Women of Sicily: Saints, Queens and Rebels

by Jacqueline Alio

Rarely have women found their place in the chronicles of Sicily's thirty-century history. Here one of Sicily's most popular historians introduces seventeen women of varied backgrounds who defied convention to make their mark in the annals of the complex history of the world's most conquered island.

Meet a timeless sisterhood of pious Roman maidens, steadfast Sicilian queens, and a Jewish mother who confronted the horrors of the Inquisition. Theirs are inspiring stories of the courage of conviction bursting forth to overcome the challenges of adversity. The lengthier ten biographies constitute full chapters, while seven are concise sketches of a few paragraphs each.

In addition to these profiles - most of these women lived before 1500 - the author presents a general survey and chronology of Sicilian history. Significantly, the book treats Sicily as the sovereign nation most of these women knew, and not as a 'region' of the unified Italy or a tiny piece of Europe. The chronology (timeline) reaches into the present century, and there's an appendix dedicated to Sicilian women today.

Until now, biographies of Sicilian women written in English (as the original language) have been the work of foreign authors. This one is a milestone, the first book about the historical women of Sicily written in English by a Sicilian woman in Sicily. It reflects a special passion and an astute understanding of its subject.

Some of the information is the result of original (scholarly) research, and a few facts were garnered from unique sources. The chapter on Queen Maria Sophia of the Two Sicilies, who died in 1925, is the lengthiest treatment of her ever published in English, and it was based in part on an unpublished interview with somebody who knew the Queen, namely her niece, the late Princess Urraca. Living links of this kind are precious in historical writing.

While the concise overview of the status of women in twenty-first century Sicily is provided merely for the benefit of readers who wish to compare the past and present, the pages dedicated to that topic are a rare occurrence in book publishing, especially in English. Here the author's statements are based on facts and statistics rather than anecdotes or stereotypes. It is clear that she knows her subject.

With its chronology and reading list, this volume is useful as a reference, but its narrative makes for an interesting read. 

Jackie Alio is an insightful author, one of Sicily's most talented historians, and this book was long overdue.

Genres: Italy, History, Biography, Nonfiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2015

Reviews

[Petra Valković]

3,8⭐ Women of Sicily is such an interesting topic and mostly unknown to larger populus, even historans (except for a few documented cases which are usually covered in various studies) that I enjoyed reading it. Although this is not an academic work, but rather a more popularized history book, it's a good start for further research if you're interested in it. The author first gives us the history of Sicily for the context and then mentiones women's position and rights, particularly in Middle Ages which were at some point way better than in later times, esp in 19th and 20th century. She then dedicates chapters to Sicilian women, starting from goddesses that were worshipped there in ancient times, saints, queens and women who defied conventions. There are also appendices with extra material and a text of Sicilian women today.
But despite the great intro which is or should be basically any historians creed or manifesto, call it whatever you like, where facts speak the truth and it's a historian's job to provide them without any bias or agenda, I had a feeling the author had her foot on the brake a whole lot of times throughout the book. There were some unneccessary explanations, simplifications and sometimes (what I felt) "apologies" for stating the facts in fear she could be misunderstood or someone would believe these are her opinions, her statements and not only basic reasearched data and raw facts. Imo, if she already wrote that kind of an intro, there should be no further explanation needed because people who read the book are smart enough to conclude what an objective text is. I found no bias in her texts and that's why it saddens me she had to do it. I have a gut feeling this was not her original idea or will for that matter (if you know what I mean).
Nevertheless, I found out many new info and saw things, events and people from many different perspectives which is always a huge plus. If you're interested in this niche subject, I recommend it, because it's suitable for non historians and historans alike.

[Marilee Schmid]

Probably the first non-fiction history book I’ve read in a long time! It was definitely a change in styles but comprehensive and thorough- even if I had to flip to the map and timeline many, many, many times.

[Laura]

This is not an academic monograph but it does offer information not easily found in other books about Sicily that have been published in English.

Right now (2019) it is the best introduction to women's studies available for Sicily. One of my colleagues, a fellow professor, used it in a course she taught 2 years ago, not as a main text but as recommended reading.