It was a region which I knew almost nothing about. My journey had been decided on a whim; a few weeks earlier I had been in Albania, staring in …
London to Sicily by train
One of my lockdown reads was "How Bad Are Bananas?: The carbon footprint of everything" by Mike Berners Lee. If you have not come across it, it is an …
Georgian churches in Turkey
The north east of Turkey was once part of the Georgian Kingdom of Iberia and there are still some interesting Georgian churches to be found in the …
The Via Egnatia
One of the great differences between the Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations is that whilst the former were predominantly seafarers (the exception …
My Journey to Mardin
Two episodes in my life had spurred my interest to go to Mardin - the first was reading William Dalrymple’s splendid “From the Holy Mountain” in which …
Music in Sicily
Many of our visitors to Sicily ask where they can find traditional Sicilian folk music. In this article we unearth some of the influences... I have …
Book review: English Pastoral: an Inheritance by James Rebanks
My inflight reading on the return journey to England last week was English Pastoral: an Inheritance by Lake District farmer James Rebanks. Few books I …
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The story of wine-making in Milazzo
Perhaps because of its connection to Nelson and a handful of English entrepreneurs, the story of wine-making in Marsala is well-known in the …
The Via Francigena in Sicily
A “Via Francigena” - or road of the Franks - is a pilgrim route. The name derives from the main route from Canterbury, through France, to Rome used by …
The Road to Oxiana – Robert Byron
I've just finished reading Robert Byron's account of his journeys in Persia and Afghanistan undertaken between 1933 and 1934 and recounted in his …
Pentedattilo
An abandoned village in Calabria Rising to heights of 6,000 ft, the wild and forested mountains known as the “Aspromonte" are some of the last …
The adoption of Arabic numerals in Europe
On the left hand side as you enter the Palatine Chapel in Palermo is a stone mounted on the wall, with an inscription. Or rather three inscriptions - …
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Greek Temples in Sicily
Temples are perhaps the most iconic buildings the Ancient Greeks constructed. They are found throughout the Ancient Greek World: in Greece, Italy, …
The story of Marsala wine
John Woodhouse and the birth of Marsala wine The story of Marsala wine is one that the English can lay some claim to having brought into existence. …
The patron saint of travellers and wayfarers
Growing up in a small village in East Anglia, I always harboured a feint disappointment that the church in our village was not dedicated to a more …
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Travel in the time of Covid-19
My bank cards had all expired and their replacements sent to my address in Cambridge. My 13 month old Mac Book Pro had seized up in the week after …
A brief history of food in Sicily
What could be a more typical Sicilian dish than a nice plate of pasta all norma? Some penne pasta topped with a tomato and aubergine sauce and …
The Story of Donnafugata
In Sicilian, the name “Donnafugata” simply means “the woman who fled” or “the fugitive woman”. And for one reason or another, throughout the …
The Sicilian Flag
Update, 16 Aug 2024: We have been made aware that this article has been referenced by a news article originating in the US reporting a comment made on …
The Sicilian language
The first question people often ask is: is Sicilian a language or a dialect? It is an interesting question open to debate and the answer depends on …
Ponte Dirillo :: Operation Husky and the Invasion of Sicily
The story of the second World War in Sicily is not overtly apparent to the casual visitor. There are few monuments, few reminders, few tangible …
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The locations of Inspector Montalbano
Without a doubt, the greatest advertisement for Sicily in the last few years has been the television series of Inspector Montalbano. Since it was …
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Monreale Cathedral
Anyone who has visited Monreale cathedral in Sicily will have had been filled with lasting awe on stepping inside and first glimpsing the fabulous …
Responsible Travel
"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign." – Robert Louis Stevenson “Travel broadens the mind”, as the saying goes. I’m …
The Madonie
The Madonie Mountains :: Sicily's finest landscapes Ma-do-ni-e: four syllables not three, the final two vowels being pronounced as separate syllables: …
Matera – Southern Italy’s natural film set
The province of Basilicata is generally considered to the be the poorest of all Italy’s provinces and until recently there has been little reason for …
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Armenia – A Place of legends
Armenia is one of those places that is not easy to get to. There are very few direct international flights to this small landlocked country and two of …
