A Day in Sicily With Gianni Riotta

As a child, Sicily Honor author Gianni Riotta traveled the island with his father, absorbing its history, stories, and centuries-old traditions along the way. Today, the writer and professor delights in revealing Sicily to others: a place shaped by layers of cultures and civilizations, where ancient myths still inhabit the landscape and discoveries range from springs born of a nymph’s tears to shops that will dress you like a prince.

When I want a dose of culture in Sicily, I visit: The Pietra di Palermo, the “black stone of Palermo” at the Archaeological Museum Antonio Salinas. It is one of the most important surviving documents from ancient Egypt, a fragment of black basalt stele, engraved with hieroglyphics from around the Fifth Dynasty, 25th century BCE. It preserves part of the Egyptian Royal Annals, including major events, religious festivals, military campaigns, construction projects…. It is journalism on hard stone.

My first memory of Sicily is: [The figure of] “Godfather” became an insult, due to Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. But “Padrino” is a sweet figure in real Sicily. My Godfather, Fernando Altavilla, was an heir to the Norman Altavilla dynasty. Padrino taught me to play soccer, not to eat zucchini (“they have no flavor, Son”), the history of my family, the horrors of war, the tradition of antifascism in the Railway Union. He told me, “You’ve got to be wise. Nobody can take wisdom from you, Son.” He was the last Norman warrior.

One of my favorite outdoor destinations in or around Sicily is: The Fonte Ciane, an ancient freshwater spring. The most evocative natural and mythological site near Syracuse, the spring forms a blue-green pool and feeds the River Ciane. According to Ovid, Ciane was a water nymph who tried to prevent Hades from kidnapping Persephone into the underworld. Unable to stop the brutal God, Ciane burst in tears and was transformed into the spring. The river Ciane is famous for the papyrus plants growing along its banks, maybe the last of Europe's natural papyrus colonies.

The meal I can’t leave Sicily without is: Pane e Panelle, the original Palermo street food. Beer—not wine—to drink!

Without fail, every visitor must explore: Easy. Follow Goethe: “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the key to everything”. Sehr Gut!

Describe Sicily in three words: Animi Invitti Singulari. Translated, it means, “unconquered brave souls,” from a verse by the Sicilian poet Antonio Veneziano, a friend of Miguel Cervantes. Veneziano was tortured by the Inquisition for his work.

My favorite hotel in Sicily is: Villa Igiea in Palermo. My grandfather Attilio Denaro, an architect, helped design it.

One of my favorite photo opps in Sicily is : The sea at night around Motia, the Phoenician island facing Marsala.

An important art destination to visit in Sicily is: Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo to admire Annunciata by Antonello da Messina and the Triumph of Death by Anonymous, circa 1440. According to the painter Renato Guttuso, Pablo Picasso was inspired by Triumph of Death for his masterpiece, Guernica. Antonello also has a magnificent Portrait of a Sailor in Cefalù Museo Mandralisca and more works in Siracusa and Messina.

I feel at home in Sicily when: I feel the heroes are still alive around us—teaching, working, listening to young people.

You can always find something unique shopping at: Barbisio, a men’s clothing store in Palermo. Dress up like the Gattopardo, the last Leopard Prince in the 11th century.

For one of the best views in Sicily, go to: Mount Etna. There, the philosopher Empedocles is said to have jumped in the crater during about 430 BCE. The sky is divine. Nature and history fight for power.

At night, one of my favorite places to go is: Any fishing harbor: Sferracavallo, Palermo, Trapani, Canneto in Lipari, Mazara del Vallo…. When the nets are glimmering, the waves promise bounty and dangers, and the Mediterranean sagas flow from Homer to us, unbroken.