#adrano

[gardenofkore]

"In Adernò (Catania), a grief-stricken Gaetana Stimoli, believing a neighborhood witch responsible for her two children's deaths, enacted a terrible revenge. From September 5th to October 8th, 1895, Stimoli, with the help of seven others, enticed ten innocent village children before administering fatal poisons, leading to their tragic demise."

Bulletin of the Royal Carabinieri, 1895, p. 56 (my translation)

In September of 1895, a chilling mystery gripped Adernò (modern-day Adrano), a prosperous town near Catania. A mysterious affliction began claiming the lives of children between the ages of 4 and 16. The young victims endured agonizing pain and violent vomiting before succumbing. Some even vanished without a trace. Terrified parents whispered of a witch's curse, their fear palpable as the inexplicable deaths continued.

The truth began to unravel on October 12th. A distraught couple arrived at the local Carabinieri station, their son gravely ill with the same excruciating pains and vomiting. Sergeant Giovanni Colombo listened intently. A doctor, summoned to examine the child, quickly recognized the unmistakable signs of poisoning. Miraculously, the dose proved non-lethal in this instance, turning the tide of the investigation. This wasn't a plague; it was a deliberate act of malice.

The young survivor, once strong enough, revealed a shocking detail: a woman, Gaetana Stimoli, had offered him sweets and sweet wine just before he fell ill. The revelation sent shockwaves through the community; no one would have suspected a 33-year-old housewife of being a serial poisoner.

The Carabinieri swiftly moved to Stimoli's home. Confronted with her discovery, Gaetana frantically tried to end her own life, attempting to slash her throat with a piece of broken glass. Her attempt was thwarted, and she was arrested alongside her husband and several family members. To prevent a mob lynching, she was immediately transferred to Catania.

Initially, Stimoli vehemently denied everything, but the truth soon emerged. She confessed to the poisoning and murder of 23 children. Her motive was born from a profound and twisted grief: the recent deaths of her own two children, whom she believed had been hexed (strogati) by a witch. Driven by this dark conviction, Gaetana sought a horrific revenge, not only on the supposed culprit but on every single child in Adernò. She admitted she "couldn't stand seeing the other parents being happy." Her depravity knew no bounds, as she even poisoned her own sister's only child. She meticulously crafted a deadly concoction of phosphoric acid and the juice of carramuni (Bivona's spurge), using it to coat homemade sweets or mix into sweet drinks she offered to unsuspecting children.

Despite the horrific nature of her crimes, Gaetana Stimoli was deemed competent to stand trial. During interrogations, she chillingly revealed the burial sites of only 10 victims, stubbornly refusing to disclose the locations of the remaining children. She was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison, after which she lived out her days quietly, never showing a hint of remorse.

Sources

Bollettino dei Carabinieri reali, 1895

Gaetana’s revenge: 23 children victims of superstition in Italy at the end of the 19th century

Maggi Virginia, Gaetana Stimoli, infanticida siciliana tra magia e medicina

Oliveri Maria, La Mangiabambini di Sicilia, una (orribile) storia vera: ne uccise 23 con il "carramuni"

Salemme Pasquale, Gaetana Stimoli, ho vendicato i miei figli "strogati"

Sanna Andrea, Halloween e l'infanticida Gaetana Stimoli

[filmap]

Divorzio all'italiana / Divorce Italian Style Pietro Germi. 1961

Cinema Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi, 23, 95031 Adrano CT, Italy See in map

See in imdb

[sciatu]

Ispica-Santa Maria Maggiore, Marsala-Piazza Repubblica, Noto-la cattedrale, Palermo-Piazza Garraffello alla Vucciria, Leofonte-Piazza della Granfonte, Acireale-Piazza del Duomo, Gibellina,  Erice-Piazza del Duomo, Siracusa-Piazza Garibaldi, Adrano-Piazza Umberto I (le ultime tre foto dal libro di Armando Rotoletti : Sicilia in Piazza vedi su http://armandorotoletti.com/sicilia-in-piazza/)

Le piazze al paese erano il suo cuore. Ve ne erano di piccole, nascoste dove si sedevano i vecchi a raccontarsi i giorni che non erano più, o di grandi dove vi era un via vai di persone e di macchine, di animali e utensili. Le piazze più grandi erano anche teatro, erano cinema, erano sede di partito, bisca e bordello; erano il punto dove osservare chi veniva e chi andava, dove chi doveva partire passava a salutare tutti, dove chi era appena arrivato veniva a incontrare tutti e chiedere di questo e di quello, a mostrare il suo successo, a nascondere i suoi dolori. Con il caldo o con il freddo si svuotavano, con il calar del sole si riempivano e per tutta la sera vi era sempre qualcuno seduto sugli scalini della chiesa Matrice o nascosto sotto i pochi alberi a commentare, a ironizzare, a sottolineare, a sognare, amare e perder tempo. Le piazze erano un palcoscenico, un luogo dove andare a cercare, dove incontrare, dove amare ed odiare, dove bere e dove nascondersi, in mezzo agli altri evitando il silenzio delle stanze di casa, l’anonimato delle grandi città, quelle solitudini devastanti che li, nella piazza, non esistevano.

