Il rito della luce (rite of light) 2012
May 25, 2012 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Art, Events
| June 21, 2012 8:00 pm | to | June 24, 2012 11:00 pm |
The rite of light takes place only once a year close to the summer solstice. The Fondazione Fiumara d’Arte organizes this event every June. Its founder Antonio Presti is an entrepreneur turned philanthropist to fight the Mafia in Sicily. Visitors will have the possibility to access the Pyramid (photo below), a sculpture created by artist Mauro Staccioli. Among the artists selected this year are Giovanni Levanti, Mario Trimarchi, Aldo Baker, Chris Kabel, Michael Obrist, Vered Zaykovsky and Wyssem Nochi.
Photo credits - Fondazione Fiumara D'Arte
About Antonio Presti
Presti was born in Messina in 1957. He has been staging his resistance for 30 years. At the age of 21 he decided to use the fortune left by his father – a public works contractor who worked hand in glove with local politicians and Cosa Nostra bosses – to combat the mafia system on the island. How? By investing in culture. His maiden project was called La fiumara d’arte [The Torrent of Art]. It involved building a sculpture park, the biggest in Europe, from the Nebrodi mountains, near Pettineo, his father’s village, all the way to the northern coast of the island.
More about this event at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134969626578131
Introducing the Liberty Inn Bed & Breakfast
January 25, 2012 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Accommodation
Liberty Inn Bed & Breakfast is a brand new bed & breakfast situated in downtown Milazzo (ME). It belongs to a friend from high school. He manages it. I had the opportunity to see this place last summer and I was pleasantly surprised by its decor. The facade maintained the classic liberty style – which is cleverly reflected in the name of the B&B, while the interiors have been totally restructured and refurbished with the latest modern comforts. The Mediterranean Sea is at walking distance. Rooms are quiet, even though this B&B is close to bars, restaurants and an extremely entertaining nightlife. If you are in Milazzo or boarding for the Aeolian Islands, Liberty Inn Bed & Breakfast is a nice hidden gem.
Address: Via umberto I n°163
98057 Milazzo (ME)-Italy
Tel: +39-389/4596390
Web site: www.libertyinn-bb.com
If You Wonder About the Difference between Sicilian Pizza and Pizza in Sicily, Read This Post
June 14, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Food & Wine
Scott Wiener at SliceSeriousSeats.com wrote this article that explains in a very detailed way the difference between these two types of pizza.
The contemporary pizza consumer is pretty well-versed in the language of Neapolitan pizza. We know what a wood-fired brick oven looks like, we appreciate San Marzano tomatoes and we’ve tasted mozzarella di bufala. We even know where to go in Naples for the most historic pizzerias on the planet. But what about other pizza styles that bare Italian pedigrees?
The main alternative to round Neapolitan-influenced pies is without a doubt the Sicilian pizza. For most, the name conjures images of a thick, doughy base smothered with a healthy layer of sauce and a mozzarella blanket. On my recent trip to Sicily, I found some interesting differences between what we call Sicilian pizza and what they call pizza in Sicily.
Upon arriving in Palermo, one of the first things I did was scout the local pizzerias. I was surprised not to find many and even more shocked at what I noticed next. Contrary to what I expected, the pizza of Sicily is not square. Am I still in Naples? Did I get on the wrong ferry? Nope, the pizza here is round and I’m just going to have to deal with it. Here’s a shot of the first pizza I ate in Sicily.
Looks a lot like a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, right? That’s because it is. (Don’t tell anyone, but I liked this one even more than some of the stuff in Naples.) Sicilians don’t wear their pizza tradition on their sleeves the way Neapolitans do. In fact, they are adamant that real pizza is from Naples.
If we’re going to talk about thick squares of bread, let’s just forget the word pizza altogether. The ancestor of New York’s square pizza goes by a completely different name and, therefore, is not found in Sicilian pizzerias. You’ll have better luck heading to a bakery, or panificio. Bakeries are easy to spot and you’ll instinctively know that they are Sicily’s equivalent to Neapolitan pizzerias based on their frequency alone. Trust me, they are everywhere in Palermo.
Just head to the counter and ask for sfincione, a square, pan-proofed dough that fries on the base due to a nice amount of oil in the pan. The word itself literally means sponge, which accurately describes the light, airy feel of the base as well as the way the dough absorbs just the right amount of oil on the bottom. Trust me, “spongy” is not an adjective I usually use to describe breads I like but it really does work in this situation.
