Describing what makes Ragusa special, lifelong resident Liliana Rollo says that the Sicilian people, especially those from Ragusa, are more accogliente (welcoming and friendly) than people in the rest of Italy. As if to illustrate her own point, Rollo repeats several times during a brief telephone conversation, “I hope you’ll come and see me when you take a vacation in Italy.”
Buon Appetito!
Left: photo by Salvatore Ciambra; Right: photo by photo_gram
Sicilian cuisine is famous for a reason. Speaking of her childhood and of her grandmother’s legendary cooking, Marshall says, “When we’d get home from church, I’d help Nonna in the kitchen, and we’d have great Sunday lunches—and that was tradition.” Marshall loved her stay in Ragusa partly because “even the food reminded me of Nonna, and I realized how much she’d kept up the traditions of the food because everything tasted like Nonna’s!” Ragusa has several delicious culinary traditions unique to the province—some are not available elsewhere in Sicily. You’ll find
delicious cannoli (sweet, ricotta-filled fried pastry shells) at Dolcemania in Via Paestum 36. You’ll find arancini, fried rice balls filled with meat sauce, at the Pasticceria Giovanni di Pasquale in the piazza (town square) near the cathedral. L’impanata Ragusana is a creation made with very thin layers of dough wrapped around flavorful toppings like tomatoes, ricotta, and sausage; it’s reminiscent of hand-held lasagna and can be found in most paninerie (bakeries) throughout the city. You’ll also find cassata Ragusana, sweet and simple ricotta-filled pastries. The city’s pizza is every bit as delicious as you’d imagine authentic Italian pizza to be. And the panini (sandwiches made with fresh, grilled meat) are beyond compare, especially at Ziu Pinu’s restaurant. It is well worth taking a trip to Ragusa even if all you do there is eat the local goodies. Ragusa and Ragusa-Ibla, the tiny hilltop village next door, have maintained a food culture filled with rich traditions. The stone pathway from Ragusa to Ibla winds down dozens of stairs and through twisting, crumbling passageways covered with
On an ordinary day in Ragusa, half a dozen fruit and vegetable vendors drive through the streets distributing their goods. The residents know their favorites and head out in their slippers to meet the vendors on the street.
romantic graffiti from generations of love-struck teenagers. Ragusa-Ibla keeps a traditional schedule between the hours of one and four in the afternoon; all shops and churches close promptly at one, and everyone goes home to have a big lunch with the family. A three-course meal, followed by dessert and a long nap, is a rigorously followed Sicilian tradition to this day, especially in towns like Ragusa and Ragusa-Ibla.
Agriturismo For those who want to try traditional home-cooking but don’t feel comfortable inviting themselves to a stranger’s house for lunch, there is agriturismo (agricultural tourism). Agriturismo is more than just visiting farms; it’s putting yourself into the lifestyle of a countryside Sicilian for a few days, but without all the work. This method of vacationing, a few steps beyond bed-and-breakfasting, is steadily growing in popularity in Italy and throughout all of Europe. People escaping from city smog can often rent rooms in renovated farmhouses, which usually have traditional kitchens that are open to curious visitors from all over. Angela and Alessandro of Florence wanted a relaxing holiday, so they tried staying in a refurbished farmhouse called Tenuta Carbonara in the Sicilian countryside. “It was truly unforgettable for us,” they rave in an online comment. But the best part of their stay seemed to be their everhospitable hostess, Nella Tuminello, who runs the Tenuta Carbonara establishment. Nella is a one-woman wonder. She cares for her guests and makes sure they feel at home in a laidback environment. Her traditional, home-cooked Sicilian meals are met with rave reviews by even the hardest-to-please guests. In fact, for those who can’t get enough of her cooking, Nella teaches cooking classes. In these two- to three-hour
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