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June 2006
thinkSicily and clement Autumn breaks....

While we realise that many of you will not have even had your summer holiday yet, we also know that when the new school year starts in September and the nights start drawing in, thoughts will once again turn to carefree moments in southern climes.

Half-term in the UK falls between Saturday 21st October and Saturday 28th October, when the weather in Sicily is still clement, the sea still swimmable (for north Europeans, that is!) and life is gentle. So spare a thought for the Autumn and take a look at a selection of Think Sicily villa rentals that are ideal for the season in question.

The "Mattanza" - life, death, tradition and tuna......

For gourmets in Sicily, the months of May and June mean tuna in all manner of recipes.
But the story of how this tasty fish arrives on our plates is both fascinating and brutal. The usually tranquil Egadi Islands, just off the west coast of Sicily, are the scene of an age-old massacre – the “mattanza”!
Each year, unsuspecting floats of blue fin tuna pass through these waters on their way to the Atlantic. What awaits them, however, are a series......  Read on >>
Recipe of the month: Spaghetti con tonno e pomodorini

If you managed to read the article on the "mattanza" then you'll probably be curious to know how the Sicilians deal with tuna in the kitchen. No sushi or sashimi here, but lots and lots of different possibilities. Some prefer just a simple grilled tuna steak, others cook it in a sweet and sour sauce of onions, vinegar and sugar. But this month's recipe is a classic combination of mouth-watering spring tastes: tuna, cherry tomatoes and fresh mint pasta sauce. Go to the recipe >>

Not many people know that......

If someone asked you what the 1st capital of the united Italy was, what would you say? Rome would seem obvious, or maybe another large city in the north? Turin? Milan? Well you’d be wrong! The name that should have been on the tip of your tongue was Salemi, a small town in the west of Sicily, where Garibaldi arrived with his "thousand" on 14th May 1860. Here, at the Norman castle, he flew the Italian tricolore flag, announced himself “dictator” of Italy in the name of the future king, Vittorio Emanuele, and proclaimed Salemi the capital. It only remained so for a few days, but not many small towns can claim such historical importance.
Sicily.....just one big film set!

If you’ve ever seen Tornatore’s wonderfully gentle film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, you might have noticed, amongst other places, Cefalu. The Godfather series was filmed all over Sicily and ended dramatically at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Then, there’s Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, whose Greek chorus and Cassandra danced and sang at the Greek-Roman theatre in Taormina, the recent Ocean’s 12, filmed at the Tonnara in Scopello, Il Postino, set in Salina and Star Wars Episode III: “The Revenge of the Sith”, which uses Etna’s 2002 explosion to help out with the special effects. All those Locations Managers can't be wrong, so come and see Sicily for yourselves! 

An oasis in an olive grove.......

Property of the month: Hera

The first thing that strikes visitors at Hera are the unmistakeable fragrances of the Mediterranean: baked earth, mineral-rich sea air and scorched maquis. Mere breathing is a sensory delight…..  The second is the absolute peace and quiet: there are no roads near the house and the blanket covering of olive trees that stretch as far as the eye can see in all directions ensure that any noises arrive entirely muffled.

 

Hera's proximity to the ancient Greek town of Selinunte (you can just make out the Temples from upstairs) suggests that it has an age-old pedigree. Indeed some of the original steps seem to have been worn away over thousands rather than hundreds of years. 

 

The thick walls ensure that even in the summer months, refuge from the heat can be found within. And if you really want to cool off, 200m away from the house, down a shady, tree-lined avenue, is the inviting pool.