quality villas in Sicily
Villas in Sicily | About Sicily | About thinkSicily
December 2005
From Rossella and Huw:

2005 is drawing to a close, but at Think Sicily we are well into 2006. Interest in Sicily continues to grow apace, and the Think Sicily blend of quality, authenticity and meticulous attention to detail seems to suit "thinking travellers" rather well. We don't rent purpose built holiday houses, our clients stay for a while in the temporarily vacated homes of well to do Sicilians, and they appreciate the difference.

Thanks to this warm appreciation and the care taken of the properties, our home owners are pleased too. Word of mouth between Sicilian property owners who would never have thought of renting has enabled us select over 20 new properties since this time last year: here are 19 of them >>

 

Merry Christmas. As the holiday season winds down we hope you'll be thinking about coming to Sicily in 2006.

The language of the locals - Sicilian dialect

C'è acchi cosa di cchiù beddu p'un populu d' 'a lingua di so' 'ntinati"

What could be more important to a people than the language of their forefathers?
No matter how much you might prepare for your trip to Sicily by learning Italian words or buying a phrase book, you will probably never be ready to get to grips with Sicilian dialect. As with most regions of Italy, Sicily has largely retained its dialect and many people still use it frequently. While it is not taught in schools, and is generally frowned upon by the middle/upper middle classes, Sicilian dialect continues to play a very important role in everyday life...... Read on >>
Recipe of the month: Pasta al Forno

Christmas, a family picnic, a day on the beach, Easter, a birthday dinner, a Christening...One dish that is brought out on all special occasions in Sicily, is Pasta al Forno. The dish is based on a type of pasta, anelletti (little rings), mixed with a tasty meat ragu' and any other ingredients that takes the cook's fancy including mozzarella balls, fried cubes of aubergine, boiled eggs, and chunks of ham or mortadella . Once all mixed up with the pasta and topped with mozzarella slices, the whole lot is placed in an oven to meld together. Once the top layer is browned a little, it's time to serve up and for your guests to discover all the goodies inside. Go to the recipe >>

Salina - an Aeolian oasis

In the 1995 film Il Postino, Mario Ruoppolo, the gentle postman of the title, tells the poet Pablo Neruda that "poetry doesn't belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it." Set and partly filmed on the island of Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands, Il Postino proved to be an enormous international success. It is surprising then how little this worldwide fame has changed the island which remains, apart from being arguably the most beautiful of the islands, one of the least affected by a wave of VIP tourism that has seen the private yachts of people such as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Cruise, Sting and Mike Tyson mooring off Lipari, Panarea and Stromboli...... Read on >>

See our properties on Salina & the other Aeolian islands >>
Wine of the month: Malvasia delle Lipari DOC - Hauner

An amber nectar if ever there was one, Malvasia delle Lipari is the isle of Salina's most sought after product. It is a sweet dessert wine which, as the name suggests, is made from Malvasia grapes (though a few Corinto Nero grapes are sometimes added). After being harvested, the grapes are laid to dry (passire in Italian - hence this type of wine's denomination passito) for about 20 days on reed lattices until they have shrivelled to a raisin-like form. While their aspect may not be particularly attractive, the concentration of sugar content is much higher. Only then are the grapes pressed and the resulting must undergoes a slow fermentation before being aged in small oak casks......  Read on >>

Featured Property:  Balu' - tranquility in the olive groves
 

Balu' >> was one of the first villas in our portfolio and is a great example how we have worked with owners to turn a property with huge potential into a fantastic property for our clients.

First came the beautiful pool, the lawns and the landscaped garden, then the air-conditioning in the bedrooms, then a new kitchen... and for next year the huge ex-olive pressing room that forms the living area and the heart of the house will be refurbished and refurnished.

Balu' is already one of our most popular houses, and we expect it to get even more so in 2006.

You are subscribed as: max@thinksicily.com