ACI AND GALATEA

Valentine's Day, a holiday loved by some, but hated by others, arrives every year to remind us to celebrate love, which can have many shapes.

In any case, putting aside chocolates and ugly puppets, in my opinion, Valentine's Day is a day of celebration for lovers, to celebrate love as a universal force that can overcome any adversity.

In Sicily, we have a beautiful legend about the power of love. Like any legend, it presents fantastic elements that fascinate and try to provide answers to some questions about facts. I'd like to mention the tale about the love between Aci and Galatea.

I spoil you right away that, like most of the Sicilian legends, tragedy is a must. The tale is about Aci, a shepherd boy, son of Faun and a nymph born on the banks of the Simeto (a river in the Eastern Sicily), and Galatea, one of the fifty Nereids, the sea nymphs daughters of Doride and Nereus. The young couple met by the sea and fell madly in love.

Galatea had another suitor, Polyphemus the Cyclops, who, however, was not in the least reciprocated by the nymph, who didn't love him back.

One evening the Cyclops saw the two lovers kissing by the sea, and blinded by jealousy, he waited for Galatea to dive back into the sea and threw a mass of lava on Aci, who died crushed. Polyphemus raged on the body of the young Aci, scattering his limbs on the coast. It is said that this is the reason why as many as nine towns on the Sicilian east coast have "Aci" in their name. Poor Galatea, realizing what had happened, started to despair. The Gods, moved by her pain, transformed Aci's blood into a river (the Aci river precisely) that flows into the sea, where Galatea, transforming herself into sea foam, surrounded him in an infinite embrace.

Ovid's narrative is undoubtedly the most beautiful. Still, this story has inspired artists of all kinds over the centuries, thanks to the tragic nature of a love triangle, jealousy, honor, and the hope of reuniting even after death, celebrating eternal love!

The beautiful statue dedicated to Aci and Galatea, in Acireale, represents the pain of the woman who weeps for the loss of her beloved.

This is just one of the many legends linked to the Eastern Sicilian area, and if you are passionate about timeless legends and myths, the Eastern Sicily Tour, present in the collection Sicily Compass Rose, is for you.

Contact a Majolica Travel Consultant for more information.

I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!!