The cloister and red domes of Palermo’s San Giovanni degli Eremiti were built by Arab-Norman craftsmen and laborers in 1132 under that command of King Roger II. Its flowering gardens, reminiscent of what one might have encountered in ancient cities along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, are a sanctuary in the midst of the city’s hustle and bustle.
Allison Scola is founder, owner, and curator of Experience Sicily and the Cannoli Crawl. Named one of the experts for the 2019 New York Times Travel Show, Scola writes and lectures on Sicily and leads immersive tours and designs custom itineraries that delight discerning travelers. She has been featured on Rudy Maxa’s World with the Carey’s, America’s #1 Travel Radio Show and as the cannoli expert in the documentary Cannoli, Traditions Around the Table. Scola has lectured about Sicily at University of Pennsylvania, The New School, LIU Post University, Queens College, Westchester Italian Cultural Center, at high schools in the New York City metropolitan area, and at events in New York City.
