Views of the Sicilian heartland through the eyes of seventeen young photography students. That (and an exhibit and illustrated calendar) is the result of a recent cultural initiative in Piana degli Albanesi, a town overlooking a lake and woods in the mountains south of Palermo. Founded by Byzantine Greeks, the town takes its name from an influx of Albanian settlers, refugees of the Ottoman conquest of the western Balkans, in the late fifteenth century, and Albanian is still spoken there. The photographs, in black and white, speak for themselves, capturing the atmosphere of this charming country town. Most of the students are under 16. They are: Chiara Bennici, Francesca Capaci, Giuseppina Di Chiara, Vittoria Ferrara, Vito Flocca, Giulia Fugarino, Vito Lo Iacono, Dario Matesi, Sarah Matesi, Vittoria Megna, Antonella Paladino, Susanna Paladino, Lorena Picone, Livia Scalisi, Stefano Schirò, Nicola Stassi, and another Nicola Stassi. Their instructor was Gilda Sciortino, a professional journalist (and a Best of Sicily writer). This is a small sampling of more than forty pictures selected for the exhibit and calendar...

About the Author: André Mantegna writes about entertainment and fashion related topics for several magazines published in Italy and the United Kingdom. This article was written exclusively for publication by Best of Sicily.