NORWICH – The Chenango County Historical Society presents “Sicilian Crossings and the Derived Communities” at an opening reception at 5 p.m. Monday at St. Bartholomew’s Parish Hall, 81 E. Main St. in Norwich.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs from 1 to 8 p.m. May 13-22.

This exhibit is the brainchild of Professor Marcello Saija of the University of Messina in Sicily. For many years, Saija has been championing the history of the people of Sicily and promoting Sicilian products and tourism in Europe and the United States.

The exhibit consists of 120, two-by-five foot panels. Six separate sections comprise “Sicilian Crossings,” including one on the areas in Sicily from where people emigrated, and another on where they ended up, or “Derived Communities.” One of the panels depicts the pumice mine on the Aeolian island of Lipari, which will be of special interest to Norwich. Stateside panels include a brief look at the Norwich community as well as Little Italy in New York City and the New Orleans Sicilian community, among many others.