It started in a bookstore in Assisi. I was just wandering around and ended up in a bookstore at the town’s main piazza. And then I saw this book titled “The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri”. I really liked the cover but more than that, it was the title that enchanted me.
I honestly did not know what I was getting into that time. Even though I didn’t buy the book then, the title stayed with me. Fast-forward a few months and I bought the very first Andrea Camilleri book! My very first!
And I read it on a train in Italy.
I remember by the time I arrived at my next stop I wanted to know more about Montalbano, more about Adelina, more about Sicily…..I fell in love with the fictional Sicilian town of Vigàta and Salvo Montalbano slowly became a respite from my normal life. I ate arancini for breakfast and solved murders between long lunches. And 10 years later I can say that I have now read every single book in the series and seen all of the episodes of the popular Italian TV show. All of them!! Highly recommend!
And then I went to Sicily to find the Sicily that I had read in those books. I wanted to see the Sicily that Camilleri had built.
I made up my own tour of the baroque towns of the Val di Noto that included Modica, Ragusa, Scicli…..I saw the rugged coastline that looks exactly like it does on television. I even stood outside the house of Montalbano – YES!!
It was the real location where they filmed the TV series. I remember there was a shoot happening that time and I had the chance to wait or catch a glimpse of the cast. But I didn’t. I stood outside, felt the moment and eventually walked away.
The things we don’t do out of shyness. The moments we let pass!! ugh!
But it probably wasn’t meant to be….
Sicily enthralled me though and I know I will go back someday. I wandered every baroque street and ate granita for breakfast like a local. I sat in piazzas that Camilleri had fictionalized so precisely and gorged on the yummy pasta with peas and ricotta!
If I haven’t said it to you, I highly recommend seeing this side of Sicily.
These are the towns I’d start with- Catania, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto. All baroque, all stunning, all deeply Montalbano…They are not your luxurious The White Lotus Taormina style places but still Sicily, still full of interesting things to do and jaw dropping rugged views.
This is the place I stayed in Modica from where I did day trips to other places.
If you want a guided experience, this guided chocolate tasting tour is highly recommended.
Also also also, if you haven’t read Andrea Camilleri yet and are confused what the fuss is about, I’d suggest you to start with the very first book called The Shape of Water here
If you’ve ever loved a book so much that it made you buy a plane ticket, you know exactly what I mean, right??! 🙂
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