Sicilian Culture: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is the purpose of this site?
In our mission statement (found on the homepage) it states: This site is here in an effort to entertain, educate, and feed you, as well as dispell many of the myths attributed to the Sicilian people and culture and our fellow Italian neighbors and friends. You will find lots of interesting information biographies and resources, and we encourage you to particpate by sharing your  photos, experiences and recipes for others to enjoy.

How many webpages are here?
Nearly 2000 at last count, it is hard to keep track because we add pages faster than we can count! Some of our biggest sections include the History, Food and News sections with over 300 pages each in those sections, so right there you have over a thousand, I am sure!

What Percentage of Sicilians Are 'in' the Mafia?
No.  In fact, less than half of 1% of all Italians, on the whole, are in the mafia.

Why don't you have more mafia material and information on this website?
We want to dispell the Sicilian = Mafia myth.  While we know it exists, it is not a daily part of Sicilian Culture.  There are plenty of other websites out there that sadly glorify organized crime.  This site refuses to.  We do have some articles on the mafia, as it pertains to the culture, but is in no way a glorification of organized crime.

Anyone can make a website on any culture that has given the world just as many contributions, so what?
So great!  We would love to see it, even if it has nothing to do with the Italian/Sicilian culture, if you know of a website (Irish, Arab, Asian, Native American, etc. etc. etc.) Please let us know, we feel it is important to be proud of what you are, no matter what you are, and we will be willing to list your link in our Links section under Other Cultural websites.  

You have left out so many great Italian movies and publications, why?
We simply do not have time, this is a work in progress, and still a non-profit project, with volunteer contributions.  The website, which was officially started in 1999, has grown from a few recipes to nearly 2000 pages.  So, if you do not see something, it is not necessarily because we forgot, but something we have yet to include. This website is updated daily, so be sure to stop back often!

Why don't you respond to my Emails/IMs (Instant Messages)?
We never intentionally ignore an email, unless it is rude and/or immature and/or insulting (thankfully, it happens less than 1% of the time).  We hardly ever respond to an IM since  we automatically click "decline" if it's from an AIM user (99.999% of all AIM messages we get are advertisements for porn).  If you have a particular concern, and it is stated politely in an email (even if negative) we will respond.  If you simply ask for information, we will try to respond in less than a week but with hundreds of emails every week,  keep in mind, it does get difficult.  We will NOT: Write your essays or school papers for you; give you information on Goodfellas, Casino, or other such movies; answer questions which may glorify the mafia; respond to emails which "taunt" us, an example would include "why do Italians think they are so great when you are just a bunch of dumb wops?".  Additionally, spam (unsolicited porn and/or advertising email we do not wish to recieve) has become such a big problem, if it even remotely looks like spam/porn, it will automatically be deleted without us reading/opening it.  So, your best bet is to put in the subject field "Sicilian Culture" and we will know that it is legitimate and we will give it priority and respond to it accordingly.

How often do you generate your newsletter?
Usually monthly. Sometimes we skip a month if its in the Summer when there is not a lot going on but we try to email you major updates to the site at least once per month so you know what's going on in terms of events in your area, updates to our site, and just basic information everyone will find useful.

Why do you email me your newsletter?
A) You did in fact subscribe to it at some point, or B) You had emailed us at some point requesting information, so we feel our informative newsletter would be of some value to you.  If you wish to SUBSCRIBE, simply click here.  If you wish to NOT be on our list, simply click here UNSUBSCRIBE and type in the subject line, UNSUBSCRIBE or CANCEL and we will completely delete your name and information from our database, no questions asked.  WE NEVER, FOR ANY REASON, SELL, RESELL or SHARE YOUR INFORMATION, PERSONAL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANYONE.  Any/all information we have about our visitors and friends is strictly confidential.

Do you offer scholarships, jobs or other forms of employment?
Currently no.  We are a private, non-profit project, made up volunteers.  Any income from advertising goes to pay for upgrades to the site and pay for the high traffic/internet charges we incur from our internet service provider.  We have yet to turn a profit, but we hope the coming year will change that so we can put out a printed, color newsletter.

Do you sell advertising space?
Yes!  Please help us to help expand and pay for the fast server/internet connection the site.  The best way to do that is to advertise with us.  More information is available in our Advertising Section, rates are negotiable, and all demographics/hits are available there: how many hits we get, how many pages we have, how many banners your money will buy, etc. etc.

I submitted my website link but still do not see it listed on your site, why not?
If you are selling a product that is in competition with one of our sponsors, we are sorry, but we will not link you back.  If you are not in competition with one of our sponsors, but have a website simply selling a product that has no real content on the website, again, at our discretion we may or may not include it.  We reserve the right to refuse to list anyone for any reason or no reason at all.   We will not link to porn and/or a site that includes glorification of the mafia; Italian celebrities that are only female and nude; and any other such material that is not appropriate for all audiences.

Why do you credit Columbus with the discovery of the Americas and claim him as an Italian?
Fact: Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy.  He was raised as an Italian and was Italian. He ONLY sailed under the Spanish flag because they funded the voyage after the King of Italy declined.  If you really love the NY Mets and were raised in Queens, but offered a position on the NY Yankees, would you walk around with a Mets baseball cap on? Of course not. 

Regarding the discovery of North America:  Think about it; If i find a dime in the street, but decide its covered in mud and not worth keeping, i leave it there. Someone else comes along and picks it up, cleans it up and discovers its a 1916D Silver Mercury Head Dime, one of less than 1000 and worth thousands of dollars and it is reported in the newspaper. Do i then go crying "i found it first its mine!!" ? Of course not, i may have stumbled across it but found no value or interest in it and therefore deserve no credit.

It is very possible the vikings were "here first" but again they did not have the insight or the interest to note it.. maybe they were drunk, maybe they didnt care, it was just another island or land mass to them. Their loss.

As for the Native American Indians, yes, of course they were here before us, but again, it was Christopher Columbus who had the insight to seek out this new land, defy the government, logic, religion and the pope to prove it was there to the civilized world. Columbus TRAVELED to seek the AMERICAS and found their was civiliazation there, the native american indians DID NOT "discover" the Europeans.

Quite frankly, I am tired of discussing this subject, especially when the Native Americans (whom I love and have great fondness for) protest Columubs Day.  Yes, a NATIONAL holiday should be reserved for Native Americans.  The Afro-Americans have Martin Luther King Day, why should the Spanish and Italians (who make up a third of the US population) be denied Columbus Day?

Can you help me trace my roots and/or family history?
This is our most common request and unfortunately, it would take a full time staff to help with this alone.  For this reason, we encourage you to visit our links section on tracking down relatives and history at www.sicilianculture.com/links/roots.htm -- best of luck!

© Copyright 1999-2003 (MCMXCIX) Cristaldi Communications Video, Web Design, Hosting & Promotion - - June 15, 2003