Every year, in the height of Sicily’s summer heat, Palermo fills with festival lights and honking scooters as people gather to celebrate Rosalia, the city’s patron saint.
AFTER they spread pink petals on golden statues of Ganesh and Shiva, and recited prayers to blue-skinned and eight-armed gods, the Hindu faithful left their temple and headed to a another one of their divinities – the Catholic St Rosalia.
“To the other goddess!” said Swasthika Sasiyendran, 23, after she changed from her sari into a T-shirt bearing Rosalia’s face.
