On Sicily with Historian Jacqueline Alio | Margaret Queen of Sicily

One can’t talk about Sicily without considering the ancient myth of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone (aka Kore). An agricultural society from the time of the ancient Greeks, the 4000-year-old story of mother and daughter and the circle of life and death helped the leadership of the Sicilian colony establish a new civilization and create a sustainable livelihood from which Sicilians still benefit today. Experience Sicily's owner/chief curator interviews professional tour guide and art historian Rosa Rizza, who has been telling the story of Demeter and Persephone to her international clients in Sicily for 25 years. 

At 31 years old, Margaret of Navarre was the most powerful woman in Europe and the Mediterranean, and she successfully navigated the Kingdom of Sicily from 1166 to 1171, maintaining the progressive constitutional laws her father-in-law, Roger II, had established. Yet until now, historians barely mention her. Experience Sicily's Allison Scola talks with historian and author Jacqueline Alio about the challenges and triumphs of Queen Margaret, reflecting nearly two decades of research.