The soul of Sicily is best experienced through its exeptional food and wine. The distinct palette of the island reflects its multi-layered culinary history and is nothing less than transcendent. The Sicilian method takes the staples of Italian cuisine; Pasta, […]
The Sicilian puppet theatre is one of Sicily’s greatest traditional art forms; the cultural importance of this art form was recognized by Unesco in 2001, when it was included on the World Heritage list. The “Puppets” are not controlled by […]
Folklore and traditions in Sicily have been affected by all the various and different peoples who occupied the island during its rich past. Giant simulacra or figures appear at many festivals: they may be either fixed and drawn along with […]
Sicilian fashion is going through a period of growth and fame in Sicily. Doubtless, the amazing growth in this sector is mainly due to the inventiveness and hard work of young designers whose talent is ever appreciated by the market […]
Today Syracuse is a dynamic, modern town, with many visible signs of it’s grand and noble past. However, the haphazard growth of the new part of Syracuse has not affected the little island of Ortygia, just off the coast, where […]
Sicilian Baroque architecture, Historical facts; After the devastating 1693 earthquake, a programme of reconstruction was introduced throughout eastern Sicily in the early 18th century. The architects entrusted with this task elaborated upon the achievements of 17th century Baroque architecture and […]
Granita, sherbet and ice-cream in Sicily. From the Turkish word serbet meaning “a cool drink”, this word was transformed into the Arabic word sarab, hence the word “sciroppo” (syrup). However, the most suggestive word is sorbetto (sherbert). The closest reference, […]
Generously used in local Sicilian liqueurs making, spices and flavors are also important in Sicilian cooking. As a matter of fact, Sicily can boast a world renowned production of (eau-de-vie) the renowned Grappa from Nero d’Avola or the scented Grappa […]
Monreale is the main attraction outside Palermo. Having grown up since the 13th century around the Benedectine monastery on the site, the current appearance of the town is Baroque, but it clusters round one of the rarest jewels of Italy’s […]
The Sicilian marzipan fruit or (frutta Martorana). These highly colored pastries shaped to look like fruit, vegetables and other things, bear a story that takes us way back in time and to far off places. Let’s start with the raw […]
The salt pans of Sicily were exploited in antiquity and reached the height of their importance in the 19th century, when salt was exported as far as Norway. The long periods of sunshine (five or six months a year) and […]
The circumetnea railway it’s the only narrow-gauge railway line in Sicily. It was opened in the late 19th-century and was altered several times when lava flows from Mount Etna invaded the track. The route starts at the terminus in Catania. […]
The Arabs introduced to Sicily the pistachio of Bronte in the 9th-11th centuries, here this kind of tree (Pistacia Vera) has found an ideal habitat on the northwestern slopes of Mount Etna, in the area around the small town of […]
Sailing in Sicily for aficionados it is pretty much a paradise, the coastline, the inlets and the wonderful minor Sicily’s island represent the ideal place for visitors, however this activity is much popular along the northern coast of Sicily. True […]
Sicily offers an impressing range of walking and trekking itineraries. Walking and Trekking mountains. The choice includes hills, mountains, coastal districts as well as fantastic limestone gorges such as the ones at Pantalica and Cava d’Ispica in the Monti Iblei. […]
Palazzo Adriano, is located on the ridge of Cozzo Braduscia, almost 700 metres (2,296ft) above sea level. Founded in the mid-15th century by Albanian refugees who fled from the Turkish conquerors. Central Piazza Umberto I boasts two important churches; Greek […]
The Marsala wine, which is made in the homonym town, really needs little introduction. It is probably better if we explain the importance and the sorts of these aperitif and after dinner Marsala wine, which are also drunk for the […]
In the last few years the quality of Sicilian wines has steadily improved due to better vine growing techniques and new wine ageing methods. Vineyards in Sicily were long bound to the production of strong wines that were used for […]
Also known as Ciliegino or cherry tomatoes, it is considered the greatest richness of agriculture in south eastern Sicily, which are widely cultivated in the greenhouses around the area of Pachino, Marzamemi and Portopalo. This variety of cherry tomatoes, born […]
Historical facts of Avola. The older town of Avola used to lay on the Aquilone Mount around 8 Km north west of the current site. Completely destroyed by the earthquakes which devastated the Val di Noto, was rebuilt in the […]
The history of Piazza Armerina began in Norman times, however, in prehistoric times, people alredy lived here, in fact, archaeological finds from Monte Navone and Montagna di Marzo proved that. The area must have flourished in the Roman era, in […]
Sicilian cuisine, famous for its fine art of mixing ingredients and flavours, comes from land’s generosity in balance between sea and land, but more importantly from the heritage that conquerors left on the island. As the Latin saying goes, ” […]
February is carnival time in Italy, and this period is also celebrated with enthusiasm in many Sicilian towns. One of the most spectacular events is The Carnival of Acireale, blending poetry, games and a procession of colorful floats through the […]
Sicilian olive oil producers and the regional administrations are doing a great deal of agronomic research and experimentation to modernize olive tree production, they are fighting the use of pesticides and improving oil extraction methods. The various kinds of soil […]
The word tonnare (tuna fisheries) refers to the complex of rectangular nets through which the tuna fish are guided once they have been captured, but also applies to the buildings on the coast where the tuna is processed and stored. […]
The most striking aspect of the history of Sicily is the enormous influence of all the different people who have colonized the Island. Even the Sicani, Elymi and Siculi, the first populations to leave traces of their cultures in Sicily, […]
Ancient classical Theatre in Sicily can boast a great genius as its adoptive father, since Aeschylus (525 – 456), who is regarded as inventor as Greek tragedy, spent long periods in Sicily and died here. A number of his works […]
In at least two significant periods, artists and scientists played a leading role in the long eventful history of Sicily. The outstanding figure was Archimedes, born in Syracuse in 287 BC and on intimate terms with the ruler Hieron II. […]
In the history of Sicilian art and Literature there have been periods of tremendous creativity and others when little of note was produced, the 13th-century Sicilian school of lyric poetry, 19th-century verismo or realism and Luigi Pirandello‘s novels and plays […]