Source: SliceSeriousSeats.com
Time in Sicily Is Running 20 Minutes Faster
June 9, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Other
Today’s news reports that digital clocks in Catania are running 20 minutes faster. The reasons of this phenomenon are unknown. My sister who lives in Northeastern Sicily says that her microwave clock is 20 minutes faster as well. I guess many other cities are affected and not only Catania. Zuco.org reports that there are many theories at the moment, but none are able to give an explanation yet. Some people say it’s Mount Etna‘s (the largest volcano in Italy) recent activity might have produced some sort of radiation. Others claim it’s due to the construction of a submarine communications cable that is generating huge magnetic waves around the city… Let us know if you have experienced anything like this.
Sicily Is Trendy in the UK
June 1, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Travel
Lots of articles about Sicily in the main British newspapers this week…
Photo credits - Italian Government Tourist Office North America
For a real taste of Sicily try a Sunday morning in Castelbuono, south of Cefalù; think Sicilian Ludlow. The shops move outside and tastings are obligatory. An eclectic mix of sausages and salamis, preserves and chocolates, amazing biscuits and cakes, gelato in a multitude of flavours and panettone – so many types – and delectable spreads (try the smooth “cream of almond” on freshly baked panettone, so light it almost floats away).
This is not a tourist attraction, so be prepared to jostle with the local children who are on the front row for tastings, then have a break from free samples and sit in the square to enjoy an espresso, the church bells and a spot of people watching. Heavenly.
More at The Telegraph
It is a cliche of writing about Sicily that you mention The Godfather in the opening lines, but the first thing that greets visitors to Case Sgadari is a horse’s head. OK, it isn’t on your pillow but on an imposing terracotta fountain in the cobbled courtyard, which nevertheless looks slightly menacing lit up at night.
We were immediately bustled into a bright dining room with murals depicting pretty dancing ladies. It could easily have accommodated a gathering of the Corleone clan, but we were the only guests.
More at The Guardian
There was butter on the table, and portion packs of Nutella. But why would we eat the breakfast of a million international hotels when we could enjoy the real Sicilian experience? Locals’ breakfast in the fishing village of Scopello, west of Palermo, is bread still warm from the bakery, dipped in olive oil from down the road, sprinkled with salt and eaten with pecorino cheese and, of course, a good strong caffè.
Marisin, our hostess at Pensione Tranchina in Scopello, also served homemade jam and cakes at breakfast, and her set dinners were a delight: pasta with herbs and various vegetables, followed by locally caught fish (sea bream baked in salt one night, huge prawns another), a palate-cleanser in the form of a huge chilled blood orange, then dessert, often based on that other Sicilian speciality, ricotta.
We’d ended up in western Sicily out of cussedness. Everyone we spoke to about our trip to Sicily had said the same things: Cefalù, Taormina … You’ll love it, wonderful places … Taormina, Cefalù. When even a friendly young Palermitano on the plane repeated the mantra, we flipped.
Sicily is a big place. It’s bigger than Wales, but there’s more to Wales than Snowdon and the Gower. So, from Palermo, we literally turned our backs on the tourist honeypots and headed for the “wild west”.
Five minutes’ drive from Scopello is the Zingaro nature reserve, a 7km strip of unspoilt coast and soaring mountains where a friendly guide showed us how to spot the wild fennel used in the classic Sicilian dish pasta con le sarde. The sprig we picked was still fantastically pungent when we came across it in my husband’s pocket a week later. The reserve has a handful of impossibly cute pebbly coves, and three mountain refuges offering walkers free overnight accommodation.
More at The Guardian
Cantine Aperte Festival in Sicily
May 27, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Events, Food & Wine
| May 29, 2011 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 9:00 pm |
Cantine Aperte Festival (Open Wineries Festival) is the best time to visit wineries in Sicily. Selected winery members of the Movimento Turismo del Vino (Wine Tourism Movement) open their doors to the public offering wine enthusiasts a chance to visit their venues and participate to wine-themed events.
Photo credits - Movimento Turismo del Vino Sicilia
The interest in the event has grown considerably from year to year and has attracted the attention of tourists and residents, eager to participate to this
unique experience.
PARTICIPATING WINERIES
Tenuta Barone La Lumia
Contrada Pozzillo – 92027 Licata (AG)
Phone/Fax: +39 0922 891709
Cell: +39 348 3102560 / 348 3102563
Web site: www.baronelalumia.it
Azienda Agrituristica Etna Wine
S.S. 120 Km 191+900 – Passopisciaro
95012 Castiglione di Sicilia (CT)
Tel/Fax: +39 095 931548 – +39 0942 983062
Web site: www.etnawineagriturismo.com
Azienda Cosentini
Cdr. Cosentini – Via Etnea 9
95020 S. Venerina (CT)
Tel: +39 095 958281 – Fax: +39 095 605162
Web site: www.vinicosentini.it
Cantine Nicosia
Via Luigi Capuana sn.
