Sicily - ancient land, invaded land, broken land. From the Phoenicians to the Bourbons, via the Arabs and Normans, and finally the Allied armies of the Second World War, Sicily has been held by everyone with the strength to hold it, and Sicily has suffered, with weariness in it's bones and cynicism in it's heart.

But Sicily endures, and the Sicilians survive. Outsiders can only scratch the surface of the Sicilian phsyche, but can never be, really, Sicilian.

Sonia Virzi was born in Catania, and is descended from both tough landholding folk of the interior, and from the poverty-stricken tuna-fishing villages of the southern coast. All of Sicily is her muse, and Sicilians her subjects. From bronzed youths leaping into the sea, to aged grandmothers working lace, to market traders playing 'scopa', she has captured Sicily as only a Siciian can - because her eyes are Sicilian eyes.

The photos are accompanied by poetry by her Grandmother, Rosetta Lauricella. Largely writing in the Sicilian dialect, Lauricella casts and unflinching eye on her island, her people, and her memories.

An ideal gift for anyone connected to Sicily, or nostaligic about the unique culture to be found there.