Ciao !
Cariddi is one of the mythical Greek gods that lived in the waters between Sicily and Messina. In Homer's epic tale The Odyssey, Charybdis (often spelled Cariddi in Italian) is a monstrous sea creature who creates a massive, deadly whirlpool by swallowing and spitting out the ocean's water three times a day. She lives in a narrow strait opposite Scylla, a terrifying six-headed monster who snatches men from passing ships. This dilemma helped to create the expression "between a rock and a hard place". The story is not a happy one but what IS happy is if you go to Scilla (home of the mythical Scylla) and spend a few glorious days (like I did in October.). It is just across the straight of Messina from Sicily. I love that tiny special place! Apparently so did mythical Greek gods.
I fell in love with Cariddi - it was more like an obsession - in San Leone, a tiny waterfront town near Agrigento in the South of Sicily. I was with good friends at "Caico", an amazingly good restaurant and once Marco the owner realized I spoke Italian he wanted to show me his art.
Marco showed me a bust of Cariddi made by a Sicilian artist and mama mia, Cariddi was haunting! And a tad intimidating. And breathtaking. And to me, she represented everything I feel about Sicily: exotic, of the sea, beauty, power, mythical. Marco told me the name of the artist, Nicola Mirenda, and I spent the next week stalking...trying to find his art, or him.
I found him.
After multiple phone calls and emails – and driving my friends crazy with my obsession - he agreed to host us at his studio in the small seaside town of San Stefano di Camastra, known widely for its ceramics. This town is an hour trip by car (90 minutes by train.) from Palermo and is striking in its location and beauty with ceramics woven into everything: stop signs, park benches, light fixtures. Nicola's studio is a few kilometers outside of the center and is up over the sea; his kilns and most of the buildings are outside and open air with a spectacular view of the water.
Nicola is as hospitable and friendly and effusive as he is immensely talented. I liked him immediately! And as I've gotten to know him more my affection is even greater. He has a reputation for never creating the same piece of art twice, but he agreed to create Cariddi for me as close to the original as possible. I've never felt so honored.
Four months later, my friend Dania and I traveled to San Stefano di Camastra to retrieve Cariddi from Nicola's studio. The photos below are from that day. I stay in touch with Nicola and his wife and take friends there whenever possible. I have added the link to his instagram page below but I advise you to either take a nap or knock back a double espresso before you "go in"! It's alot but it's worth the trip, and every piece of art is absolutely beautiful. I want my house to be covered in Nicola Mirenda art.
https://www.instagram.com/nicola.mirenda/ | 
