52 Reasons to Love Sicily #8. In Modica, you can taste more than a dozen different flavors of chocolate at the chocolate factory. That’s because in the 16th century, Spanish nobility in the southeastern Sicilian UNESCO recognized town were blessed with cacao beans and an ancient Aztec drink called xocóatl, brought from the New World. Their…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Etna Shows Her Power
52 Reasons to Love Sicily. #7. Europe’s largest, most active volcano, Mount Etna, reminds us that we are guests here. She is a living thing that morphs according to the latest volcanic activity. The slopes of this “mountain,” which isn’t really a mountain, offer microclimates that give us bold grapes for wine-making, outstanding porcini mushrooms…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Royal Fairytales Are Real
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #6. In Sicily, “fairytales” about knights and ladies and kings and queens are not fiction. Throughout the island exists displays of centuries of royalty. In fact, you’ll find castles seemingly on every hilltop with a view! Perhaps the most particular evidence of majesty is illustrated by the crown of Constance…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Be Surprised By Jewish History
52 Reasons to Love Sicily. #5. Sicily is full of surprises. Check out the Jewish baths of Siracusa! Huh? You ask? Yes! Before the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, when Sicily was under Spanish rule, scholars believe 7 to 10 percent of Sicily’s population was Jewish. Thriving neighborhoods existed in Palermo, Mazara del Vallo, and Siracusa…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Sicilians
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #4. People make places memorable, and therefore, Sicilians are a reason you’ll love Sicily. This photo, taken in Caltabellotta, shows Paolo, a shepherd and cheesemaker; Riccardo, an entrepreneur; and Anna, an inn keeper. They are stuffing cannoli. But it’s not so simple. I was in Anna’s kitchen after she fed…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Palermo Goes To 11
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #3. When talking coolness factor, the city of Palermo goes to 11. It’s European. It’s north African. It’s exotic. It’s got flirtatious nightlife (La Vucciria open-air market becomes a people-watching hub after dark and in nearby Ballarò, jazz clubs take over the alleyways.). It’s got high-art — the city is…
52 Reasons To Love Sicily | Take The Train
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #2. Taking a daytrip on the train from Palermo to Cefalù (or from Cefalù to Palermo) is convenient and offers excellent people watching (both at your destination and on the train itself). The north coast rail corridor between Messina and Palermo presents a reliable schedule and very prompt trains (Arrive…
52 Reasons To Love Sicily | Green Hillsides
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #1. From January to early May, Sicily’s hillsides and mountainsides are emerald green with waves of growing grain, fuschia with sweet Mediterranean clover (ask the sheep!), and golden with sinapis alba (white mustard) flowers. Palma di Montechiaro, Agrigento Province
“Cannoli Connoisseur” In New Jersey Monthly Magazine
Thank you to writer Sharon M. Goldman and photographer Marla Cohen for the beautiful piece in the April 2021 issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine about my cannoli endeavors! Read the story online at https://digital.njmonthly.com/njmonthly/april_2021/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1669987&app=false&cmsId=3898318&fbclid=IwAR1GNTYh4v-4tABuqfMpujQxyMNQTgoOs4MOdJOxZbgvyvFnLsE5LeF0ITU#articleId1669987. Join me for my next online cannoli class on April 25. More details at https://experiencesicily.com/cannoli-making-zoom-workshop/ The Cannoli Crawl will resume…
Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! From Experience Sicily
Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! May the light of spring bring peace and joy to your heart!