Sicily Island

24/12/2025

Did you know the story of Italian immigrants in the United States is filled with surprising curiosities?
Between 1880 and 1924, more than 4 million Italians crossed the ocean — and most of them came from the South: Sicily, Campania, Calabria, and Puglia. Many arrived with nothing but a cardboard suitcase and a dream of a better life.
👉 In New York, Italians were so numerous that in 1910, 99% of East Harlem’s population was Italian!
Little Italy was huge — far bigger than the few tourist streets we see today.
👉 Did you know they were called “Birds of Passage”?
Many Italian men traveled alone, planning to work for a few years and return home. But many stayed, bringing their families and building new lives in America.
👉 A lesser-known truth: Italians — especially Sicilians — were often considered “non-white” and suffered discrimination, violence, and even lynchings in the American South. Despite this, they became an essential part of American society.
👉 And yes, Fiorello La Guardia, one of New York City’s most beloved mayors, had Sicilian roots — his mother was from Lascari (Palermo).
Today, more than 17 million Americans trace their heritage back to Italy.
A story of sacrifice, resilience, and pride.
A story that still lives on. 🇮🇹❤️

23/12/2025

Even the famous couple Barbie and Ken chose Sicily as their holiday destination for their Christmas vacation. 🎄

23/12/2025

Sicilian pastries are more than desserts — they are a journey through history, culture, and unforgettable flavors.
From the iconic cannoli, filled with fresh ricotta and crunchy shells, to the colorful cassata siciliana, a masterpiece of sponge cake, ricotta, and candied fruit.

Enjoy a refreshing granita with brioche, the perfect Sicilian breakfast, especially on warm summer mornings.
Taste the soft graffa filled with ricotta, the delicate pignolata, almond-based pastries, and many other traditional sweets passed down through generations.

Every bite tells a story of Sicily — rich, authentic, and impossible to forget.
Which Sicilian dessert would you try first?

23/12/2025

FBI in Sicily😅

23/12/2025

All I Want for Christmas...😅

23/12/2025

On June 13, 1987, at La Favorita in Palermo, Frank Sinatra famously said, “I’m Sicilian, my father was born here…” and paused before adding, “…in Catania,” echoing what he had said a year earlier in Milan. Few suspected any deception, yet Sinatra had known for at least ten years that his roots were actually in Lercara Friddi, a fact he confided in Mino Reitano in Sicilian dialect. According to Reitano’s brother, revealed in 2015, Sinatra deliberately obscured his origins to avoid being associated with Lucky Luciano and protect his public image.

The search for Sinatra’s paternal ancestry sparked a frenzy. A few days before the Palermo concert, the “Italian Friends of Frank Club” offered five million lire for proof of his father’s birth records. Priests and locals from Lercara Friddi and Palagonia presented baptismal certificates, genealogies, and family photos, but the mystery persisted. While some argued for Palagonia, evidence gathered by Irish biographers Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan in the early 2000s confirmed through Ellis Island records that Sinatra’s paternal grandparents—Francesco Sinatra and Rosa Saglimbeni—came from Lercara Friddi before moving to Palermo and then emigrating to the United States.

Today, Lercara Friddi honors Sinatra’s roots with commemorative events and a plaque marking the house of his grandparents, celebrating the town’s connection to “The Voice” and the many emigrants who left Sicily seeking a better life.

23/12/2025

Three traditional Sicilian dishes you absolutely can’t miss! 🍴

Pasta alla Norma: pasta with tomato sauce, fried eggplants, grated salted ricotta, and fresh basil. A timeless classic from Catania.
Arancine: crispy fried rice balls, traditionally filled with ragù or ham and mozzarella, but also available in delicious variations like pistachio or eggplant.
Caponata: a sweet-and-sour mix of eggplants, tomatoes, celery, onions, olives, and capers. Perfect as an appetizer or side dish.

