▶ History of Sicily in one hundred seconds

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Watch on: YouTube | Download: Ogg | MP4


After a two-months work, i can finally publish my last short documentary: the animated doodle “History of Sicily in one hundred seconds”.
As the title suggests, it’s a fast-running film with pressing and hyper-compact narration.
Those who know little or nothing about the events told will be surprised by the great number of conflicts, wars, monarchies, dominations, martyrdoms, and crimes that plagued the island throughout the millennia.
I advise not to blink your eyelids as you watch the video: you risk to miss a whole century.

Original Italian version here.

The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC-BY-3.0), that allows playing, sharing and to remix, as long as I get credited as the author.
Full license is here.

Credits:
Script and Animation: Turi Scandurra (turiscandurra.com)
Screenplay: Nino Arcidiacono
Music: Peppe Gullotta
Thanks to Alessandro Sciglio (voice for Italian version)

Here’s the transcription:

One hundred eighty millions years ago Tethys Ocean splits Pangaea
mountain ranges rise up among coral reeves
it’s hot
flora, fauna and dwarf elephants
the volcano Etna grows up by underwater eruptions
then five thousands years ago in Stentinello the first neolithic civilization
Sicanians get overpowered by Sicels
Pantalica is a necropolis for all the dead
phoenician sailors
sea urchins and swordfishes
here come the Greeks
Naxos and Syracuse
theaters carved in rocks or built on a hill like in Taormina
Polyphemus and mermaids
Archimedes and his burning mirrors
Scilla and Cariddi
first Punic War with Rome
Republic and Empire
corn and gladiators, then Vandals and Ostrogoths
Byzantines, Arabians and Muslims
tuna nets, orange and lemon trees
scimitars and sheiks
watering and architecture
ceramics and cassata cakes
Roger II and the Normans
heritage to Suebi
Frederick II and Poetry School
Ciullo d’Alcamo, the first parliament
Aragonese and Angevins
The Vespers when the French drove us mad
then peace of Caltabellotta
House of Hapsburg and Charles V
Bourbon dynasty
Garibaldi who got injuried
Piedmontese army Carabiniers
the Serval, puppetteers
unification of Italy
the Messina Earthquake
bandits and mafia
coppola and lupara
Giovanni Verga and Luigi Pirandello
emigration and First World War
fascism
allied landings, Lucky Luciano
the bandit Giuliano and laced coffee (Sicilian style)
Placido Rizzotto and Peppino Impastato
Tano Badalamenti and Marlon Brando as the godfather
Andreotti and the mafia
the disappearance of Mauro De Mauro
the strange case Mattei and a certain Sindona
lots of Christian Democracy and then Socialist Party
Pizza Connection
Falcone and the Maxi Trial
the Corleonesi and Totò Schillaci at World Cup
Buscetta and Dalla Chiesa
the mafia massacres of Capaci and via d’Amelio
money of Ciancimino, Totò Cuffaro and Raffaele Lombardo
the Strait Bridge and Franza ferryboats
and then, many things still have to happen
but in the end the island will be eaten by the sea.

4 thoughts on “▶ History of Sicily in one hundred seconds”

  1. This video is not only one of the funniest things about Sicily I have seen in a long time (which is really saying something as those who have driven in Palermo traffic can attest to) but it also provides a rich outline of one of the most diverse and ancient European civilisations – compacted into just 100 seconds!

  2. Hello
    Mi sono permesso di postare vostra vidéo su il mio sito. Spero che siete ok. Grazie Elle

  3. p.s. avevo dimenticato di dirvi che trovo la vidéo géniale, ludica, poi faro la traduzione in francese. merci

  4. Grazie Elle! Se avessi tempo potrei anche far registrare la traccia audio in francese… temo però che non accadrà quest’anno!

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