Memories of the Landing is a documentary and multimedia public history project, developed by Prof. Teresa Fiore (Montclair State University) in collaboration with Awen Films, on the Allied landing in Sicily in 1943. The project investigates the legacy of the first decisive push by Allied forces into Axis-occupied Europe – a pivotal but often overlooked turning point in the war. Known as “Operation Husky,” the landing was the largest single amphibious assault of the war but has been largely overshadowed in public memory by D-Day. As a result, the topic remains in part an unexplored territory, and its remembrance in Sicily bears a complex imprint, often suspended between narratives of invasion and liberation.
At its heart, the project comprises a documentary revolving around three interconnected thematic clusters:
Monuments and Memory: Exploring beaches, bunkers, and commemorative markers, this module documents how the Landing is re-evoked – or silenced – in Sicily’s public spaces and communal practices.
Food: How wartime scarcity and exchange shaped Sicilian foodways before, during, and after Allied occupation. From K-rations to haute cuisine, this module explores the “taste of the landing,” revealing how food functioned as both sustenance and symbol.
Literature: Starting with the writings of Leonardo Sciascia and extending to broader literary representations, this module traces how the Landing has been refracted through the written word as a site of both personal memory and collective narration.
The project is complemented by a suite of multimedia materials: archival documents and images, recorded interviews, essays, bibliographies, and other resources. An interactive web platform will enable immersive, dynamic navigation across this corpus, designed for classrooms, museums, public programs, and broad public engagement.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: fiorete@montclair.edu / info@awenfilms.net