for decades, articles about sicily were invariably accompanied by bleak black-and-white images of bloodied streets and blown up cars. the island was synonymous with cosa nostra, whose violent rule overshadowed everything else. organized crime remains a problem, but fortunately some progress has been made. today, democratically minded Sicilians are gaining influence against considerable odds. culture and tourism are key to its vision of the future. Ever since UNESCO recognized the Arab-Norman buildings of Palermo as Sites of Outstanding Universal Value in 2015, the institutions have made efforts to enhance other, lesser-known heritage. The baroque villas of Ragusa and Noto, which had long been in decline, are now being restored to their former glory. publishers are commissioning anthologies of forgotten medieval and Renaissance writers, art galleries are staging exhibitions on underrated modernist artists, while chefs and restaurateurs are rebranding the island’s plant-rich cuisine to appeal to a growing vegan customer base.
my book the invention of sicily offers an itinerary through this rich culture. but it is by no means definitive. As the novelist Gesualdo Bufalino once said, Sicily is not “a homogeneous mass of races and customs”, but a place where “everything is mixed, changing, contradictory, just as it is found in the most diverse and plural of continents”. With that in mind, I’ve chosen 10 books that show the miscellaneous character of the island, leaving the mafia in the margins where it belongs:
You are reading: Best books about sicily
1. terroni: all that has been done to ensure that southern italians became ‘southerners’ by pino aprile terroni is a term, analogous to “redneck” in the united states, that northern italians invented in the post-war years to distance themselves from their poorer Southern compatriots. Living in Tuscany, I am often amazed at the casual way people here use the slur. here April traces discrimination against the south further back, to 1861 and the founding of the Italian nation-state. Italy, he argues, is not really a unified country but a colonial project that the Savoy Monarchy in Turin devised to pay off its war debts against Austria. Controversies aside, this is wonderful research and a valuable catalog of uncomfortable truths about the origins of southern Italy’s economic woes.
2. leonardo sciascia’s council of egypt sciascia is best known for his books on the mafia. however, this small volume translated by adrienne foulke is one of the secret gems of sicilian literature. is, at its core, an 18th-century detective story, populated by an intriguing cast of Spanish nobles, Jacobin revolutionaries, forgers, smugglers, and libertines. however, it is also a philosophical allegory about the fine lines that separate fact from fiction in Sicily, and the blurring of the lines between history and legend. Fans of Andrea Camilleri are sure to enjoy the affectionate yet cynical humor.
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3. Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food by Mary Taylor Simeti Sicilian cuisine is sharper and more flavorful than its regional counterparts on the Italian mainland; prioritizing the extreme contrasts of flavor against the unctuous umami sauces. simeti’s 1989 book remains the most comprehensive overview in english. This isn’t just a collection of recipes (although there are 100 of them), it’s an impressive scholarly work that meticulously describes the gifts that centuries of mass migration have bestowed on the island.
4. beautiful antonio by vitaliano brancati sicilian literature is full of satirical novels that mock the island’s patriarchal customs. this one, translated by patrick creagh, is perhaps the best of them. the plot follows the escapades of the young playboy of the same name who, despite his fear, is unable to consummate his various affairs. Brancati’s observations on male insecurity are profound, but the book is equally powerful as a political commentary on the toxic impact that machismo has had on Sicilian society.
5. Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Tales by Giovanni Verga Born in 1840 in Vizzini, a small town near Catania, Verga is the best known of the Italian realists. This 1999 anthology, translated by GH McWilliam, brings together stories of country life and Sicilian little novels, which together provide an intimate insight into 19th-century rural life. Whether describing the daily grind of toiling in the fields, superstitious rituals, or revolts against greedy landowners, Verga speaks on equal terms with his subjects like few others of his generation.
6. Idylls of TheocritusIn the 4th century BC, Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the ancient Greek empire. Syracuse, then the most important city on the island, was one of the world’s greatest naval powers and rivaled Athens in terms of wealth and influence. Unfortunately, little literature survives from that time. the Idylls of Theocritus are a notable exception. Reflecting on man’s relationship with nature, the destructive power of technology, and deforestation, among other topics, these compositions provide a fascinating precedent for contemporary discussions of the environment.
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7. The Last Leopard: A Life of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa by David Gilmour Lampedusa’s historical novel The Leopard fully deserves its reputation as a classic of Italian literature. However, Gilmour’s biography of its author is equally vital reading. uses unprecedented access to private notebooks to shed light on the psychological struggles of this introverted man who never managed to exorcise the ghosts of his aristocratic ancestors. This book wisely places the life of Lampedusa in its sociopolitical context, but in a way that is always respectful of the memory of its subject.
8. Conversations in Sicily by Elio Vittorini This novel, set during the rise of fascism, follows a man who undertakes a journey to Sicily to escape the “abstract furies” of modern life. there isn’t much in the way of plot. the narrator drinks wine with some acquaintances and converses with some artisans. his real concerns, however, are existential and spiritual in nature. The result, translated by Alane Salierno, is a powerful meditation on how to find meaning and live well when the world seems to be falling apart.
9. The Kingdom Under the Sun, 1130-1194: The Normans in Sicily Volume II by John Julius NorwichFor a few decades, between 1130 and 1194, Sicily was home to one of the greatest cosmopolitan experiments in history. Hauteville’s Norman dynasty came to the island as Crusaders. once established, however, they presided over a tolerant and multicultural society that defied the violent sectarianism of the time. their highly centralized state had three official languages and a constitution that prohibited discrimination on religious grounds, while the kings themselves commissioned extraordinary works of Islamic and Byzantine art. The Norwich Book remains the definitive English-language summary of Sicily’s golden age, and is a fascinating account of how, in the midst of fanaticism and fundamentalism, the island’s inhabitants learned to value each other’s differences. /p>
10. ciao ousmane: the hidden exploitation of italy’s migrant workers by hsiao-hung pai the title of this harrowing book refers to a senegalese man who, in 2013, died in a gas explosion while doing a seasonal job picking olives in the western sicily. After the tragedy, journalist Hsiao-hung Pai spent months getting to know some of the fruit pickers. His report explains with brutal clarity how migrant workers are exploited on a daily basis while the authorities turn a blind eye. local activists, NGOs and charities have been calling for better conditions for decades. this is an important and informative account of why, so far, their efforts have been unsuccessful.
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The Invention of Sicily: A Mediterranean History by Jamie Mackay is published in verse. To order a copy, go to guardianbookshop.com.
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