The Sicily Blog

Oct 01, 2008 (Wed): Sicily is quite distinct from Italy in terms of culture, history, language and wines. Highly individual grapes give good reds, perfumed whites and rich dessert wines. We have been bowled over by our reception from the family domaines we have visited in Sicily such as Rapitala, wh[...]

The British writer and journalist Matthew Fort has just published a new book, Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons, a follow-up to the bestselling Eating Up Italy. In the latter he made an eno-gastronomic journey from Villa San Giovanni in Calabria to Turin in Piedmont on a Vespa called Bud: ‘design icon, landmark of Italian culture, sound, sensible and slowish’. This time, he motors round Sicily on a Vespa called Monica. The result is another comic and culinary masterpiece. Here he speaks about this and more besides in an exclusive interview with Slow Food roving reporter Victoria Blackshaw.

Read more at SlowFood.com

The forecast for the arrivals to Sicily is not too optimistic this year. According to a study just published by PricewaterhouseCoopers, tourism in 2007 decreased by 10% and will decrease a further 2% in 2008. According to this study, the average stay in the isalnd is 3 days and only 38% of the visitors stay at a hotel. Tourism accounts only for 8% of the island’s GDP.