Rosa Gazzara Siciliano, a poet and writer particularly appreciated and esteemed in the city of the Strait, has passed away. Born in Messina, she graduated in literature at just 19 years old, dedicating much of her life to the study of language and literature, also delving into the dialectal matrix. Her figure is inextricably linked to Saint Eustochia Smeralda Calafato: there was not a day in which Rosa, with her unmistakable elegance, did not go to the Montevergine monastery to pray to the Saint standing and meet her beloved Poor Clare sisters. She herself defined herself as “the sacrist of Montevergine” because of the strong bond she has always had with the community.
Smiling and kind, she was ready to welcome anyone who entered that place of prayer and devotion, dispensing knowledge and cultural “gems”. She was responsible for an important work of transposition into Sicilian not only of the Via Crucis of Santa Eustochia, but also of colossal works such as Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad.
In 2017, the piece “Journey into poetry and Sicilian identity through the work of Rosa Gazzara Siciliano” was presented at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, curated by the Regional Library of Messina with the Theater Authority, during which the actor Pippo Pattavina together with Rosa Gazzara read and recited passages chosen from the poet’s works.
His publications also include “Piccole storie”, a collection of short stories and “Cunti, chianti e…cos’i nenti”, a trilogy in verse. “A woman who did so much for the Saint, for the monastery and for the group “Women, brides and mothers with Saint Eustochia” said Abbess Maria Agnese Pavone, sharing her pain with her sisters, but also the certainty that “Rosa is already, with Eustochia, in the embrace of the Lord who loved and prayed so much”.
The funeral will take place in the church of Montevergine on Monday at 11.