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…
Tag: modica
The Mysterious Cava d’Ispica In Sicily
The mysterious and beautiful Cava d’Ispica nature reserve and archaeological site is cradled in the Iblean Mountains of southeastern Sicily. Put on your hiking boots to walk among thousands of years of human history. An ancient river carved this gorge over millennia through a limestone shelf that is part of the African tectonic plate. (Yes,…
Commemorating The Tremendous 1693 Earthquake In Sicily
After a magnitude (hypothetical) 6.2 foreshock on January 9, 1693, at 9PM on January 11, 1693 the earth shook in southeastern Sicily like it hasn’t since. Etna was erupting, and a tsunami struck the Ionian coasts of eastern Sicily and the Strait of Messina. We don’t know the exact scope of the earthquake’s power according…
Sicilian Chocolate Boost
I’m one lucky woman! My friends at Gelsomino Imports sent me some Modica chocolate! Perfect to help me finish my current deadlines. Grazie mille! Order yours at https://www.gelsominoimports.com/
Long Live Saint Joseph
Viva San Giuseppe! (From LA Chiesa di San Pietro, Modica, Sicily)
Meet Miss Modican Cow
I met this lady last year while walking through the countryside of Ragusa province with Sicilia in Cammino. Dark red Modican cows may be seen throughout the countryside of southeastern Sicily and beyond. They are primarily bred for milk production in order to make Sicilian Ragusano and caciocavallo cheeses. Modican cows graze freely at pasture…
Discover Eastern Sicily With Synchronous Chocolate Tasting
Let’s eat chocolate from Sicily while dreaming about traveling there! Join Experience Sicily on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7PM Eastern for an online presentation about Sicily travel with a synchronous chocolate tasting. Sign up for Zoom meeting is complimentary. The artisanal chocolate (As is made in Modica, as in this photograph I took last summer.)…
#SeeYouSoonSicily
I love my work. I especially love leading tours in Sicily. One year ago today in Modica, our Experience Sicily Life In A Remote Sicilian Town tour group took this selfie. We had so much fun together! I can’t wait to get back to this. #seeyousoonsicily
Sicily’s History Offers Us Knowledge For Today
Sicily’s history offers us many lessons. Since the 13th century Modica (pictured) has been a prosperous and important city. For centuries it was the seat of its own county that enjoyed political independence and economic and cultural influence. The resource-rich surrounding landscape with agriculture as its economic engine has made Modica and Ragusa province wealthy…
Modica, Sicily And Saint Peter And Saint Paul
Today is the feast day of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Peter, of course, is the protector of Rome (and popes too). But importantly (For my family especially, since my father is named Peter and I come from a long line of fishermen), he is the patron saint of net-makers, shipbuilders, and fishermen, and…