This month the #DolceVitaBloggers link up is sharing our personal guide to Italy’s hidden gems, special off the hidden track treasures which are often whisked by on thirsty bucket list group tours or pedantically planned summer trips.
Thanks again to Kelly from italianatheart.com, Jasmine from questadolcevita.com and Kristie of mammaprada.com for creating this great way of connecting Italophiles, to pool our collective knowledge. So get your pens and papers out to start planning your trip to Italy.
The whole of Italy is filled with hidden treasures, tiny little towns away from the major cities where you can still eat the best meal of your life at a tiny Trattoria away from the crowds. Most visitors spend only a few days here and there without witnessing the authentic daily life of the peninsular.
Italy is made for slow travel so the best way to spend your trip here is to take your time, move out of the big touristy centres, try to eat where the locals eat, visit small food markets, so to the churches, religious and food festivals, as it is there where you will see Italians and Italy at their most relaxed.
Take the time to taste local dishes and wines, flavour your trip with free time to wander and explore, learn a few words of italian, at least enough to ask simple questions. Go to free summer concerts organised by the locals, go to the theatre, go into that interesting artisan studio, explore cute little ceramic stores, artist workshops and tiny wine bars, what you find inside will become wonderful memories.
Don’t limit yourself to visiting only in the summer, there are so many wonderful tastes and experiences even in autumn and winter, while spring in Italy is beautiful and generally much less crowded.
Italy’s biggest hidden jewel has to be the island of Sicily, not because I live here but for the rich historical landmarks left behind by the thirteen different foreign rulers of its past. From the Phoenicians to Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, French (Normans), Germans (Hohenstaufen/Swabain), Nordic Vikings , English (Angevin), Spanish (Aragonese/Borbons) and Austrians (Habsburgs).
Not only have these cultures left behind physical architectural landmarks from churches to temples, but also the traditions which give birth to colourful Festa and Sagre celebrations.
The nine provincial capitals of Sicily (Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Syracuse and Trapani) each filled with many historical sites, museums and typical products to see and taste. Keep in mind every region and some times each town will have its own variations in wines, cheeses, breads, pasta dishes, sweets and abundant feasts.
An Italian Festa celebrates a towns patron Saint and is filled with processions, parades and market days. A saint day celebration is more than simply religion it is a piece of living history. A city’s patron has been around as long as the town’s been established and the celebrations are the fruit of careful planning and dedication.
Even a small villages patron Saint’s statue is laden with elaborate decorations, taken through every street where it meets and greets the people like an old family friend. The town’s marching band will accompany it with a personalised soundtrack, those who physically carry the Saint will cry out praises of ‘Viva Saint so & so.’
There will be monetary donations given to the Saint’s confraternities and the days celebrations will be accompanied by market stalls, booming fire crackers and night-time pyrotechnics and the local school children will get a holiday. There are Saint day’s all through the year and each has its own unique tradition and flare.
In Sicily the biggest celebrations are St Agata at Catania (February), St Rosalia at Palermo (July), St Lucia of Syracuse (November), St Giorgio at Ragusa (April) and the Madonna at Messina (August) which is also a national holiday throughout Italy.
Apart from the religious based feste, Italy chooses to celebrate its cuisine in endless food festivals or Sagre during the year. Each town offers a taste of local specialities, over a few days visitors can dip their fingers into the rich culinary stew which gently boils over throughout Italy. For some small change you can taste everything from freshly harvested strawberries in the spring, to new wine at November, gelato in the summer and roasted pork in the winter.
There is always something to taste or experience in the rich tapestry which is Italy. To give you an idea of the sheer amount of Feste and Sagre here is a list of those which happen annually in Sicily every June. These events are advertised locally so be sure to keep an eye out for flyers and posters around the place.
Here are some more useful posts you might like to read since SI&O is all about discovering Sicily’s hidden gems.
A tasteful introduction to Sicilian food
Dividing Sicily into bitesize pieces
A Sicilian wish list for the Summertime
To read all the other posts about Italian hidden gems for June 2018 click here.
Past #DolceVitaBlogger Link-Ups:
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #6 May 2018 – Five Italian Words
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #5 April 2018 – The Perfect Day in Italy
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #4 March 2018 – International Women’s Day
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #3 February 2018 – A Love Letter to Italy
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #2 January 2018 – Favourite Italian City
#DolceVitaBloggers Linkup – #1 December 2017 – ‘The Italian Connection
Awww, great post! One of the things I love the most about my country is represented by sagre and feste del patrono! One can truly enjoy the sense of community! Too bad that, with time, it will become very difficult to organize this kind of fairs, because the bureaucracy connected with their organization is becoming unbearable! 🙁
I hope they manage to hold on to them, it would be such a pity to lose these traditions, sadly so many of these old traditions are disappearing, they should be maintained as they represent the true character of Italy. 🤞
We agree about Italy being best enjoyed when you approach it from a relaxed angle and do what the locals do. We’re lucky to have family there, as that’s how we’ve always spent our time; eating and chatting and being very chilled with them. We get to visit all the local places, that we wouldn’t probably think to stop at if we were in a big city on our own!
Great post! 🙂
Lucy and Kelly
http://www.theblossomtwins.com
Thanks a lot Lucy and Kelly, yes having family here in Italy does help you to get a sense of daily life and traditions, that’s so special. You are very lucky to have that special and intimate connection!😀
And I thought we had a lot of sagre in Emilia Romagna 🙂 Impressive line-up, Sicily!!
Yes, Italian’s dedication to food is wonderful. We are so lucky that they want everyone to taste what’s on the table!😋
Wow Rochelle, your photos and description of your adopted home are wonderful. I have always had an obsession with Sicily and have visited just twice so far but I feel like I need to dedicate YEARS to truly get to the heart of it. IAt times, it feels like another world from the Italy that I’m a party of! Jasmine of http://www.questadolcevita.com
Thanks Jasmine 😀 Yes, you are right Sicily is totally different from the rest of Italy, I’ve been living here for 15 years and I am still exploring the place, it’s so beautiful, complicated and fascinating. It has literally become my obsession. Happy to be sharing it with #DolceVitaBloggers !!
Ciao Rochelle! Thank you for being a part of the #DolceVitaBloggers! It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve been to Sicily, but I can still taste the food and dream about it often. I’ll never forget the time that instead of looking at a menu, we got to choose from an array of fresh seafood presented to us. An absolutely incredible experience! I have been wanting to visit Sicily again, and I’ll have to make sure I attend a festa or sagra!
Thanks Kelly 😀 I’m really enjoying sharing a little bit of Sicily with the #DolceVitaBloggers ! The food is amazing and I love how it’s always so fresh, local and seasonal. The feste and sagre are my fave way of experiencing Sicily!