Antonino Sarica, an authentic historical memory of Messina, a veteran of Messina journalism, a signature of the Gazzetta del Sud since 1977, a newspaper with which he collaborated until recently with articles always linked to the history of the city and Sicily, has passed away at the age of 88. Over three thousand articles on various cultures, book reviews, in-depth historical re-enactments. He was the author of the script for the historical procession of Charles V in 1998. As a teacher at the C.Dulio Nautical Institute, he was a teacher for entire generations of students, always maintaining his strong connection with the maritime world. He was the author of several essays and collections of articles, including Devoted Images in Sicily (with F. Riccobono), Greek Messina, Messina from a bird’s eye view (which collects the articles from the Gazzetta), Feste and flavors in the enchantment of Morgana, Messina trembled at dawn on the 1908 earthquake, and the two history books of our cuisine, Del Cucina in Riva allo Strait, again published in 2003 for the Messinese Society of Homeland History and still in great demand today, and “Lo stokfisk come from the frost” (Edas, 2010) on the culture of stockfish in Messina, as well as “Tra ghiotta e cipuddata” with S. Di Giacomo and G. Amendolia.
He was a member of the board of the “Antonello da Messina” Association and was a director of the Messine Society of Homeland History, the Friends of the Museum, of the Noble Archconfatrenita of the Catalans. Among the awards obtained for his long and vivid cultural activity, the Colapesce Award, the Antonello Targa, the “Camarda” Award and Pro bono civitate. The funeral will be held tomorrow at 3.30 pm at the church of S. Giacomo.
