November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, Saint Martin’s Day. Each province in Sicily celebrates differently. In the town of Chiaramonte Gulfi (Ragusa Province), citizens eat sweet and savory crispelle, like these made with fennel seeds, pictured, together with cooked wine. Importantly, the Feast of San Martino marks when wine makers taste the novello, the new wine that has been aging since September’s grape harvest, to monitor the wine’s readiness.
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.
