Ciao, Sicilia! I mean even that alone sounds sexy, no? Dolce & Gabbana built their brand around it.
As an American living in Italy, it can be easy to fall into that La Dolce Vita myth. Everything is beautiful, everywhere is magical. Though, being primarily based in Northern Italy, I’ll let you in on something: Southern Italy has my heart. From my time in Puglia in my early 20s, to now, Sicily is decidely my happy place in Italy. Maybe it’s the island life, I know it’s the hospitality, food, people, ‘tude. The people are warmer, their accents more melodic, more swaggy. Tuscany is beautiful, but I truly believe, Sicily is what Americans want when they come to Italy. A lot of Italian-Americans are Southern or Sicilian… so maybe it’s the familiar? Did you know that in 1945 and 1946 a strong Sicilian separatist movement campaigned for Sicily to be admitted as a U.S. state?
Black Americans, you might be drawn to Sicily too… from True Romance to Little White Lies, are they those mythic “Black Italian” in American culture. Sicily’s history leads it to be a beautiful example of multiculturalism: Greeks, Moors, Germans, Arabs, just to name a few. For more on Sicily’s multiculturalism check out my post on Black Sicilians.
Sicily craze seems to be at a fever pitch due to the popularity of White Lotus. Though, I’d like to say that DREW magazine was ahead of the curve me when I told them “Taormina is for lovers” last holiday season. So, I thought I’d share my favorite Sicilian haunts with you in this series Ciao, Sicilia!
From the Noto Valley to Messina to Marsala, I’m knew I couldn’t limit Sicily to just one blog post. Nor would I want to. So for the next few weeks, I’ll be frequently sharing Sicily travel guides to aid you in booking your next favorite holiday!
I’ll continuously update this post with links to my different Sicily guides. So here’s what I’ve written about so far.
Perfect Weekend in Taormina Travel Guide
Taormina is for Lovers for Drew Magazine
Sicily Itinerary – 2 Week Roadtrip
PHOTOS BY NNEYA RICHARDS & MICHELE SCAGLIONE