San Vito Beach a Favorite

A Trip Advisor survey has recognized San Vito lo Capo's beach as a favorite in Italy for the second year in a row. That said, no Italian beaches made the European Top 10.

Happy (Orthodox) Easter!

Happy Easter to Sicilians in the Orthodox Church!

Easter (and other things)

Here in Italy the Easter holiday continues through Monday, when banks, schools and most stores are closed. This marks the beginning of a kind of "holiday season."

The next holiday is Liberation Day, on April 25th. While this is supposedly Italy's principal national holiday, for most people it's just a day off from work - and the Allied forces who actually defeated Fascism (50,000 died doing so) are usually overlooked as the few partisans are commemorated. Well, as we said, nobody takes the celebrations too seriously.

Next is May Day on May 1st, actually the socialist Labour Day. On this day there isn't even public bus service! Everything is closed.

June 2nd is Republic Day, commemorating the day in 1946 that a popular referendum held under Allied auspices (as Italy was ocupied) ousted the monarchy. It was the first time Italian women could vote. On this day the beaches will be crowded.

Shown here is Palermo's Magione basilica erected late in the 12th century.

Olesen wins Sicilian Open

Young golf sensation Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark shot a 69 to win the Sicilian Open by one shot on Sunday, April 1st, defeating the highly-talented Chris Wood of England.

Olesen finished with an overall 15-under 273 at the Verdura Golf Resort (outside Sciacca) for his first win on the European Tour.

The Sicilian Open is an annual PGA tournament that has put Sicily on the international golf map.

Snails!

The Sicilian word for the common ground snail is babbaluci, which comes from the Arabic. In the hills the edible creatures begin to crawl about during the Spring, but they are not usually harvested for a few more months. In fact, snails are really a Summer food in this part of the Mediterranean.

Read about them in Roberta Gangi's article in this month's magazine.