The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily

by Theresa Maggio

Release Date: 05 March, 2002

Edition: Hardcover

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Evocative descriptions of life in rural Sicily

In her book The Stone Boudoir, Theresa Maggio shares with the reader, descriptions of rural culture in the mountain villages and towns on the island of Sicily. Having traveled to Sicily initialy to explore the birthplace of her grandparents while in college in 1973, she returned again and again, at times living with Sicilian friends and absorbing theirs and others stories and experiences.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is to realize that this rural culture exists litttle changed over the centuries, in spite of it's proximity to modern Italian/European culture. The description of the celebration of the Feast of Saint Agatha, celebrated every year in Catania is fascinating and one of the high points in this collection of essays/stories.

A wonderful insight of a land seldom seen by tourists

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this book. The chapters read like short stories about the small towns and the people of Sicily that few tourists ever see. While thousands have captured photographs of the smoke pluming from Mt. Etna, Maggio walks in the fields and talks to the people who live in the shadow of this active volcano. She even shares a cup of coffee with the engineer of the little train that circles the mountain and relates the stories he tells. This is not a book about someone who visited a distant land, but the experiences of a woman who has lived with the people and learned their language and customs.