- THE JEWEL 🇮🇹 OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
- DISCOVERING SICILY City by City, Town by Town, Village by Village
By: Robert V. Hill
Sicily is its own world. This is the first truth Vito and Ann Pirri impart in their masterful new book, Travelling Sicily: The Jewel of the Mediterranean. After two decades of slow, village-by-village exploration, the retired Canadian couple has crafted more than a guide; it’s a key to unlocking an island where Byzantine mosaics glow beside Arab-Norman palaces, where sheep still halt traffic on mountain roads, and where dinner begins long after mainland Italy has gone to sleep. Releasing this season, their work is an antidote to superficial tourism, inviting readers into a Sicily felt through its volcanic soil and salted sea winds.
What defines Travelling Sicily: The Jewel of the Mediterranean is its intimacy. The Pirris write not as outsiders, but as an adopted family. They know which nonna in Trabia crafts spaghetti like silk threads, where to find the last ceramicist in Collesano reviving forgotten designs, and why Sicilians guard their dialect like buried treasure.
“Locals don’t speak Italian, they speak Siciliano,” Vito notes, recounting how even fluent Italians struggle at Palermo’s Ballarò Market. This isn’t conjecture; it’s lived wisdom. When the couple rented a Fiat 500 to navigate cliffside roads, they learned why size matters: “A small car isn’t convenient, it’s survival.”
The book’s heartbeat is its reverence for authenticity. While Taormina’s Greek Theatre dazzles first-timers, the Pirris guide you deeper, to Himera’s ruins, where 2,500-year-old warrior graves whisper of Carthaginian battles, or to Borgo Parrini, a sun-bleached village where artists have transformed whitewashed walls into a Catalonian dream. They champion overlooked corners: Termini Imerese (Vito’s ancestral home) with its Roman aqueducts; Santo Stefano di Camastra’s pottery studios, where “Moor’s Head” vases carry tragic legends of star-crossed lovers; and Savoca’s Bar Vitelli, where The Godfather‘s shadow fades beside the weight of real history.
Food, of course, is sacred. Travelling Sicily devours the island’s culinary soul with precision. The Pirris trace Sicily’s identity through its tables: pistachios from Bronte’s lava-rich slopes, olives pressed in Belice Valley groves, and Nero d’Avola wine flowing in family-run cantine.
Their quest for Sicily’s finest cannoli becomes a metaphor for the journey itself, each town’s version a revelation. In Sciacca, they found it deconstructed; in Pachino, dunked in dark chocolate. “Sicilian food isn’t eaten,” Ann writes. “It’s celebrated.” Even practical advice carries flavour: “Carry cash. Not for scams, for arancini at gas stations, for fishermen’s markets, for espresso stops where €1 buys a moment of perfection.”
Yet this is no nostalgic postcard. Vito and Ann Pirri confront modern Sicily with clear eyes. They detail the petrochemical plants of Milazzo and Augusta, where refineries employ cousins and sunsets glow industrial orange, and the solar farms stitch Etna’s foothills.
In the Nebrodi Mountains, they meet shepherds resisting industrial farming, their ricotta still shaped by hand. This duality defines the island: ancient Greek theatres host summer opera; Baroque palazzi house buzzing startups; and granita stalls share sidewalks with sushi bars.
As tourism hurtles toward 18 million annual visitors, Travelling Sicily: The Jewel of the Mediterranean arrives as urgent counsel. The Pirris map not just places, but rhythms. They explain why shops shut from 1:00–4:30 PM (pausa pomeridiana), why dinners start at 9:00 PM (“When the heat breaks, life begins”), and why tipping baffles locals.
“In Sicily,” Vito insists, “you adapt or miss the magic.” Their itineraries are humane: three days in Palermo to absorb Norman mosaics and street-food chaos; slow afternoons in Ortigia’s sunlit piazzas; pilgrimages to Monreale’s cathedral, where 6,000 golden tiles eclipse the crowds.
For the Pirris, Sicily’s greatest treasure is its people. They recount farmers gifting blood oranges at roadside stalls, cousins sharing clandestine vineyard tours, and fishermen in Sant’Agata di Militello slicing tuna belly straight onto crusty bread. “Sicilians work hard, laugh louder, and welcome you like a long-lost cugino,” Ann reflects. This warmth, woven through every page, elevates their book beyond logistics into legacy.
Ready to walk Sicily’s soul?
Discover the island village by village with Travelling Sicily: The Jewel of the Mediterranean. Let Vito and Ann Pirri guide you beyond tourist trails into the heart of authentic Sicily. Your journey begins within these pages.
Visit: https://pirrivitoandann.com/
