Circle Sunday March 26th on your calendar and join us from
1PM to 4 PM in our Lawrence store as we celebrate our SPRING OPEN HOUSE!
Free events for you and your family to participate in and enjoy; including Italian lessons, a drawing contest for children and a cultural presentation on Sicilian culture, by yours truly.

Also....Out Italian classes featuring Joe Pantano, Director of The New Village Language School in Rome, have been extended into March. Please call Olga at the Lawrence store (978-686-7667) for more details.

And finally we will be offering two cooking classes on March 19. at noon and then again at 3P.M. at our Lawrence store.
The classes have proven to be very popular and "sell" out quickly, so please make your reservation early!
For $15.00 you get a 1 hour demonstration with Marc Strout of Palmer's Restaurant who will show you how to prepare several succulent dishes...plus you get to eat them too! Class size is limited to 20, so please call and save you space today!

If you browse through our web site or visit our Lawrence Store, you will see Sicilian puppets for sale, and in researching the history of puppetry I was flabbergasted when I learned exactly how important they are to Sicily's history. Oral traditions merging history and customs, handed down from generation to generation, are what define Sicilian puppetry. Palermo has always been the epicenter of this tradition.

As a matter of fact, Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (The International Puppet Museum) in Palermo, and the greatest museum of its kind in the world, has over 2,500 exhibits ranging from the most typical Sicilian pupi to other types of shiny armor marionettes from all over the world including elaborate puppet-theater settings and apparatus. But why puppets?

The Teatro dell Opera dei Pupi (Sicilian Puppet Theater) is world famous...and virtually every city or town in Sicily has one...often operated by the same family who has handed down the craft from generation to generation.
Sicilian puppets are hand made, hand assembled and hand painted by three to four different people....a tin-maker who fashions all the metal parts, a wood maker who fashions all the wooden parts, a painter who paints the puppet and a clothier who dresses it. The "Puparo" is the one who assembles all the parts and is also the puppet master. Usually the figures depict the epic battle when the Normans drove out the Saracen (Arab) occupiers back in the 11th and 12th centuries. Charlemagne, Rolando, Angelica, The Saracen, and Orlando are figures that every Sicilian knows about, and each city takes pride in offering their interpretation to the story. One story that is frequently sung and represented by puppeteers accompanied by balladeers is La Storia dei Paladini di Francia by Guisto Lodico, which pits the forces of goodness versus the forces of darkness and usually ends in a fight to the death in the final scene. Other sources of stories come from Homer's Iliad and The Bible.

Sicilian puppets are different from other European puppets because they are the only puppets supported both inside and outside by moving rods giving them the ability to move rapidly. As time progressed and the Arab occupation faded into history, puppetry became even more important as a vehicle of social and political commentary...and the puppets, since they weren't "real" people, couldn't be prosecuted for what they said!
In my travels throughout Sicily...especially on the west coast, I have seen puppets that have staggered the imagination. Some have stood over three feet tall, with gold-plated armor costing over 3000 euro (over $4000!)
People from all over the world collect these important mementos of Sicilian culture and pass them down as heirlooms.
We started to sell smaller versions of the puppets about 3 years ago on the internet and at our store (two sizes...small for about $20, large for about $60) and once a person buys one, they usually buy the other three sooner or later as keepsakes.
One Sicilian gentleman from the West Coast recently ordered 24 large puppets as centerpieces for his daughter's wedding, and told me on the telephone that his eyes misted up when he saw them on our web-site, as he never believed that they would be available in America.

As I travel Europe I have noticed that all countries have their own version of puppets, and I wonder at how remarkable these little social commentators are and imagine just how much change they accomplished throughout European history. For those traveling to Sicily in the future; Trapani, Sciacca, Argigento, Siracusa and Catania all have excellent puppet theaters for you to enjoy!

Ciao, Al

In Caesar Rodney.eroe della rivoluzione americana,uno dei firmatari della Dichiarazione d'Indipendenza e uno deo primo italo americani in politica,fu il primo uomo di origine italinia a ricevere un prestigioso onore per i suoi servizi alla nazione.*Quale?
a)Un francobollo con la sua effigie
b) Una moneta con la sua effigie
c) Una nave da combattimento con il suo nome

Caesar Rodney, an American Revolutionary War hero, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the first men of Italian descent to hold U.S. office, was the first Italian-American to receive what prestigious honor to salute his service to the nation?
a)U.S Postal stamp
b)U.S. Coin
c)U.S. Battleship

Excerpted from: Heritage Italian-American Style by Leon J. Radomile Available on line or in our stores $19.95 Answer appears at the bottom, of the newsletter.

• 5 1/2 cups of flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 5 1/2 tablespoons allspice
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sweet red wine
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons Valle dell'Etna Hazelnut Nut Cream

Sift flour, baking powder, allspice, and cinnamon together. Add sugar & mix well. Work the shortening into mixture. Add eggs, wine & hazelnuts. Roll into small pieces and squeeze with three fingers to form peaks on cookies. Placed on a greased baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

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TRIVIA ANSWER: U.S. Coin (b)..a 25 cent piece representing Delaware