open to all and distribution of the literary works is without charge.   In the Poetry category poets included are:   Dante Alighieri, Pietro Aretino, Ludovico Ariosto, Guido Cavalcanti, Ugo Foscolo, Guido Gozzano, Giacomo Leopardi, Alessandro Manzoni, and Vincenzo Monti.   In the Prose category writers included are:  Giovanni Boccaccio, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Edmondo De Amicis, Grazia Deledda, Ugo Foscolo, Alessandro Manzoni, Luigi Pirandello, Italo Svevo, Federico Tozzi, and Giovanni Verga.   There are also one or two selections in the following categories:   Prose for children, Contemporary authors, Religious texts, Philosophy, Essays, Theatre, and Miscellany.

• Duecento
  This site was established by Francesco Bonomi who has created a large database of early Italian poetry and literature beginning with the Sicilian School of the 1200s and extending to the works of Dante.

• Michelin Maps of Sicily
  This link takes you to the best set of Michelin maps that are available on the internet. The page has clickable (largish) thumbnails of a stylized map of Sicily that shows it's relationship to Italy and Tunisia, maps of the nine provinces, and maps of all the offshore islands.

• SiciliaSearch
  Is a portal fully dedicated to Sicily, where it's possible to research hotel and other rentals, as well as information about Sicilian towns and provinces, tourist itineraries, a photo gallery, recipes, famous personalities,and more. As of October of 2005, the site had been in operation for three years.

• Sons of Italy
  The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) says it is the largest and longest-established national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the United States. It was established in 1905 as a mutual aid society for Italian immigrants.

Books (alphebetized by author)

• Malidittu La Lingua, by Vincenzo Ancona
  
  
• Il "Siciliano" a Caltagirone, by Sac. Nunzio Annaro
  
  
• Il Parere di Don Totò, by Renzino Barbera
  
  
• Sicilian Cuisine, by Gaetano Basile
  
  
• Sicily: Three Thousand Years Of Human History, by Sandra Benjamin
  
  
• Introduction to Sicilian Grammar, by J. K. "Kirk" Bonner
  
  
• Il gioco della mosca, by Andrea Camilleri
  
  
• Trinakìe: Breve Storia Semiseria Della Sicilia, by Nino Cirnigliaro and Ciccio Gurrieri
  
  
• Il Nostro Sentiero, by Nino Cirrincione
  
  
• Italian Genealogical Records, by Trafford R. Cole
  
  
• Finding Italian Roots, by John Philip Colletta, PhD.
  
  
• A Short History of Sicily, by Santi Correnti
  
  
• Sicilian Proverbs, translated by Arthur V. Dieli
  
  
• Sicilian Fables, translated by Arthur V. Dieli
  
  
• Èthnos: Quaderni di etnologia, edited by Corrado Di Pietro
  
  
• Sweet Lemons: Writings with a Sicilian Accent, ed by V. Fazio & Delia De Santis
  
  
• La Primavera di Caltagirone, by Calcedonio Donato
  
  
• Puisiì e Cuntrasti in Sicilianu, by Petru Fudduni
  
  
• The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia, by LaGumina et al.
  
  
• Chiddu Ca Nun Si Vidi, by Lina La Mattina
  
  
• 'Na Vuci A La Scurata, by Lina La Mattina
  
  
• The Narrow Beach, by Enzo Lauretta
  
  
• Scuru: Teatro Siciliano, by Nino Martoglio
  
  
• The Poetry of Nino Martoglio
  
  
• Don Chisciotti and Sanciu Panza, by Giovanni Meli,
  
  
• La Gestualità dei Siciliani, by Fabio Oliveri
  
  
• Grammatica Siciliana, by Giuseppe Pitrè and Christian F. Wentrup
  
  
• I racconti di Giufà e altre storie, G. Pitrè, L. von Gonzenbach, S.A. Guastella
  
  
• A Sicilian Shakespeare, by Renzo Porcelli
  
  
• The Sicilians, by Joseph F. Privitera
  
  
• Vinissi..., by Antonino Provenzano
  
  
• Heritage: Italian-American Style, by Leon J. Radomile
  
  
• Proverbi Siciliani, by Giuseppe Pitrè translated by Arthur Dieli
  
  
• Villa Palagonia Nella Mia Tavolozza, by Carlo. Puleo
  
  
• The Children of Aeolus, by Carlo. Puleo translated by Arthur Dieli
  
  
• 2000 Risate, by Claudio Rinaudo
  
  
• U Lampiuni, by Claudio Rinaudo
  
  
• Customs and Habits of the Sicilian Peasants, by S. Salomone-Marino, edited and translated by Rosalie N. Norris
  
  
• Sicilia, Sicilia, Siclia! by Giuseppe Scianò;
  
  
• L'Economia Senza Etica È Diseconomia, by Don Luigi Sturzo
  
  
• La Lingua Siciliana, by Ignazio Sucato
  
  

