ISTOCK MAy 2018 BCBusiness 83
from outsiders and become a branding
opportunity for the island, are •lled with
all those dark aspects of life here.
But Camilleri's books also paint a
picture of what visitors like me •nd
spectacular about Sicily when we go—and
what is much more common. The rich,
unique cuisine, developed over the cen-
turies as Greeks, Phoenicians, Spaniards,
Arabs and the French overran the island:
ice cream; pasta with sardines, pine
nuts and fennel; cannoli; sword•sh in
tomatoes and capers; couscous with sea-
food. The haunting landscape, hillsides
covered with scrub and limestone or
volcanic rock. The sea, always so close,
blue-green along the coast and extending
out to the curve of the globe. The historic
sites with remnants of Greek and Roman
temples. The towns packed with rococo
architecture.
And then there's just regular life in
these towns. In Siracusa, we went to the
market every morning: three blocks of
tables •lled with spices, the popular local
pistachios, the strange granular choco-
late from Modica, cheeses, sausages and
bloody •sh carcasses. There were tour-
ists. But also the locals, buying what they
needed for dinner. In the afternoons, we
would swim at local beaches wherever
we were, along with people from town.
And in the evenings, well, we could
watch weddings every so often.
Q
eat/ anche gli angeli, a restaurant that
operates in the basement of a former grand
church, just off noto's main street, with a
selection of books, housewares and art for
sale in various parts of the space. Excellent
versions of Sicilian specialities, sometimes
with an extra twist.
Q
shop/ reali sicilie. Facing the main
square in Scicli, this store has exceptional
and unique handcrafted jewelry, ceramics
and more. not your usual tourist shop.
stroll/ While the main plaza in Siracusa is
beautiful, there's nothing nicer at sunset than
to walk along the western side of ortygia,
the island that the old city is built on, looking
out at the sea, the boats and, on land, the
Fontana Aretusa, which has a Greek myth
attached to it.
Q
stay/ hotel gutkowski, Siracusa.
Simple but elegant, it has great views of the
sea to the east and the rooftops of the old
town of Ortygia.
ISLANd hoSpItALIty
(Clockwise from left)
Fogo Island Inn; the
ocean-view dining room;
one of the guest rooms;
the inn's distinctive
architecture makes a bold
statement; business-
woman Zita Cobb, who
created the property
TO DO LIST
ItALIAN ItINERARy
(Clockwise from top left)
Ocean view of Sicily;
Ragusa; Noto; Catania;
Duomo di Siracusa
