Sicily Guide

Southern Italian cooking is finally getting the attention long deserved. A veteran food writer with cookbooks on other Mediterranean cuisines, Nancy Harmon Jenkins in her latest, Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking (William Morrow, $29.95), champions the food and foodways of the southern Italian regions of Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia and Sicily. Her title translates as “the cooking of the sun,” a reference to the sun-baked region, also known as the Mezzogiorno. Overshadowed for ages by the celebrated cuisines farther north, the cooking of the south gets its due here.

Read more at Hoston Chronicle
Buy Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking

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Limoncello is a yellowish liquor made out of lemon peel soaking in water and pure alcohol, particularly famous in Southern Italy and Sicily. I just came across this recipe on how to make limoncello by using vodka instead of pure alcohol, which is illegal in the USA to buy.

Ingredients:

Choose thick-skinned lemons because they are easier to zest.

Use 100-proof vodka - the high alcohol level will ensure that the limoncello will not turn to ice in the freezer.

Alora’s Limoncello

Makes 6 cups (1.5 L)

8 lemons

1 bottle (750 mL) 100-proof vodka

2 cups (500 mL) sugar

2 cups (500 mL) water

For more details, please visit Canada.com

Technorati Tags [ limoncello | limoncello recipe | vodka limoncello ]

Sharon Barresi from RespiridiVita.Blogspot.com answers a few questions for Sicily Guide. Sharon, from Maine in the USA, has been living in Sicily for fifteen years. After ups and downs as for everyone else who experiences a new culture, she feels to belong to Sicily now. Thanks for agreeing with the interview, Sharon! It is always interesting to learn how other people adapt themselves to live in Sicily.

Why did you move to Sicily and why did you pick Oliveri in the Messina province?

My very first visit to Sicily was in the summer of 1985. It was also my first European trip. I came with my husband and our 4 year old son. It was a wonderful vacation. We were building a vacation house in the spot where my husband’s grandfather had lived. It was torn down after an earthquake had hit the Naples area. The government was offering funds to persons who would tear down old decrepit houses and rebuild. It was a wonderful summer and we enjoyed ourselves. (more…)

Libero Grassi is a contemporary hero. Killed by the mafia on August 29, 1991, he was a business man who stood against their requests of extortion. He did what every honest entrepreneur and citizen should do. For me, this is patriotic. Today is the 16th year anniversary of his death.

Watch video (in Italian)

Read more about Libero Grassi

Technorati Tags [ libero grassi | mafia | sicily ]

Today, I got a comment under the Aeolian Islands video post that sounded to me a little bit out of nowhere. With all the respect that I always have for other people’s opinion, I just think that Sicily needs tourism badly. I consider myself an environmentalist. I am the first one to assert that Sicily has been devastated for centuries and Sicilians have little idea of how to respect the environment. I come from an area that has been destroyed by ghost factories built in the ’60s and none of them operates today. I never saw La Piana di Milazzo as described in the book ”L’Olivo e l’olivastro” by Vincenzo Consolo, I have always seen a refinery there. I am not against factories by principle. However, if they are built, they should follow strict regulations in order not to harm the surrounding environment and people. (more…)

Carmen Consoli will be performing in Central Park in New York City at 7:00PM on September 25. A Sicilian-born singer-songwriter from Catania, she has released 10 albums, and for the past decade has reigned as Italy’s leading female rock star. Her albums sell in the millions and she has been a multiple honoree at the MTV Italy Music Awards. Her most recent album, Eva Contro Eva, shot to number one on the Italian pop charts when it was released in May 2006. Here is a video of her last performance at Joe’s Pub in New York last October. She is singing Fiori d’Arancio.

TICKETS FOR FREE SHOWS
Available on the day of the performance (two per person) at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 1PM and at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street (near Astor Place), from 1PM to 3PM.

More information about the concert
Carmen Consoli Official Web site

Technorati Tags [ carmen consoli | carmen consoli in New York | Carmen Consoli in Central Park | sicilian songwriter | sicilian singer ]

As previously announced in one of the posts, Sicily Guide has contacted a few bloggers who write about Sicily for an interview. Patrizia Eggleton, an English teacher who moved to Sicily in 2005, from SicilyScene.blogspot.com is one of the bloggers who have graciously agreed. I tried to ask questions that have not been addressed previously and ones that might be of interest to the audience of Sicily Guide Blog. Here are those questions with Patrizia’s unedited answers.