95039 Trecastagni (CT)
Tel: +39 095 7806767 – Fax: +39 095 7808837
Web site: www.cantinenicosia.it
Azienda Vinicola Benanti
Via Garibaldi, 361
95029 Viagrande (CT)
Tel: +39 095 7893438 – Fax: +39 095 7893677
Web site: www.vinicolabenanti.it
Cantina Barone Gandolfo di San Giuseppe
Az. Agr. Laganelli – Strada San Domenico, 5
96100 Siracusa
Tel: +39 334 317892
Baglio di Pianetto s.r.l.
Via Francia, sn – Contrada Pianetto
90030 Santa Cristina Gela (PA)
Tel: +39 091 8570002 – Fax: +39 091 8570015
Web site: www.stilesiciliano.com
Marchesi De Gregorio
Contrada Sirignano
90046 Monreale (PA) (vicino Alcamo)
Autostrada A29 – dir. Mazara del Vallo
svincolo Gallitello (Km. 64,5) proseguire sulla S.S. 119
dir. Alcamo, imboccare al Km. 13 Bivio Contrada Sirignano
Tel: +39 091 7816870 - Fax: +39 091 6123769 Cell: +39 347 9782640
Web site: www.marchesidegregorio.it
Feudo Arancio
C.da Portella Misilbesi
92017 Sambuca di Sicilia (AG)
Tel: +39 0925 579000 – Fax: +39 0925 31540
Web site: www.feudoarancio.it
Tenuta Scilio di Valle Galfina
Contrada Arrigo – S.P. Linguaglossa Zafferana Km 2
95015 Linguaglossa (CT)
Tel: +39 095 932822 - Cell: +39 348 8629754
Web site: www.scilio.com
Cantine Don Saro S.r.l.
C.da Arrigo
95015 Linguaglossa (CT)
Tel: +39 095 386245 – Fax: +39 095 373767
Cell: +39 331 7899258 – +39 336 235290
Web site: www.donsaro.com
Tenuta di Fessina
Contrada Rovitello, Via Nazionale S.S 120 n. 22
95012 Castiglione di Sicilia (CT)
Cell: +39 335 7220021 – +39 348 0115329
Gigliotto Tenute
S.S. 117 bis Km 60 – C.da Ghigliotto
94015 Piazza Armerina (EN)
Tel: +39 0933 970898 – 979092
Fax: +39 0933 970898 – 979234
Web site: www.gigliottotenute.com
Feudo Principi di Butera
Contrada Deliella – 93011 Butera (CL)
Tel: +39 0934 347726 – 346766
Fax: +39 0934 347851
Web site: www.feudobutera.it
Azienda Agricola Planeta
C.da Ulmo – 92017 Sambuca di Sicilia (AG)
Tel: +39 091 327965 – Fax: +39 091 6124335
Web site: www.planeta.it
Donnafugata
Via S. Lipari 18 – 91025 Marsala (TP)
Necessaria la prenotazione
Tel: +39 0923 724206
Web site: www.donnafugata.it
Cantine Florio
Via Vincenzo Florio, 1
91025 Marsala (TP)
Tel: +39 0923 781305/306 – 091 781111
Web site: www.cantineflorio.it
Azienda Agricola Pupillo
Contrada Targia – 96100 Siracusa
indicazione per il navigatore satellitare “Casa Targia”
Tel: +39 0931 494029 Cell: 339 5700843
Fax: +39 0931 490498
Web site: www.pupillowines.com
For more information on the wineries participating to the event, visit:
Web site: www.mtvsicilia.it
Email: sicilia@movimentoturismovino.it, info@mtvsicilia.it
Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina (Video)
May 25, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Videos
Rick Steves introduces Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina (Enna). This video gives a very good idea of the beauty of this archeological site.
This luxury villa was built at the end of the 3rd century AD. Its floor is almost entirely covered with beautiful and detailed mosaics with scenes of everyday life and divinities. It is the richest and largest collection of late Roman mosaics in the world. The Villa Romana del Casale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The villa burnt and was covered by a flood around 1161. It was discovered in the 18th century.
Highlights: the frigidarium (the cold bath room); the Hall of the Female Gymnasts in Bikinis; corridor with hunting scenes; the Myth of Airon.
