Pitrè's mission was to conserve and safeguard the traditions of his people, the Sicilians, and to keep the roots alive. Looking at religious traditions is one important way to do this.

Saint Rosalia (1130–1166), recognized by her crown of roses, is Palermo's patron saint. The video shows the July 14 parade in honor of the saint, and a young man who credits his cure from a grave illness to Saint Rosalia.

The segment concentrates on the richness of the Sicilian dialect, a dialect which is less and less spoken. The narrator interviews two poets who recite their works in Sicilian, providing insights into the language.

Giuseppe Pitrè received his degree in medicine in 1865. His patients, among Palermo's poorest, provided him with a wealth of ethnographic material.

A woman performs a traditional Sicilian ritual involving the sticking of pins into an onion, accompanied by prayers, in order to bring back the boyfriend of her suppliant.

Giuseppe Pitrè loved attending performances of chivalric folk plays in Palermo. This segment follows a marionette player at Palermo's Opera dei Pupi, the same theater where Pitrè went to see folk epics.

Palermo faces the sea and has a very long history of immigration. The narrator interviews a young woman whose great grandfather came to Sicily from Sudan. She is involved in educating immigrants from Africa and Asia. Pitrè was also highly involved in education.

A Palermo doctor is interviewed about his practice and the African and Southeast Asian immigrant patients that he treats.

A Palermo doctor discusses the Integration of immigrants in Sicily and highlights the successes in healthcare. Medical assistance is provided for all immigrants, whether lawful or not.

The documentary comes to a close with an interview regarding a prison cell used during the Inquisition. The cell bears the graffiti of its inmates. Pitrè had laboriously uncovered the graffiti, but it was only rediscovered in the 1970s by the writer Leonardo Sciascia and the interviewee in this segment, Giuseppe Quatriglio, who used Pitrè's writing to find it.

The great Domenico Modugno, best known for his hit song, Nel blu dipinto di blu [Volare], came in first at the San Remo Festival in 1966 with the song, Dio come ti amo. The Italian lyrics are very clear, and very romantic!

This is part of a film, Capriccio all'italiana shot in 1967-1968. This episode was directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The singer is Domenico Modugno, and you'll also see Totò. This was Totò's last film appearance.

Modugno appears in this vintage clip on the Ed Sullivan Show and sings what is probably the most popular Italian song ever. Franco Migliacci, the songwriter, was inspired to write the song by the paintings of Marc Chagall.

This beautiful ballad was inspired by Raimondo Lanza di Trabia, an aristocrat known for his electrifying personality and for his romantic relationships (Rita Hayworth and Susanna Agnelli among them). At the age of thirty-nine, he threw himself from a hotel window in Rome.

In this video we learn how to prepare delicious sweets with coconut and chocolate. This vegan recipe doesn't call for any ingredients derived from animals.