(more…)

It is sad to see how many hectares of land were destroyed with the past fires in Sicily. According to the Minister of Environment, Pecoraro Scanio, nobody has been found guilty for arson since 2000. Thinking that just a few guys can produce such a level of devastation and the law does not discriminate against them upsets me terribly. Since these fires seem to happen every summer for at least two obvious reasons (land speculation and employment of new temporary people for reforestation), here are my proposed 5-step practical solution to defeat future arsonists and punish the current ones:

1- Arsonists found guilty should be jailed for at least 5 years;
2- The land owned by arsonists found guilty should become public domain;
3- Arsonists should pay out of their pocket for any damage inflicted to other properties;
4- No building should be allowed on any terrain destroyed by fire caused on purpose;
5- No people should be employed for reforestation. The government should involve environmental associations to help reforestation and launch a massive marketing campaign involving volunteers.

The marketing campaign should start in the schools to educate children about the devastation we are inflicting to our resources. I believe Sicilians will react well and volunteer in good numbers for a wise cause. Many of them already volunteer on a regular basis. Do you think this is a visionary 5-step solution? You’re right. Yes, it is for Sicily, where disillusion and dissatisfaction in the institutions run high. However, if we do not act now, it will happen again and again. Which world will we leave to future generations? Politicians should stop playing politics, there is no party here: it is national emergency and we should stand together no matter what!

Technorati Tags [ fire in sicily | sicily fire | how to stop arsonists ]

An increasing number of articles is talking about Sicily these days. Well, I am not referring only to the fire, but to stories appeared in Travel & Leisure, News Blaze, Europe for Visitors, etc… Actually, Sicily has finally been put in the map of travel destinations that count. Some of you would argue that Sicily has always been there. Yes, it is true if you know the island. However, you cannot deny that it has continuously been looked down upon.

This time is different. Sicily is appealing to a serious type of traveler, a sophisticated one. Foreigners who visit Sicily have already been to other parts of Italy and crave to discover a new destination within the country. I have the feeling that this time the trend will not vanish and is here to stay. From the eyes of an industry insider, I can tell you that there are good signs in the air.

Sicily Old & New - Travel & Leisure
Sicily, Italy’s Great Treasure Island’s Adventure - News Blaze
Planning a Trip to Explore the Wonders of Sicily - Europe for Visitors

Technorati Tags [ sicily | sicily travel | sicily tourism | sicily tourism trends ]

Technorati Tags [ agrigento video | agrigento | sicily | sicily travel | valle dei templi ]

Located in the Val di Noto (Rg), Casa Talia is a bed & breakfast that highlights the continously evolving offer of stylish accommodation in Sicily. Marco Giunta and his wife Viviana, two architects from Milan, visited Val di Noto in 2001. During their summer trip to Noto and the Vendicari Reserve, they had planned their stay at an agriturismo nearby Noto owned by a family from Modica. Fascinated with this family’s talks about Modica(Rg), Marco and Viviana decided to visit it. As soon as they arrived in the town, they fell in love with it. In December 2001, they returned to Sicily and started the new venture of Casa Talia, an elegant bed & breakfast that is helping to shape the hospitality image of the island.

Casa Talia
The structure is composed by small houses, restored with natural and typical Sicilian materials, which frame a Mediterranean garden. All the rooms, with private terrace and fully comfortable, with a panoramic view on the historical center, have an independent entrance from the garden.

Amenities: All rooms are air-conditioning equipped and have Internet access. The center of the facility is the internal garden, a place for relaxing and open air activities, furnished with deckchairs, hammock, shower and conversation area.

Address:
Via Exaudinos, 1/9
97015 Modica (Rg)

Contact:
Tel. & Fax: (+39) 0932 752075

Read more about Casa Talia
Read more about the Val di Noto
Read more about the Vendicari Reserve

Technorati Tags [ casa talia | modica | val di noto | casa talia slowliving | bed & breakfast in Sicily | sicily | sicily travel | sicily hospitality | sicily accommodation ]

In a hilltop holiday farm nearby Patti (Me), three people were reported dead and seventeen other injured on Thursday. Although firefighters worked through the night, the fire spread out for over twelve miles.

According to Italy’s ANSA news service, investigators believe that the fire was started on purpose. The entire northern side of Sicily from Trapani to Messina was somewhat involved in the fire. The hot temperature (over 104F) and warm winds of these days worsened the situation. Hectares of forest have been entirely destroyed and hundreds of people had to evacuate their homes.

Read more at ANSA

Technorati Tags [ fire emergency | sicily fire | fire in sicily | patti fire | messina fire | trapani fire | northern sicily fire ]

Sicily Guide Blog is receiving more publicity every day and visits are skyrocketing. Lately, the blog was listed on About.com, a New York Times’ parent company. Some more good news to come, popular bloggers (nickname Welshcakes Limoncello) from http://SicilyScene.blogspot.com and Sharon from http://RespiriDiVita.blogspot.com/ both agreed for a blog interview.
An increasing number of foreigners and not are moving to Sicily. Sicily Guide Blog will soon feature all these interesting stories for you. Keep checking our posts for more.

Technorati Tags [ sicily | sicily scene | respiri di vita | sicily guide | sicily guide blog ]

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