In Sicily, she’s known as Mamma Etna. Yes, she is a *she*, if even the word for volcano in Italian, vulcano, is masculine. Etna is a great mother. She is massive, and her influence and impact on life in Sicily – – particularly the east side of the island – – is significant. Etna creates…
Day 12 of 16 Days of Sicily | Festivals with Fervor
Whether it’s in recognition of an abundance of ricotta or the success of the year’s artichoke harvest or a city’s patron saint, Sicilians celebrate with fervor! For example, during these first days of February (3, 4, and 5), in Catania, “cristiani” celebrate their patroness Sant’Agata with one of the world’s most potent religious festivals. Agata…
Day 11 of 16 Days of Sicily | Reaction to the Rubble
During the night of January 14 and 15, 1968 through early February 1968 western Sicily’s Belice Valley experienced a series of earthquakes. It was before the Richter Scale was employed to measure tremors in Italy, so it’s hard to say in those terms how strong they were but know this: it was many seismic events…
Day 10 of 16 Days of Sicily | Dancing Dolphins
The seas of Sicily are glorious. There are three: The Ionian on the east side, the African or Mediterranean to the south, and my favorite, the Tyrrhenian on the north side of the island. They are turquois and lapis and all shades of blue; they are clear and clean; often, they are calm; and in the…
Day 9 of 16 Days of Sicily | Get Dirty
When I was a child, my mother always dressed me in dresses, and I used to get into a lot of trouble because I liked to climb on everything (still do), run around in the mud (still do), dance in puddles (yup), … you get the idea. I used to get my dresses pretty dirty….
Day 8 of 16 Days of Sicily | Location, Location, Location and Breakfast
Sicily has many, many, many kinds of accommodations. Because I travel throughout the island (in 2022 and 2023, I spent six months over the course of the year traveling just in Sicily), I have seen a lot. Because I travel with clients for much of my time in the field, I know what you are…
Day 7 of 16 Days of Sicily | Hyper Regional Cuisines
Within Sicily there are different cuisines. So, until recently, you would not have found a dish like this one pictured of busiate pasta with red shrimp from Mazara del Vallo dusted with pistachios from Raffadali in Eastern Sicily because its ingredients are typical of Western Sicily. That fact is pretty neat! Couscous is another example…
Day 6 of 16 Days of Sicily | Inspire Your Sense of Spirit
Sicily for me is a sacred place–not only because my ancestors came from the island, but also because its natural beauty is awe-inspiring. The landscape and sea pulsate with the divine. No matter what your religious practice is (or not), I think that when one stands in the center of the island on the mountaintop…
Day 5 of 16 Days of Sicily | New Friends
The main reason I started Experience Sicily is because of Sicilians. Yes, there are seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, delicious local foods, breathtaking landscapes, fabulous wines, and 3000 years of human history packed on this island the size of Massachusetts! However, do you know what you’ll remember? Claudio and Rosella playing music for you and weaving a…
Day 4 of 16 Days of Sicily | Wines, Vines, and Volcanoes
Sicily is teeming with grapes (and at least three active volcanoes), so I implore you, open your mind and heart to wines you haven’t heard of, and you will be so happy that you did. Nero d’Avola, Frappato, Perricone, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese (and these are just the reds!), (now for some white) Catarratto, Carricante,…