In Sicily, every flavor tells a story of tradition. 🇮🇹
Which one would you try first? 😍👇

23/12/2025

23/12/2025

Honor to our Italian immigrants, who through courage and sacrifice wrote one of the most important chapters in American history.
Between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, thousands of families arrived each day at Ellis Island—the great gateway to America. Here they faced medical exams, interviews, and endless waits, where even the smallest detail could decide their future.

Many then passed through the port areas of Staten Island, where their new lives truly began. From there, they settled in the fast-growing cities of the Northeast and Midwest:

Little Italy in New York, filled with bakeries, food shops, and familiar aromas;

Boston’s North End and Chicago’s Taylor Street, strong centers of Italian communities;

Philadelphia, which emerged as one of the cultural capitals of Italian America.

They worked on construction sites, railroads, in mines, factories, and markets. Their hands built roads, bridges, and entire neighborhoods; their traditions helped shape American cuisine and culture—from artisanal bread to vibrant street festivals.

Today, nearly 17–18 million Italian Americans carry this legacy forward.
It is a story of lasting roots, evolving identities, and a cultural bridge between Italy and the United States that has never been broken.

🇮🇹❤️🇺🇸
Honor to those who left without certainty, carrying only hope—and to those who continue to preserve this extraordinary heritage.

22/12/2025

“I’m proud to have officially become part of the Italian Republic. I just obtained my citizenship, thanks to my beloved grandmother Edith, whose family came from Candida, in the province of Avellino,” said the Hollywood star.

Kimmel joked about his relationship with his grandmother: “She always told me, ‘You have the brain of a hamster!’” He also retraced his family’s history: “My grandfather’s parents arrived in New York from Ischia after a devastating earthquake hit Casamicciola in 1883, killing much of the family. And now we all live in a city that’s constantly at risk of earthquakes. One thing’s for sure: in our family, we don’t learn from the past,” he added, half joking.

Jimmy Kimmel is one of the most recognizable faces on American television. For 23 years, he has hosted one of the most popular and longest-running late-night shows, Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, and he has hosted the Oscars four times.
Kimmel was officially granted Italian citizenship on June 2, during Republic Day celebrations.

22/12/2025

Christmas in Italy has a truly unmistakable flavor: the taste of traditional holiday desserts, made with time-honored gestures, simple ingredients, and generations of memories. Every region and every family has its own specialty, yet during the festive season a sweet thread connects the entire country, from North to South.
At the heart of the Christmas table are the iconic classics: panettone and pandoro. Panettone, born in Milan, is soft and fragrant, filled with raisins and candied fruit. Pandoro, the symbol of Verona, is delicate and buttery, traditionally dusted with powdered sugar. Two different desserts, both essential during the holidays and often served with creams, chocolate, or mascarpone.
Then there is tiramisù, one of Italy’s most beloved desserts, famous around the world. Creamy and indulgent, with layers of coffee-soaked savoiardi and cocoa, it’s the perfect ending to long Christmas lunches and dinners.
From Southern Italy come the most festive and intense flavors: struffoli, small golden fried dough balls coated in honey and topped with colorful sprinkles, a symbol of abundance and celebration. Sicilian cannoli, crisp shells filled with sweet ricotta, tell a story of ancient traditions and perfect contrasts. Sfogliatelle, with their flaky layers and citrus-scented ricotta filling, capture the soul of Campania.
No Italian Christmas would be complete without torrone, soft or crunchy, made with honey, almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios, a timeless treat that fills homes with the scent of the holidays. And beyond these, there are countless regional specialties—Christmas cookies, mostaccioli, cartellate, buccellati, susumelle, and many more—that turn the Italian Christmas season into a true journey through flavors and traditions.
This guide is an invitation to discover (or rediscover) traditional Italian Christmas desserts, not just as sweets, but as stories of place, culture, and family. Because at Christmas in Italy, every dessert is a tradition meant to be shared. 🎄🍰

22/12/2025

The Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian‑American Christmas Eve tradition. Which fishes do you serve on your table?