Abandoned House. Menfi, Sicily. 2006 Photograph - Limited Edition of 20

As a child I'd heard stories about Menfi, the small Sicilian town where my family came from, but I'd never been. When my son was about 16 we went to Italy, visiting Rome and Pompei and Venice and along the way we did a side trip to Sicily, renting a car in Palermo and driving due south to Menfi. It's a small town, picturesque in a rough-and-tumble way that screams something straight out of The Godfather. It's a town with many famous sons. The family of actor Chazz Palminteri is from Menfi; same with the family of actor Steve Buscemi. There's a street named after my paternal family in Menfi -- and my son and I posed for selfies under the street sign. It was sweltering hot. So hot, we saw few people on the street. Driving around, we found an alley with this abandoned house at the end. I took a few shots out the car window. I recall calling my Dad after the trek. I said I finally figured it out. He said: Why we left? I told him yes. Turns out it was due to earthquakes and a cholera epidemic. Also turned out my family came to Menfi having fled Barcelona and the Balearic Islands during the Spanish Inquisition. Flying back from Palmero turned out to be of equal adventure. We got to Rome and were to transfer to a connection to Venice. The plane was there. The airline forgot to book pilots to fly it. We ended up hanging around the airport with members of the New York City hardcore punk band Agnostic Front. We also ended up sleeping overnight on the conveyor belts in the airport terminal. Still, I do love the colors in this photo. Still gets me every time . . . A limited edition print, on Hahnemuhle William Turner, it measures 16.9 x 12 -- with borders, 18.5 x 13.6 . . .

Photography:Color on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:20

Size:16.9 W x 12 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.