Sunny Wonder Media

Video Production Company

Laura

Treasures, Community and Living in Messina

by Leave a Comment

The last few weeks have been a learning experience. This is just a short look.

Treasures, Community and Living in Messina

The temperatures are hot and here you stay cool with the water and the beach. The shade and the wind also create cooler temps. The streets are empty in the hottest times of the day as people retreat for siesta. At night there are many people walking in the cooler temperatures. It seems like a regular way of life.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn how to use so many different things, from keys to front doors to coffee pots to stoves and washing machines. So many things are a learning opportunity. Even asking for items in Italian at stores and bus stations is an adventure. Learning every time as I’m exposed to new experiences.

Walking out the door, knowing I will be experiencing these moments, takes courage. I don’t know how I will always succeed. Overall, it works out and I enjoy the walks and the sights and what I am learning of the history of this beautiful part of the world. Those first steps take courage.

I’ve learned of a new favorite poet. Her name is Maria Costa. A few of her poems are in this video. Her books are unavailable, though I hope to find one. Her poems are profound. She lived here in Messina, in a house that used to be on the beach. It is a preserved house. A UNESCO site. I met there with people who are working to preserve her words and her home. Then I found her poems online. Here is one:

I have met people from Slavic countries living in Messina as I reached out to a Sicilian mosaic artist from Belarus when I learned of her work in the streets of Messina, Irina Belaeva. Due to her inspiration, I hope to create a tile mosaic one day to leave as a gift to this beautiful citta.

These are some of the treasures I’ve found in Messina. Another treasure: the beautiful old buildings that I hope can be preserved. I saw this one last night along the waterfront. It is in such need of care and looks like it has had a prominent place in the history here. I don’t know it’s story and hope to know more as I wander these streets.

Of course there are the most iconic structures too and so many churches (chiesa’s) They are majestic and beautiful. And wrapping it all up is the treasure of my son Conor’s music. In this video, I’ve chosen to use his song for his group Cosacchi that’s called “Steady”.

Searching for Purpose in Italia

by

Living in Messina, Sicily – A Day to Day Experience

This is my second week in this beautiful city. I am trying to immerse myself among Italian speakers so I can learn the language better. I do think I am improving. Ciao. 🙂 I can communicate better than I thought I would. I am staying in quaint B&B near Antico Centro, a block from the Duomo with the mechanical show at noon every day. There have been fireworks the last few nights on the hill by Chiesa Montalto. My purpose has been to live through the seasons here in Messina as my Dad’s Great Aunts and Grandfather and their parents did many years ago and to discover as much as possible. I don’t expect to meet family but I know I am crossing paths that they crossed so many years ago.

I discovered that it is important to try to have a purpose for each day. There is an artist from Belarus in Messina who has made sidewalk mosaics. When I saw the story, I was so impressed, I reached out to her and we became friends. It is nice to know another person in this large city. I visited the large cemetery in Messina and was overwhelmed with the expanse and may visit another time. I visited the museum and was so impressed with how much art has been preserved, many of the artworks adhered to wooden boards that have withstood time. Again, it is an expansive museum and I will return to see it all. I hope to help Irina leave a little art here in Messina too over this next year. She has a project with a poet society for Maria Costa and I attended their meeting and it was good to see and hear this history. I hope to find a book of Maria Costa poetry somewhere soon. Her poetry tells the story of Messina’s strength, beauty and fortitude through so much adversity.

From Wikipedia:

Costa 1926 – 2016 lived all her life in the neighborhood of Case Basse (Deep Houses) in Paradiso (Paradise, a village of fishermen near Messina). In her poems, most of which are written in the Messinese dialect, she defended the cultural heritage of a town which was destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1908.

Her verses are gathered in different volumes, such as Farfalle Serali (Evening butterflies) (1978), Mosaico (Mosaic) (1980), ‘A prova ‘ill’ovu (The egg examination) (1989) and Cavaddu ‘i coppi (Cups Horse) (1993).

Subtly Capturing Moments in Time

by

Over the last few days, there have been an opportunities to take a few walks through Messina and discover what’s around the next corner. One goal was to see the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Montalto, a church high on the hill. My understanding of the story is that an apparition of Mary appeared and asked a priest to build a church on the hill and to watch for a white dove to show where to build it. The dove appeared and circled an area for the church and the church was built. It seems a simple story but it has great meaning and it felt special to be able to see this church during this visit. There are so many churches in Messina. To me they represent a pride and a way of life and they are big and beautiful and old. I also saw the King Neptune fountain and a sculpture depicting the 1908 Earthquake. As I’ve heard, this town was destroyed during that earthquake in 1908 and again in 1943 with Allied bombings. Yet, walking through town, it seems so much of the old character and charm has survived.

Decision of a Lifetime – An American Granddaughter Living in Sicily

by

The Why

For many years, it’s been a dream to follow in the steps of people in my family that came before me.  To know a little of what their lives were like, if only to be in the geographical location many lived in at the turn of the 20th century.   I’ve imagined my life as a video storyteller being able to share this experience.  With Sunny Wonder Media my job and goal has been to tell everyday stories of varied life experiences that would disappear without being captured, edited, created and shared.  I feel the same about family stories.

The How

As a professional working in PBS for too many years to count and a Middle School Teacher for 5+ years, guiding this young and enthusiastic age group toward technical skills and helping them find their creative abilities to tell their own stories with media, I decided to try to live this life for one year.  Live in Sicily, Italy and tell the story of what it is like to be in this beautiful and rich-in-history location that my ancestors immigrated from in the early 1900’s.

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

The Story

My great, great Grandmother and Grandfather and their 3 young daughters and one son immigrated to the US between 1907 and 1912.  Their son is my great grandfather.  His son is my grandfather, and his son is my dad.  They raised their family in the United States on the East Coast. My family (dad, mom, siblings) living on the West Coast, lost touch with them though we visited from time to time. At some point, it seems, as they’ve all passed away, we’ve lost touch altogether with this gift of our family Italian connection.

My cousin and I have worked over the last 30 years to create a family tree that shows many of these connections.  Time and language barriers leave us with no true family ties, just a sense of location that people we share lineage to once occupied in this space.  Yet, there is a comfort and eerie familiarity to being here and an excitement to see what I may discover.

Common Threads – Common Stories

by

Telling video stories and preserving memories is a big part of what we do at Sunny Wonder Media.  We are currently planning a video story for a family recognition of their beloved mom’s 80th birthday.  We recently finished a touching tribute to a teenagers Bat Mitzvah.  We’ve told stories about a summer camp for kids learning to love science and another summer camp for kids learning what they say and do matters even when they are told they are different.  We’ve edited a segment showing the value of a career in law enforcement and produced a story of an immigrant family member learning to live in America.  Each time we start working on a new project we enjoy the opportunity to learn something new and share it with others.  We have spent time in the country of Antigua in the West Indies telling stories of students from thousands of miles away in America, installing computers in schools and we started a story about a woman bringing community and pride in sewing classes to Antigua, called Common Threads.  Here is a rough first look at that story.

We hope to continue to tell these stories through time and distance with all that we have learned in helping people share their stories with each other.