Roam
How else should you live?
La Vita Siciliana March 2024
March 17-23, 2024
Ice cream for breakfast. Evening aperitivos. Leisurely late-night meals: Lean in to the rhythms of Sicilian life with an unparalleled food bounty shaped by the Mediterranean and centuries of conquest and exchange. Many of Italian cuisine’s best-loved dishes are rooted in Sicilian soil—join us for a tour of some of the best ingredients and meals Europe has to offer.
Our Host
Writer, eater, raconteur
Katie Parla
Trip Guide
Italian food savant, Editor of Osterie d’Italia guide
Eugenio Signoroni
R&K Trip Itinerary
THE HOSTS
EUGENIO SIGNORONI: Cook, Traveler, Editor of the annual Osteria d’Italia Guide
There may not be a single person in all of the Republic better qualified to know what to eat, at what time of year, and with whom, than Eugenio Signoroni. After a long editorial career at the iconic Slow Food, he has branched out to write prolifically about—and design League trips around— Italian food culture in all parts of the boot. He is the host of Lievito Madre, one of Italy’s top food podcasts. A perfect host for this journey.
KATIE PARLA: Rome-based food and beverage writer, culinary guide, and cookbook author
Katie Parla, a native of what she calls the 21st region of Italy (that’s New Jersey), always dreamed of moving to Italy. And now, 20 years after she made the leap, she’s one of the foremost authorities on Italian food and drink, in all its thousand variations. You may have seen her guiding Stanley Tucci around Rome for his CNN show, or perhaps you’ve read one of her many books (the most recent, Food of the Italian Islands, is a banger). Either way, we’re thrilled she’s helping us showcase Sicily.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
Many of Italian cuisine’s best-loved dishes are rooted in Sicilian soil. Our weeklong journey moves across the island for a deep dive into the cuisine and the cultures that continue shaping it. From the wine country around Mt Etna to the food markets of Palermo, embrace Sicily’s multi-faceted bounty.
March 17-23, 2024
Day 1
Mar 17 Sun
Welcome to Sicily
- Relais San Giuliano
- Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 280, Viagrande 95029
- +39 095 989 1671
- Arrive at Catania’s Vincenzo Bellini Airport
- Private transfer to our hotel in Viagrande, nestled between Mt Etna and the sea
- Welcome cocktails and dinner
Day 2
Mar 18 Mon
Veni, Vidi, Vulcano
- Relais San Giuliano
- Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 280, Viagrande 95029
- +39 095 989 1671
- Leisurely morning, beginning to mimic Sicilian rhythms of life: a good slow breakfast; a short, dark espresso; good conversation and much relaxation.
- Lunch in the tavola calda humble Sicilian eatery tradition
- An afternoon with Salvo Foti, champion of indigenous grape varietals, in his vineyards in Milo. We’ll lunch and walk the volcanic terrain that makes Etna such a prized wine region.
- Dinner at Quattro Archi, an legendary trattoria high on the slopes of Mt Etna, in the care of the charismatic host Saro
Day 3
Mar 19 Tue
Granita, the gem of Sicily
- Relais San Giuliano
- Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 280, Viagrande 95029
- +39 095 989 1671
- A morning with Giovanna Musumeci in the village of Randazzo, a master of traditional granita—that flaky, icy, smooth confection that is one of Sicily’s best-kept secrets.
- Private lunch at the Etna wine estate of Giralamo Russo with Carmelo Chiaramonte, the charismatic, effervescent Sicilian chef
- There is no exceptional granita without exceptional fruit, so in the afternoon we’ll visit some of the young producers who give their products to Giovanna. Also: there will be wine.
Day 4
Mar 20 Wed
A day in Catania
- Relais San Giuliano
- Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 280, Viagrande 95029
- +39 095 989 1671
- Up early to visit the brilliant, buzzing fish markets of Catania
- Free time in Catania for walking and shopping
- Lunch at the great Materia in Catania
- An afternoon swim or siesta back at the Relais with plentiful Sicilian wines
- Private masterclass at the Relais on Sicilian pasta-making
Day 5
Mar 21 Thu
Cheese, ricotta, cannoli
- Palazzo Santamarina
- Via del Celso, 21, 90134 Palermo PA, Italy
- +393206829275
- An indulgent breakfast, a lazy morning, a slow start toward Palermo
- Piana degli Albanesi is considered the best place to eat Italy’s pastry staple, the cannolo siciliano—the secret is the extraordinary local sheep ricotta
- Lunch with the Spera family, multigenerational farmers at Balzo Rosso, with breathtaking views of the Aeolian Sea and an extraordinary dairy that help make the region’s cannoli what they are
- Check in at our accommodations at the newly renovated but still gorgeously ancient Palazzo Santamarina in the heart of Palermo
- Dinner at a creative, modern seafood trattoria in the heart of the city
- Optional after-dinner drinks in the buzzing, captivating small bars of Palermo
Day 6
Mar 22 Fri
The Grandeur of Palermo
- Palazzo Santamarina
- Via del Celso, 21, 90134 Palermo PA, Italy
- +393206829275
- Wake up in one of the most atmospheric port cities on earth: Palermo, a city so beautiful the Phoenicians just called it Flower.
- Morning walk discovering the Ballarò and Capo markets, and the food traditions of sfincione, pane e panelle, pani ca meusa. In every bite, the soul of the city unfolds.
- Marsala tasting and masterclass with the great Filippo Cosentino at CiCala
- Last night dinner at Corona Trattoria, a full-throated celebration of the seafood and the culinary life of Palermo
Day 7
Mar 23 Sat
Departure
- Palermo
- One last great Sicilian breakfast
- Private transfer to Palermo’s Falcone-Borsellino Airport
- Arrivederci!