An Ortigia rectangular tin in orange decorated with the famous gattopardo/serval motif is ideal for a gift package for other wonderful Ortigia products or simply as a realy useful and attractive container.
The serval in question is from a mosaic in the Norman Palace in Palermo built sometime after 1130. Most people think of the image as being a leopard and asside from the similarity of look, here is another reason……
The serval has become a Sicilian icon and “Gattopardo” the name of a book by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa published in 1959, however the English translation of the book title is usually Leopard. For this reason the serval and African leopard are confused in translation terms but the Italian for leopard is leopardo . The book traces the decline of a noble family during the risorgimento – the upheaval of the unification of Italy in the 19th Centtury. The book is considered a classic of European literature and was turned into a film in directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon in 1963. This film is considered one of the top 10 historical films ever made and itself is classic. The historical background is that Garibaldi’s campaign that led the unification and full independence of Italy started on Sicily in 1860. It was the culmination of a protracted and complex struggle against mainly Austrian rule that has lastested since the 1830s. Garibaldi led the 1000 Redshirts under hs command across Sicily and onto the mainland moving north to link up with the northern Italian states and so Italy was finally united in 1861.
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