The squares in the village were his heart. There were small ones, hidden where the old men sat to tell themselves the days that were no longer, or of large ones where there was a bustle of people and machines, animals and tools. The largest squares were also theater, they were cinemas, they were the headquarters of the party, gambling den and brothel; they were the place to observe who was coming and who was going, where those who had to leave passed to greet everyone, where those who had just arrived came to meet everyone and ask for this and that, to show his success, to hide his pains. With the heat or the cold they emptied, with the setting of the sun they filled up and for the whole evening there was always someone sitting on the steps of the church Matrice or hidden under the few trees to comment, to ironize, to emphasize, to dream, love and lose time. The squares were a stage, a place to look, where to meet, where to love and hate, where to drink and where to hide ourself, among others avoiding the silence of the rooms of the house, the anonymity of the big cities, those devastating solitudes that there, in the square, did not exist.

[vexisss]

‘Hamilton!’ 'Ready, sir!’ 'Have Lafayette take the lead!’ 'Yes, sir!’ I did each panel as a warm-up 😜 I’d say it looks nice, despite the original picture not being the best. I didn’t edit the colours so much as I did the lighting, but you know, colours tend to get messed with when you do that. I wish it looked a bit softer, I guess?? Like, my phone made the coloring look way more choppy than it looks in real life 😂😂 but that’s okay. This is kind of an AU?? like, Kataal would totally be Washington, Vexis is Hamilton, Adrano is Charles Lee, and so on and so forth.

Kinda wish that bottom speech bubble wasn’t cropped the way it is but I can’t seem to fix that, lol.

Please don’t repost, trace, heavily reference, or otherwise reproduce my work. It’s greatly appreciated!

[sciatu]

GLI ANTICHI ORGANI SICILIANI

CATANIA - Chiesa di San Nicolò, ENNA - Organo del Duomo; TRAPANI - Chiesa di San Pietro; CAMMARATA - Organo del 1506; ADRANO - Chiesa Madre, CATANIA - Cattedrale di Sant’Agata; MODICA - Duomo di San Giorgio;  GIARRE - Chiesa Madre; REGALBUTO - Chiesa di San Basilio; RAGUSA - Cattedrale

Già nel 1300 erano attivi in Sicilia gli organari, i costruttori di organi per le chiese. Nel tempo il loro numero e la loro abilità crebbero in modo significativo raggiungendo punte di eccellenza come ad esempio con l’organaro La Grassa che costruì organi incredibilmente complessi. In realtà ogni organo è uno strumento complesso la cui costruzione richiede conoscenze specifiche ed abilità eccezionali; tanto è vero che gli organari siciliani erano una categoria di abilissimi artigiani che si potevano godere di trattamenti particolari. Ad esempio il maestro Del Piano per l’organo del monastero benedettino di Catania, ottenne in pagamento vitto e alloggio per tutta la sua vita, mentre il maestro Antonino La Valle doveva essere preso ogni giorno a Palermo e portato a Sclafani Bagni e quindi riportato indietro a spese di chi aveva commissionato l’organo. Nella sola Palermo e provincia sono almeno 22 i grandi organi antichi distribuiti nelle chiese di Palermo e in quelle dei vari paesi della provincia. Vi sono anzi paesini che hanno più di un solo organo antico e prezioso per la solita gara tra le comunità religiose a chi aveva nella sua chiesa le opere artistiche più belle ed importanti. Considerando il resto della Sicilia il numero di organi di una certa importanza e realizzati fino al XIX secolo sono quasi un centinaio. Alcuni di essi meriterebbero di essere restaurati ma per le scelte tecniche dei maestri organari, questo appare quasi impossibile, e restano forse anche per questo opere uniche ed inimitabili in attesa di essere valorizzate.

As early as 1300, the “organari”, organ builders for churches, were active in Sicily. Over time their number and their ability grew significantly reaching peaks of excellence such as for example the organaro La Grassa who built incredibly complex organs. In reality, every organ is a complex instrument whose construction requires specific knowledge and exceptional skills; so much so that Sicilian organari were a category of skilled craftsmen who could enjoy special treatments. For example, the master Del Piano for the organ of the Benedictine monastery of Catania, he got in payment for food and lodging for his entire life, while the master Antonino La Valle had to be taken every day to Palermo and brought to Sclafani Bagni and then brought back at the expense of those who commissioned the organ. In Palermo and the province alone there are at least 22 large antique organs distributed in the churches of Palermo and in those of the various countries of the province. Indeed, there are villages that have more than one ancient and precious organ for the usual competition between the religious communities to those who had in their church the most beautiful and important artistic works. Considering the rest of Sicily the number of organs of some importance and made up to the nineteenth century are almost a hundred. Some of them deserve to be restored but for the technical choices of the organ masters, this seems almost impossible, and perhaps even for this reason they remain unique and inimitable works waiting to be valued.

[vexisss]

Sketchdump! More Trico sketches!!

[tanogabo]

[tanogabo]