Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Bellini,an Italian opera composer, was born in Catania, Sicily, in 1801. After studying at the conservatory in Naples and working at the Teatro San Carlo (Naples) as well as La Scala in Milan, the musician went to Paris in 1833, where he later died in 1835. Bellini is considered the founder of the “melodramma tragico”, the romantic Italian opera. His lyrical-dramatic style influenced other opera composers such as Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. The opera house in Catania is named after him and can be visited, as well as his birthplace.

A traditional Sicilian dish “Pasta alla Norma”, pasta with tomato sauce, eggplant and baked ricotta, refers to Bellini’s most famous opera Norma, which is why the kitchen in Suite “La Cultura Siciliana” is named after the musician.