To savor a meal in Sicily is to encounter an extraordinarily rich collection of culinary traditions. UNESCO defines them well where it describes protecting the Mediterranean diet as “a set of skills, knowledge, practices and traditions ranging from the landscape to the table, including the crops, harvesting, fishing, conservation, processing, preparation and, particularly, consumption of food.”
Among the most typical and unique of Sicilian dishes are: granita (crushed ice flavored with juice from local fruits or nuts), arancini (fried rice balls traditionally filled with meat and tomato sauce or mozzarella and ham), caponata (sweet and sour cold salad of eggplant, celery, bell pepper, capers, olives, and tomato sauce) and cannoli (pastries filled with ricotta). You will enjoy washing them down with one of Sicily’s wonderful indigenous wines: Frappato, Nero d’Avola, Malvasia and Carricante.
Beyond being a great culinary destination, Sicily is also exquisite for sightseeing given its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among them the Valley of the Greek Temples near Agrigento, the Arab-Norman Architecture of Palermo and Monreale, the late Baroque towns of Catania, Modica, Noto, Siracusa and Ragusa, the volcano Etna and the Aeolian Islands. We visit some of those fascinating sites on our itineraries, either on the bicycle and on foot & by van.
On our three itineraries some highlights include: visits and tastings to olive oil, chocolate and wine makers, to local Slow Food Presidia (worldwide initiatives to support quality production methods that are at risk of extinction) such the Ragusano Dop cheese from Modicana cow and Vasteddda del Belice Dop, and visits to local agriturismi (usually, family-run “farm stays” combining agriculture and tourism). Typically, an agriturismo features room and board in a farmhouse, which has been either partially or totally transformed to provide accommodation and meals.
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. Given internal distances of over 250 miles, our tours centers either on the eastern or on the western parts of the island, on or off the bike.
Benvenuti (welcome in Italian) in the heart of the Mediterranean! What are you waiting for? Ti aspettiamo! (We are waiting for you!) A presto! (See you soon!)
