Page 11 - Italian American Herald - October 2020

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
PAGINA ITALIANA
In Memoria di un Grande Devoto di San Gabriele
Via Ciao Delco
Il mese di giungo è deceduto a Philadelphia Omero Zippi, all’età di 81 anni. Nato a Sant’Omero nella provincia di Teramo in Abruzzo eemigrato negli Usa nel 1963. Omero era presidente della bene meritata Associazione di San Gabriele di Philadelphia che ogni anno organizza una festa in
onore del santo. La comunità di emigranti abruzzesi di Philadelphia negli anni ha contribuito in maniera encomiabile allacostruzione del nuovo santuario. Fin dagli anni ottanta ha sponsorizzato numerose opere nel nuovo santuario, tra le quali i banchi della cripta, la grande pala d’altare in ceramica e una delle acquasantiere in ceramica. Omero, grande devoto del
santo, è stato semprein prima linea nell’organizzazione della raccolta contribute per il santuario. La direzione del santuario esprime le più sentite condoglianze alla moglie Anna Maria, agli figli e parenti. Il santo che ha tanto amato accompagni Omero nell’incontro glorioso con il Dio misericordioso.
OCTOBER2020 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 11
The volcano Mount Etna is so enormous it can be seen from almost anywhere in Sicily.
Continued from page 9
from where I live. Graniti is a
small paese (town) surrounded by mountains with about 1,500 people living there. It is a very old town with narrow streets and only two ways to drive in and out. Many families live close to each other and sometimes instead of using phones, they call across the narrow streets to each other’s homes to ask questions.
I had a great time playing with two
of my cousins, Marco and Ludovica. We played games on an old computer and cards.
I made new friends at the beach on the Mediterranean Sea and then at the river beach at the Gole Alcantara. I met children my age from Germany, France, England and other countries. The river is very cold and has cut through the lava rock over the centuries. There are waterfalls, whirlpools and many
cool nature paths to explore. I also visited Taormina and had dinner at a great pizzeria set on the edge of a high mountain where they built the town of Castelmola. From here, you could see all the villages on the slopes of Mount Etna. I could also see some of the lava flows flowing from the top.
During my visit to Graniti, the
town celebrated their patron saint
San Sebastiano. I watched them bring the statue from the church and carry
it through the steep and narrow streets of Graniti. The fireworks they set off above the church were beautiful but very loud! Later we walked through the market and then went back to the terrace on the top floor of Zia Mela’s house to watch more fireworks over the mountains. I will miss the fresh pastries every morning, relaxing with my family and all the great food, especially il gelato!
Here are a few other interesting facts about Sicily:
• People in Sicily consider themselves Sicilians first and Italians second.
• About 70 percent of people in Sicily actually speak Sicilian and not Italian. In fact, Sicilian is so different from Italian that even though it is referred to as a dialect, it could be a language in its own right.*
• One of the world’s most famous mathematicians, Archimedes, was born in Sicily.
• The idea to unite Italy started in Sicily.
• Most Italian-American immigrants came from the south of Italy from Naples and from Sicily.
• Sicily is home to two out of three of Italy’s active volcanoes: Stromboli and Etna. The other volcano in Italy is Vesuvius near Naples. Mount Etna is also the tallest volcano in Europe and about 25 percent of the Sicilian population live on its slopes.
*Joey mentioned that when the relatives spoke “Italian” it sounded different then the Italian he learned at La Mia Piazza di Giustina Summer Camp.