Sicily, it's not quite Tuscany

Description

Packed with history, culture, misadventure, and a little Mafioso action, the story of a newly married couple and the year they spent in Sicily Gill and I had dreamt of living in Italy for as long as we'd been together. This is the story of an Aussie couple who sought a Mediterranean Sea change only to find themselves in the sprawling Sicilian city of Catania—the "anti-Tuscany" of Italy. There, any romantic visions they'd had of restoring a villa or stamping their entwined feet in vats of Chianti grapes disappeared faster than the chief witness in a Cosa Nostra trial. Shamus and Gill's tiny apartment in Catania was located in a grim neighborhood opposite a triple-X cinema and a shop selling coffins, nearby Mount Etna erupted soon after their arrival, a mystery ailment left Shamus in a neck brace, they crashed a Vespa, and they had regular dealings with at least one Mafioso. This, then, is an Italian sea change with grit. But it's also a story of optimism, endurance, and acceptance; an exploration of the minutiae of Sicilian culture, history, food, and religion; and an example of how to find beauty—and humor—in the most unexpected of places Content: Sicily, It's Not Quite Tuscany is a captivating tale of an Italian sea change...but not quite the usual country villa idyll. Instead, the Aussie newlyweds' year was spent in Sicily, in the sprawling city of Catania -- the 'anti-Tuscany' of Italy. The apartment they lived in was owned by a nun and located in Catania's poorest neighbourhood, opposite a triple-X cinema. Mount Etna erupted soon after they arrived, chundering its ash over the city for two months the author's encounter with a Sicilian quack resulted in him requiring a neck brace they had regular dealings with at least one Mafioso as well as being robbed (and some of their visiting friends being robbed). They also managed to crash a Vespa. This, then, is an Italian sea change with grit. But it's also a story of optimism, endurance and acceptance, an exploration of the minutiae of Sicilian culture, and an example of how to find beauty -- and humour -- in the most unexpected of places. (Except the neck brace experience, which was far from funny.) And if all that's not enough, there's also a succession of sparkling vignettes about the couple's travel adventures across the length and breadth of the Sicilian landscape, from craggy hilltop towns to seaside resorts for the obscenely rich and famous.