Sicily, It's Not Quite Tuscany: And Other Revelations From A Mediterranean Sea Change

Author: Shamus Sillar

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $37.00 NZD
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  • : 9781742376790
  • : Allen & Unwin
  • : Arena
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  • : 0.376482
  • : March 2012
  • : 198mm X 128mm
  • : Australia
  • : 29.99
  • : March 2012
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  • :
  • : books

Special Fields

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  • :
  • : Shamus Sillar
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • :
  • : English
  • : 914.5813104
  • :
  • :
  • : 412
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Barcode 9781742376790
9781742376790

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.