Address: Piazza Armerina (Enna)
Località Casale
Tel.: (0935) 568 00 36
Fax: (0935) 68 71 83
Web site: www.villaromanadelcasale.it
Map
Lonely Planet Editor Tom Hall Sings Sicily’s Praises (on a Stuffed Belly)
May 25, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Travel
We are always delighted to highlight articles about Sicily and its good things. Here is the time of Tom Hall, editor of Lonely Planet. Food is one of the reasons to visit the island, but not the only one and – as Tom suggests – do not rush when visiting!
Sicilians are convinced that their island, in the middle of the Mediterranean, is also the centre of the world. After an incredible week there I don’t feel inclined to argue. I’m normally up for a healthy debate but my head’s too full of history, my belly stuffed with seafood and gelato and I’m knackered after trying to cram in everything the island can offer into seven days. Sicily tends to have that effect.
Sicilian sweets, Photo credits - Maria Lina Bommarito
As you might expect for somewhere that has been squabbled over for three millennia, there’s a lot of history here. Ancient Greek sites, carefully preserved and, more often than not, set amongst spectacular coast or countryside, are scattered throughout Sicily. Agrigento and Syracuse may be the big names but Selinunte and Segesta get fewer crowds and are just as striking. The capital, Palermo, has a reputation for fearsome traffic, but once you’re on foot the city has Arab-Norman palaces and baroque churches, wrapped inside a warren of medieval alleyways that eclipse more celebrated cities on the mainland.
The island’s dining scene brings gastronomes flocking back year after year. Sicilian cuisine revolves around seafood, locally-sourced slow food and sweet food. In Erice, high on a hilltop overlooking Trapani in the west of the island we scoffed what felt like kilos of sweets and pastries made by local superstar Maria Grammatico, washed down with a glass of the local vino, with wonderful flavors created by the unique conditions vines thrive in. Coffee and ice cream are everywhere, both of which are life-savers for those of us traveling with small children.
Sicily may have wonderful beaches, an enviable climate and a wealth of things to see and do but, like the rest of Italy, it is somewhere not to be rushed. We covered Palermo the north-west quarter of the island in a week, meaning that the medieval town of Cefalù, the Ionian Coasts resorts and mighty Mount Etna and the agriturismi of the mountains will have to wait for another trip. [...]
The perfect island holiday? If it’s not, somewhere better is going to have to be pretty special to top it.
Source: MSN.com
Five Reasons to Visit Catania According to the TIME Magazine
May 19, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under Catania, Travel
by Stephan Faris
From beaches to renaissance art, sometimes it seems as if there’s nothing the Italian island of Sicily doesn’t have to offer. And if there’s one city that captures it all, it’s Catania — a great place to take in the mountains, the Mediterranean, folk traditions and fantastic food, all in the course of a day. Here are five Catania essentials.
Mount Etna, Photo credits - Italian Government Tourist Office North America
1. The Fish Market
Kick off the morning in the lively piazza nearest the Duomo, where fishermen hawk their catch, before strolling under the 18th century arch. Work up a hunger as you weave through stalls selling seafood of every description, then head for lunch at the nearby Osteria Antica Marina.
2. The Teatro Romano
In the heart of the old city, ordinary storefronts look onto the ruins of a wide Roman amphitheater — a typical fusion of ancient and modern Catania. There’s an upstairs museum with great views.
3. Mount Etna
Coughing up the odd blast of ash or smoke, Catania‘s nearby volcano is impossible to ignore. Visit by car or circumnavigate it by train.
4. Savia
Fabulous local pastries often pay tribute to St. Agatha, the local patron saint. This pastry shop offers ricotta-based minnuzzi (Sicilian for breasts) that provide a tasty, if not tasteful, symbol of her martyrdom.
5. Fratelli Napoli
The southern Italian tradition of puppetry lives on in this lovely theater, which, after four generations, is still in the hands of the Napoli family.
Aphrodite Is Back Home in Aidone, Sicily
May 16, 2011 by SicilyGuide
Filed under News
On Tuesday, the archaeological museum in Aidone, Sicily, will inaugurate the exhibit of a long-lost but now hard-won antiquity — a stone Aphrodite that was illegally excavated from the region 30 years ago. The ancient statue is one of 40 illicitly acquired objects that have finally been repatriated to Italy from one of the world’s wealthiest museums — the J. Paul Getty Museum of Los Angeles.
In award-winning reporting for the Los Angeles Times, journalists Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino exposed the dramatic story of the Getty’s underhanded art dealings led by their former antiquities curator, Marion True. From back alleys to basement bank vaults, True got her hands on beautiful objects, from an ancient gold wreath to the stone goddess in question — where Felch and Frammolino got the name of their new book: Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World’s Richest Museum.
Source: NPR