Genealogy Web Sites

• Ancestry.com
  Ancestry.com offers a free Online Family Tree service that allows you to record, preserve, and share your family tree on the Internet without any additional software. In order to participate, you must be a registered member and use your password to access your data.
• Best of sicily Genealogy
  Bills itself as "A guide to Sicilian travel... and all things Sicilian. Genealogy is one of those "things Sicilian". This link takes you directly to their page on genealogy. There are internal links to Sicilian genealogical records, a family history section, a genetics page and an update on the Genographic Project, as well as several Best Of Sicily links to get you to their index page.
• Cyndi's List
  Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - This is a vast listing of universal genealogy sites. It is so large that it’s very easy to get lost here the first few times you surf this site. However you'll definitely want to become familiar with it's content.

• The Genographic Project
  The Genographic Project is a groundbreaking effort to record the DNA of indigenous peoples throughout the world in order to be able to determine human migration paths and definitively establish haplogroups. The genetic research is a partnership of The National Geographic Society and IBM. The global field science is supported by the Waitt Family Foundation. The link takes you to the main page for National Geographic where you'll find the link to The Genographic Project. DNA analysis offers the genealogist an opportunity to trace ancestry beyond the reach of documentary evidence.

• Immigrant Ships
  This site is maintained by a group of volunteers who methodically acquire passenger lists and transcribe them to the internet. At the rate they’re going, they may have all the passenger lists transcribed by the next millenium.

  Ships are listed by year and by name and there is a surname list with all the names that are currently in their database. They also have links to other genealogy sites.
  

• The Italian Genealogy Homepage
  This site has a lot of valuable information and a very high visitor volume. It is easy to use, is attractively organized, and has a lot to offer. The masthead now carries the name Italian Genealogy.com. Either link gets you to the home page.

• Italian ZIP codes
  I Codici di Avviamento Postale Italiani (Italian Zip Codes) - Regioni Province Comuni - Enter the name of any place in Italy and you’ll get its ZIP code, called CAP in Italy, and the name of the province and the region. Click on any of the names and you’ll see a color coded map of Italy that shows outlines of the provinces in that region. You can also see a listing of the towns in each province. But it’s called nonsolocap because it has more than just the CAP. It has a basic translator, very basic,current exchange rates, a provision to let you post announcements, a dictionary, telephone directories, a review of the press, a fiscal register, television listings and instructions for how to correctly write an Italian address.

• Italy Genealogy Forum
  This url takes you to the Italian Genealogy section of a message board. Messages are posted with the most recent message first. Replies to messages stay within the original section of the message and are indented. You would use this reference to post a message for information from whoever else might read it.

• LDS Family Search
  If you're working on genealogy and you don't know about LDS, you must investigate this site. Plan on spending some time here. LDS has been microfilming genealogy records throughout Italy and is continually adding more information.

• Mapcon.com
  Mapcon.com is a genealogy site that was recommended by Courtney Phillips and her students who while doing their research found the site very helpful. The site is maintained by Sean Spencer and contains many links to other useful sites.

• Name Distribution in Italy
  L'Italia dei cognomi - Enter your family name and see its distribution on a color-coded graphic of Italy. Each location on the map is marked with a coded circle according to how many times the name is found there. As a result, it's very easy to see where the highest concentrations occur.

• National Archives
  Contains information about where to find genealogy information at the National Archives. To obtain immigration records by mail, send your name and mailing address to: inquire@nara.gov. Be sure to specify "Form 81" and the number of forms you need.
  
  You can also obtain the NATF Form 81 by writing to:
  National Archives and Records Administration
  Attn: NWCTB
  700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC 20408-0001

• Italian Land Finder
  This a website in Italy that has an online database of current property records and maps. This may be another source for genealogical information. The site is in Italy but offers an English language interface. The U.S. based company you can use to access this kind of documentation is Italian Legal Language Services.

• Reunion Home Page
  I've included this reference because I do all my work on a Macintosh and this is the family tree program that I use.

• Sephardic Studies
  The Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture (FASSAC) is an organization that's concerned with the Sephardic aspects of the history and culture of Judaism, the Ladino language, and Sephardic Genealogy. Hispanic control of Sicily covered most of the period from the War of the Sicilian Vespers that started in 1282 - until the defeat of the Spanish by Garibaldi in 1860. It was during the Spanish domination that the Jews were expelled from Sicily. Although Jewish presence in Sicily dates from Roman times and extends for more that 1500 years, genealogic research of Jewish ancestors in Sicily is very difficult because most traces of the Jewish presence were systematically destroyed during the years of the Inquisition that followed the expulsion. This site gives the genealogist some helpful leads.

• University of Michigan
  This url gets you to the University of Michigan's Library. You'll find the Document Center under Library Services. They have a tremendous amount of information online. Make time to surf this site to see what might interest you in your genealogy research.