Sicilian Splendors: Discovering the Secret Places That Speak to the Heart

by John Keahey Narrated by P.J. Ochlan

Overview

From Palermo to Castiglione di Sicilia to Alimena, Sicily holds great secrets from the past and unspoken promises. Tradition, in the form of festivals, the written word, photographs, and song, reverberates through village walls. Now, slowly shaking itself free of the Mafia, Sicily is opening itself up to visitors in ways it never has before.

Sicilian Splendors explores the history, politics, food, Mafia, and people which John Keahey encounters throughout his travels during his return to Sicily. Through conversing with natives and immersing himself in culture, Keahey illustrates a brand new Sicily no one has ever talked about before.

Villagers, eager to welcome tourism and impart awareness of their cultural background, greet Keahey for meals and drink and walk him through their winding streets. They share stories of well-known writers, such as Maria Messina, who have found inspiration in Sicily's villages. Keahey's never-ending curiosity as a traveler shines light on Sicily's mythical mysteries and portrays the island not only through his eyes but also through Sicily's heart.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

06/11/2018
Keahey (Seeking Sicily) is a congenial host in this sunny and inquisitive memoir of his three-month excursion to the least-visited parts of Sicily. He shows up in a town of a few hundred or a thousand people with a loose plan that is almost always guided by the locals (“I come into a village unannounced, ask questions, usually at a bar, where someone almost always knows the answers or knows somebody who knows”), who eventually show him around. Keahey interweaves Sicily’s history of invasions (Greek, Roman, Norman, and Arab) and their cultural and culinary legacies into his story, between getting sidetracked by a conversation with a new Sicilian friend or a delicious local pasta dish (while visiting Calascibetta, Keahey ate “some twisted noodles I had never seen before with ricotta and a tomato sauce”). The book has an air of melancholy to it, as well: Keahey notes how emigration to northern Italy or abroad has left an interior filled with empty buildings, some of which are now being rehabbed into B&Bs by those trying to make a living off the growing tourism industry. This is a wondrously joyous account of travel as it should be. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Sicilian Splendors

"Keahey is a congenial host in this sunny and inquisitive memoir of his three-month excursion to the least-visited parts of Sicily. This is a wondrously joyous account of travel as it should be." –Publishers Weekly

"Keahey provides a solid argument for seeing Sicily not for its stereotypes but for its surprising hospitality." –Kirkus

"This insightful book, with its unique portraits of historically diverse small villages, should be a must-read for everyone interested in Sicily and Mediterranean Europe." –Booklist

“John Keahey appreciates these secret places of the heart because, like the Sicilians he knows so well, he is wise, inquisitive, and articulate. Inspired by such verisimo writers as Giovanni Verga and Maria Messina, who haunt its pages, Sicilian Splendors is a work of truth. In an age of information overload and prepackaged images, mandatory security checks and paranoid xenophobia, this book will restore your faith in the joys of travel, your openness to the possibilities in every chance encounter.” –Anthony Di Renzo, author of Bitter Greens and Trinàcria: A Tale of Bourbon Sicily

"Once again, John Keahey finds the roads less traveled. A Sicilian blue highway adventure, Keahey’s latest effort takes the reader into the towns and villages not often found on tourism maps, finds local characters and haunts, samples the food, describes the always stunning vistas, visits the ancient ruins and modern construction and tells the local tales. His abiding passion for all things Italian, and especially Sicilian, remain evident in this travelogue, which should be recommended reading for anyone planning a visit to this magical island." –Paul Paolicelli, author of Under the Southern Sun

“Roaming through towns and villages of sun-drenched Sicily, John Keahey not only explores their historical, cultural and literary traditions, but also celebrates the abiding warmth and affection of the welcoming Sicilians. For readers, Keahey’s trip may be as savory as one of his favorite dishes, spaghetti con asparago e carcofi.” –Paul Salsini, award-winning author of The Cielo

"John Keahey reveals the rich history, culture, religiosity, and hospitality of a land that has won his heart." – Thomas Swick, acclaimed travel writer and author of A Way to See the World and The Joys of Travel

Kirkus Reviews

2018-08-21

A vivid Sicilian travelogue from an experienced traveler.

If you believe Hollywood, Sicily is little more than the birthplace of the Mafia. Enter Keahey (Hidden Tuscany: Discovering Art, Culture, and Memories in a Well-Known Region's Unknown Places, 2014, etc.), who first traveled to Sicily in 1986 and is now an expert. "Despite my having no known ancestry here," he writes, "Italy and Sicily keep summoning me." In his latest book, the author takes armchair travelers on an enjoyable adventure through Sicily's back roads and tiny towns. At times it can feel like a diary, a play-by-play of a man roaming the countryside: "Afterward I honored the ritual of riposo. When I awoke, it was time for the evening service at the cathedral," Keahey reports of his time in Piana degli Albanesi. But for all the banal details of naps, espresso runs, trips to the bakery, the author packs the narrative with plenty of pro tips and pleasant insider tidbits a future traveler could use. For instance, Keahey is a strong advocate of getting off the highway and on to provincial roads. "Many times," he writes, "I have stumbled into a really small place with only a few streets lined with medieval structures and sat down to a remarkable meal in a tiny trattoria with perhaps three tables." At his best, the author makes a charming case for the benefits of travel. In the afterword, he writes of getting a bloody nose in a cafe in Santo Stefano di Camastra. Noticing his plight, women from another table jumped up to help, an older woman tilted his head back, and a third ran across the street to procure gauze to staunch the bleeding. "Sir, this is Sicily. We help," one of the women explained. "Tell people that Sicily is not the Mafia."

Keahey provides a solid argument for seeing Sicily not for its stereotypes but for its surprising hospitality.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171101978
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/13/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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