Moors and Christians in the Sicilian figurative and performance tradition

Abstract

Among the different forms of the East/West dichotomy, one is recursive in the Sicilian figurative and performative tradition: the opposition between Moors and Christians. From ex-voto paintings to some traditional festivals and, above all, puppet theatre, this dichotomy grounds a cosmology, a reference system to convey an order to the world. This essay presents some examples.