In September/October 2016, I went with a group on a trip to Italy. We began on the western side of…read moreSicily in Palermo. As part of the tour, while in Sicily we went to Erice, a walled medieval town on a steep hill. There are many artisan businesses lining its wending, narrow, cobbled streets: no surprise, this is Italy, famed for art for hundreds of years. Spotting a courtyard fronted by a wrought iron fence and gate, we wandered up a short stone path into an open air showroom of ceramic art. Beyond the open air showroom was a small office/gallery (part of the magnificent old stone buildings of the town); they had more items on display there. There were many beautiful handmade items, from small to large. At one point the proprietor took a very large ceramic bowl that I was admiring off the wall for me so I could examine it closely. I was very nervous as two people, with great care, laid it down on a horizontal surface. This bowl was being used as wall art, but could also be used as a huge salad bowl for a large party. They indicated that shipping costs are included if I wanted to buy one of the larger, more expensive pieces. I have the business card, and it indicates that shipping to USA is included for purchases that are priced at 950 euros or more. I ended up buying a small, vibrantly colored porcelain tile of the sun coming up over a mountain town because it evoked Erice, and it was easy to take with me. This tile has quite a bit of red in it; I bought it for my kitchen, which is white with red accents (it hangs over my cheery red door). I checked the web today;the business appears to have been renamed since I went to Italy last year: Casa Altieri (which means pretty much the same thing as Maison Altieri). The website page http://www.casaaltieri.it/panoramica-maison-altieri-erice/236-sala-vendite-maison-altieri-erice.html has "Sala Vendite Maison Altieri Erice" in bold lettering. Also the address is slightly different - Via Cordici, 14 instead of Via Cordici, 11 listed on the business card. But from the website photos, it's clearly the same business. Maybe they had to renumber the street, just as some of our residences and businesses have had to be renumbered to make it easier for first responders. The email address (erix_maioliche@libero.it) is the same as on the business card that I have.

Fantastic selection of goods mostly made by a boyfriend/girlfriend team. There are some really…read morenice styles here, especially if you're into really interesting stones. The designs are elegantly simple, making for some very nice wearable jewelry that is less gaudy than most of the other shops we looked into. Also, if you're an instrument, there are a lot of stringed instruments (mostly guitars and ukuleles) made from recycled items like cigar boxes and wine boxes that are really cool.

A Visual Treat in Sciacca…read more There was a flurry of activity as I entered Michele Bono's Studio d'Arte on Piazza Campidoglio 1, yet a sense of stillness came over me. From the outset, the contrast was a bit unsettling, until I quietly thought about the relationship of his work and life. The lost identity paintings, portraits with vivid colorful shadows and wrinkles, told the tale of migrants entering Italy. Colorful wall mounted mask collages, drawings on plexiglass and cartoon-like acrylic characters marched in a parade of fictitious or perhaps personal personages. Serial displays of partially painted single-stemmed woman sculptures relentlessly sustained my attention. To share in the vision of Michael's own language and for an invigorating change from the tangle of Moorish alleyways and ceramic shops, stop at Studio d'Arte and Michele Bono's place of marvels.

From the owner: Galleria d'Arte contemporanea. Troverete oltre ai dipinti in…read morediverse tecniche e dimensioni anche le sculture in diversi materiali come vetroresina cartapesta ecc... e anche le ceramiche moderne. Tutte le opere in esposizione sono fatte a mano dall'artista Michele Bono