08/11/2026
In 1954, we received this very special gift that is on our wall, to celebrate the opening of this Pizza Parlor. A Sicilian cart, or carretto siciliano, is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage popular in Sicily in the 18th century, all the way into the 1920s, when thousands were on the island. They were intricately decorated with many scenes of the area and displayed stories to tell through the artwork that was painted on them. They were used primarily to help celebrate a wedding ceremony as the newlyweds were promenaded through the village as the onlookers threw rice in the air and cheered for their success. The carts were also used in many other festive occasions. Miniature replicas were an important gift with deep cultural roots. The Fricano brothers migrated over back in the early 1900’s and settled in Grand Haven and started life here in the United States. But 3 other siblings remained in the old country, one of them being another younger brother whose name was Michael. In 1954 once Michele (Michael in Italian) grew up and achieved success owning lemon orchards in Italy and exporting the citrus, he came to visit his brothers back in 1954. As a gift to his nephews Gus and Tom, Uncle Mike brought them a miniature version of the festival carriage made so famous back in Sicily. It was also a gift to celebrate the opening of the nephews new pizza tavern here in Grand Haven. Another smaller cart was also brought over by their sibling Ignazio who flew with it on his lap because it was small enough to fit and so it wouldn’t get broken! He gave it as a gift to Gus and Toms sister Theresa. Still today our cart from the homeland is on our wall, next to the Alley Room, and it is a focal point to many patrons that come to enjoy the same pizza now as they did 7 decades ago!
